Page 29 of Love in Unexpected Places

“Let’s go,” he said.

“I like your sister,” Sullivan commented as he turned on the engine.“She’s sweet.”

“I don’t know if I’d call her sweet, but yeah, she’s great.”Matty sighed happily.“I’m glad to have her back in my life.I missed her, even though I told myself that I didn’t.”

Sullivan didn’t want to push Matty to talk about his family after what had happened, especially not on a date, but he was curious.“You never reached out to her?”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t think our parents would allow me to.They expected me to survive on my own, and while I did, I knew it wasn’t in the way they wanted me to.No one wants their kids to be homeless.”

“They shouldn’t have kicked you out at eighteen, then,” Sullivan snapped before sucking in a breath.“I’m sorry.We should probably stop talking about your parents for tonight.”

“I don’t particularly want to talk about them, either.”

“Let’s not, then.”

“Why don’t you tell me aboutyourfamily?”

“There’s nothing much to say.Both my parents and my siblings are coven members.My brother and my sister have partners and kids.”

“They’re who you were protecting when you went along with what the coven leaders demanded.”

“They are.The coven leaders love to threaten significant others, but until you, I didn’t have one.I’ve known for a long time that it would make me more vulnerable, and I didn’t want that.Them threatening my parents and siblings is bad enough.”

“It’s sad that you had to isolate yourself so people wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Hopefully, that won’t last for much longer.”

“I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but what’s going on?Have you and Chance made any progress?”

This wasn’t what Sullivan had in mind for their first date, but there was no ignoring the upcoming fight.Even when Sullivan didn’t want to think about it, it lurked at the edge of his thoughts, always ready to jump in when he lowered his guard.He was the kind of person who hyper-fixated—on food, books, or other things—and right now, he was obsessed with the fight and what would happen after it.

“For now, we’re gathering information and supporters,” he explained.“We already knew we wouldn’t be able to convince most of the coven members to help during the fight, but we really just need them to stand down.As long as they don’t fight for the leaders, we should be able to take out the mages who do.”

“The leaders have people who support them?”

“Unfortunately.There are bad people everywhere, and while I’m sure that some of their supporters are doing so to protect themselves and their families, some want what leaders are offering.”

“I hate this,” Matty murmured.

“We all do.A coven is supposed to be like a pack.We’re family, and we should support and protect each other.Instead, the leaders are hurting people.It’s not only dragons or other shifters.They’re hurting mages, too.”Sullivan tried not to think of Trevor, who’d barely left his bedroom since Deborah had punished him.He was terrified, and Sullivan didn’t blame him for that.Of course Trevor was afraid.After what Deborah had done to him, anyone would be.

“Why are they doing this?”

“They’re hungry for power and control.They were like that before, too, but when it was confined to the coven, it was easier to deal with.They want more of everything now, from land to magic, and one way to get both is to take over packs and clans.They don’t have respect for anyone but themselves.They view shifters as a means to an end.”

“They don’t think we deserve dignity.”

“Some of them don’t, but others don’t care.They would use anyone, even other mages.Theydouse mages.”

Sullivan was relieved when he found a parking spot.He loved talking to Matty, but this wasn’t the kind of conversation he wanted to have.They were on a date, and they’d only talked about the coven, what they were up to, and Matty’s parents.It was good that they could talk about things that were tough and awful, but it shouldn’t be all they had to talk about.Unfortunately, Matty’s life had been hard before they met, and while Sullivan had always had a roof over his head, he couldn’t say this had been easy.It made it difficult to find topics of conversation that wouldn’t lead them down the path of talking about things they didn’t want to talk about.

Sullivan parked the car and turned the engine off.He glanced at Matty, who was biting on his lower lip, not looking particularly happy.Sullivan sighed and reached out to take Matty’s hand.“Okay, so we talked about your parents and the coven.How about we agree not to mention either of those again tonight?I want to enjoy the time with you, and that’s not going to happen if we continue down this path.”

Matty looked relieved.“I was going to suggest that, but I didn’t know if you’d want it.I don’t want to talk about this again tonight.”

“We have a deal?”

“We do.”

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