The Magic Between Us (Mayport pack #7)

Chapter One

The explosion was so loud it rattled the glass of the windows. Seth winced, wondering how Chance felt about this. There was no way he hadn’t heard it, even all the way from his office.

“Shouldn’t you lower the volume?” he asked his brother. “Chance will come see what’s going on if you don’t.”

Theo popped a handful of popcorn into his mouth and grinned. “Maybe I want Chance to come out of his office.”

The way he said it told Seth everything he needed to know and everything he hadn’t wanted to know. “Can we not?” he asked, bumping his shoulder against his brother’s.

“Can we not what? I didn’t do anything.”

“I know what you implied.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Theo said, looking and sounding innocent.

He was anything but.

Seth turned his attention back to the TV screen. He was pretty sure he would have trouble hearing by the time he left Theo’s house, but he didn’t mind. It was worth spending time with his brother. They weren’t alone, but that was okay, too. They were surrounded by family.

Seth glanced around the room. Thomas was on the other couch, cuddling with Paisley.

They weren’t watching the movie. They were talking softly, and Paisley was showing Thomas something on her phone.

Matty was sitting on Thomas’s other side, his gaze fixed on the screen.

He kept jumping every time there was an explosion, but it was obvious that he was enjoying himself.

It wasn’t a scary movie. It was just loud.

Josie and Red were sitting on the floor. They were watching the movie, too, but they kept glancing up at Paisley and Thomas, as if they were intrigued and wanted to know what they were doing. Seth was curious, too, but he was fine where he was, sitting next to his brother.

They used to spend more time together. Seth missed that, even though he was happy that the reason they didn’t anymore was a good one.

They didn’t live on the streets anymore.

They didn’t have to rely on each other as much as they did before.

They all had lives, and they had futures now.

Theo had Chance, and Seth loved that for him.

He loved that for everyone who’d found a partner.

For a long time, most of them had believed this wouldn’t happen.

They’d been outcasts. They’d been kicked out of their homes and packs and forced to live on the streets.

They’d become a family and a pack, but they still hadn’t had a home.

Seth hadn’t thought they ever would. He’d believed they would continue drifting from town to town, with no place to call home, yet here they were, settled on a cozy couch, in a cozy home, watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Sometimes, Seth couldn’t believe what his life had become. He’d gone from being a sheltered child to living on the streets to whatever he was now.

“You’re not watching the movie,” Theo murmured.

“I’m not the only one who’s not.”

“But you like this kind of movie.”

That was true. The more explosions and action a movie had, the more Seth liked it.

He suspected that was why Theo had picked this one.

It was also why Thomas and Paisley weren’t paying attention.

They were here to spend time with each other and the rest of their family, but they couldn’t care less about what was happening on the screen.

“You could’ve picked something all of us would have enjoyed,” Seth pointed out.

Theo shrugged. His gaze was still on the screen, but Seth knew that his full attention was on him. “I wanted you to relax,” he murmured.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t have if we’d watched another movie.”

Theo finally looked at Seth. He’d never been very interested in action movies.

Of course, none of them had been interested in much more than survival for years, so maybe that had changed.

Seth was still discovering what he liked and disliked now that he had the opportunity.

He was sure the same went for everyone else who’d been in their little pack before they got here.

“I just wanted to do this for you,” Theo said. “I feel we haven’t seen each other in too long.”

“We see each other every day.”

“But it’s not the same.”

Theo didn’t have to explain. Seth understood. “Of course it’s not the same, and that’s a good thing.”

For a long time, the streets were all Seth had known.

He’d been lucky to have his brother, then later on, the people they now considered family.

If it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t have survived.

He’d only been twelve when he’d gotten kicked out—literally—of the house he’d shared with his parents and his brother.

Another explosion made him jump. Theo laughed and finally reached for the remote control, but he was too late. The living room door opened, and Chance peeked in.

Seth tensed. He always did when he was around the alpha, and it had nothing to do with Chance or the kind of person he was. Chance would never do anything to hurt Theo, even when he wasn’t happy with him. They loved each other, and Seth and Theo were safe.

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 know what his 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.

He needed things 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 THE bedroom, 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.

Watching her was painful but also beautiful. Ryan wished Nicholas could be here with them and that he could see his daughter sleeping, safe and sound. He’d never had the opportunity to do that. Alyssa had never been fully safe before.

Madeleine slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door. She paused for a moment, listening, but Alyssa was asleep.

Madeleine’s shoulders relaxed. “I swear that every time I put her down, she wakes up. It’s a miracle she hasn’t this time.”

“Don’t jinx it. I’m sure you want to eat before she starts screaming for you.”

Madeleine grimaced. “It would be nice to be able to eat with both of my hands for once.”

Alyssa was still so young. At one and a half years old, she shouldn’t have already lived through everything she’d lived through. She shouldn’t have lost her father. This shouldn’t be the first time she was safe and had a real home.