Chapter Four
“You still haven’t heard anything from the coven?” Seth asked as he filled his plate with pasta.
His brother had cooked lunch and invited him and Thomas over, but Thomas already had plans, so Seth was the only one here. That didn’t seem to be a problem for Theo and Chance. They’d welcomed Seth like they always did, including the teasing, and Theo didn’t even know about Ryan yet.
Or maybe he did. Seth wouldn’t be surprised if Thomas had talked to Theo.
Their little family didn’t do secrets well, so it would make sense.
Theo hadn’t said anything yet, but he kept glancing at Seth with laughter in his eyes.
Seth was sure that he knew something. He wasn’t about to ask, though.
If Theo wanted to know something, he’d have to ask.
Seth hoped Theo wouldn’t. He didn’t think he was ready to talk about what had happened with Ryan.
Hell, technically, nothing much had happened.
They’d made out against a tree for a while, had talked, and that was that.
It had been nice, but nothing to tell Theo yet, especially considering how smug he would be.
He’d pushed Seth to talk to Ryan and give him a chance, and he’d been right.
He often was.
Instead of giving Theo the satisfaction, Seth had asked about the coven as soon as they’d sat at the kitchen table.
He was worried about the pack, but also about Ryan.
He and his family were supposed to be safe here, and for now, they were, but it would be too easy for the coven to hurt them, even at a distance.
They might have lost mages, but there was no way they would take it without fighting back.
Chance sighed as he took a bite of pasta. “No, I haven’t heard anything yet.”
“That worries you.” Seth didn’t have to ask to know it. He’d gotten to know Chance quite well since Chance had started dating Theo. He could read most of the man’s expressions by now.
“They took a hit when they lost so many mages, and that’s a good thing, but I don’t believe they’ll lay down and just wait for whatever comes next.”
“It wouldn’t be like the coven we’ve been dealing with,” Seth agreed. “Is there any way to find out what they’re up to?”
“I suppose I could ask some of the mages to reach out to the people who stayed. That would be dangerous, though, and I don’t want to put anyone in jeopardy.”
That was what made Chance a good alpha. He was worried about people, even when they weren’t his people. He didn’t want the mages who’d stayed behind to get hurt, even though they’d decided to continue obeying their leaders’ orders.
Not that the coven had done anything recently. They’d lost many mages, so they probably didn’t have the manpower to do much beyond licking their wounds.
There was no way to know for sure, unfortunately, and Seth understood why Chance was worried. It felt like they were waiting for something to happen and for the coven to finally react.
“Maybe they lost so many people that there’s nothing they can do to us anymore,” he offered.
“I wish I could be as optimistic as you.”
Seth snorted. “I’m not optimistic. I’m hopeful. When we agreed to become pack members, I didn’t expect to end up in the middle of a war with a bunch of bloodthirsty mages.”
“Seth!” Theo exclaimed as he kicked Seth under the table.
Seth shrugged. “What? It’s true. I’m not saying that any of this is Chance’s fault because it’s not, but we were supposed to be safe.”
“We are safe. Chance is doing everything he can.”
“Again, I know that. I just don’t want anything to happen to you or anyone else in our family.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to any of my pack members,” Chance said. “I’d tell you not to worry, but I already know you will, no matter what I say.”
“Damn right. Too many things have been happening lately for me not to worry.”
“Does it have to do with a specific mage?” Theo asked, the teasing obvious in his voice.
Seth flipped him off. Theo laughed, kicking Seth under the table again.
“This isn’t why I’m here,” Seth grumbled.
“No, you’re here to have lunch with your brother and your brother-in-law. I knew you were hiding something as soon as you started talking about the coven.”
“As if you don’t already know what I’m hiding.”
“Thomas has a big mouth.”
“He should keep it shut.”
“Has he ever?”
Seth snickered. “Yeah, okay. What do you want to know?” He eyed Chance, who was smiling at his plate of pasta. “And make sure it’s something I can talk about in front of the alpha.”
“I might be the alpha, but I’m also your brother-in-law,” Chance said. “I want to know what’s up with you.”
That man was way too nice. He managed to make Seth feel guilty about being snarky with him.
“Anyway,” Theo said as he grinned at Seth. “Thomas mentioned he saw you playing tonsil hockey with a certain mage.”
It was Seth’s turn to kick him under the table. “Did you really have to say it like that?”
“Is it wrong, though? Thomas said you were pretty focused.”
“Thomas is going to have to find a new place to live if he doesn’t learn to shut up.”
“Come on. Tell us.”
Chance was looking from Theo to Seth. “I’m missing something, and it’s incredibly confusing.”
“You’re not missing much. Theo’s been pushing me to ask someone out, and I guess I did, in a way.”
“If that way means making out against a tree for anyone to see, then I guess you did,” Theo said.
“Making out against a tree, Seth?” Chance teased.
Seth groaned. “Great. Now it’s not just my brother, but my brother-in-law, too. What have I done to deserve this?”
“You love us,” Theo said, reaching over to pat Seth’s hand.
“You’re lucky that I do because otherwise, I would’ve already left.
” There was no heat in Seth’s words. His brother had been his best friend since they were kids, and that would never change.
There was more distance between them now because Theo was busy building a life with Chance, but that was okay.
“Well, whatever’s going on, I’m happy for you,” Chance said with a smile.
“See,” Seth said as he pointed his fork at his brother. “That’s what I’m talking about. You can’t just be happy for me. You have to hold that you were right over my head and gloat.”
“I’m gloating because I was right.”
“You told me to talk to him, and I did, but that’s it.”
“I want you to be happy. Whether that’s with Ryan or with someone else, I don’t care.”
Seth nodded. He didn’t know if it would be with Ryan, but he couldn’t imagine wanting this with anyone else. He couldn’t say he trusted Ryan just yet, but they’d spoken a few times, and Seth wanted to trust him. He wanted to give this a real shot, even though it was hard.
“Can we talk about something else now?” he begged.
“I talked to Sullivan,” Chance said. “He confirmed that from the numbers he remembers and the people who left the coven, the coven is still dangerous enough to worry me. I wouldn’t put it past them to attack us eventually. Hell, they probably will because they feel like I stole their people.”
Theo snorted. “We didn’t steal anyone. The leaders treated their people like shit, so they left.”
“I don’t think they’d enjoy hearing your opinion on that.”
“Do I look like I care?”
He didn’t because he didn’t care. When he’d been their alpha, Theo had always worried about whether or not he was doing the right thing for them.
He’d never wanted any of them to be hurt.
The coven leaders didn’t care about any of that.
They didn’t care about their people. Theo couldn’t understand that, and he wasn’t the only one.
“You should talk to them,” Seth said.
Chance frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we know they’re still dangerous and that they have enough people to attack us, which is something we want to avoid, obviously.
I don’t know why they haven’t tried anything yet, but maybe they don’t have a lot of faith in the people they have left.
What if you talked to them? Maybe you can find out what they want and come to a compromise. ”
Chance grimaced. “I don’t think I want to compromise with the kind of people they are.”
“I wouldn’t if I were you, but what’s the alternative? Wait for them to make their move? We don’t know what they’re gonna do, so doing that would put everyone in danger. If you reach out to them, though, you’ll find out how they’re feeling about all of this, at the very least.”
“Angry,” Theo muttered.
Chance was looking at Seth. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“No?”
“I don’t know how they’ll react, but I can have Sullivan reach out and set up a meeting. I can poke at them and find out how they’re feeling about everything.”
Seth didn’t have to be at the meeting to know how those people felt. The coven leaders would be angry, and Seth wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted revenge.
Which was what worried him the most.
* * * *
“I HEARD A RUMOR,” MADELEINE declared almost as soon as they were done eating lunch.
Ryan supposed he should be grateful that she hadn’t brought it up in front of their parents.
His mom would have wanted to know what Madeleine was talking about, and Ryan wouldn’t have known how to answer.
As it was, he wasn’t entirely sure what his sister was talking about, but he could take a good guess.
“Please don’t,” he begged.
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter how innocent you’re trying to act. I know you’re not.”
“How can you say that to your favorite sister?”
“You’re my only sister.”
“Exactly.” She peeked in the direction of the living room, where their parents had settled after lunch. Madeleine had volunteered herself and Ryan to clean up the kitchen, and now, Ryan knew why.