Nick huffed. “We all want the same thing. Them more than us. I’ve known Val a long time, we can trust her. We can trust all of them to do their part.”
I just hope it’s enough.
“We should get back,” Michael said, a feeling of unease settling over him. They hadn’t encountered any trouble on the way there, but he didn’t want to push his luck. And he wanted to contact Logan, see if he’d heard anything from Isaac.
As soon as they got a phone signal, Michael had his phone out. “Anything from Isaac?” He asked as soon as Logan answered.
“I spoke to Callum and relayed the info about the humans and their arsenal. He said all alphas had turned up and discussions were going well. But that’s all so far.”
“Good.” Michael told him they were on their way back and ended the call. He wanted to phone Isaac to check in and see how it was going, to tell him to hurry up and head back home.
He pocketed his phone instead. Isaac wouldn’t thank him for the interruption, and the sooner he was done with that meeting, the sooner he could leave.
Michael scented the air as they neared where they’d parked the car. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, no other shifter scents besides theirs, and yet...
He whirled around as someone came out of the trees, downwind of them, hands in the air in a sign of submission, but he still let out a warning growl, body tensed for attack.
“Wait!” Cole rushed past him. “That’s John.”
“John?”
“The ones who helped us escape last time. Max’s husband.” Michael frowned but stayed back as Cole went to greet him. He knew about the CEG contact who’d helped Logan, Cole, and Aaron, but what the fuck was one of them doing here?
Cole embraced John, then the two of them made their way back towards Michael.
“Sorry if I caught you unawares,” John said, and Michael narrowed his eyes. His scent wasn’t a pack he was familiar with, but they were CEG, so...
“How did you know we were here?” Michael asked instead.
John smiled. “Max knows Val through the CEG network. She wanted to come today but is otherwise occupied.” He grinned widely. “I know it’s probably the worst timing, but she had a baby girl yesterday. Mia.”
Cole pulled him into another hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” He stepped back from Cole and faced Michael. “Anyway, we wanted to let you know that you have allies around the country, not just in London. As I’m sure you’re aware, the CEG is nationwide. If you succeed in overthrowing the Shifter Council, then the rest of the country will follow your lead. A lot of us never liked how things turned out.”
Michael had hoped as much. “That’s good to hear.”
“And if you need help, our alpha is willing to send as many as he can spare. And he’s not the only one.”
“We’ll take all the help we can get.” He needed to let Isaac know.
“Good. I’ll report back. We’ll be in touch with Val and David since we’ve worked with them before.”
Michael gripped his shoulder. “Thank you.”
As soon as they got back in the car, Michael had Cole call Logan and relay the message. “Ask him if he’s heard from Isaac again.”
Cole did as asked, and Michael frowned as he heard Logan’s reply. He checked the time on the dashboard. It was already gone one o’clock. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “He should be on his way back by now. It’s too dangerous to stay in London for this long. He fucking knows that.”
Michael turned the engine on and forced himself to drive carefully and calmly back to the main road instead of wheel spinning and racing off like he wanted to. They couldn’t afford to draw attention to themselves any more than Isaac could.
Come on, Isaac, where the hell are you?
As they left the village and joined the main road, Cole’s phone beeped with an incoming text. He read it quickly and smiled. “Logan says Callum called to say they’re just about to leave.”
“Thank fuck for that.” Michael let out a heavy sigh and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. It’d be another four hours until he could relax fully, but at least Isaac would be out of London soon.
* * *
