Page 75 of Defiance
As assurances went, it needed a bit of work.
Cole swallowed. “They took him already?” He’d assumed the three of them would go to training together, that he’d have time to talk to Loganbefore.
Before I have to fucking torture him.
His breathing shallowed, sweat slicking his palms, and Cole shot a desperate look at Aaron.Help me, I can’t do this.
How was he supposed to stand in front of his new team and inflict pain on his lover?
He’s so much more than that though.
Cole knew that wolves could bond, they’d learnt a bit about it at school, but he’d always dismissed it as shifter bollocks that he’d never have to deal with.
But now?
He and Logan had a connection, one that grew with every touch, every moment spent together or apart. Cole might be a shifter now, but that didn’t mean he understood the significance of a bond or all that it entailed.
And did he want that?
His wolf stirred inside him, certain in a way his human side wasn’t.
Closing his eyes, Cole shook off thoughts that couldn’t happen now even if they both wanted it to. They couldn’t even kiss in public, let alone anything else.
Will he even want me after today?
Logan had said he understood, that he’d heal, but doubt crowded Cole’s thoughts.
“Hey,” Aaron said, gripping his shoulder. “I know it’s daunting, but Paul’s team do this training all the time. As I understand, most of them have been on both ends of interrogation training and they came out okay. You’ll be fine.”
Cole raised an eyebrow.
It’s not me I’m worried about.
Judging by Aaron’s soft sigh, he knew. “Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner it’s over.”
* * *
Smith metthem just inside the training centre doors. As usual, people were using the weights area, but the mat where Cole did his training was empty.
“This way.” He said, leading them off to a door at the far side of the room.
It led out into a stairwell, and as Smith led them down, he glanced back over his shoulder. “There are no cameras in here.” Before Cole could ask why that mattered, Smith stopped after one flight of steps and turned to face them. He ran a hand through his hair, agitated. “Paul got Simon to sign off on a full traitor interrogation.”
Cole tensed. He didn’t know what the fuck that was but it didn’t sound good.
“I’ve texted Jacob. I’m not sure if Michael knows or not, but this isn’t something we normally do in training.”
“Fuck.” Aaron paced, fists clenching and unclenching in time with his steps.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Cole shivered, blood turning to ice in his veins.
Smith grimaced. “It means Paul can use whatever methods he wants. No limits.”
Cole remembered Logan’s screams from the cavern. He hadn’t seen the state of Logan after Tim had tortured him, but he knew it’d been bad.
“I’m not doing it.” He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“You have to.” Smith was suddenly in his face. “If you pass this, Paul wants to take you out on our next mission.”
