Chapter Four
“Let’s go over the blueprints again,” Reed declared as he leaned over the papers on the kitchen table.
Franklin couldn’t do anything but watch him.
When he’d volunteered to infiltrate the facility, he’d known he would have to work with his mate.
He hadn’t realized that Moore would stick them together the way he had, but then, he hadn’t expected the mutant to want to play matchmaker.
It didn’t feel like he was the kind of person to do that, but apparently, Franklin had been wrong.
No matter what Moore thought of him and Reed, it was clear that he wanted them to spend as much time together as possible, and what better way to convince Franklin to do that than to use his siblings?
He knew that Franklin wouldn’t say no because he’d do anything in his power to save Garrett.
Honestly, Franklin was impressed. He hadn’t expected it from Moore, and he wasn’t sure what Moore was trying to do or why he wanted Franklin to get closer to Reed, but he supposed he’d find out eventually.
It seemed odd to him that Moore had any interest in Franklin and Reed being together.
He barely knew Franklin, and he knew Reed even less.
Reed had worked in the lab as a technician.
There was no way Moore and Rikar wanted him anywhere near the tribe.
Or maybe they did. Maybe they hoped that having him around would give them more information and help them take down the remaining labs. Moore had said that was what they were aiming for. Franklin hoped they’d succeed. Hell, he’d even help if they found both Garrett and Leah.
His siblings were his priorities. They came before anything and anyone, including Reed and Franklin’s confused feelings about him.
Did he want to get closer to his mate? Of course he did.
Every fiber of his being, especially his lion, was pushing him to do just that.
He couldn’t help but wonder what his siblings would think when they found out that Reed was Franklin’s mate.
Would they be horrified? Garrett knew Reed, but Franklin had no idea about Leah.
What would she think about Franklin’s mate having worked for the company that was responsible for what had happened to her?
What would she think about Franklin having worked for them?
Franklin would never do anything to hurt either of his siblings, and if he had to give up his mate to ensure they were safe and happy, he would.
That didn’t mean his heart didn’t break at the thought. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about meeting his mate these past few years because he’d been focused on other things that were much more important, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to accept losing the bond.
The truth was, Franklin had always assumed he’d find his mate somewhere safe—at a bar, through mutual friends, maybe at the grocery store like some cliché romance.
He’d never imagined it would be like this, with so much pain and history between them even before they met.
He’d never imagined his mate would be someone who’d hurt his brother, even if it hadn’t been by choice.
The worst part was that Franklin could see the guilt eating Reed alive. He could see how much Reed hated himself for what he’d done. That made it harder to hate him, and Franklin wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Franklin?” Reed asked, making Franklin realize that he’d been distracted.
He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to focus when Reed was so close to him and could smell him.
He wanted nothing more than to pull his mate into his arms, which was why he was literally sitting on his hands right now.
He was pretty sure that Reed had noticed him slipping his hands under his thighs earlier, but he hadn’t said anything about it.
Franklin hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t need to add humiliation to the list of feelings he was having right now.
“You realize I’ve already done this, right?” he asked. “I’ve worked in several facilities. I know what I’m looking for and how to be inconspicuous. I don’t need your help for that.”
Reed didn’t look impressed. “You might not feel like you need my help, but I don’t think that Moore will let you go anywhere unless you accept it. If you want to get into that lab, you’ll work with me.”
Franklin wasn’t surprised that was how Reed felt, but he didn’t want Reed to realize that. He didn’t want Reed to realize a lot of things. “You have no authority over me,” he pointed out.
“I never said I did. Moore does. One word from him, and you’re not going anywhere. If I tell him that I don’t think this is a good idea and that you’ll get hurt if you do it, I’m sure he’ll put an end to it.”
Franklin stared. He knew that Reed had to have a spine of steel to survive what he’d survived and to continue spying on the facility even after he’d escaped, but he was still impressed. It was another thing he didn’t want Reed to realize, though.
“I’m listening,” he said, even though part of him wanted to snap back. He understood why Reed was so focused on keeping him safe, though. He might not be a shifter, but he had to be feeling the mate bond. Franklin certainly did.
He wasn’t sure if he liked it or if he hated it.
Reed nodded once. “Let’s continue. This is the break room where the guards like to spend time,” he said, pointing to a spot on the blueprints.
“Depending on how long you’ll have to work there, you’ll spend a lot of time in this room.
I don’t know if you’ll be able to befriend the guards, but from what I remember, several of them have big mouths.
They’re proud of the work they do and that the higher-ups trust them, and they don’t waste one opportunity to brag about it. ”
“I know to be careful,” Franklin said. “But surely there are guards who dislike it. There always are.” Franklin had never approached any of them because he hadn’t wanted to risk it, but it was always good to know who was in the job because they enjoyed it and who was just trying to earn a living.
Most of those people disliked what happened in the facilities.
Just like Reed had, they couldn’t leave their job.
“Some of them will probably look the other way if they see you do something like giving one of the prisoners water or food, but you have to be careful. The others won’t hesitate to hand you over if it means having a little prestige.
When I say that they enjoy the job, I mean it.
They feel righteous. They think they’re doing humanity a favor, not only by locking up shifters, but by using them.
The people who work at the facility are good at what they do, but also at lying.
Some of them might think they’re doing something good and looking for cures for illnesses, but I’m sure you know as well as I do that it’s all a lie.
What they’re doing is creating mutants. Weapons. ”
“Is that what you are?” Franklin asked softly. “A weapon?”
Reed looked away. He looked out of place in Franklin’s small kitchen, but inviting him over had been easier than sitting at Moore’s kitchen table. Franklin had been able to feel Moore watching them, and it had made him uncomfortable.
“It’s what I was used for,” Reed said. “No matter what I did or didn’t want to do, I didn’t have a choice. I was used as a weapon because that’s what I was created to be.”
“You weren’t created to be anything. What happened to you was an accident.”
“It was, but as soon as the people there realized what had happened, they used me like they used all the other mutants. I was a weapon. I was forced to hurt people, including your brother.”
Franklin believed that Reed had, but he suspected that the reason Reed kept telling him about it was a way for him to keep Franklin at arm’s length.
Franklin wasn’t sure why he wanted to do that.
He was human, so maybe he didn’t want a mate, but maybe there was also more to it.
Maybe he was trying to keep some distance between them because he didn’t want to be hurt.
Franklin had no idea. He hadn’t talked to Reed about them being mates, and he wasn’t planning to right now. He couldn’t help but wonder, though.
What did Reed think about being his mate?
Did he want something to happen between them, or was he horrified?
He didn’t strike Franklin as someone who hated shifters, no matter what he’d done while he was working at the facility.
There was no way for Franklin to know for sure, unfortunately.
He wasn’t about to ask because it would be too easy for Reed to lie.
But he was curious. Once this mess was over, was there a chance for something more to happen between them? Did Reed want that?
Did Franklin?
* * * *
REED DESPERATELY WANTED to protect his mate, but he knew that telling Franklin to stay away from the facility wasn’t going to change anything.
Franklin would say no, and he might even get angry, which was the last thing Reed wanted.
He needed to stay on his mate’s good side so he wouldn’t be excluded from this.
Moore had said that he wanted him involved, but Reed suspected that was only so that Reed and Franklin would have a chance.
He wasn’t sure why Moore cared about that, but he supposed that if Moore was close to Franklin, he’d want Franklin to be happy, and as a shifter, he’d known that would happen if Franklin was with his mate.
Reed wasn’t sure that was the case. So far, Franklin didn’t seem to want anything to do with him.
He hadn’t been rude or anything like that, but it was clear that he was in this for Garrett.
If it wasn’t for his brother, he probably wouldn’t be anywhere near Reed, and Reed wasn’t sure how to feel about that beyond sad.