Page 35 of Love in Unexpected Places

Matty chuckled.“I don’t know about that, but he called the dragon by his name, so maybe.”Matty was curious to know the circumstances of the escape.Sullivan had said that the dragon had woken up, but how was that possible when the coven leaders had ordered the spells to be strengthened?And how had Sullivan ended up in the middle of it?Why was he escaping with the dragon when he’d told Matty that he had to stay at the coven house for as long as possible?Knowing him, he’d probably tried protecting the dragon and had been caught.

Matty prayed that wasn’t the case.He needed his boyfriend to be okay, and he wouldn’t be if one of the leaders had gotten their hands on him.Matty had only heard stories about them, but they were enough to scare him.

* * * *

Sullivan had neverthought he’d be here—here being on a dragon flying through the sky.He kept slipping to the side, and his abs hurt with the effort of keeping himself upright.He clung to Oliver’s back, but it wasn’t easy when he hadn’t exactly had the time to situate himself and find a good spot so he wouldn’t feel like he was about to fall to his death every five seconds.

Sullivan couldn’t really complain.Oliver had saved him, just like Sullivan had saved Oliver.He wouldn’t have made it out of the house if it wasn’t for Sullivan, and Sullivan would have been in the hands of the coven leaders right now if Oliver hadn’t agreed to let him come with him.

It was a good basis for friendship, as long as Sullivan made it to pack territory without splatting on the ground.

He squeezed his knees around Oliver and leaned forward so that the dragon could hear him.“There,” he said, pointing ahead.“You see these houses?They’re in pack territory.”It had taken a moment for Sullivan to orient himself since he’d never arrived at the pack using this mode of transportation.He recognized the town to the right, though, so he knew more or less where pack territory started.He wasn’t sure he’d be able to pick out Chance’s house, but he was going to try.

He wished he could have stayed on the phone with Matty, but he’d been scared he’d drop it, so it was back in his pocket, where it was mostly safe.It wouldn’t be if Sullivan slid off, but Sullivan wouldn’t care about his phone if that happened.

He couldn’t wait to see Matty.He could imagine how freaked out his boyfriend was, which he hated, but it wasn’t like he’d had a choice.He’d needed to warn the pack that he was coming, and the only person he’d wanted to talk to was Matty.He’d known that Matty would relay his message, although he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.Maybe he should have because he knew that Matty tended to spend a lot of time with his family, including Theo.

Oliver grumbled and turned slightly toward the houses.Sullivan squinted against the wind, trying to find Chance’s house.It was hard at a distance, but eventually, he recognized it.

“There,” he said, pointing and squeezing his knees.

Oliver huffed but lowered.The landing wasn’t going to be easy, but Sullivan knew that other dragons had done it, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.Oliver circled around the house once, maybe thinking about how he was going to do this, before finally landing.He slid toward the trees, but they didn’t crash against them as Sullivan expected.

He slid off Oliver’s back as soon as it was safe to do so.His legs shook, and he briefly considered kissing the ground.He didn’t have the opportunity to do so because seconds later, Matty was in his arms.

Sullivan hugged him back, clinging to him and telling himself that he was fine.He’d survived the escape.He’d made it to pack territory, and while he was terrified of what would happen to his family, Matty was safe.He was in his arms, clinging to him as if he was afraid Sullivan would disappear if he didn’t.Sullivan was grateful because he felt a bit like hewoulddisappear if he wasn’t in Matty’s arms.

“How are you?”Chance asked as he strode forward.

“Well, this wasn’t planned, but it could have ended up much worse,” Sullivan answered as he unhooked one of his arms from around Matty and shook Chance’s hand.

He turned, not surprised to see that while Oliver had shifted back to his human form, he was keeping his distance.He was naked since his clothes had exploded when he’d shifted at the coven house, and while shifters were used to nudity, it didn’t mean it was a comfortable situation for him or for anyone else.

“Oliver, this is Chance.He’s the alpha of this pack, and I’m sure he’ll help you.Chance, this is Oliver.He’s one of the dragons the coven kidnapped from that clan.I’m not sure how he managed to wake up from the spell that was keeping him under control, but he did, and I had to step in to protect him.”

Chance nodded.“That explains why you ran.”

“Here,” another man said as he moved forward.

Sullivan was sure he’d seen him before, but he couldn’t remember if he knew the man’s name.Oliver seemed to recognize him, though, because he gasped and stumbled forward.When the man reached him, holding out a blanket, Oliver threw himself into the man’s arms.

“That’s Mark,” Matty explained.“I don’t know if you know this, but Mark was supposed to be the next alpha of their dragon clan.”

Right.These two had belonged to the same clan before the coven had attacked it.Of course Oliver recognized Mark.He’d been his future alpha.

“Why don’t the two of you come in?”Chance offered.“I’m sure you could do with some rest and maybe food.”

Oliver still looked wary, but Mark guided him forward.Oliver didn’t hesitate to follow, no doubt trusting the man who would have been his future alpha.He wouldn’t, but it didn’t matter.As long as Oliver respected Chance as the alpha, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Sullivan trudged behind Chance and Theo, who were quietly talking.Oliver and Mark were behind them, and when Wade tried to follow, Seth wrapped a hand around Wade’s bicep and kept him back.Wade was pouting, but Seth didn’t let go, which was a good thing because Sullivan didn’t think that Oliver would be comfortable with too many people watching him.He didn’t know Matty’s brothers well yet, but he did know that Wade was a lot, even when he had a quiet day.

Sullivan knew what had happened to Oliver in detail and what spells he’d been put under.He’d never gone through any of it, but he could imagine that Oliver felt exhausted and like he could sleep for a week.

He just might.

To Sullivan’s surprise, they didn’t head to Chance’s office but rather to the living room.The TV was on, a movie paused, and there were snacks and drinks on the coffee table.Mark guided Oliver to one of the couches and handed him a glass of water while Sullivan flopped onto the other couch.

“I’m glad you knew to come to us,” Chance said.“I realize this wasn’t planned, but I trust you didn’t have any other option.”

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