“Bollocks.” Isaac grabbed his shoulder and none-too-gently forced Michael to turn around and face him. “You did what needed to be done.” When Michael shook his head this time, Isaac took hold of both shoulders in a punishing grip and shook him. “Stop. Just fuckingstop.” Alpha power laced his words, his voice a low rumble lacing the surrounding air.
Defiance replaced the expression of defeat on Michael’s face, and Isaac suppressed a smile.
Better.
“However bad things have been so far, they’re about to get a whole lot worse, and we all need to be ready.” All the rules and regulations that Michael’s strong opposition prevented from becoming law, his refusal to back down under immense pressure, it had taken its toll. And he’d still ended up doing things he’d hated. Things he still felt guilt over. As much as Isaac wanted to soothe Michael’s hurt—to pull him close and remind him of all the people they’d helped save—he held his tongue and kept his hands where they were.
Now was not the time for that.
And Isaac didn’t know if he even had that right any longer.
Instead, he let Michael go and put some much-needed space between them. “Whatever happened to bring you here, it’s done. Over.” He thumbed towards his house. “I don’t know whether or not they’ll want you as their alpha. But you’re wrong if you think that any one of them isn’t invested in this fight. I’ll contact the Jersey pack, and I’m almost one hundred per cent certain they’ll find a place for them all, but I’d bet my life that none of them will take up the offer.”
Michael said nothing, but he stood straighter, shoulders back, no longer sporting the air of defeat he’d worn moments ago.
“You are the leader of the Candidate Evacuation Group. Alpha or no, everyone is going to look to you for answers as to what happens next. We need to have something ready to tell them.”
They fell into step and headed towards Isaac’s front door, but Michael caught his arm.
“Thank you.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow. They were in this together, had been from the start. He didn’t want or need Michael’s thanks.
Michael shook his head. “Not for helping us.” His gaze darkened and he gestured between them. At how close they still stood. “For this.” Isaac frowned, and Michael sighed, once again looking up to the moon as if she had all the answers he clearly searched for. “It’s been longer than either of us thought.”
Isaac huffed. “If you’d left sooner—”
“I know.” Michael gripped Isaac’s arm, fingers digging into the skin as his eyes blazed. “Iknow.”The air crackled between them once again, dancing over Isaac’s exposed skin and raising the hairs on the back of his neck.
With a heavy sigh, he settled his hand over Michael’s. “I get why you stayed.” It hadn’t made it any easier to accept or lessened the ache in his chest since they’d parted, but Isaac was an alpha too. He understood all too well the urge to protect your pack. “They needed you.”
Michael’s lips curved into a wry smile. “Not that they knew that or appreciated it.”
No. Isaac knew the reputation the McKillen pack had. Michael especially. And it was well earned.
But that wasn’t who Michael was. Not the Michael he knew, anyway.
The version standing in front of him was different, yes, but Isaac firmly believed that all the parts that mattered, the parts he’d loved—and maybe still did—remained. They might need a little coaxing out, but Isaac could do that.
Wanted to do that.
Not just for his own sake or Michael’s, but for those five men now sitting at his kitchen table and for the rest of the Candidate Evacuation Group just waiting for someone to lead them.
“Did you think I wouldn’t welcome you with open arms?” He asked softly.
Michael met his gaze. “I wasn’t sure.” For a moment, his expression was unguarded, vulnerable. And then he blinked, locking it all away again, but Isaac had seen it.
“Always,” he whispered, hoping Michael felt the truth in his words. “I willalwayswelcome you here.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. The pull between them had Isaac leaning closer. Another inch and their lips would touch, but neither of them was ready for that.
Besides, people were waiting for them.
“Come on.” He nodded towards his front door. “Let’s go inside.”
* * *
The chatterin the kitchen died down as they came to a stop in the doorway. Isaac took in their weary expressions. No physical marks were visible—shifter healing had taken care of that—but the emotional toll of the last day was plain to see on each face turned their way.
