Chapter 3
Cole sagged against the chair as the antidote to whatever the hell they’d given him started to work. His jaw ached and his fingers throbbed. When Logan had told him it hurt to remain in a half-shifted state, he’d woefully under exaggerated, but that was nothing to having his bastard tooth ripped out.
It was over, though.
At least he hoped it was.
Cole had told them everything—everything that he could without jeopardising the CEG—if they wanted more from him, he was shit out of luck. A groan escaped him as his teeth finally returned to normal, and he ran his tongue over them just to make sure. “What happens now?” he asked no one in particular, but unable to take the silence.
No one had said a word since he’d finished saying his piece.
Jez had ushered Logan off to what looked like an office to the side, and the other two were busy making notes. At least that was what it looked like.
When no one answered him, Cole tried again. “I told you everything I know. You said I could talk to my parents.”
Talking about them hurt, even though he knew they were alive and safe.
They were still miles away from him and contacting them was impossible.
At the moment, he reminded himself.
Maybe one day that would change.
Smith appeared in front of him, kneeling down so they were face to face. From his uncomfortable expression, Cole had a fair idea of what he was about to say. At least he didn’t seem like he was about to gloat. “I’m afraid there was an accident,” Smith said, voice not exactly soothing, but not cold either. “Both your parents are dead.”
Cole didn’t have to fake his reaction. Hearing the words—even though he knew they weren’t true—still sent a shudder through him. He let his mouth fall open, staring at Smith as though he’d spoken in a foreign language. “I don’t—” He shook his head, hoping he looked confused, shocked. “They can’t be. I spoke to them a few days ago and—”
“Their car skidded off the road four nights ago and they both died on impact. I’m sorry, Cole, but it’s the truth.” He stood and gestured to Jez and Logan as they rejoined the main room. “This pack is your family now. If you’re lucky,” he added, then walked away.
Cole sat there, stunned, and not really having to fake it.
Not at his parents’ fake deaths, not really, but more that this was his life now.
They’d spent the whole journey back to London focusing on getting through the inevitable interrogation. It was all Cole had thought about from the minute he decided to come back.
But that was over now.
Assuming they let him stay, what happened next? Their goal in coming back here was to work with the CEG and find other like-minded shifters to help them put an end to all of this bollocks. To remove the Shifter Alliance for good and instate a joint human/shifter government instead. But that would take months of careful planning and persuading before they were anywhere near taking that next step. What happened in the meantime? Jacob hadn’t gone into great detail on that part. Whether he hadn’t wanted to put Cole off or whether he didn’t know, Cole was undecided.
And then there was Logan.
Obviously he’d known it’d be tough having to act like they hated each other, but he hadn’t anticipated it being this bad. As Logan walked towards him, every part of Cole wanted to lean into his solid warmth and close his eyes. Just for a little while.
But he couldn’t so much as smile in his direction, let alone touch him.
And it wasn’t just his human side that missed Logan. His wolf pined for him, which was a whole new level of weird. They weren’t separate entities, he knew that. It was like... He struggled to find the words to describe it. Like a place deep inside—that was him, yet was more than just him—longed to be close to Logan with an intensity Cole wasn’t used to.
He frowned.
I’m making no sense.
Must be the drugs they’d shoved into him.
Cole waited for Logan to come to a stop in front of him. “I want to go to their funeral,” he whispered, breath catching. How long would it be before he saw them again?
Logan sighed. “I’ll ask.”
“Jesus, my parents are dead, for fuck’s sake. It’s myrightto pay my respects.”
