Luca didn’t know what pissed him off more. The fact Isaiah spouted lies or the absolute agony reflected in Nox’s expression.
“C’mon, let’s go.” Luca took Nox’s hands. “You don’t need this, and I don’t either.”
Nox stood.
Isaiah leaned against the table as he came around. “I’m only trying to help.”
“Are you serious? You think telling me Nox will hurt me, telling him he’ll hurt me, and now calling him a parasite is help?”
“I’m not lying.” Isaiah looked at Nox. “If I were, he would smell it.”
Nox shut his eyes for a moment. “He’s telling the truth.”
“Or he just thinks he is.” Luca lifted his chin. “Either way, it’s bullshit. All of it.”
Isaiah shook and his breath wheezed. “Please let me explain.”
“You’veexplainedenough, trust me.”
“Not… not like I need to. Not with you calm. Not with the right… words….” Isaiah held his arm against his chest. His knees folded. Luca tried to catch him. Nox got to Isaiah first and lowered him to the ground.
Isaiah propped himself against the bench. Tiny crimson flowers dotted his shirt.
Luca instinctively reached out to undo the buttons to see why he was bleeding.
Isaiah caught his wrist. “It’s nothing.”
“You can’t tell the truth about anything, can you?” Luca said.
“When it involves you, yes. Always.” The sincerity in Isaiah’s voice made Luca ashamed of how much he wanted to hate him. “At least let me go get some help.”
“Only if you listen to me first.” Isaiah looked at Nox when he said it.
Nox nodded. “We’re listening.”
“There are people who know about us.”
“New World,” Nox said.
“More like the people associated with New World.” Isaiah grimaced. “They’ve been a part of all political and religious organizations since the dawn of civilization. We’ve worked hard to follow their rules, and they’ve worked harder to keep us in check.
“As civilization and governments rose in power, there were individuals who secured positions that allowed them to persuade the leaders into organizing crusades to push us from territories and keep down our population. Somewhere along the way, they became the Senate, and their most elite generals are called Wardens.” He moved his hand like he wanted to reach for Luca but thought better of it. “When I found a way to locate Cana and reclaim our wolves, our Clan leader, Eric Palmer, argued the necessity of our existence with the Wardens. The Apex Warden agreed.”
“Why?” Luca said. “Especially if they wanted you gone.”
“They knew Grey Dekker had made a way to reclaim the Sarvari.”
Nox growled. “Dekker…”
Luca put a hand on Nox’s arm. He didn’t relax.
There was no fear in Isaiah’s expression, just understanding. “And if Dekker succeeded, then the Wardens would need help.”
“They have weapons,” Luca said.
“And Grey Dekker has thousands of Mah, maybe more. And there was no way of knowing how far he’d gotten in manufacturing the VrK.” Isaiah swallowed several times. “When we lost Koda and Nash took you, the Senate sent the military to find Nash when they figured outwhyhe took you.” Isaiah looked at Luca when he said, “I begged them to give me a chance to bring you into our pack. I was granted time, but it was contingent on destroying the Anubis.”
Luca sat back. “You lured me here so you could kill Nox.” It was obviously the truth.