Chapter Six #2
He tapped his foot again and took a sip of coffee. He eyed his phone on the table, wondering if he should call. Would Seth even answer?
“Just call him,” Madeleine said with a sigh. “That way, you’ll be able to relax.”
It was all the permission Seth needed. He snatched up his phone and unlocked it, quickly pulling up Ryan’s number. He raised the phone to his ear and waited, ready to complain as soon as Seth answered.
Seth didn’t answer. The phone rang and rang until it went to voicemail. Ryan lowered his hand and stared at the phone. Should he try calling again? Would it make a difference?
“I can hear you thinking,” Madeleine complained. “I’m sure he’s fine, but if you’re that worried, maybe you should go find him.”
Ryan tapped his fingertips on the table. “Wouldn’t that be too much?”
“Too much for who?”
“I don’t want to send him running.”
“You haven’t yet, so I don’t think that there’s anything you can do or say that will send Seth running. Seriously, Ryan. Stop obsessing over what’s happening and go find out.”
She was right. Ryan should go out there and find Seth, and if it was too much for Seth, well, they could talk about it and find a solution. That was what they did when they bickered. They took a breath and talked about it. Communication was key in a relationship, and Ryan wanted this one to work.
He got to his feet, grabbed his phone, finished his coffee, and dropped the cup into the sink for Madeleine to take care of. “I’ll be back later,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple.
His sister scowled at him. “And you’re leaving me your dirty dishes.”
“I have to go.”
“You’re a dick.”
“Yeah, but I’m a dick—you know what? Never mind. That joke sounded better in my head.”
Madeleine snickered as Ryan left through the back door. Their parents knew he was going out with Seth, and he didn’t want them to worry when they saw him leaving the house alone before Seth could arrive.
Once he was outside, he paused and wondered where he was supposed to go. Seth was coming from home, so if anything had happened, he was probably still there or somewhere in that direction. If he wasn’t, Ryan would start looking for him elsewhere, but it was a good place to start.
He was still holding his phone. He texted Seth as he walked, but Seth didn’t see the message. He tried calling again, and Seth didn’t answer.
What the fuck was going on?
The sound of an explosion made Ryan jump. He looked around, trying to understand where it had come from. It hadn’t been very loud, but it was out of place. There shouldn’t be explosions in the forest.
There was a second one, a bit louder this time.
It allowed him to locate where the sound was coming from, and he started running after pushing his phone into his pocket.
He didn’t think Seth would answer anyway.
If Ryan had to guess, his boyfriend was right in the middle of whatever was happening with the explosions.
Ryan was terrified. He could think of only a few explanations for the explosions, and none of them were good.
It was possible that one of the mages who lived with the pack was casting spells over pack territory and had made a mistake.
They were good people and good mages, but mistakes happened to everyone.
Ryan hoped that was what he was about to walk in on because the alternative horrified him.
Luckily, he didn’t have to wonder for long. A third explosion rocked the ground under his feet. He ran faster, even though he was out of breath. If he survived this, he’d need to get into better shape.
The next explosion was louder and was accompanied by a roar. Ryan’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, but he pushed on, panting as he pumped his legs.
The bark of a tree just in front of him exploded, flying everywhere.
A flash of pain burned his cheek, and he dropped to the ground, covering his head.
The explosion was over almost before it happened.
Ryan blinked up, looking at the tree. It was still standing, but bits of bark were still dropping to the ground.
Movement caught his attention. Something white moved in front of him. He swallowed when he realized it was Seth.
He’d shifted and was standing over the unconscious body of a woman. For a second, Ryan was confused. What was happening? Who was the woman, and why was Seth protecting her? Where the fuck were these explosions coming from?
He scrambled to his feet just in time to see someone he recognized step closer to Seth.
A mage.
That was why Seth was late. It was why he’d shifted. Somehow, a mage from the coven had managed to find a way to bypass the protective spells around pack territory and sneak in, and he was attacking Seth.
Ryan barely thought about the unconscious woman at Seth’s feet.
He’d save her if he could, but his priority was Seth.
He’d do anything he could to save his boyfriend, including using magic.
He’d been reluctant to do so since he’d arrived in pack territory because he hadn’t wanted to scare pack members or intimidate them, but right now, he didn’t care.
He stepped forward as the mage raised his hand.
Seth growled, but beyond launching himself at the mage, there was little he could do, and it looked like he didn’t want to leave the woman alone.
It was touching but also a bit stupid. If Ryan had to guess, that woman would’ve run away screaming instead of protecting Seth if their roles had been reversed.
The mage waved his hand, and purple light rushed toward Seth. Ryan was too slow to react, and he had to bite his lower lip hard to stop himself from screaming and attract the mage’s attention. The light hit Seth in the chest and sent him backward. He landed against a tree and cried out.
The mage raised his hand again, but this time, Ryan was ready for him.
* * * *
THE AIR WHOOSHED OUT of Seth’s lungs when he hit the tree. For a second, he couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard he tried. His back and head hurt, but luckily, he’d managed to shift before the mage had sent him flying. He would be in much more pain if he’d still been in his human form.
Shifting had helped, but that was all Seth could do, and he didn’t know if it would be enough.
As he watched the mage who’d attacked him raise his hand again, no doubt to finish what he’d started, he wondered if he would have survived this if he hadn’t been alone.
Technically, he wasn’t, but the woman who’d yelled at him earlier was of no help since she’d fainted.
What would happen to her? Would the mages kill her? Would they kill every pack member they found like they had the dragons when they’d attacked the clan? They were here for a reason, and Seth couldn’t imagine it was a good one.
He tried to get up, even though it wouldn’t help. He wasn’t going to take this sitting down.
Purple light glowed from the mage’s palm again, and Seth closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to make it.
He’d thought he would die so many times when he lived on the streets, but it hadn’t happened. Instead, he’d survived and had found a home, even though it hadn’t been for long.
He hoped Theo would be fine. He had to be. He wasn’t alone anymore, and with all the support he’d have, he’d forget all about Seth in a few years. Seth would become a story to tell Theo and Chance’s children during family reunions.
But the pain Seth expected never happened. He heard someone swear and the sound of feet on the forest ground, and he blinked his eyes open to see what was happening. He tried to get to his feet, but his body felt heavy.
The mage wasn’t facing Seth anymore. He’d moved toward someone on Seth’s right, and when Seth turned to look, his stomach dropped.
Ryan.
He had both hands raised, too, and purple light danced on his palms. He looked like an avenging angel, and he’d never been so beautiful, but Seth was terrified. He didn’t want anything to happen to Ryan.
“Traitor,” the mage spat out.
Ryan didn’t seem to care what the man thought of him.
“Better a traitor than a murderer.” He waved one hand, and the light shot forward, but it didn’t hit the mage.
No, it continued moving, slamming into the second mage square in the chest. The man had been hiding behind a tree, either to surprise Ryan or because he was afraid.
The reason didn’t matter. The man cried out and dropped to the ground, clutching his chest with both hands.
That spurred the second mage into action.
He rushed forward, light shooting from his hands, small explosions making Seth jump.
He had to make sure the mage wouldn’t hurt Ryan.
He was sure that Ryan could defend himself, but it didn’t mean that he was going to sit there and watch him do it without helping.
He’d been trying to get to his feet, but he was struggling, so he stopped.
Instead, he stretched out, reaching one of his paws forward.
The mage who’d sent him flying seemed to have forgotten that he was there.
He didn’t look down as he ran past Seth, which meant that Seth could catch the man’s ankle with his claws.
The man screamed. The light vanished from his palms as if it had never existed, and he dropped to the ground.
Seth could smell blood, but he didn’t care.
He struggled to get to his feet again, ignoring the pain in his back and head.
He was worried about his condition, but that would have to wait until he was sure that neither of the mages was a danger to Ryan.
Ryan moved forward and stopped by the mage who’d attacked him. He glanced down at the man. Seth finally managed to get to his feet, but the world around him tilted sideways when he did. He had to lean against the closest tree, which, accidentally, was the same one he’d slammed against.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Ryan told the mage.