And he’d wanted Ryan to tell Chance about that lady who had berated him and his sister.
Ryan squinted and cocked his head.He couldn’t see the woman well from where he was, and he wasn’t planning on going anywhere near her, but he was pretty sure he recognized her.“I think that’s the woman who yelled at Maddie and me.”
“Yeah?Clearly, she has a problem with me, too.”
“Do you care?”
“Not one bit.”
Loud voices made Seth jump.He winced again, and Ryan reached for him, but there was nothing he could do.Seth needed to stay still and stop hurting himself.
Something crashed between the trees.Ryan got to his feet, ready to defend Seth if the mage had returned.Chance was coming and bringing people with him, but this didn’t sound like him.He wouldn’t run through the forest like that, especially with a mage still at large.
It wasn’t Chance.Ryan shook his head when Theo tripped on a root and almost fell on his face.He managed to catch himself on a low branch, but he didn’t stop running until he could drop to his knees next to Seth.
“What happened?”he asked, hovering his hands over Seth without touching him.
“What does it look like?”Seth asked.
Theo gently slapped Seth’s thigh.“You’re not funny.Seriously, what the fuck happened?Are you wounded?Why are you sitting on your ass and leaning against a tree like that?”
“He got slammed against the tree.I’m pretty sure he has a concussion,” Ryan explained.
It looked like Seth’s bear body had protected him from the magic itself, so while there were a few scratches on his chest, they’d heal easily enough.Ryan wasn’t sure about the concussion, though.He wasn’t a healer.He’d never gotten the hang of healing spells, and it wasn’t like the coven leaders cared whether or not their coven members could heal.As long as they were capable of killing people, the leaders were happy.
Theo turned his attention back to Seth.“What were you thinking?”he asked gently as he touched Seth’s hand.
“He was defending that lady,” Ryan said as he waved in her direction.
Theo’s eyes widened.“Chance!”he called out.
Chance finally appeared.Like Ryan had expected, he wasn’t alone.James and a bunch of other people were behind him.James looked like he wanted to kill someone and make it as painful as possible.
Ryan agreed with him.
“What happened?”Chance asked as he rushed forward.
Theo pointed at the woman.“Seth wasn’t alone.”
“I protected her even though she was telling me that I don’t belong with the pack,” Seth said.
He’d closed his eyes and was leaning his head against the tree again.He appeared a little dazed, and Ryan prayed that the only thing wrong with him was that concussion.He didn’t know what he’d do if his boyfriend was severely injured.
“You did good,” Chance said.
“I’m not sure what happened initially, but when I got here, Seth was in his bear form protecting her,” Ryan explained, never looking away from his boyfriend.“There were two mages.I’m pretty sure the one over there is dead or about to be, but the other healed himself and managed to escape.I don’t know how close he is from the edge of pack territory, but you should look into it.You should also look into how they managed to get past the protective spells around the area.”
Chance stared at Ryan, and for a moment, Ryan wondered if he’d gone too far.He didn’t need to tell the alpha how to do his job, yet he’d done it twice over the last few minutes.
Chance nodded but didn’t scold Ryan.It was a relief.
Chance turned toward James, who was already striding toward the dead mage.Two guards were behind him, and while Ryan didn’t like that woman, he hoped she’d be okay.
“How many people have you sent out to find the mage?”Chance asked James.
“More than enough.If there’s anyone here who shouldn’t be, we’ll find them.”
Ryan was still worried about Seth, but he could finally allow himself to relax.They were safe, and if there was one thing Ryan knew about Chance, it was that he’d learn from this.He’d find out how the two mages had snuck in, and he’d ensure they couldn’t do it again.
