Ryan swallowed.He’d hoped he would never have to see Raymond, Maureen, and Eldora again.He didn’t want to talk to them or get their attention, but he didn’t like this.It was five against three, and even though Chance and James were well-trained, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t get hurt.
Ryan couldn’t allow that to happen.Chance was the reason Ryan’s family was safe.If something happened to him, they wouldn’t be anymore.
He locked the car and strode toward the entrance of the park.He knew he was going to regret this, but right now, it was the only thing he could think of doing.Chance needed at least one mage on his side, and as far as Ryan knew, he was the only one in town right now.
Maureen looked up, and her gaze stopped on Ryan.Her expression shifted to a hatred so deep that it gave Ryan pause.His steps faltered, and for a second, he wanted to run away.
Instead of doing that, he squared his shoulders and continued walking until he reached Seth and James.They were standing a few steps behind Chance, ready to intervene if they had to.
“You brought a traitor,” Maureen said as she turned back to Chance.
For a second, Chance frowned when he looked at Ryan.Ryan could imagine he wasn’t happy to see him there.Hell, Ryan wasn’t happy to be there, either.That didn’t mean he was going to leave, though, and he suspected that Chance knew that.
“I brought my people, just like you did,” Chance said.
“We only brought two guards.You have three.”
“And there are three of you,” Ryan said.“The three most powerful mages in the coven.You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself even if the four of us attacked you.”
“Silence,” Raymond barked out.
It was so ingrained in Ryan to obey that he snapped his mouth shut.As soon as he realized what he’d done, he scowled and opened his mouth to tell Raymond where he could stick his orders, but he thought better of it when he caught Chance’s gaze.
He needed to be careful.He couldn’t allow the situation to degenerate.
So, instead of telling Raymond to fuck off, he pressed his lips together and stared at the man.Normally, he would’ve looked away and even left if he could.He was terrified, but not enough not to stare Raymond down.
Seth stepped closer to Ryan.Ryan had no doubt that his boyfriend would step in if Raymond tried anything, and that scared him.Raymond wouldn’t use violence.He’d use magic, and it wasn’t something that Seth was equipped to deal with.No matter how hard he tried, his fangs and claws wouldn’t help against what Raymond could do, not in this situation.
“I asked you to come for a reason,” Chance said, pulling Raymond’s attention away from Ryan.
Ryan was grateful when Maureen and Eldora turned to the alpha, too.The way they looked at him made his skin crawl.
“That reason isn’t so you can fight with one of your former coven members,” Chance continued.
“A coven member you stole from us,” Eldora interrupted.Her tone made what she thought of Chance clear.
“I didn’t steal anyone.You mistreated your coven members to the point they weren’t willing to stay.What happened is entirely your fault, and I won’t apologize for offering them a safe place to call home.”
“Did you have us come here to insult us?”Raymond asked.
“No.I asked you to come to talk to you.”
“And you thought we were going to listen to you?”
“You better,” Ryan snapped, even though he’d been telling himself that he needed to be careful.“Chance is right.The reason me and so many other people left is that the three of you are monsters.You never cared about your coven members.You used us to get what you wanted, to kill and hurt people, and we lost many of our loved ones because of that.The entire coven hates you except for the few who believe that licking your boots is going to make them as powerful as you are.Hell, they probably hate you, too.They’re just willing to do a lot to obtain what they want.”
“Howdareyou?”Maureen asked.
Normally, that would be enough to get Ryan to shut up, but he was on a roll.After so many years, he was finally able to tell the leaders what he thought of them.“No, how dareyou?You took a nice coven, a place that many people called home, and you turned it into a nightmare.We stayed because we had no other place to go, but we do now, thanks to Chance.I can only speak for myself and my family, but I believe that everyone who left feels the same when I say that we’re never coming back, no matter what you do or say.We already know that you’re going to attack the pack.It’s what you do.When you do it, though, you won’t only face the shifters.You’ll face all of us.Remember that when you make your plans.”
Chance cleared his throat.“Ryan,” he said softly.
Ryan nodded.He was done talking.He’d said what he needed to say, so he took a step back and bumped his shoulder against Seth’s.
He wasn’t surprised when Seth looked at him, but he was when Seth took his hand.He hadn’t expected Seth to expose their relationship, but he didn’t care.He wanted the leaders to know that he had something to fight for.
The three leaders had already taken Nicholas from Madeleine and the rest of their family.Ryan would kill them before they could even think about hurting anyone else.
