“Because I had to. We’d created a monster far worse than the human leadership had ever been. Someone needed to stop it.”
Silence stretched between them until Sam sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.” He rested his head on Michael’s shoulder like he used to do as a teen, and Michael wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into his side.
Sam had filled out considerably since Michael had last seen him, but he still fit under his arm. “Are you back together, though? Properly?”
“It’s complicated.”
Sam huffed out a laugh. “I’ll bet. It’s not like we’re about to be fighting for our lives or anything.”
“It’s not just that. We’ve both changed over the last few years apart. Our lives are in different places.” Isaac’s words from earlier still rattled around in his head, but Michael refused to examine them right now.
Couldn’t, because that would mean making a decision that was going to hurt one of them on some level.
Sam gestured around them. “It’s a beautiful place to live. I know it’s about as far as you can get from London life.” He nudged Michael. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
No, it wasn’t, and Sam was also right about it being beautiful.
But...
“This is Isaac’s land, and Isaac’s pack.” He dropped his arm and leant back on his hands, looking up at the moon for guidance. “For the last five years, I’ve been alpha of one of the largest packs in London. Some of them might be less than desirable, but they’re still my family, and I—”
Sam turned to face him. “You feel responsible for them?” he said softly.
Michael didn’t answer for a long while, staring out to sea as he thought of how to answer. “I know that Baker’s the alpha now, and I don’t want to take that from him. Fuck knows he deserves it after what I did to him.” He laughed bitterly and ran a hand through his hair. “But they weremine. And I feel like I failed them.” And though that was a big part of it, it wasn’t the whole truth. “And I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I stayed here.”
The words felt like betrayal on his tongue.
But they were the truth.
Sam’s sigh sounded full of frustration and exactly how Michael felt. “Have you told Isaac how you feel?”
“Some of it.” Isaac wasn’t stupid, though. It wouldn’t take him long to know what Michael was thinking. If they weren’t in the middle of planning a rebellion, he’d probably have already brought it up himself. “Now isn’t the time.”
“Then when?”
“After.”Assuming we’re still alive to talk about it.
And who knew what state the packs would be in by that point.
“Anyway.” Michael was done talking about this. “Enough about me. Tell me what you’ve been up to here for the last five years.” He grabbed his brother in a headlock and messed with his hair. “Even though I specifically banned you from getting involved.”
“You’re not the boss of me,” Sam grunted, trying to get out of his grip and ending up laughing when Michael dug his fingers into his ribs. “Okay, okay.”
Michael let him go, and Sam sent him a withering look. “How are you the older brother?”
“Tell me,” Michael whispered and gave him a nudge. “I want to know everything.”
They sat there on the sand, talking well into the early hours, all about the parts of Sam’s life that Michael had missed out on.
And later, as they made their way back to a silent cave, Michael felt less like an outsider and a bit closer to who’d he’d been before.
* * *
Michael wokewith the sun the next morning. Like everyone else in the cave, he’d slept in his wolf form, and he stayed that way as he padded out to greet the beautiful sunrise.
Salt air carried on the breeze, and Michael took a leisurely run along the sand to stretch out muscles stiff from sleep.
This was their third morning with Isaac’s pack. Would today be the day the HRU came searching for them? Would they get any answers from the numerous requests for information both he and Isaac had sent out?
