“Why would he?”
Madeleine gave Ryan an unimpressed glare.Ryan knew what she was implying, but he didn’t want to talk or think about it right now.
He left his bedroom and rushed down the stairs, hoping to save Seth before his mom got too pushy with her questions.He wasn’t surprised to hear Seth’s voice coming from the kitchen or to find his mom fretting when he got there.
“You didn’t tell me your friend was coming by,” she accused Ryan as soon as she saw him.
“That’s because I didn’t know he was.”
Seth’s smile was sheepish and made him even more handsome, which wasn’t fair.“No one knew I was coming.I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a bother,” he explained.
“Nonsense,” Ryan’s mom said.“None of Ryan’s friends are a bother.I would’ve baked something if I’d known you were coming, though.”
“Oh, there’s no need for you to do that.I just wanted to talk to Ryan.”
“Will you at least have some coffee before doing that?”
“Thisreallyisn’t necessary.”
“All right.Well, Seth, it was a pleasure to meet one of Ryan’s new friends.Please, feel free to come by anytime you want.If you let me know in advance, I’ll bake whatever’s your favorite.”
Seth didn’t know Ryan’s mother, but Ryan did.She was going to bake something for Seth, whether he liked it or not.“I’ll make sure to let you know when he plans to come by,” Ryan said with a smile.“Seth?Would you like to go for a walk?”There was no way Ryan could do whatever this was in the house with his mother listening from the other room and his sister doing the same from the entrance or wherever Madeleine had ended up.
Seth smiled.“That would be great.”
Ryan had no idea why Seth was here, but he was dying to find out.Had something else happened with Tim and his friend?Had they complained about Ryan?Or maybe someone else had.Ryan wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Tim and his friend weren’t the only people who didn’t want him here.
He was pretty sure that at least half the pack didn’t want the mages there.They just couldn’t say anything because Chance wouldn’t change his mind.He’d been clear about that during the meeting.He didn’t care if the pack agreed with that decision, and they were welcome to complain to him if they wanted to.
Some of them had decided that it would be easier to go straight to Ryan.He could only hope that the pack meeting would help.It wouldn’t work miracles, but hopefully, the pack was scared enough of Chance and what he could do to them to leave Ryan and the other mages alone.Ryan never expected to truly integrate into the pack.He just wanted a peaceful life.He didn’t think it was too much to ask for.
But maybe it was.
Ryan wanted to wait until they were far enough away from the house that he could be sure no one was listening in, but he couldn’t help but ask as soon as they were out the door.“Is everything okay?Has something happened?”
There must have been something in his voice because Seth blinked.“No, everything’s fine.Sorry.I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Ryan told himself to relax before he sent Seth running.He might not know why Seth was here, but he was looking forward to talking to him.At the very least, it was a distraction.Ryan didn’t have a job yet, and he didn’t have friends to visit beyond the other mages.None of them were friends, which meant that Ryan had been spending a lot of time at home with his family.He loved them, but he also loved being independent and talking to other people.
“I just wanted to check in on you,” Seth said as he looked away.
His cheeks were flushed, which sent a flash of pleasure through Ryan.He liked that he had that effect on Seth.He didn’t know why he flustered Seth, but he wanted to continue talking to him and see if he could make him blush again.
“You don’t have to continue checking in on me,” he said gently.He didn’t want to send Seth running, but he also didn’t want Seth to feel obligated just because he’d happened to walk past at the right moment.
“Maybe Iwantto continue checking in on you.”
Ryan was only half surprised.He wasn’t sure what Seth saw in him—maybe he was curious because Ryan was a mage, or maybe there was something more to it.After all, Ryan wasn’t only interested in Seth because he was a shifter.
“That’s nice,” he said.“Not necessary, but nice.”
“Is it ever necessary to check on a friend?”
“Is that what we are?Friends?”
“We could be.”
“We could, yes.”But that wasn’t what Ryan wanted.The problem was that he wasn’t surewhathe wanted.Seth wasn’t just a shifter.He wasn’t just a pack member.He was the alpha mate’s brother.People were angry because of Ryan’s presence in the pack.They’d probably be pissed if he ended up dating Seth of all people.
