With a nod, he left the room. All the problems in his basement would still be there in the morning. Or they’d be dead. Either way, he needed to go home to his mate. His human legs wouldn’t move fast enough.
****
He passed several of his wolves on the way in. Cyrus hadn’t asked them to guard his mate, but it was nice to see they’d all done it anyway. He nodded to each of them, letting them know that they could leave. There was nothing more to say, no comforting words, nothing he could ever say to make tonight okay.
Shepherd would have given them platitudes. He’d been full of them when he and Lake had been orphaned. Greater good. War. The life of a werewolf. Screw all those meaningless nothings spoken to make the speaker feel better, not the person enduring the pain. Cyrus wouldn’t do that to any of them.
This was awful. They’d know he felt it too.
Finally, at his door, he saw Mitchell. He stared at the other wolf for a second before speaking. He never saw Mitchell without Jensen. They’d been the closest of friends before Jensen’s mating, and nothing had changed afterward.
“What are you doing here?” Mitchell should be with Jensen, not standing at his doorway. There were others to fulfill that duty tonight.
“I failed Kyra.” Mitchell’s voice sounded hoarse. “I won’t have your mate hurt. Not while I can be here to guard her.”
“We all failed Kyra.” Cyrus had to look away for a second, lest he give in to the urge to start howling in the hallway. “I’d never seen such a lineup of armed humans waiting for a fight. They knew we would come. They waited for us.”
“Maybe if Jensen hadn’t been alone when it started…” Mitchell fisted his hands.
“Maybe if I had stopped the bar outings when he first told me about them.” It had seemed relatively harmless. Jensen had always watched them. Cyrus had believed that as long as he kept the pregnant females out of view, then the rest of them would be safe. Kyra was dead because of his arrogance.
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I appreciate the words, Mitchell.” But they didn’t absolve him. Ultimately, the responsibility fell to him. They all belonged to him, and it was his gift to be able to lead them, protect them. “This was the world I grew up in. So did you, although you were a baby. Maybe you don’t remember it.”
Outside a car honked, reminding him of the real world that would too soon make this day nothing more than a memory.
“I remember the drills. I remember my parents were afraid. They’re not anymore. Not since you.” Mitchell’s words struck Cyrus hard. The fact that he stayed upright was a miracle unto itself. All this time and it turned out that all he had been was lucky. None of the things he’d arranged had made the slightest difference. When the humans wanted to attack them, they’d been perfectly able to accomplish their task.
“I would keep you all safe if I could. If working at it day and night could accomplish true safety, that is what I would do.”
Mitchell nodded. “The blame for tonight does not fall to you.”
“It does. As it should.” Cyrus shook his head. “We’ll bury Kyra tomorrow, and then I have to leave for Montana.”
“What time should we be ready to leave?” Mitchell’s jaw was tight, and Cyrus could feel the aggression radiating from the other man’s body. He couldn’t blame him. Cyrus also craved a fight.
“You’re not coming with me.”
Mitchell’s eyes widened. “Sir? Have I done something to make you lose trust in me?”
“Just the opposite, actually. I have to leave New York and go to Montana. We’re not at war with Philadelphia or Boston. I’ve made arrangements that should secure that peace. . But I need someone to hold Manhattan in my stead. I’ve never chosen a second-in-command. It never seemed necessary. Now it’s clear to me that too much time has passed and that I’ve been remiss in not selecting one of you. Mitchell, would you be second? Would you hold Manhattan until I return and, if I don’t come back, will you lead the pack? Keep it strong and safe?”
Mitchell fell to his knees, his head facing the floor. “Sir, I don’t deserve such an honor.”
“You do.” Cyrus shifted his weight. A “yes, sir, I’ll take the job” would have sufficed. These traditions were old and long-standing. Maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised by the reaction. “Stand up and take it if it’s what you want.”
Mitchell stood up. “It would be an honor. I won’t fail you. We’ll find this threat, and we’ll destroy it.”