Chapter Two #2
Everyone had been, including Matthew. It was a stark contrast with what had happened last night at the office, and Alan wished he could focus on that instead of on Victor wanting to hurt him.
What was he supposed to do now? Where could he go to make sure Victor wouldn’t find him?
He couldn’t return to work or to his apartment.
If he didn’t have a job anymore, he wouldn’t be able to pay his rent, anyway. What was he supposed to do?
He felt a bit calmer now that Matthew was there, which made sense. It seemed like the presence of his mate helped Alan feel better. When he realized that Matthew wasn’t coming any closer, though, he frowned. Shouldn’t Matthew want to be as close to him as possible?
“Franklin, Matthew,” Rikar said as he nodded at them. “It’s good to see you.”
Matthew nodded. He was staring at Alan in a way that would’ve made Alan uncomfortable if he’d been anyone else. The bond was already working hard, wasn’t it?
“Are you okay?” Matthew asked Alan.
“Better than I expected I would be, considering everything. Thank you for saving me.”
“Franklin and I didn’t do much.”
“Maybe not, but if you hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.” Hell, he probably wouldn’t be breathing. Alan didn’t need a good imagination to know what Victor would have done to him.
That wouldn’t stop him from using the information he had on Victor. He just didn’t know how to use it yet.
“Alan, we didn’t get the opportunity to talk last night,” Rikar said. “I don’t want to push, but maybe you could tell us what happened to you. At the very least, I need to know if my tribe and my people are in danger.”
Alan snorted, then slapped a hand over his lips. “I’m sorry. I’m not making fun of you.”
Thankfully, Rikar didn’t appear angry. “I didn’t think you were.”
“It’s just that it’s ironic.”
“What is?”
“You and your tribe might be in danger, but not because of me or anything I did.”
The tension in the room skyrocketed. Alan needed to be more careful about how he said things. He didn’t want these people to think he was dangerous, but he realized that he sounded incredibly suspicious.
He glanced around the room. He didn’t know if he could trust these people, but what was he supposed to do? He was on his own. He could go to the police, but would they believe him? Victor had friends everywhere, including in most police stations.
But Alan wasn’t in a police station. He was in a tribe leader’s home, surrounded by supernatural beings—the very people Victor had hurt.
They might not know much about the labs, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t help.
Even though the village was physically isolated, he’d seen a TV in the living room yesterday when he’d first arrived, and there was a computer on Rikar’s desk.
These people were far from being in the dark about what was happening in the world around their little village.
“Would you mind expanding on that a little?” Rikar asked, sounding gentle. He was probably worried about something happening to his people, but he was still taking the time to be nice.
Alan understood how lucky he’d been. It wasn’t only because he could’ve died in the crash or after it if Victor had managed to get to him. He’d found a safe place to spend the night. He knew without having to ask that these people would protect him if Victor suddenly appeared outside the door.
Alan glanced at Matthew. Even if no one else did, Matthew definitely would. He would protect Alan because Alan was his mate.
Alan still had no idea how to feel about that.
That was a problem for later, once he was done explaining the main one.
Hopefully, the tribe wouldn’t kick him out after he was done talking.
He was bringing danger to their doorstep.
They might hate Victor for what he was doing once Alan told them, but it didn’t mean they’d want to be involved in protecting him.
It wouldn’t mean they’d want to try to stop Victor.
The village was hidden in the forest so well that Alan didn’t think Victor or the people he worked with had ever heard about it.
“You’re safe with us,” Matthew suddenly said, startling Alan out of his thoughts.
He turned to look at his mate. Matthew looked eager, but he still wasn’t coming close. Alan wanted him to, as much as he was okay with Matthew keeping his distance. It would be incredibly hard to focus if Matthew were close.
He was Alan’s mate, so of course it made sense that Matthew was Alan’s type.
He appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties—around Alan’s age—although Alan knew that with shifters, looks didn’t mean much when it came to age.
Matthew could be twenty just like he could be sixty, but it didn’t matter because he looked in his thirties.
Which was a stark contrast with his white hair. Alan had thought it was blond yesterday in the dark, but today, he could see that wasn’t the case. Matthew’s short hair wasn’t blond. It was completely white. Alan wanted to ask how and if Matthew dyed it, but he didn’t dare.
Matthew was taller than Alan, which wasn’t hard since Alan was only five feet nine. He was slender and looked strong, and Alan could think of nothing better than to snuggle into his arms. Instead, he was sitting in an armchair, watching him.
Alan hated his life right now.
He wanted to find Victor and shake him. He wanted to demand an explanation and to ask why Victor had done it. He wanted Victor to pay for what he’d done, but he also wanted to believe he’d misunderstood the situation.
He hadn’t. Whatever Victor was up to, he was hurting people.
He was doing it for money, which made it even worse.
Alan wanted to stop him, and he couldn’t do that on his own.
That meant he’d have to accept the help the people who’d found him yesterday were offering.
He didn’t know if he was safe with them, but they hadn’t hurt him, and Matthew was his mate.
He wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Alan, not even people he cared about.
Besides, Alan didn’t want to believe that his mate, a man who was supposedly perfect for him, would hang around people who would hurt him.
If Matthew was here, it meant Alan was safe.
He had to be.
* * * *
ALAN WAS LOST IN HIS thoughts. Matthew didn’t blame him. Considering what had happened to him yesterday—and Matthew guessed he didn’t even know the half of it—it wasn’t a surprise. Matthew would have wanted a little respite if he’d been in Alan’s place, too.
The problem was that they didn’t know what happened to Alan. They didn’t know if he was still in danger or if the tribe was now that he was there. That was why they needed Alan to explain what was going on, but he wasn’t talking.
Matthew exchanged a glance with Franklin.
Franklin tilted his chin in Alan’s direction, but Matthew wasn’t sure that getting involved would be a good idea.
He’d been keeping his distance from his mate because he didn’t know if Alan would be comfortable with him getting closer.
Something had to change. Rikar was ready to spring into action if whatever Alan told them made it necessary. He just needed more information.
Matthew cleared his throat. It startled Alan out of his thoughts, and he blinked around the room, looking slightly confused. “I’ll tell you what happened, but I’m not sure why you want to know. It’s not your problem.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Matthew told him. “You’re my mate. That makes it my problem, and since I’m part of this tribe, it makes it the tribe’s problem, too.”
Alan grimaced. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble or put anyone in danger.”
“We’re doing so willingly,” Rikar explained gently. “Matthew’s right. Through him, you’re now one of our tribe members. It doesn’t mean you have to move in with the tribe or anything like that, but it does mean that we’ll protect you.”
“Why?” Alan asked, sounding confused.
“Because you getting hurt would hurt Matthew, and Matthew is one of us. Now, you don’t have to tell us everything, but I need to know if someone is coming for you. It’s the only way I can protect my people.”
Alan hesitated, then shook his head. “I don’t think he even knows about the village.”
“Who is he?”
Alan sucked in a breath. “My boss, Victor Hudson.”
The name was familiar, but Matthew couldn’t quite place it. It wasn’t a surprise since he didn’t keep up with the news. He had plenty of things to worry about without doing that, too.
“The activist?” Hayes asked.
Matthew was glad for his presence there.
He wasn’t only showing Alan that he had support.
He was the tribe leader’s mate. Hayes had never wanted any kind of authority, but he was bonded to Rikar, and that meant something to the tribe.
It meant something to Matthew, too. He was glad that one of the people in charge of the tribe was a friend.
Alan nodded. “That’s him.”
“Why is he coming after you?” Matthew asked. “Because whoever was driving that car wanted to hurt you.”
“I don’t know what he was trying to do. I heard a conversation between him and someone else, and he doesn’t want me to tell anyone about it.”
“What kind of conversation?”
Alan hesitated again. Matthew wished he could move closer, but he didn’t want to scare his mate or make him uncomfortable. He didn’t know what Alan was willing to accept from him, but they hadn’t talked yet. He wasn’t going to risk pushing his mate away because he was impatient.
“I know we can promise you that you’ll be safe here as many times as we want, and it doesn’t make it true,” Matthew said. “But if you can trust me on one thing, it’s that I’m going to keep you safe, no matter what.”
“Because I’m your mate.”
It wasn’t a question, but Matthew nodded anyway. “Because it’s the right thing to do since you’re not our enemy, but yes, mainly because you’re my mate. I won’t let anything happen to you, and I definitely won’t let anyone hurt you.”