Chapter Five
“I’m coming with you,” Seth said, glaring at Chance.
Thankfully, Chance didn’t look angry, but rather, amused. Seth wondered if he should be worried about that. Should his brother-in-law be amused when Seth was trying to look strong and capable of protecting the alpha?
“There’s no reason for you to. James is coming with me, and you know how protective he is,” Chance said.
Seth snorted. “I know how deep the stick in his ass is.”
“Hey,” James complained.
Seth didn’t apologize. He didn’t understand how Wade could stand being with James, but it was none of his business. He just knew that James was a sourpuss. Luckily, he was a sourpuss who knew what he was doing and who was more than capable of defending the alpha.
That didn’t mean that Seth didn’t want to go with them. Chance was meeting the coven leaders in town today, and he needed all the backup he could get. Seth had grown up on the streets, and he was pretty scrappy. He was sure he could help if the mages decided to do something stupid.
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Chance. Chance stared back for a moment before sighing. “Fine. You can come, too. Theo’s going to be pissed, though, so you’ll be the one to explain why his brother was there during the meeting.”
“If he finds out only after we’re back, I won’t have to explain anything. What time is the meeting? Are we leaving now?”
Chance shook his head, still amused. Seth wasn’t kidding, though. He knew that his brother would be angry because he’d decided to go with Chance. He didn’t really care what Theo thought at the moment, though. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him until he found out about it.
None of this was planned. Seth had been trying to find Theo, so he’d walked to his brother’s house, only to find Chance talking to his beta and his head of security. When he’d asked what was going on, Chance had told him that he was meeting the coven leaders.
That was when Seth had decided that he was meeting the coven leaders, too.
He already knew that Houston wouldn’t be going.
If anything happened to Chance, the pack would need someone to lead them, and that could only be Chance’s beta.
Knowing that James would be there helped, but it didn’t feel like enough.
Seth might not have any formal training, but after living on the streets for so long, he knew how to defend himself and other people, and he would defend his brother’s mate, be it the last thing he did.
He hoped it wouldn’t be.
But even if it was, at least he would’ve protected his brother-in-law.
Seth didn’t want to die or to get hurt, but protecting Theo had always been his priority, even when he was only twelve.
That hadn’t changed, and he wasn’t sure it ever would.
He knew that Theo wouldn’t understand and that there were people who were better trained and equipped to deal with the mages than he was, but he needed this control.
He needed to be there and make sure everything was being done to protect the alpha.
“I don’t like this,” James grumbled as they stepped off the porch and moved towards James’s car.
“Well, I don’t like you,” Seth snapped back.
“See? This is why you shouldn’t be coming with us. You have no experience, and you’re little more than a child.”
“And you’re an old man.” James was eighteen years older than Seth, so he kind of was. Seth wouldn’t have said it out loud if James hadn’t been annoying him, though.
“Children,” Chance drawled before sliding into the passenger seat. “We have work to do.”
Right. They were heading out to meet the coven leaders, which meant that Chance should focus on that, not on bickering with James.
As much as he wanted to slap James in that smug face of his when the man arched a brow, Seth didn’t.
Instead, he sat in the backseat without arguing.
He already knew he wouldn’t win if he asked to drive.
James had a stick that was lodged so deep in his ass that it was a miracle he and Wade managed to have sex.
He wouldn’t relinquish that kind of control, especially to someone he didn’t trust.
Seth wasn’t offended by that. He didn’t trust James, either, even though he was head of security.
Seth stayed silent as James drove them out of pack territory.
James and Chance were softly talking to each other, but it was pack business, and Seth didn’t find it interesting.
He wouldn’t be here if this were a normal outing between two friends, or even if Chance was meeting someone else. He was going because of the coven.
Thinking about what they’d done to Ryan and his family made him want to shake them and maybe slap them a little.
This was why he wasn’t an alpha. He would suck at it.
He’d cause a diplomatic accident or whatever one would call it, and it would cause the coven to attack and kill half the pack.
He’d have to be careful and keep his mouth shut so he didn’t cause any kind of trouble.
He was there to protect Chance, and he could do that without speaking.
“Where are we meeting them?” he asked once Chance and James fell silent.
“The park,” Chance said.
Seth frowned. “Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, there’s bound to be people there, right?”
“Which is why they chose that place. They wanted to be sure we wouldn’t attack them.”
“I get that. The problem is that they might attack us. I don’t think they care about kids playing.”
“I agree, which is why we’ll do our best to keep things calm.”
That was Chance telling Seth to keep his mouth shut. He could do that.
Probably.
The problem was that he was even angrier by the time they reached town and parked the car.
He’d been thinking about the coven and everything they’d done, and he hated every part of it.
They’d attacked a dragon clan that hadn’t done anything to them.
Hell, the dragons hadn’t even known the coven existed.
The mages had destroyed the clan, killed numerous people, and didn’t feel any regret.
The leaders had ordered their people to hurt others and hadn’t thought twice about their safety.
People like Ryan and his sister had lost loved ones.
Ryan’s niece had lost her father and would never know him.
It wasn’t fair.
But Seth had to be careful because if he wasn’t, he might start a war, which wasn’t why he was here. He was here to protect Chance, and that was what he’d do. He wouldn’t give James the satisfaction of knowing he’d been right about him. He might be impulsive, but he wasn’t an idiot.
They climbed out of the car, and Seth looked around. Thankfully, it was the middle of the day, so the playground wasn’t full. Most of the kids were no doubt in school. There were a few people walking their dogs, but they didn’t linger.
“What now?” he asked.
“I believe they’re already here,” Chance said softly.
Sure enough, a small group of people stood by the entrance of the park. A man and two women were huddled together, talking. The man looked angry, while the women appeared annoyed more than anything. There were two other people close by, and the way they stood told Seth they were guards.
He was glad he’d insisted on coming. They were outnumbered, and it would’ve been worse if Chance had only come with James.
Chance looked like he was taking a stroll in the park—which he was, actually—as he walked toward the mages. The man looked up and scowled, then said something to the women, who turned to face Chance.
James and Seth stayed just behind Chance. They were close enough for them to hear the conversation.
“Thanks for coming,” Chance said, inclining his head. “My name is Chance. I’m the alpha of the local pack.”
The man’s scowl deepened. Seth really wanted to slap him.
“I’m Maureen,” one of the women said. Her blonde hair was tied back away from her face, and she was looking at Chance as if he were shit at the bottom of her shoes. She didn’t offer him her hand to shake. None of them did.
“Eldora,” the second woman said. “And this is Raymond.”
Chance didn’t introduce James and Seth, for which Seth was grateful.
He didn’t want these people to know his name.
He didn’t want these people to know anything about him.
They weren’t here to make friends but to ensure that more people wouldn’t die, but Seth was pretty sure that if these people had their way, the meeting would turn into a bloodbath.
* * * *
RYAN GRABBED THE TWO grocery bags and nodded at the woman behind the till. She nodded back before turning to the next customer, and Ryan headed out, relieved to be able to leave the grocery store. He didn’t like being away from home.
He knew it was fear speaking. The problem was that there was nothing he could do to get over it.
Only time would convince him that his family was safe, even when he wasn’t with them.
They were deep in pack territory and had no plans of leaving it.
That meant that the coven leaders couldn’t get to them.
Hopefully.
Unfortunately, Ryan knew the three well. They wouldn’t hesitate to attack the pack if it was in any way feasible. They’d kill dozens of people to obtain what they wanted.
And what they wanted right now was Chance and his people dead.
It wasn’t even a guess. Ryan was sure that was their plan.
He didn’t know why they hadn’t put it into play yet, but it probably had to do with the fact that they’d lost a lot of mages.
They didn’t have as many people doing their bidding as before, so they needed to regroup.
Ryan had no doubt they would attack eventually, though, which meant the pack needed to be prepared.