Chapter Four
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MATTHEW LANDED ON HIS back. The air whooshed out of his lungs, but he didn’t let that stop him. He scrambled back to his feet, then stood in front of Franklin, waiting for him to attack again.
Franklin shook his head. “It’s not fun when you’re distracted.”
“I’m not distracted.”
“You’re so distracted that you didn’t even see me coming.”
He was right. When Matthew had agreed to train with Franklin, he hadn’t realized it would be so hard for him to focus. Instead of thinking about how to get the upper hand, he kept thinking about Alan.
How was he supposed not to? Alan was in every one of Matthew’s thoughts. He was Matthew’s mate. Of course Matthew was thinking about him.
“I get it,” Franklin said as he lowered his arms and stepped closer.
“Do you? You haven’t found your mate yet.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t understand what it’s like to be distracted. I know how it feels to have all of your thoughts focused on one person, or two, in my case. I get it. You have to be careful, though.”
Matthew wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. “You’re annoyed because I’m not paying attention.”
“That, too. If we’re going to train, we need to do it seriously. I won’t let anyone in those labs or a hunter get the upper hand because I was too distracted.”
He was right, and knowing that made Matthew feel guilty.
He needed to train. If he was going to go on more raids—and he was, even with the enforcers now helping—he needed to keep his focus on what was happening.
He couldn’t afford for the hunters or whoever he’d find in front of him to have the upper hand.
He had every intention of coming home to Alan, and he wouldn’t be able to do that if he got distracted and lost a fight.
Except that he wasn’t sure he’d be coming home to Alan.
He and Alan hadn’t talked yet, but even though right now, Alan couldn’t go home, things wouldn’t be that way forever.
Alan had talked to the enforcers. He’d told them about Victor and what he’d heard, and Dante had promised to contact the council and tell them about it.
For now, Alan was still stuck at the village, but what would happen when he wasn’t?
He’d go home. He had to miss his place, his things, and his family. Being with the tribe meant that he was safe, but this wasn’t Alan’s real life. Eventually, he’d want to go back to it, and where would that leave Matthew?
Alan probably wouldn’t stay at the village, but Matthew couldn’t leave it.
This wasn’t only where his family lived and where he had a home.
He was a mutant. He didn’t belong in the outside world anymore.
He wasn’t dangerous, but he wouldn’t hide who he was, which meant staying with people who already knew.
Going out there would be too dangerous for him.
If the wrong people found out what he could do, he’d be in trouble.
He was already in trouble. It was a different kind of trouble, but trouble nonetheless. This relationship stuff was more complicated than he’d expected, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. Part of him had thought that if he ever met his mate, everything would be easy and smooth.
He’d been wrong.
Something hit his arm. It wasn’t hard, but he still turned to glare at Franklin. The man stood in front of him, a little scowl on his face, still holding the towel he’d used against Matthew.
Matthew sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Franklin nodded, then hesitated. “I know we’re not exactly friends, but if you need to talk about what’s on your mind, I’m willing to listen.”
Matthew wasn’t sure he’d call them friends yet, either, but he liked Franklin, and he wanted the man to feel like he had something here at the village.
Matthew wasn’t sure what Franklin would do once he found his siblings, but hopefully, he’d be sticking around for a while.
Hell, depending on what had happened to his brother and his sister, they might decide to stay at the village permanently.
Some people were wary of Franklin because of what he’d done to find his siblings, but not Matthew.
Matthew understood that Franklin was willing to do whatever it took to find the people he loved.
He’d lost people when he was in the labs.
He’d had to watch them be hurt and die, and that wasn’t something he would get over anytime soon.
It might not be the same because he hadn’t been related to them, but he hadn’t loved them any less.
All of them had lost people. All of them had learned to deal with grief and loss.
If there was any way for Franklin to avoid having to do that more than he already had, then Matthew was all for helping him.
He was also all for becoming his friend.
Even if Franklin ended up leaving, he needed support right now.
Matthew grabbed his towel from where he’d dropped it next to the mat. He used it on his face and shoulders, taking his time. He wasn’t sure where to start.
“Alan and I haven’t talked yet,” he said.
“You’ve been spending quite a lot of time together.”
“We’ve been getting to know each other. We haven’t talked about what comes next for us, though, and that’s what scares me. He’s not from here.”
Franklin frowned. “You mean he’s not from the village?”
“Yeah.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that most of the people who live here aren’t from the village.”
“You’re right. This was initially a Nix tribe. Everyone else came later, after the tribe started rescuing people.”
“Okay, so not being from here doesn’t mean he can’t stay.”
“But why would he want to stay? His life is out there. He can’t go home right now, but eventually, he’ll be able to.”
“And you think he’ll leave you behind.”
“Why wouldn’t he? Being with me is a complication for him. His life isn’t here.”
“But you are.”
“Would that be enough?”
“Let me get this straight. You’ve been distracted because you’ve been thinking about Alan leaving?”
“I have.”
“But you haven’t talked to him about it?”
“Not yet.”
Franklin rolled his eyes. “Then what are you waiting for? You want a relationship with him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Then talk to him. That’s how good relationships work. You talk to your partner, find out what they want, and try hard to give it to them if it’s something you can do. You’re worrying that Alan might leave, but he might be worried that you don’t want him to stay.”
Matthew frowned. “Why wouldn’t I want him to stay? He’s my mate.”
“He’s also human. More than that, this situation is anything but normal. Everything in his life is a mess right now. He could use a little honesty from his mate.”
Matthew opened his mouth to tell Franklin that he’d been nothing but honest since he’d met Alan, but his phone started vibrating. He leaned down to pick it up in case it was Alan, but it wasn’t. No, it was Rikar, telling him that Morin and Nysys were on their way.
“You have to go?” Franklin asked.
“Actually, not really. What’s happening isn’t really my business.”
Franklin snorted. “And I’m the Pope. As long as Alan’s involved, you are, too. Go if you have to.”
“You’re sure?” Matthew desperately wanted to go, but he wasn’t about to abandon his friend.”
Franklin looked around the gym. “I’m sure. I’ll stay around for a little bit longer before going home. Don’t worry about me and focus on your mate.”
He didn’t have to say it twice. Matthew grabbed his stuff and rushed toward the showers, cursing for even having to waste the time.
He wasn’t about to subject the people who would be in the room with him to how he smelled after training, though.
He was pretty sure Moore would kick him out of Rikar’s office if he tried.
Thankfully, Rikar had warned him ahead of time, so Morin and Nysys weren’t there yet when he reached Rikar’s house after showering.
Alan was, though, tucked in a corner of Rikar’s office.
He visibly relaxed when he saw Matthew, and while Matthew told himself not to hope too much, how could he stop himself from doing just that?
It was clear that Alan was happy to see him, even if it was only because he wanted support.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Alan murmured.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Matthew whispered back. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed the top of Alan’s head. Alan blinked up at him, but before he could ask what Matthew was doing, two men appeared at the center of the room.
“Did you guys miss me?” Nysys asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Matthew heard Moore sigh from where he was on the other side of the room. He snickered. This was going to be fun.
* * * *
ALAN LIKED NYSYS. HE was incredibly colorful, but it wasn’t only that.
Even though he was bonded to Morin—who kind of scared Alan considering who he was—Nysys was easy-going and always had a smile for everyone.
He’d made Alan feel comfortable the last time they’d seen each other, even though he didn’t know him.
He’d been as outraged as Morin when he’d heard about Victor working with their company, but he hadn’t gotten angry or made Alan feel like he should’ve kept his mouth shut.
He was a nice guy, and Alan had been surprised to find out that he was a council member.
He didn’t seem like the type, but it wasn’t a bad thing.
In fact, it was a very good thing. Maybe the council needed more people like Nysys so it would work even better.
But it was obvious that not everyone knew what to do with Nysys.
Moore, who was technically Matthew’s boss, looked like he wanted to run out of the room as soon as Nysys appeared.
The only reason he didn’t was probably that he wanted to find out what the fuck was happening with Victor. They all did.
“Thank you for coming back so quickly,” Rikar said with a smile. “I hope it means you found something?”
Nysys pouted. “Do we really have to go straight to business? I thought we’d have a little fun first.”