“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 WANTEDto 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.
But he’d been the one to create this mess.If he hadn’t worked for the Glass Research Company, his mate wouldn’t be keeping distance between them.At the same time, he might never have met Franklin, so he wasn’t sure he could fully regret working for the company.
What he did regret was hurting people.He’d been a coward and had kept his mouth shut for way too long.In return, the Glass Research Company had hurt him, tortured him, and forced him to do the same to others.He still had nightmares to remind him of every single second of that, and he hated it.That was why he wanted to put an end to the company, and helping the mutants and Franklin was the only way to obtain that.
At least Franklin was listening now.It was clear he felt like he didn’t need Reed, and maybe he didn’t, but Reed wouldn’t take the risk.He wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt his mate if he could stop it, and right now, the only way that he could do that was to give Franklin every bit of information he had.By the time they were done, Franklin would know the name of every single guard who worked in the facility.He’d know about every scientist and what kind of experiments they did.He’d know about the prisoners and what state they were in.
Reed swallowed.That probably meant that he’d have to tell Franklin what had happened to Garrett in more detail, which wasn’t something he wanted to do.Not only shouldn’t Franklin hear that because Garrett was his brother, but Reed had been part of that.He’d hurt Garrett, and even though he hadn’t done so willingly, he felt like telling Franklin about it would link him to Garrett’s pain.
There was no other option, though.He needed to be honest.
He also needed Franklin to understand the risks.Reed had seen too many people go into that facility thinking they were prepared, only to break down when faced with the reality of what happened there.The screams, the smell of fear and pain, the way the prisoners looked at you with either hope or despair—it was hard to take.Reed knew that better than anyone.He didn’t want Franklin to be unprepared for what he’d see, especially when it came to Garrett.The brother Franklin remembered might not be the same person anymore, and that would hurt worse than anything else.
He looked down at his hands and swallowed again.His mouth was completely dry.“I think it’s time for me to tell you about Garrett.”
“I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I should’ve told you right from the beginning, but I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
“And you’re sure now?”
“I’m not, but if you’re going to go in there, you’ll see your brother.You need to know what that means.”
“Why are you trying so hard to save him?Why him and not any of the other prisoners?”
Reed wasn’t surprised that Franklin was asking this question.“I do want to save every prisoner.I want the guards and the scientists to pay for what they’ve done.I want the Glass Research Company to be taken down, once and for all.”Even though, from what Moore had said, the current owner was just as horrified as anyone else to learn what still happened in his company.As far as Reed was concerned, evil had taken root too deeply and too long ago for it ever to be eradicated.The company needed to be destroyed, and he hoped that the owner saw things the same way.All these years, he’d tried changing things, and he’d failed.He wasn’t going to succeed anytime soon.
No one would.
“I wouldn’t say that Garrett and I became friends, but we were forced to spend a lot of time together,” Reed said.
“You mean when you were hurting him?”
Reed wasn’t about to look Franklin in the eyes as he answered these questions.Hell, he wished he could leave, but he knew better than to try.Besides, Franklin deserved answers.It wasn’t going to change anything.By the end of this, he’d still hate Reed.“Mostly, yes.He knew that I didn’t want to do what I was forced to do.He told me that he understood and to do as I was ordered.He didn’t want me to get hurt.”
“Yet you hurt him.”
“Not because I wanted to.When I could, I also helped him.”
