A ripple of nervous energy spread through the group and Isaac knew this was the exact reason Michael hadn’t brought it up before now.
“That’s the worst-case scenario,” Michael said, voice soft but calm and laced with the barest hint of alpha power. Enough to soothe frayed nerves, not raise hackles. He stood and gestured to the board behind him. “As far as I’m aware, the only challenger to Baker’s leadership is Simon. And he might have been busy currying favour with some of the other alphas, but there’s no way he’s managed to persuade nineteen of them that he’d be a better alpha than Baker.” He smiled. “Apart from those few alphas that think like Simon, that humans have no place in our ruling body, he’s not well-liked.”
Isaac snorted. “But he’s got such a charming personality.” That caused a few chuckles, and the tension in the room lessened. “There’s nothing we can do about what’s happening in London. We’ll have to adapt to things as and when they change.” He didn’t bother sayingifbecause Michael’s abrupt departure would have far-reaching effects.
“Isaac’s right.” Michael’s gaze found his again, igniting a warmth in Isaac’s chest. “We can’t control what happens anywhere other than right here.” He lifted up his pen. “So while we wait for information to come back on the other London packs, we start looking at our own.” Before anyone could correct him, he rested his palms on the table, lips curling back into a snarl. “Because it’s stillourpack, and we will get to go home.”
Isaac’s chest constricted, heart stopping for a beat as Michael’s words sank in.
Home.
Of course, Michael still thought of London as his home. In all the excitement of seeing him again, he’d stupidly assumed that Michael had left London for good. That when he’d said he wanted to rebuild their relationship, he’d meant staying in Mothecombe, with Isaac.
Fuck.
He fought to keep his expression neutral, his emotions in check, because the last thing Michael needed right now was a distraction. His wolves were beginning to trust him again. Isaac saw it in the way they listened to him—relaxed and open to what he had to say––and despite the ache already creeping into his heart, he would never jeopardise that.
Despite Isaac’s bests efforts, Michael’s head snapped round, his gaze intense and boring into Isaac as though he read his mind. He said nothing, but Isaac knew they’d be talking about it later.
“So...” Michael turned back to the whiteboard and, after taking a picture of everything with his phone, wiped it clean. “Let’s start from the top.” He wrote Baker’s name and underlined it. He then added Simon’s and all the team leaders. “Jacob, as you’re all aware, is CEG.” He wrote down the members of Jacob’s team underneath, including Aaron and Logan.
Logan sat forwards, eyes trained on the whiteboard. “I think pretty much all of Jacob’s team lean more towards the CEG way of thinking.”
Aaron nodded beside him. “Especially Rob and Karen.”
Michael put a star next to their names. “I agree.”
Together they discussed the rest, Michael noting beside each name whether they were likely to sympathise with the CEG or not.
Isaac sat back and watched. The Flete Estate was far removed from the goings-on in London, and though he knew a certain amount as a CEG member, his knowledge of Michael’s pack members was limited.
Next up, however, was Paul’s team. As soon as Michael wrote his name on the board, the atmosphere in the cave changed. The undercurrent of anger made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Nick waved a hand at the board. “Do we even need to discuss it? Surely everyone in the HRU is anti-CEG. It’s why they’re in that fucking team to start with.”
Surprisingly, it was Cole who came to their defence. “I know it might seem like that, but they’re not all as bad as Paul.”
Nick turned to face him, eyebrows almost reaching his hairline. “Such as who?”
“Fletcher. He was all right.” He looked to Michael as if seeking confirmation.
“I agree. Fletcher came from Cox pack territory. He might be HRU, but he’s not extreme anti-CEG like some of them.” He let out a long sigh, and Isaac shook his head, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.
“You’re not responsible for the way they see the world,” he said, not caring about their audience.
“Aren’t I?” Michael’s hard gaze met his. “I was their alpha. If I led by example, then I have to accept responsibility for how they’ve turned out.”
Isaac closed his eyes for a moment, hating that Michael’s words held some truth.
“There are some members of your pack who needed no encouragement to hate humans. It’s why they joined your pack to start with.”
“And the others?”
“If their opinions were swayed by their alpha, then we just have to hope that Baker can sway them the opposite fucking way.”
They stared at each other. Michael seemingly intent on blaming himself and Isaac refusing to let him.
It was Sam who finally broke the standoff. “So why don’t we go through Paul’s team, write off anyone who’s beyond help, and concentrate on the others? There’s still CEG members in your pack, right? Can’t they start working on the others from within?”
