Page 2 of Hansen (Mutants #7)

“I’m really sorry. My father forced me to become a hunter, and I didn’t feel I had a way out. For a long time, I didn’t. I was a kid, and I would have died out there on my own.”

“So you hurt people.”

“I did. I also tried to help as many of them as I could. I got hurt in the process, which is how I ended up with the tribe.”

Evan had no idea what Orion was talking about. “The tribe?”

“They’re a bunch of supernatural people who help guys like you who were captured and hurt. Mostly, they raid the labs and help the survivors.”

“I was in a lab once.”

Evan licked his lips.

He wished he had some water, but he doubted that Orion’s father would give him anything even if he asked for it.

He’d probably hit Evan if he dared try. “I was there for a long time. They moved me around, but the facilities were all the same. They hurt me every time.”

“If I’d met you sooner, I would’ve helped you get away.”

“To your tribe?”

Evan wasn’t sure he believed that. He’d lost hope a long time ago. No one was coming to rescue him. The only person who had was Davey, and he had no way to find Evan. Even Evan didn’t know where they were.

“Yeah. I know it sounds weird, but the village became home after they helped me and my brother. My brother found his mate there.”

It sounded so easy that Evan wanted to believe it. He hoped that Orion wasn’t lying to him and that a place like that really existed. “And that was all it took? They didn’t care that you were hunters?”

“Oh, it hasn’t been easy, and I don’t expect it to be in the future. Most tribe members don’t trust us, and I don’t blame them. Some do, though. Some believed us when we explained that we were forced into it. I know you think it’s an excuse, and it probably is a bit, but when you’re fourteen and your father tells you that you have to kill someone because it’s your duty and that the people we’re fighting are monsters, you do what you’re told.”

“You’re not fourteen,”

Evan pointed out.

“I’m definitely not. I used to do everything my father told me because I was terrified of him and what would happen if I didn’t, but as I grew up, I tried to help more people than I hurt. Sometimes, I didn’t have a choice, but when I did, I always chose to help people. I still do.”

Orion hesitated. Evan wondered why, but he didn’t have to wonder for long.

“You wouldn’t happen to know someone named Davey, would you?”

Orion asked.

Evan stared. There was only one way for Orion to know that name. There was only one way for him to connect Evan to Davey’s name. “You know him?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s the same guy. He’s my mate.”

Well, shit. Evan had expected Orion to confirm that he knew Davey, but that? What the fuck was Evan supposed to do with that?

HANSEN WAS JOLTED AWAKE by his phone vibrating on his nightstand. He blindly looked for it, almost knocking it to the floor before wrapping his fingers around it.

“—lo?”

“Something happened. We need everyone at Moore’s place,”

Olga said in an urgent tone, telling Hansen she wasn’t kidding.

“I’ll be right there.”

Hansen hung up and shot out of bed. He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but the alcohol had left his system, and he felt good enough to fight.

Because that was why Olga had called him. Whatever had happened, she and Moore needed all hands on deck.

Hansen wasn’t surprised to find most of the lights in Moore’s house were on when he got there and even less surprised to see that almost all of their little group was there. It was a crowd, but they made it work.

Moore glanced around and nodded before turning his attention to Davey, who stood with Perseus. Hansen didn’t see Orion anywhere, which was strange.

“Davey, Perseus, why don’t you tell us what happened again?”

Moore said.

Hansen sucked in a breath. Why was Davey involved in whatever had happened? It couldn’t be good, especially when Orion wasn’t around. Hansen’s stomach churned with anxiousness.

Davey looked like he was about to puke, but he and Perseus obeyed. They explained that Orion was nowhere to be found and that Davey had smelled someone he thought was Perseus and Orion’s father. Everyone in the room knew the man was a hunter, which meant that Orion was in trouble.

“You’re sure it was your father?”

Olga asked Perseus.

“I’m not sure of anything. I’m not a shifter, so I can’t sniff my father. Davey says the scent smells like me and Orion, but different. He explained it’s usually a sign of family, and I have to take his word for it.”

“I think it’s safe to assume that Davey’s right,”

Moore interjected. “If we do, it means that Orion’s been with his father for a significant length of time. There’s also someone else with them.”

“An accomplice?”

Rikar asked.

Davey’s expression turned shifty. Hansen was going to have to corner him before they left. If there was anything to know about this second person, Hansen wanted to know it before they had to face them.

“Or another victim,”

Olga offered.

“What do you know?”

Moore asked her.

“Not a lot, but I think I can confirm that the person who took Orion is a hunter. I saw a van and Orion with a blond man.”

Hansen had always found Olga’s gift slightly creepy, even when he was asking her about his mate, but he was glad she could see the future in these situations.

She’d saved all of them many times before. It looked like it was Orion’s turn now.

“Our main focus will be Orion’s father,”

Moore declared as he took charge of the situation. “We’ll have to keep an eye on the man with him, but Davey thought he recognized his best friend’s scent, so I think we can assume he’s on our side.”

Hansen snapped his head toward Davey.

Davey’s best friend? How was that possible? They’d been talking about Evan just a few hours ago, and he was here? Well, with Orion, and they didn’t know where Orion was, but still.

Evan was here.

It was the closest Davey had been to him since he’d managed to escape.

Hansen was ecstatic for his friend but also worried because that meant that they had two people to rescue instead of one, and they still had no idea what they’d be walking into.

“It really depends on what happened to him and how much he suffered,”

Olga murmured as if she were afraid that Davey would hear her.

Maybe she was.

Hansen had only just found out about Evan, but he knew how important the man was to Davey and how messed up Davey probably was right now.

They had no idea what state Evan was in, but they all could imagine all too well what he’d gone through.

“Let’s assume he’s friendly and keep an eye on him in case he attacks,”

Moore said. “I suppose you’re all coming with us?”

Everyone nodded, including Hansen. He wasn’t abandoning Davey and Orion.

“Good,”

Moore continued. “Assuming that Orion’s father is taking him back to the hunters, we have to stop them before they get there.”

“What are we waiting for, then?”

Davey asked.

“We’re not waiting. It’s time to go and get Orion back.”

Everyone moved almost as one, including Hansen. He waited for a few people to pass him by before falling into step with Davey. Davey didn’t look at him, but he didn’t have to. Davey knew that Hansen would be there for him whatever happened.

They had to walk for a few minutes to reach an area where they could shimmer. Teddy was the first one there, a grim expression on his face as he held out his hands. “Ready?” he asked.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,”

Olga answered.

They reached for Teddy, gripping him where they could.

Hansen squeezed his eyes shut because shimmering always made him feel queasy, and he’d need to be ready to act when they landed. Puking in a bush wouldn’t help.

It only took a few seconds, and they were wherever Orion was.

Hansen blinked his eyes open and tensed, expecting an attack even though he doubted it would come. If Orion and Perseus’s father was involved, he was only one man. He was too smart to attack when there were so many of them.

Only two people stood in front of Hansen and the others.

Orion stood in front of an open van. Clearly protecting whoever was inside. His father was in front of him, threatening him. Hansen wasn’t sure either of them had noticed they weren’t alone anymore.

“Olga, Teddy, take a look around,”

Moore ordered. “Make sure there are no people hiding in the bushes.”

They both nodded and left, but Davey stayed where he was, and so did Hansen. Until Moore gave him orders, he wasn’t leaving Davey’s side.

Orion was standing up to his father, which was good to see. Hansen didn’t know him that well yet, but he knew Orion’s history, so he understood how monumental this was for him.

Orion and Perseus had always deferred to their father up until they’d left after Orion was wounded.

They’d been afraid of him, but Orion could take the asshole.

He was taller and broader.

He had less experience, but he wasn’t alone. He might not know that he was surrounded by allies—which made what he was doing even more impressive—but they were ready for whatever happened.

Perseus stepped forward as if he was about to intervene, but Moore grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Perseus tried to pull away, but Moore shook his head and kept him where he was.

“We’re close enough to intervene if we have to, but I think your brother needs to confront your father.”

Hansen didn’t like standing there and not doing anything any more than Perseus and Davey did, but he understood what Moore was saying. This was probably Orion’s only chance to do this.

“Where are your friends?”

Orion asked. “How many are supposed to arrive? Will there be enough of them to beat me and my friends?”

Maybe he had realized that Hansen and the others were here because it sounded like he was telling them to expect reinforcements. It was smart, and Hansen didn’t think that Orion’s father realized it.

“We won’t allow you to take over the world,”

the man snarled. “It belongs to humans, not these...these animals.”

“Want to know something? Turns out, I’m a wolf shifter’s mate.”

That had to burn, considering how much Orion’s father hated shifters. Both his sons had found their mates and were happy and safe.

Hansen was shocked when the man ran at Orion.

He hadn’t expected it, but he thought that Orion had because he was ready for his father.

He caught the man’s fist and swept his legs from under him.

As soon as the asshole was on the ground, Orion was on top of him, twisting his arm behind him and pining him to the dirt.

Davey sucked in a breath, but he stayed where he was, allowing his mate to finally free himself from his father and the hunters.

Hansen reached for Davey’s wrist and gave it a squeeze. “He’s fine,”

he murmured.

“Orion is, but what about Evan?”