He sighed and leaned against the counter.He missed them fiercely.Most days, he felt like he was walking around with a hole in his chest.They weren’t supposed to be separated.They were supposed to be close, see each other every week or so at their mom’s, build their lives, and spend the holidays together.
They had none of that.Their mother was gone, and Garrett and Leah were who knew where.The only one who was free was Franklin, but was he actually free?Because he didn’t feel like it.
He felt like he’d been trapped since the twins had been taken and their mother killed.He didn’t know how to get out of that trap.He was pretty sure that the only way would be to get his siblings back, and he’d been doing everything he could to do that, but he didn’t even know where they were.
He would find them, though.He wouldn’t have it any other way.
He pushed away from the counter and got to work putting his groceries in the fridge and cupboards.He liked the small cottage he’d been given.He didn’t have to pay rent, but Rikar had warned him that it would need a little work, and he hadn’t been lying.The structure was solid, but it was clear that no one had lived here in a while.Franklin had done a lot of cleaning in the few weeks since he’d moved in, and while it would be nice to do some renovations, he was happy with the state of the place now.He wanted this place to be a home for Garrett and Leah, and that meant he needed to make it one.
He wanted to eat something, so he started getting everything together to cook, but his phone rang, interrupting him.No one ever called him, so he was a little confused until he saw Moore’s name on the screen.This could either mean that he was being kicked out of the village or that something had happened.
Franklin really hoped it was the second option.
His mouth went dry as he answered.“Moore,” he said, hoping he sounded calm.
“Franklin.How are you doing?”
“Good.Is there anything I can do for you?”Franklin wanted to know why Moore was calling him.It was unusual enough to tell him something was off, but he didn’t know what.
“We just got an email,” Moore explained.“We’re still looking into it, but the person who contacted us mentions someone named Garrett who’s in a lab right now.”
Franklin’s heart felt like it stopped beating.He was sure it didn’t since he could still hear his blood pumping loudly in his ears, but he definitely stopped breathing for a second there.
He sucked in a breath.“Is it my Garrett?”
“We can only assume that it is.This person wants to help save a shifter named Garrett.It could be a coincidence since the name is pretty common, but it also might be your brother, which is why I’m calling.If this is your Garrett, you need to be involved.”
It would’ve been easy for Moore to decide to keep Franklin out of this.There was no way that Moore trusted Franklin, no matter how friendly he behaved.Franklin didn’t blame him, and he didn’t really care, to be honest.He didn’t need people to trust him.He just needed to find his siblings.
But he was glad for the opportunity he’d been given.He had a home and support now, something he’d always gone without.A lot of people in the village might not want him here, but it didn’t matter.Hewashere, and Moore had just contacted him with news about his brother.Franklin wouldn’t have found out any of this if he hadn’t moved in with the tribe.
“You should come over to my house,” Moore said.“We’re having a meeting.We’ve emailed back and forth with this person, and they’ve agreed to help.”
“Do we trust them?”
Moore snorted softly.“I don’t think that’s the right question to ask.Whether we trust them or not, we have to do something.We can’t let anyone go through what this person is describing in their email.”
Franklin swallowed.“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not, but you should.It can wait until you get here, though.”
Moore hung up, leaving Franklin to stare at the food on his counter.He wasn’t hungry anymore, so he put everything away, went to the bathroom to freshen up, then grabbed his phone and left the house.
The village was small, but he still had to walk to the other side of it to reach Moore’s house.He could feel people watching him, and normally, it would’ve hurt him, but right now, he didn’t care.Every single thought of his was focused on Garrett.
Franklin told himself not to hope.The person who’d emailed Moore might have gotten the name wrong, but even if they hadn’t, Moore was right.Garrett was a pretty common name, so that didn’t mean that they were talking about Franklin’s brother.
There was a chance they were.There was a chance this was Franklin’s Garrett, and if it was, it meant that Franklin had never been so close to getting his brother back.The thought made his heart race.He’d been focused for so long on making this happen, but he hadn’t really planned on what he’d do once he did have the twins with him again.He’d found a safe place for them to heal, but beyond that, he had no plans.
It looked like he might have to start making some.
He wasn’t surprised to see that a bunch of people had already arrived at Moore’s house when he got there.Moore’s mate, Jolyn, waved him in and guided him to the living room.Sure enough, most of the seats were already occupied.Franklin recognized almost everyone, but his focus went to Moore almost instantly.That meant that he could easily ignore that everyone else was staring at him.
“What do we know?”he asked.
Moore was standing next to the couch, talking to Rikar.He didn’t tell Franklin to sit down.Instead, he turned to face him.“The person signs their email with the name Reed.We don’t know who they are, but they seem to know quite a bit about Garrett and the facility he’s possibly being kept in.”He hesitated and glanced at Rikar.“From what the email says, we don’t have much time.”
That didn’t sound good.“Has something happened to my brother?Is he hurt?”
