Chapter Five #2
Luckily, Chance knew what he was doing as an alpha.
He had people training to protect him and the rest of the pack, including mages who kept up spells on the area to protect it.
Ryan hadn’t offered to help with that yet, but he’d been thinking about it.
He didn’t want anyone to die, and he was willing to do anything to protect his family.
Besides, he’d been forced to use his magic in ways that made him want to throw up.
Maybe now, he could use it for good, like protecting people.
He opened the trunk of the car he’d used to come to town, dropped the bags inside, and slammed it shut.
He stepped toward the front of the car to climb in and drive back, but movement caught his eye.
He glanced in the direction of the park, briefly wondering if Seth would enjoy coming here to shift next time, only to freeze.
What the fuck were the coven leaders doing there?
That was an easy question to answer. They were talking to Chance, who looked like he had nothing to worry about, even though he was facing three powerful mages. The leaders weren’t alone. Two mages hovered behind them, ready to intervene if one of them said or did anything that warranted it.
And what the fuck was Seth doing there, standing next to James? He wasn’t a guard. He had no reason to be there, staring a hole in Raymond’s forehead.
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. ”
“How dare you?” 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 dare you? 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.
* * * *
SETH WAS BOTH PROUD and horrified by everything Ryan had just said. He knew this had been weighing heavily on Ryan’s mind since he and his family had moved, but at the same time, was telling all of that to three dangerous mages really the best idea?
He couldn’t deny that he felt better knowing there was a mage here who was on their side.
He hadn’t really thought about it until he’d seen the five mages waiting for them at the park, but they could hurt shifters with little more than a thought.
They didn’t have to waste time shifting the way shifters did.
They could use their magic and win this fight before it even began.
It was what made them so dangerous, and Seth didn’t understand why Chance hadn’t thought about taking a mage with them.
There were plenty of them who lived with the pack, after all.
Raymond looked like his head was about to explode. From the way Eldora had grabbed his arm, Seth suspected that he was the most impulsive of them all. He looked like he’d gladly strangle Chance and Ryan, which made Seth wonder.
Why were the three mages here? They were behaving as if their coven was as dangerous as it had been before, but Ryan was right. They’d lost a lot of people. Surely, they didn’t have the same ability to attack and destroy the pack as they had before.
“I never liked you or your family,” Maureen told Ryan.
Ryan snorted. “Oh, no. Whatever am I going to do with that knowledge?”
Chance gave Ryan a warning glance. Ryan grimaced, but Seth was on his side. Maureen had been rude. Should he have taken it with a smile?
“We’re not here to talk about Ryan and his family,” Chance declared. “We’re here to talk about what you and your coven are planning.”
“It’s none of your business,” Raymond snapped.
“It is if you’re planning on attacking my people, and I include the mage members of my pack. They’re my people now, not yours.”
“You’re going to regret this.”
“I don’t think so. The coven’s golden age is over. You’ve lost half of your people. You’re not as powerful as you were, and it’ll be years before you are again, if you ever are. Don’t make an enemy out of my pack. It wouldn’t be smart.”
“You don’t tell us what to do, bear.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Really?” He should’ve kept his mouth shut, but Raymond couldn’t even come up with a good insult.
Chance sighed and looked like he was on the verge of saying something, but Raymond beat him to it. “You let your people talk for you?”
“At least I don’t force them to die for me.
” Chance paused. “Look, there’s no need for you to posture.
I’ve talked with some of your mages, so I know the state the coven is in.
I know how many people you lost and how many you still have.
You’ll always be dangerous, even as a single mage, but you’re not strong enough to take my pack right now.
If you try, you’ll lose even more people, and I don’t think you want that to happen. ”
Raymond looked like he was on the verge of throwing himself at Chance. Seth almost wished he would. He suspected that the man was too much of a coward, though. He might be a mage, but he was afraid of Chance’s claws and fangs.
Good.