Page 20 of Hansen

Hansen put down his wooden spoon and turned to face his mate.He leaned against the counter, trying to find the right words even though he knew they didn’t exist.

“You were in the same lab as Davey was until he managed to escape,” he said.

Evan nodded.He picked up a picture frame that held a photo of Hansen and the other mutants.It had been taken right after they’d moved to the village, and they all looked happy.

“Davey was already a mutant by the time he escaped,” Hansen continued.“We don’t know if they did whatever they did to Davey to you, too, but there’s a good chance they did.”Hansen swallowed.He seldom talked about these things, and he wished he didn’t have to, but this was Evan.“From what we were able to understand by putting our stories together, most of the mutants have passed through one specific lab.”

“The one where Davey and I were,” Evan offered.

“Yeah.We don’t know if it was the only lab that did those kinds of experiments, but there’s a chance it was.”

“Which means that I’m probably a mutant.”Evan put down the picture frame.“Why don’t I know for sure?Davey does.Shouldn’t I know?”

“It really depends on what your ability is.Some are more obvious, like Matthew’s, who controls electricity.I knew something was different with me after I escaped from the lab, but I didn’t know what that something was until I thought someone was following me and freaked out.They were alarmed when I suddenly disappeared from in front of them.”

“You mentioned a cloaking ability.”

“I don’t turn invisible.If someone really tries looking for me, they can find me, but when we’re fighting hunters, they don’t have the time to focus on me that way.They also don’t expect me to be there, which makes things easier.”

“So you think I probably have some kind of ability but don’t know about yet.”

“I think it’s a strong possibility, yes.You don’t have to know what you can do, though.You can just ignore all of it until it presents itself.”

Evan looked as though he wasn’t impressed with that suggestion.“I need to know if I’m dangerous.”He hesitated and licked his lips.“I think I’m ready to reach out to my family.”

Hansen knew a bit about that situation.Davey had confessed that he’d never contacted his family or Evan’s after he escaped from the lab.He’d been focused on finding Evan and feeling guilty about leaving him behind, and he hadn’t wanted Evan’s family to feel like he was responsible for what had happened.

Maybe now that Evan was back, both Evan and Davey could get their families back.Hansen hoped so.Family was what made life worth living.

“Whatever you need from me, I’ll give it to you,” Hansen promised.

To his surprise, Evan huffed and moved toward him.Hansen didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t Evan hooking an arm around his neck and pulling him closer so he could press their lips together.

“You shouldn’t be this perfect,” Evan grumbled.

He didn’t move away, and Hansen didn’t want him to.“I’m really not.”

“I don’t know.You look pretty perfect to me.”

Since Evan had taken the first step, Hansen decided to take the next.He pulled Evan closer, making sure he could move away if he didn’t want this.Evan stayed where he was.He tilted his face and smiled at Hansen, and it was the most natural thing in the world to lean down and kiss him again.

It was soft and gentle, and it was everything Hansen wanted Evan to have.It was the first chapter in what he hoped would be a long love story between them.

It was perfection.It wasthem.

Chapter Four

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EVAN HAD ALMOST CHANGEDhis mind a dozen times.Was he really doing this?Was he really about to knock on his parents’ door?

He stared at the house where he’d grown up.They still lived here.The house looked the same, even though some things were different.There were more flowers in the front yard now.Someone had put a bench there, and Evan could tell his mother spent a lot of time outside.He wondered if she’d started gardening after he vanished.Maybe she needed something to distract herself.

“We can still go back,” Davey said as he leaned closer.

They’d asked Teddy, one of the mutants, to shimmer them here.He’d agreed without hesitation.Evan hadn’t been surprised.All the mutants were incredibly supportive of him.They understood what he’d gone through.

No one had been more supportive than Hansen, not even Davey, and that was okay.It was how it should be.Davey’s life was with Orion, and he shouldn’t focus on Evan.Evan had his own mate who did that.

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