Ladon was already halfway across the yard, running toward the forest where the vampire had disappeared.
“Ladon, stop!” Bennett yelled and ran to catch up.
Garridan walked over to Sage, where he stood in the yard and wrapped his arms around him from behind. Sage leaned against him, his hands coming up to grip Garridan’s arms.
Bennett caught up with Ladon, grabbing him around the waist. They fell to the ground and Bennett held Ladon against his chest. He struggled for a few minutes, but finally slumped against Bennett.
“You’re not old enough yet, Ladon. You have to let him go until you are. At least for now.”
“I had one fucking chance to be with my mate and you and Ramsey fucked it up for me.”
“You can’t mate with him, Ladon.” Ramsey crouched next to them.
“I don’t even know his fucking name.” Ladon pushed Ramsey away. “He just wanted to talk.”
“It would have made things worse. Lucas can get him to come back after you shift,” Ramsey said.
“I’m not a GPS. I can’t just find people when you tell me, Ramsey,” Lucas said from beside them. “Jeez, you all really overestimate my abilities.”
“Shut up, Lucas. We’ll figure it out when Ladon shifts,” Ramsey said.
“He’s eighteen years-old. I totally don’t get this whole waiting until he shifts thing. It’s stupid,” Lucas said.
To Garridan’s surprise, Ladon corrected him. “The bite could change me enough so that I never shift.”
Lucas threw up his hands when everyone looked at him. “Well, how am I supposed to know that? It’s not like you people come with a manual. And might I point out that you guys think I can just read the minds of people in fucking China or wherever he went, so you’re no better than me.” Lucas folded his arms in front of his chest and narrowed his eyes at all of them.
“You fucking suck right now,” Ladon said to Ramsey.
Bennett let Ladon go and Ramsey stood, holding out a hand for Ladon to take. Ladon took it and Ramsey pulled him in for a hug.
“I’m still pissed off at you,” Ladon said, even though he returned the hug.
“I’ll help you get him back when the time comes,” Ramsey whispered and then release Ladon.
They all started across the yard, toward the house. When Ladon got close enough to Lucas, Garridan heard him whisper, “His name is Magnus. I got it earlier when Ramsey was interrogating him.”
“Magnus.”
Lucas nodded and took the hand Bennett held out to him.
Chapter Fifteen
Garridan hadn’t ever been challenged before and wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it. He had been on alert since they had taken care of the vampires. The fact that Magnus was still hanging around didn’t help at all. Garridan had seen him on the edge of the forest more than once. He should have said something to Ramsey but hadn’t so far. He understood the guy more than most. He just wanted his mate and didn’t understand why they couldn’t be together.
Yeah, Garridan could relate to that.
The pull Garridan felt toward Sage was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Of course, Garridan couldn’t remember what he had experienced before meeting Sage.
For Magnus, the misunderstanding had to be hard. The poor guy thought they kept him from his mate because he was a vampire, which wasn’t the case at all. Garridan would have explained, but the situation ran loose and there hadn’t been an opportunity before Magnus took off.
Ramsey had his reasons for not saying it straight. Magnus was the enemy. He had been in town to hurt two of the clan’s members. They couldn’t overlook that fact.
He would keep an eye on him…and Ladon.
He stood on the front porch with his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked at all the clan members starting to file into the yard. Garridan had his own issues right then anyway and they had to do with so many unknown shifters near his mate. The fact that they were clan members was irrelevant to Garridan’s dragon.
Garridan knew Sage was safe in the house, though, finishing the dishes with Vaughan, because it was their turn. In fact, Garridan heard Sage laugh at something Vaughan had said. For all the times that Sage grumbled about Vaughan and his wicked sense of humor, Garridan knew his mate secretly loved the teasing.
