Page 33 of Love in Unexpected Places

Sullivan rolled his eyes.He wasn’t the strongest mage in the coven by far, but he was sure he was stronger than this guy.

He shouldn’t have worried.Something pushed him aside, slamming him against the wall.He scrambled to get back into position, only to see the dragon grab the mage around the neck and throw him down.The mage tried getting back to his feet, but the dragon kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall back down.The dragon opened the window, and, for a moment, Sullivan thought he’d leave him behind.If that was the case, he’d have to find another way to leave the coven, and fast.

The dragon scrambled out of the window and dropped onto the porch roof.He turned and looked at Sullivan.“Well?Are you coming?”

Sullivan didn’t have a choice.He hoped that Braden would manage to protect his family because there was nothing he could do for any of them.The leaders would know what happened here, and they’d react accordingly.

Sullivan climbed out of the window.His legs shook, and he was terrified, but he told himself that there was no other way to do this.He couldn’t stay back and allow the leaders to hurt him.He knew too much about the pack and the people who’d agreed to help them from within the coven.

“What now?”the dragon asked.

“Now, you shift and fly away.”

The dragon nodded.“I can’t promise we’ll get very far because I’m not feeling great, but I’ll get us as far as possible.”

“I’ll tell you where to find the pack.They’ll help you.”

“And you, hopefully.I’m Oliver.”

“Sullivan.”

“Well, Sullivan, it looks like you’re about to go on your first dragon ride.”

Sullivan had watched Matty shift the other night, so he knew what to expect.A dragon was much bigger than a bear, though, so he pressed his back against the wall.He kept an ear open for what was happening inside, and since he could hear people running and screaming, he knew he and Oliver had to get out of there now.

Luckily, it didn’t take long.As soon as Oliver was done shifting, he pushed himself into the air.The porch creaked but held strong, and for a second, Sullivan thought Oliver was leaving without him.Instead, Oliver grabbed Sullivan with one big paw and raised him to his shoulder, where Sullivan had to scramble to get on his back.It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, especially as he worried about what the mages inside were about to do, but he managed.

He didn’t even slide down to his death as Oliver flew away.

* * * *

When Matty’s phonerang, he didn’t think much of it.He was on the couch, leaning against Seth’s side, watching a movie with some of his siblings.Even Sabrina was there, sitting on the floor, and while it was strange to see her with the people Matty had adopted as his family while he was on the streets, it also felt good to reunite both sides of his life.They’d welcomed Sabrina as if she’d always been one of them, and she’d cried when she’d hugged Theo and thanked him for watching out for Matty.Matty had been slightly embarrassed, but it was good that his sister cared so much about him.

“We’re watching a movie,” Wade complained.

His sister elbowed him in the side.They were sharing the second couch with Josie while Theo was on Matty’s other side.Theo and Chance bought new furniture for the living room when Theo moved in with his boyfriend so that his family would always feel welcome in their home, and they all spent a lot of time there.It was almost never all of them because they had jobs and partners now, but it felt good to have a safe place to spend time with the people who meant the most to Matty.He was sure the same went for all of them.

“Just answer,” Wade grumbled as he paused the movie.“It’s clear they’re eager to talk to you.”He wiggled his eyebrows.“Is it your boyfriend?”

Matty leaned forward and grabbed his phone.ItwasSullivan, and Matty grinned at Wade as he answered.“Hey.”He pulled the phone away from his ear at the weird sound that answered.He frowned, then listened again.“Sullivan?”

What Matty could hear sounded like wind, which didn’t make sense.As far as Matty knew, Sullivan was with the coven.Maybe he was working a spell?But why would he call Matty during work?

“I’m sitting on a dragon right now,” Sullivan’s voice said.

Matty blinked.“What do you mean, you’re sitting on a dragon?”

That got the attention of everyone in the room.Wade pushed away from his sister and sat up, leaning forward as if to listen better.Seth’s body tensed, and he squeezed Matty’s shoulder as if he thought Matty would need his support.

“Exactly what I said.”Sullivan had to yell so that Matty could hear him.“We escaped from the coven.”

“What happened?”Matty didn’t know any details about what Sullivan was doing with the pack and the coven, but he did know that this wasn’t planned.Sullivan was supposed to stay with the coven for as long as possible.

His heart raced as he told himself to breathe.He couldn’t panic.Sullivan needed him.

“One of the dragons tried to escape, and I couldn’t let anyone hurt him.We’re coming to the pack, so please warn Chance.I wouldn’t want anyone to attack us when we land.”

“I’m at his house right now, so I’ll do it right away.”

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