“They’re here.”Callum leant on the kitchen door, phone in hand. “Oscar called to say four cars just drove through the entrance to the estate.”
Isaac stood and put his coffee cup in the sink. “Did you tell him and the rest of the pack to stay in their cabins until called for?”
“Yes. They know the drill, Isaac.”
Isaac had specifically kept his pack separate from Michael and the others, but he was under no illusions that Paul’s team would leave them alone. He wasn’t going to offer them up for questioning unless forced to, though.
The sound of tyres on the gravel road had them both standing to attention, facing the window. Four black SUVs pulled up in front of Isaac’s house.
Isaac and Callum stayed where they were.
No way was he going out to meet him. Paul could ring the fucking doorbell.
The passenger door of the first SUV opened and Paul got out. He paused, head tilted up, sniffing the air, and Isaac rolled his eyes.
“What does he think he’s going to find doing that?”
Callum snorted. “Fuck knows.” He ducked back inside for a moment and then the other car doors opened, the three HRU members climbing to stand next to the car.
The other cars followed suit until Paul and fifteen members of the HRU stood outside on the gravel drive, all wearing full tactical gear and heavily armed.
An impressive sight.
Isaac swallowed down the flare of panic. He’d expected six, maybe eight for a routine inspection. Sixteen HRU members for the size of his pack and territory? Seemed a tad excessive unless they knew something he wasn’t aware of. Had they been tipped off?
Only members of his pack knew about the entrance to the cave from his house, and Isaac was confident none of them would’ve betrayed him. But maybe someone else had told them Michael was here?
Something about the way they stood, an air of confidence about the whole group, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
They know something.
Or maybe they’re bluffing?
Paul was a deceitful motherfucker, and Isaac wouldn’t put it past him to walk in full of swagger, hoping to trip Isaac up. “Come on,” he said, striding for the door.
“I thought we were making them come to us?” Callum frowned but followed anyway.
“I changed my mind.” Isaac yanked open his front door and crunched across the stones to where Paul stood, watching them. “Paul.” He greeted him with a slight nod. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Paul scoffed. “I doubt it’s either a pleasure or a surprise.”
Isaac kept his expression neutral. “Well, the first remains to be seen, but Iamsurprised to see you and so many of your team.”
“You know why we’re here?”
Isaac shrugged. “I doubt it’s for the sea air.” No official confirmation of Michael’s absence had been reported to the alphas outside of London, but Paul would know that rumours were always quick to spread. But this was a delicate game they were playing, and Isaac wasn’t about to admit to anything.
Paul’s eyes narrowed and he closed the distance between them, drawing himself to his full height, which was still a couple of inches shorter than Isaac. He’d have found that amusing if it weren’t for the amount of weaponry Paul was carrying.
He could well imagine that Paul and his team had been offered full immunity for anything that happened here or anywhere else they searched. The Shifter Council wouldn’t give a fuck what happened to a remote pack on the south coast of Devon.
It was a fine line between holding his ground and allowing Paul to do his job.
“What do you want, Paul?”
Paul glanced from Isaac to Callum, who stood beside him—silent and menacing—then back again. He handed over a sealed envelope, which Isaac gave straight to Callum. “I have authorisation to search your territory and question any members of your pack as I see fit.”
Isaac waited as Callum ripped open the envelope and read the paper inside.
