When he stepped away again, the whole back of the fireplace swung inwards, the salty tang of sea air faint but definitely there.
Michael took a step closer. “A tunnel?” he asked, glancing over at Isaac. When Isaac nodded, he frowned again. “I didn’t smell anything before you opened that door.”
Isaac chuckled. “It wouldn’t be a very good hiding place if you found it as soon as you entered the room.”
The others crowded around them, and Cole let out a low whistle. “Is it a secret passage?” The awe in his voice was palpable, and Michael didn’t blame him. “This house is old, right? Did pirates use it?”
To Cole’s delight, Isaac nodded. “I believe they did.” He gestured for them to come closer as he stepped through the fireplace and into the dark passageway beyond. With their enhanced eyesight, Michael could see well enough to move around, but there wasn’t much to see.
The passageway extended out and then to the left.
As Isaac closed the heavy door behind them, he called out a warning. “Watch your eyes. I’m going to turn on the lights.” With the flick of a switch, warm lights flickered on overhead, not jarringly bright, but enough to make Michael blink a few times.
“It’s usually escaped candidates that we move through here, so we had lights installed all the way along.”
“Where does it lead?” Michael asked, noting the tone of wonder in his own voice. When Isaac had said he could hide them, something like this had never occurred to him.
“All the way to the cave on the beach. Supposedly a smuggler’s cave, according to the previous owners, and they should know. Before they fled the country, it’d been in their family for centuries. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Isaac took the lead again, the others trailing after him and Michael bringing up the rear. He ran a hand along the cool stone and glanced up at the support beams overhead. While it was a relief to know the whole place wouldn’t collapse on top of them, an uncomfortable shiver ran through him.
Being underground, enclosed like this, set his wolf on edge. By nature, shifters craved open spaces, to feel the air on their skin and see the sky above them.
This?
All of it felt wrong, claustrophobic, and it was all Michael could do not to let any of it show. No doubt the others were feeling it too, and the need to set the example, to show them there was no need for concern was almost ingrained in him as alpha.
Straightening his shoulders, he forced himself to relax, to breathe deeply and slow his steps so he wasn’t almost on top of Smith in front of him in his haste to get out of the tunnel.
“How much farther?” Logan asked up ahead. Michael noticed Cole immediately reach out and grip his shoulder, and a twinge of longing caught him unawares. “Pretty sure I’m not the only one feeling a little uneasy.”
Will I have that?
A bond so deep that they know how I’m feeling without the need for words?
His gaze drifted to Isaac before he shook his head and banished such thoughts to the back of his mind. There was no time to indulge in fantasy. The next few days were critical if they were going to make any of this worthwhile, and he needed all his focus on staying alive and planning their next move.
As the descent became steeper, steps appeared underfoot, cut into the stone and rock to make the way easier to traverse. Handrails were fixed to the wall, and Michael wondered how many escaped candidates had made this exact journey.
How many humans had Isaac and his pack helped find a new and better life away from the tyranny that had overtaken their country once again?
He’d known what Isaac did here, but to see the evidence of it for himself made his breath catch.
He’s the hero here.
He looked at the others in front of him.They all are.
Michael had taken a position he absolutely did not want for the good of the CEG, but as a result, he’d done some awful things. No matter how many times he tried to justify that he’d had no choice, that sacrifices had to be made to prevent far worse rules and regulations from being instigated, he couldn’t help feeling that someone like Isaac would make a far better leader than he ever would.
Far more deserving of their respect and loyalty.
Michael sucked in a shuddery breath, off-kilter in a way that he felt down to his bones. He didn’t realise he’d fallen behind until he looked up to find Isaac standing in front of him and the others out of sight.
Isaac took one look at him and backed him up against the wall. He dipped his head and the brush of fangs against Michael’s throat made everything stop.
His heart.
His breathing.
