There was an easy way to make that happen, but Alan brushed the thought away.Now wasn’t the time to think about bonding.He was pretty sure that Matthew would say yes if Alan asked, though.Alan could see it in the way Matthew looked at him.
“Come home with me tonight,” Matthew said.
Alan didn’t even hesitate.“All right.
Chapter Five
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MATTHEW WOKE UP FIRST, and as soon as he did, his attention went to his mate.Alan was curled up next to him, still asleep.He was relaxed, the lines of tension in his expression finally smoothed out.Matthew was glad.Alan had been stressed since he’d arrived at the village, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
Alan had slept through the night, but it hadn’t been peaceful.He’d rolled back and forth, had pulled at the blankets, and had kept Matthew awake.Matthew hadn’t had it in him to wake him up or to try to stop him from moving.Alan needed his rest, considering what he was about to do.
He was meeting Victor today.Matthew wished there was something he could say to make Alan change his mind, but he wasn’t going to try.Alan had already made his decision.Matthew was going to support him, not try to stop him.This was important to Alan.Hell, it was important to all of them.They needed to stop Victor, and if Matthew thought about it rationally, he could admit that this was the best way to do that.
Victor knew Alan.He knew that Alan was human and that he wouldn’t be able to defend himself from him.There was also the company to consider.They’d want to make sure that Alan couldn’t talk about what they were up to, so if Victor didn’t do anything to stop him, they would.The only way to keep Alan safe was to do this because, as much as Matthew wanted to keep Alan in the village forever so that nothing and no one could touch him, he wasn’t going to keep his mate a prisoner.
He sighed and reached out to brush a strand of hair away from Alan’s face.He should have known this would be complicated.Not one of his friends had met their mate in a relaxed and normal situation.He didn’t think they couldbein a relaxed and normal situation.They’d been on the run most of their lives, and now that they weren’t, they’d made it their job to save people and destroy the labs.There was nothing relaxed about that.
But Alan deserved to be able to slow down.He deserved to feel safe.He deserved not to have all of his hard work used to hurt people.Alan was angry, which Matthew understood.He was even proud of his mate for wanting to do something about it.
At the same time, he was panicking at the thought of something happening to his mate.
He wanted to wake up in the same bed as Alan for the rest of his life.But he also wanted Alan to be at the village because he wanted to, and not because he didn’t have a choice.They had a lot of things to talk about, and hopefully, they’d have plenty of time to do it, but what if they didn’t?
“I swear, I can see the smoke coming out of your ears,” Alan muttered without opening his eyes.
Matthew smiled.“Oh?”
“What are you thinking so hard about?”Alan finally blinked his eyes open.The first thing he did was glare at Matthew.“You’re disturbing my sleep.”
“By thinking too hard?”
“Yes.You’ve gone all tense.It’s like trying to sleep next to a log.”
Matthew had to resist the urge to laugh.His mate sounded adorably grumpy.“I’m sorry.”He reached out and stroked a hand down Alan’s arm.“I was thinking.”
“That’s what I said.You think too hard.”Alan stared at Matthew for a moment before sighing.“And I know what you’re thinking about.The meeting with Victor, right?”
“I’m just worried.”
“You’re not the only one.Trust me, there’s nothing I want less than to see Victor.I considered him a friend, but he never was, and I don’t know what to do with that.I don’t know what to do with any of this.”
“You don’t have to know.”
“It’s hard.How am I supposed to trust anyone after what he did?I thought he cared about me.”
“You can trust me.I’m your mate, and I would never betray you.”
“I know.”
Matthew liked that Alan didn’t hesitate.He did know.He was convinced that Matthew would never do anything to hurt him, and he was right.Matthew would rather kill himself.
“And I can’t tell you not to worry because I’m worried, too,” Alan continued.“But I have to believe I’ll be okay.”
“You will be.I’ll be there, and I won’t be the only one.”Nysys had wanted to be present, but everyone had turned him down.They didn’t need him there.They had plenty of Nix who could shimmer straight to Alan’s side if Victor tried anything.Matthew wasn’t sure he trusted the enforcers, but all of them could fight.That included their Nix, and shewouldbe there.
It still didn’t feel like enough, even though Matthew knew that it was.He just wanted to bundle him up and keep him safe.No one would blame him if he told them that.Even Alan would understand.That didn’t mean it would stop him, unfortunately.Nothing would, which meant that the only thing Matthew could do was reassure himself and Alan that things would be okay.
