Page 72 of Doyle

I didn't keep secrets from my family, so I told Zane and Draven what had happened to Michael and me.

"Michael leaving you was a good decision," Zane said.

Anger flared within me. I clenched my fists, and before I knew it, my fist connected with Zane's cheek.

He staggered back, rubbing the spot where I had punched him.

"How dare you say that?" I demanded. "If Otis suddenly left you, how would you react?"

Zane, unfazed, merely rubbed his cheek.

"I would’ve sent Otis away if I found out he was a sleeper agent sent by the enemy," he said calmly.

Zane continued, “If Michael's safe with his father, then there's no reason to expend manpower to go after him. Rescuing these missing shifters takes priority. These black magic users couldn’t have gone far."

"I'm going after Michael," I said, my voice firm.

"Very well," Zane said with a heavy sigh. He knew he wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise. "Then Draven and Ivan, you two will go after the black magic users.”

Ivan looked conflicted. He turned to me, his concern evident. I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it.

"Thank you for your comforting words earlier, but it looks like I’ll handle this on my own," I told him.

Ivan nodded reluctantly. "Be careful, Doyle," he said.

"I will," I promised, though my mind was already racing ahead, plotting my course to Oak Meadow.

I couldn’t shake the image of Michael, lost and alone, battling the demons Liliana had planted in his mind.

I needed to find him, to remind him I wasn’t going to give up on him, on us.

With a final nod to my pack, I headed out. The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the landscape.

I got into my truck and started the engine, and wondered if this situation was somehow all a trap set up by Liliana for me.

MICHAEL

I kept replaying the scene in my head: driving the knife into the man I loved and Doyle being crazily calm about it. It wasn't right.

I didn't deserve such an understanding mate like Doyle. Didn't he see that I was just a bomb waiting to explode?

What if we were at Zane's house when this happened? What if it was Ariel or Porter I had hurt instead of Doyle?

I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept driving, with no destination in mind at first.

Then, an hour out of Sky Stead, I called my dad.

"Michael? Hey, how's your day going?" my dad asked.

Instead of words, a sob came out of my chest.

"Mike? What's going on? Did something happen? Did Doyle hurt you?" The fury in his voice made me smile, but only for a moment.

"No, Dad, it's the other way around," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding confused and concerned.

"Look, can I stay with you for a few days?" I asked.

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