Michael smiled to himself because in the short time he’d been here, it had started to feel that way.
The five of them got out of the car and stretched out aching muscles. “I don’t know about you,” Michael said to the group as a whole, “but I could really do with some—” The words died on his tongue as Logan and Aaron burst out of the house.
His stomach dropped.
Heknew.
He fucking knew what Logan was going to say before the words even left his mouth.
“Simon took Isaac in for questioning.” Logan stood, face ashen as he delivered the news that shattered Michael’s heart.
“No!” He roared, head tilted back as his fangs dropped down, and he wanted to tear something apart, anything to quench the rage bubbling up inside him.
Silence surrounded him, and Michael knew he needed to calm down, but it was so fucking hard when the man he loved was in danger.
“Michael.” Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. It was only the scent of family,brother, that kept him from throwing him off. “Calm the fuck down. You’re not helping anyone like this.” His grip tightened. “Breathe.”
Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly and forcing his wolf back below the surface. The urge to shift and tear things apart gradually eased until he let out a final shaky breath and opened his eyes.
Focusing on Logan, he asked, “When?”
“Almost three hours ago.” Logan took a step back and Michael growled.
“Threehours?” he roared, all that rage he’d managed to quell racing back with a vengeance. “Three fucking hours?” He moved towards Logan, but Cole dashed in front of him, squaring off against Michael as his fangs dropped down.
“No,” Cole hissed. “We’re pack, remember?” Michael faltered, and Cole walked towards him despite Logan’s protests. “You’re ouralpha.”
That one word cut through the red haze clouding his vision, and Michael shrank back, horrified. “Fuck.” He gripped his hair in his hands and tugged, needing the pain to ground him. “I’m sorry. It’s just...”It’s Isaac.
Cole put a hand to his throat, and Michael sucked in a breath, the touch like a balm to his anger. “I’d be the same if it was Logan.”
“We’re not—”Bondedhe was going to say, but Cole cut him off.
“But you want to be, and I think that’s almost as bad.”
Michael didn’t argue. What was the fucking point? “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We could’ve done something,anything.”
Logan eased Cole out of the way and faced Michael. “Because I knew exactly how you’d react.”
“How?”
Logan raised an eyebrow, and Michael sighed. “I feel so helpless knowing Simon’s got him and we’re four fucking hours away.”
“I know. But imagine if I’d told you that when you still had a two-hour car journey to get here. There’s nothing you could’ve done then except worry and possibly crash the fucking car in your haste to get back here.”
Michael gave him a small nod, conceding that he had a fair point. “But I could have contacted people, found out if they knew anything.” His voice carried a trace of the anger from before, but Logan held his gaze.
“I know. I considered that, and it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make, but we needed you back here in one piece, and if I’d told you, I’m not sure that would’ve happened.” He bit his lip, and Michael slowly began to realise how torn he must’ve been. “Besides, everyone involved will be travelling back to their homes or their packs. Better to contact them all at once when we know what the plan is.”
Michael pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head and get his brain to work. He couldn’t help Isaac if he couldn’t fucking think straight. “What about Callum and Alice?” He should’ve asked about them first. “Does he have them too?”
Logan shook his head. “No, they were already in the car. Isaac called them and gave them some weird message about him staying in London and for Callum to take care of the pack. We’re assuming Simon was with him at that point. They managed to get away and should be back in—” He checked the time on his phone. “—an hour or so.”
Michael frowned.
A million thoughts ran through his head, and none of them good. “What about his phone? Can we track it?”
“We tried, but the last known location was the university.” Logan hesitated. “I’m hoping that means he managed to destroy it, because otherwise...”
