Page 9 of Love in Unexpected Places

Deborah’s eyes narrowed.“You’re supposed to keep them under your control.”

“I’m really sorry.”

There was nothing else Trevor could say.Deborah wouldn’t care about whatever explanation he had.He’d allowed one of the dragons to wreak havoc, and he would pay for that.

* * * *

Matty was happy thatmost of his friends had found love since they’d moved in with the pack, but the fact that they were all coupled off meant that when he wasn’t at work, he didn’t have anything to do.Before, he’d spent all his time with his ragtag family, but most of them were either at work or with their significant other.Those who didn’t have a significant other, like Seth, were working, which left Matty on his own, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom and trying not to think about Sullivan.

That wasn’t going well.He wasn’t sure what it was about the guy, but he really liked him.He didn’t know much about him since he’d never talked to him, but at the very least, he could be sure that Sullivan was a good person.He was working against his leaders and putting himself in danger to do the right thing.He should have done it sooner, but Matty wouldn’t berate him for not having the guts to stand up to people who would kill him with a smile if they knew what he was doing.

With a sigh, he rolled onto his stomach and grabbed his phone.He doubted any of the coven mages were on social media, but maybe he could look anyway.At the very least, it would give him something to do for a few minutes.

He poked around for a bit, but just like he thought, there were no signs of Sullivan on any of the social media he used.He was about to throw his phone back onto the mattress when he noticed he had a message.He didn’t often use social media, either, but he’d had this profile since he was a teenager and still lived with his parents.

He clicked on the message icon.His eyes widened when he saw his sister’s name.What was Sabrina doing messaging him?

She was about to turn eighteen.Matty hadn’t thought of that, and his stomach dropped as he opened the message.

Sure enough, it was what he’d expected.Their parents were kicking her out because she was turning eighteen, and they didn’t have to take care of her anymore.Shit.

He sat up and reread the message.He was tempted to call her and promise that everything would be okay, but first, he had people to talk to.He didn’t want to leave her onread, either, so he quickly typed that he’d take care of everything and hopped off his bed.

He didn’t bother with a jacket.He shoved his feet into his shoes and rushed out of the house.He’d been the only one home today, so there was no one to worry about.

He ran to Theo and Chance’s house.They were the ones who would have to agree to have Sabrina brought into the pack.It was the only solution Matty could think of.He earned a bit of money at his job at the coffee shop in town, but he was expected to help the pack.He didn’t mind.The pack had given him a home, and he knew they’d have his back if he ever needed them.It only made sense for him to contribute.

But he’d only been working his job a few weeks, and while it paid decently well, it wouldn’t be enough for him to help his sister.He needed the pack.

He wasn’t sure they would give it to him.Theo would no doubt push for it, but he didn’t have the last word.Chance did, and considering everything that was happening, Matty wouldn’t be surprised or offended if Chance decided they couldn’t afford to take in Sabrina.He prayed that wouldn’t be the case, though.He didn’t want to leave the pack, but he also couldn’t abandon his sister.

His phone felt like it burned a hole in his pocket as he ran.He felt it vibrate a few times, and he wondered if it was Sabrina.He didn’t stop to check.He didn’t want to answer until he had good news, or at the very least, news.

He was out of breath when he reached the house Theo shared with Chance, but he didn’t slow down.He bounded up the porch steps and knocked on the door, only now taking the time to breathe properly.

He was still panting when the door opened.Theo blinked at him, then frowned.“What’s going on?Why do you look like you’ve been running?”

“That’s because I have.I need to talk to you and Chance.”

“Has something happened?Is it the coven?”

Matty shook his head.“It doesn’t have anything to do with them.It’s a personal matter.”

Theo relaxed, but not by much.He might know that the pack wasn’t in danger now, but he was still worried about Matty.They were family, and that was what they did—worried about each other.

Matty left his shoes in the entrance and followed Theo to the kitchen.Chance was in front of the stove, flipping something in a pan, but he paused and turned to face Matty.“I didn’t expect you.Are you staying for lunch?”

“I’m not here for food.I need to talk to you about my sister.”

Chance and Theo exchanged a glance.They’d reached the point in their relationship where they could communicate without saying a word, something for which Matty was jealous.He wanted that kind of relationship with someone, too, dammit.

“Why don’t you sit down?”Chance offered.

Matty flopped into the closest chair and took out his phone.He placed it on the table, not surprised to see he had several messages from Sabrina.“Theo already knows this, but I don’t think I ever told you how I ended up on the streets,” Matty explained.“The day I turned eighteen, my parents told me that they didn’t have any duty to take care of me anymore.They kicked me out.They didn’t worry about whether or not I’d have a place to stay.They barely allowed me to take anything with me because they’d paid for all of it, including my clothes.They took my phone, my computer, everything.I was only allowed to take a backpack filled with a few necessities, and that was that.”

Theo had already heard the story, but he still reached over the table to take Matty’s hand.Matty was glad for the touch.Every time he thought he’d gotten over what his parents had done, he realized that wasn’t the case and that he was still hurt over the fact that they clearly didn’t love him.He’d thought it would be different for Sabrina, but clearly, he’d been wrong.

He cleared his throat.“Anyway.I ended up on the streets because I turned eighteen, and that’s what’s happening to my sister.It’s her birthday tomorrow, and our parents told her that she needed to get out of the house by tomorrow evening.”He was surprised that their parents had given her a heads-up, but it wasn’t enough.She wouldn’t be able to find a place to stay.She didn’t have any money or anything like that.

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