“How is he?”
“Surprisingly fine.I think he’s mostly angry.He truly believes in helping people, and he hates that Victor ruined that for him.”
“I don’t blame him.”
“Neither do I.That man used Alan, and it’s not right.”
Hayes and Matthew knew that their lives weren’t right or better than a lot of people.After all, they’d been in the labs they were trying to get rid of.
“Anyway, if you want to talk to him, he’s in the living room,” Hayes continued, putting Matthew’s shoulder.“I’ll be in the kitchen with Samara.”
Matthew nodded before taking a deep breath and turning toward the living room.He still had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that his mate was here.Their relationship might not have started on the right foot, but Matthew hoped he could fix it.At the very least, he hoped he could put a smile on Alan’s face.He felt like Alan needed it.
When he walked into the living room, it was to find Alan on the couch, bundled into a blanket, staring at the TV screen.Alan blinked when he looked up, and, to Matthew’s relief, he smiled.
“I was wondering when I’d see you next,” Alan said.
“I was giving you space.”
“I think I needed it.You could’ve visited without talking about what we both know we need to talk about, though.It would’ve been nice to have some company.”
“I’m sorry.”Matthew didn’t know what else to say.He hadn’t expected his mate to want to deal with him just yet, but clearly, he’d been wrong.
“It’s fine,” Alan reassured Matthew.“And you’re here now.Are you ready to talk?”
“Actually, I thought we could go out for a walk.Hayes told me that you haven’t been leaving the house, but you’re safe here.The village is protected because some of the people we rescued from the lab have moved here permanently.We want them to feel safe.”
“Hayes told me.It was just a lot, you know?”
“Do you still feel that way?Because we can stay here if you’re more comfortable.”
Alan got to his feet.He was wearing clothes he’d borrowed from Hayes.Matthew recognized the hoodie.“I’d like to go outside, actually.”
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“Why don’t you show me the village?I have a feeling I’m going to spend a lot of time here.”
“If you don’t want Victor to hurt you, probably.I’m really sorry.”
Alan shrugged.“It’s not your fault.Besides, it could have been much worse.I realize how lucky I am to have ended up here, of all places.”
He had been.If he’d taken another road, if Franklin and Matthew hadn’t been running in the area when Alan had crashed his car, if Victor had succeeded in what he’d been trying to do, Alan and Matthew might never have met.Alan might be dead right now.It wasn’t something Matthew wanted to think about too much, but neither he nor Alan could deny it.
It made Matthew want to drag his mate into his arms, but he didn’t.Instead, he waited for Alan to finish getting ready, then followed him out the door.
As soon as he stepped out, Alan stopped.He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then another.Matthew wondered if he was scared, even though the village was safe.It would be of no use to tell him again that he was protected here, so Matthew kept his mouth shut.
“So, tell me about you,” Alan eventually said as he walked down the porch steps.“How did you end up in a Nix tribe, raiding labs and helping people?”
“Well, I was one of those people once.I was kidnapped and put in a cage.I was experimented on.”
Alan stumbled and turned wide eyes to Matthew.Maybe Matthew should’ve been more careful with how he conveyed the information.He was so used to everyone around him knowing about it that he hadn’t thought about how he was speaking.
“I’m fine,” he told his mate.“I was rescued and decided to do the same for other people.It was the least I could do, especially with the ability that was forced onto me.”
“What ability?”
It looked like Alan didn’t know about the mutants yet.Matthew had thought that Hayes would have told him, but clearly not.That would fall to Matthew.He wasn’t looking forward to explaining to his mate that some people considered him a monster, but he couldn’t hide what had been done to him.He didn’t want to.His ability was part of him, and if Alan was going to be with him, he’d have to accept it.
