“Don’t be so dramatic.”She smiled at Seth and offered him her hand.“Hi.I’m Madeleine, Ryan’s sister.”
“Seth.”
He didn’t say who he was, but he didn’t have to.Madeleine already knew.
She was smiling in a way that was concerning.Ryan could tell that she wanted to ask Seth a dozen questions, which meant that he had to save his maybe boyfriend.Madeleine would have time to interrogate Seth later.Ryan didn’t want to scare him off.It was way too soon to subject him to his sister’s interrogations.
He cleared his throat.“So, did you just happen to be here, or were you looking for me?”
Madeleine snorted.She had to know what Ryan was doing, but Ryan didn’t care.He wasn’t going to allow her to terrorize Seth.
“I was looking for you, actually.I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk,” Seth said.
Ryan had been taking a lot of walks lately.He didn’t mind.In fact, he quite enjoyed it.When he’d lived with the coven, they weren’t allowed to move freely.They’d needed to stay behind the protective spells on the house and ensure that no one would find it.Here with the pack, though, he was free, and he loved the forest.
“I’d like that,” he told Seth.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Madeleine declared, clearing her throat.“I’m going to see if Alyssa’s awake.”She turned to Seth and grinned.“It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we’ll see each other again soon.”
“Maddie,” Ryan said with a groan.“Can you not embarrass me?”
“I didn’t do or say anything embarrassing.You’re doing everything on your own, like always.”She patted his arm.“I’ll see you at home.”
She turned and thankfully walked away.Ryan watched her for a moment, even though he didn’t have a reason to beyond delaying whatever was about to happen with Seth.
Once Madeleine was out of sight, Ryan turned to his maybe boyfriend.“So, how angry are you?”
Seth frowned.“Why would I be angry?”
“Because you heard me suggest that maybe we shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m not angry.Trust me, I understand better than most how it feels when you don’t belong.I had my doubts when my family and I agreed to stay, too.I wouldn’t have done it if it was just me.I didn’t trust Chance and his people, and sometimes, I think I was right not to.”He hesitated.“Something happened?”
“The usual.A woman confronted us and yelled at us.”
Seth swore.“I thought Chance had been clear.”
“He was.It doesn’t mean that people aren’t afraid.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, for one, she didn’t seem to care that Madeleine and I are mages.She’s scared because she believes that our presence here means that the coven will attack the pack to get us back or something.She doesn’t understand that the only reason the coven would attack is to kill us.Still, she’s not wrong.We brought more attention to the pack.”
Seth shook his head.“I heard what you told your sister.You’re right.The coven would’ve attacked us anyway.It doesn’t matter if you’re here or not.They attacked the dragons without a reason.”
That was true, but it didn’t help Ryan feel any less guilty.“We never wanted anyone to get hurt.”
“I know.”Seth’s smile was gentle and soft.“But again, it’s not you hurting the pack.It’s the coven.Well, right now, they’re not hurting anyone.”
“But they will.”If there was one thing Ryan was sure of, it was that.
He knew the three coven leaders and how power-hungry and selfish they were, but even more than that, how full of themselves they were.The pack had stood up to them and won.They wouldn’t take that sitting down.In fact, they’d try to get revenge.They didn’t care that half of their mages had left them to move in with the pack.They just wanted revenge on anyone who dared stand up to them.That included Ryan, his family, and Chance.
Ryan rubbed his forehead.“I hate talking about this.Hell, I even hate thinking about it.”
“We don’t have to continue talking about it.”
“That would be great.”But there was one last thing Ryan needed to say about it.“Please don’t tell Chance what happened today.”
