“I don’t know. Maybe Simon had them, or Paul?”
Michael’s eyes widened as he glanced over at Paul’s body. “I hadn’t even realised he was here.” He walked over to the black wolf, crouching down to put a hand on his neck.
“Is he dead?” Isaac asked, although deep down he already knew the answer.
“Yeah.” Michael sighed as he stood. “What happened?”
“He saved my life.”
Michael said nothing for a long time, then, “We’ll bury him with full pack honours.”
Isaac turned away from the bodies and searched the floor for any signs of the keys.
Paul’s shredded clothes lay strewn about the floor. “Maybe check those.” He nodded to the pile when Michael looked at him.
After a minute of searching, Michael triumphantly held up a small silver key.
He made short work of the handcuffs, kissing each of Isaac’s wrists as he released them.
Then Isaac was moving, arms wrapping around Michael’s back. “I need to smell you and only you.” He breathed in deep, Michael’s scent replacing the too-many foreign scents he’d been subjected to over the past couple of days.
Familiar.
Home.
Mine.
Michael held him close, hands fisted in the back of his T-shirt, and Isaac sank into it. “I almost lost you.” He placed a hand at the base of Isaac’s throat, right over the healing cut that Simon had made.
“But you didn’t.” Isaac pulled back enough to capture Michael’s mouth, kissing him slow and deep, losing himself in the taste and warmth, the horror of moments before forgotten.
“We should go join the others,” Michael murmured, stealing another kiss before pulling back. “I need to check in with the other packs, and there’s still so much to do here.”
The enormity of the situation suddenly dawned on Isaac, and he gripped Michael’s shoulders. “We did it, though? The McKillan pack is ours?”
“Looks that way.” Michael’s small smile grew until it was wide and glorious. “And the rest of the London packs should hopefully be ours too after tonight.”
“Thank the Goddess,” Isaac breathed, unable to quite believe it. Then he sobered and asked a question he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “Did we lose anyone?”
Michael’s expression clouded. “Some. I’m not sure how many yet.”
“Any of yours?” Isaac bit his lip, knowing that some of his pack would have come with Michael and the others. “Any of mine?”
“I don’t know. Smith was in pretty bad shape. Nick took him back to the training centre.” He glanced over at the door. “We should probably head up there if you’re up to it?”
“Yeah. I can help.” Isaac pushed himself to his feet, wobbled in place, and Michael had to grab him to stop him from falling. “Maybe just give me a minute.”
He rested against Michael, waiting for his body to adjust to finally being upright after being restrained in the chair for so long. “Okay. Just go slow.”
With Michael’s arm around his waist, Isaac slowly made his way up the stairs to the training level.
* * *
They raninto Nick on the way there.
“Fuck, sorry I took so long.” He looked from Michael to Isaac, then back again. “What happened?”
Michael hadn’t expected to see him anytime soon, and he hoped that this meant Smith was okay. He gave him a quick run-down of events in the interrogation room, and Nick winced, gaze drifting to Isaac’s mouth more than once.
