“We’ll just take it slow.”
“Slow?” Michael raised an eyebrow. “Like we did earlier?”
Heat flared in Isaac’s belly at the reminder, and he laughed softly. “We both needed that.”
Michael’s answering smile was fleeting. “But it probably shouldn’t happen again?”
“No.” Isaac immediately wanted to take it back, but he held his tongue. If they were going to make this work, they needed to start again. “I’ve learnt to live without you over the past five years. And as hard as that was, it’s what I’m used to. It’s what you’re used to.”
“You think too much time’s passed?”
“No.” He shook his head fiercely. “I think we need to get to know each other again.”
Michael regarded him sceptically. “We’re in the middle of a war, Isaac.”
“We were back then too.” Isaac smiled. The feeling that this wasrightsettled in behind his chest and he squeezed Michael’s hand. “Everything around us might be happening faster than we can control. But this?” He raised their joined hands. “This is ours.”
Michael said nothing for the longest time, staring back out to sea as if it held all the answers. When he finally faced Isaac again, hope flashed in his eyes. “So... we take it slow, then?”
Isaac pulled him close, his arm slipping around his waist. “Yeah. Slow.”
By mutual agreement, Michael slept in a guest room on the second floor that night. Isaac’s room held traces of his scent,theirscent, and it took all his alpha resolve to change his sheets and open the windows to let in the fresh night air.
This was their second chance.
They had to do it right.
* * *
Isaac raisedan eyebrow as Cole and Logan passed him on their way into the kitchen the next morning, faded mating marks clear to see. Not that he was the least bit surprised. It had been inevitable.
They’d been heading that way when they’d left Mothecombe the last time. At least they hadn’t had to wait too long to be able to cement their bond.
Not five fucking years.
Jealousy hit him hard, taking him by surprise, and Isaac closed his eyes, angry at himself for being so selfish. Cole and Logan deserved their happiness in the midst of all the shit surrounding them. And he was happy for them.
Stop, he chided.You and Michael made your choice.
“I’ve been in contact with Jacob,” Michael began, and Isaac snapped his attention back to the meeting in the kitchen, walking closer to stand in the doorway. “He was a little shocked, as you’d imagine, but not as surprised as I expected him to be.”
Isaac smirked. Jacob always was a perceptive fucker.
“Maybe I wasn’t as subtle in my actions as I’d hoped.” Michael looked up, catching Isaac’s eye, and Isaac gave a slight shake of his head.It wasn’t you.
He’d played his part as the ruthless alpha of the McKillan pack well. And it had cost him.
“What’s going on back home?” Smith asked, knee jiggling nervously under the table. He wasn’t the only one giving off anxious vibes. “Is everything okay?”
Michael grimaced. “There’s a lot of uncertainty. Baker’s recovering in hospital and has assumed the role of alpha. He’s been accepted by the pack. He was always my second, so Simon had no legal grounds to challenge him, but he has a lot of friends.”
Isaac barely held back a snarl. He’d never had much interaction with Simon before the Shifter Alliance gained power, and virtually none since, thank fuck, but enough to know he was dangerous. His wolf stirred, uneasy.
“I know he’s been in secret talks with other packs,” Michael continued. “About having me removed. Wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to push Baker out.”
“So what do we do?” Nick asked, the others nodding in agreement because that was what they all wanted to know.
Michael glanced at Isaac, and Isaac gave him a subtle nod. They’d already talked about this earlier. “The time has come to do more than help prospective candidates escape the country. The CEG has always been wary of my commitment. I’m one of the shifters who started the Shifter Alliance Party in the first place. Why should they trust me?”
