Page 130 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

His father tosses him a long glance and then looks at me. He seems to contemplate what to say. I’m a bit surprised. I have no idea who Matthew is and it’s the first time I’ve even heard his name. Why would it bother me if he joins us or not?

Annie sighs and looks at me. “I trust you not to say anything to anyone outside this room,” she says. “You need to know this, Finn, and seeing as the twins are going to be alpha’s of their pack, they need to know too.”

We all nod, dumbfounded.

“Matthew and Dave have a history,” she explains.

My mouth drops open. “Wait… what? How come I don’t know?”

“It happened when you started your mission,” she points out.

“Who is Dave?” Anthony wants to know.

“Dave is a human and one of Luna Annalise’s and Finn’s best friends,” Jace explains.

“And what happened?” Anthony asks.

“Things didn’t go well,” Annie explains shortly. “I don’t want to go into detail now, Finn. I will explain it to you later, but it left Dave heartbroken. First Jun, then Matthew.”

“I thought he and Jun were friends,” I ask.

“They are,” Annie reassures me. “But feelings were involved. How is that ever simple?”

Anthony stares at her in disbelief. “But… we have known Matthew for so long, he would never…”

Annie reaches out her hand to all of us. “You might want to hear the whole story.”

Alpha Jace takes it from there. “Luna Annalise is right. It’s a very complex story, and unfortunately, it left some quite broken hearts.” He looks at his sons now. “I’ll tell you the details later, but it was bad… and incredibly sad.”

I notice the glance Anthony and Henry exchange. “He never told us,” Henry mutters. “That he was gay, and he always hooked up with girls… almost…”

“Like he was trying to prove something.” Anthony pauses.

“What are you implying?” I inquire.

“I sometimes got the feeling that he liked Henry,” Anthony admits. “But then I found the thought silly because I thought Mattie is into girls. He never had siblings, so… I thought maybe he just admires him.”

Henry’s eyes widen to a comical level. “What? You never told me!”

Anthony shrugs. “Some things you just don’t say out loud.”

“So, how is Dave now? What is he doing?” I want to know.

“Dave needed some time on his own,” Annie tells me. She looks at me insistently, like she wants to tell me something. Fuck, I wish I could mind link her.

“Matthew is traumatized too,” Jace explains, his voice bitter and angry. “More than we were aware of. But clearly, that’s not an excuse…”

I’m feeling conflicted now. I’m pissed that someone hurt Dave, one of my closest friends, but at the same time, I get what Jace and Annie are trying to say without saying it out loud.

“OK, and what’s going on with Matthew now?” I ask.

“He’s turned over a new leaf,” Jace explains. “He is going to therapy, hasn’t missed a session yet, and is doing all he can to become a good warrior. However…”

“However?” Anthony pushes.

“He has retreated. He doesn’t talk to anyone, not really. I’m worried he might hurt himself eventually,” Jace admits. “We all know what he did wasn’t right, but this kid has been brainwashed for years. I feel like I truly failed him as his alpha. I would like him to be on my boys’ team for the attack on Blood Snow,” Jace says. “If you don’t want that, Finn, I can understand, as Dave is your friend. Luna Annalise will tell you all you want to know later.”

Annie nods at me.

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