Seth repeated that to himself a few times until he almost believed it.
“Do I want to know what’s happening here?”Chance asked, glancing at the screen.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Theo said.“Are we bothering you?”
To anyone who knew Theo, it was obvious that he was teasing Chance.He’d been doing it on purpose.He’d wanted Chance’s reaction.
He had it.
Seth told himself not to think about what his brother had been aiming for.What Theo and Chance did in their bedroom was none of his business, and he wanted to continue being ignorant.
From Chance’s expression, he knew what Theo was doing, too.He glanced at the screen, then back at his boyfriend.“How long until it’s over?”
“About half an hour.”
Chance slowly nodded.“I’ll be in my office.”
Theo grinned.He’d won.
Seth grimaced and moved his attention to the screen.He really didn’t want to knowwhathis brother had won.
“You know, you could have this, too,” Theo said gently.
Seth didn’t want to talk about that.“Have what?An expensive car like that guy?”he asked, gesturing toward the screen.
“No.What Chance and I have.”
Seth wasn’t surprised that Theo hadn’t gotten the hint to let it go.Now that his brother was happy, he wanted everyone else to be happy.He wanted their entire pack to have what he had with Chance.
Seth wasn’t sure he could ever find it.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to.It was that after everything that happened to him, after the people who should have loved him the most had hurt him, he wasn’t sure he could ever trust anyone else.Yes, he trusted his brother and their pack, but that was only because of the years they’d spent protecting each other and being a family.He doubted anyone would want to hang around him for years as he worked on a way through the fear to be with them.
“How are the mages settling in?”he asked because he didn’t want to talk or even think about what Theo had just said.
Theo cocked his head.Seth was sure that his brother knew what he was doing, and he hoped Theo would let it go.
“Well, as far as I know, we’ve had a few grumblings, but most pack members seem okay with them.They’re wary, but that’s understandable,” Theo said.
“Some of them are still wary of us, and we’ve been here for months.”
“That’s why I think everything will be all right eventually.We can find a way to live with each other.”
Seth wished he could be as optimistic as his brother.Maybe it was in the job description for him to believe that.He was Chance’s mate, and that made him the alpha mate.He was supposed to be positive and to smooth things out as much as possible.Heneededthings to go well.He and Chance couldn’t afford for people to believe that allowing a bunch of mages to move in with the pack was a bad idea.
Seth didn’t think it was.It was complicated, but Chance had done the right thing.He’d helped people who didn’t have anyone else.Seth wished more people were like him.Maybe he wouldn’t have lived all of his teenage years on the streets if they were.
* * * *
RYAN PEEKED INTO THEbedroom, smiling at the sight of his niece asleep on the bed.Madeleine was sitting next to her, looking down at her with a soft smile.
“How long has she been asleep?”he asked in a whisper.
Madeleine looked up.“Not long.”
“Mom wants to know if you want a snack.She made those pizza rolls you like so much.”
“You know I never say no to pizza rolls.”Madeleine carefully got up from the bed.She watched her daughter as she moved to make sure not to wake her up.
