Chapter 400

XENOIS I stood outside the holding cells, staring at the reinforced door and trying to reconcile what I was about to do with the progressive leader I'd been trying to become. Beside me, Thorne waited silently. He knew what was coming. Had probably been expecting this since the moment we'd captured Jerome's infiltrators. "You don't have to do this," he said quietly. "Zade offered to handle interrogations. He has experience with this kind of thing." "This is my pack," I said. "My family that was threatened. My responsibility to handle." "Torture isn't—" "I know what torture is," I interrupted. "My parents taught me extensively. Along with every other brutal tactic necessary for pack leadership during wartime." Thorne was quiet for a moment. "You've spent months building a reputation as a progressive alpha. Someone who doesn't use the old methods. If you do this—if you torture prisoners—it undermines everything you've worked for." "Good," I said flatly. "Because apparently being progressi