Chapter 8: Jericho
Nearly two months into Mason’s pregnancy - almost halfway done, I reminded myself - and his weird food cravings hit him in full force. I had to run to the store to grab some mint ice cream, corn dogs, and sour candy. For some reason he wanted to stuff all of them in his mouth at the same time, but I wasn’t complaining. As long as he had an appetite, that was fine by me. I’d seen him be sick for so long that I was happy that he wanted to eat, even if it was weird food by my standards.
As I neared the house, I stopped. There was a strange black shape on my front step.
Curiously, I approached it. It was a pitch-black raven just standing there in front of my door. But immediately I knew this wasn’t an ordinary bird. It didn’t fly away when I approached. Instead, it looked me dead in the eyes. It nearly sent a chill down my spine.
“Um… hello?” I asked, then felt stupid immediately.
But then I noticed the raven was carrying something in its beak. It dropped the item and I picked it up. It was a rolled up note. Furrowing my brow, I opened it up.
Be wary. There is a traitor amongst you.
I stared at the note, re-reading it a couple of times. Was this some kind of joke? I wanted to throw it out, and I nearly would have except for the dead serious stare in the raven’s beady eyes. The bird did not break eye contact with me for a long time. When it finally did, it stretched its wings and took to the sky, flying off into the night.
With a sense of unease, I entered the house.
“Mason?” I called.
“In here,” he yelled. I followed his voice to the living room, where he was curled up on the couch watching TV. A blanket was draped over his now-swollen belly as he ate an entire cucumber with his eyes glued to the screen.
“What’s up?” he asked as I walked in. But then he turned and saw the expression on my face and he asked with concern, “Jericho, is everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. I held up the paper. “I found this… weird note outside. Being carried by a bird.”
Mason narrowed his eyes. “A bird?”
“Yeah, like a crow or raven or something.”
He frowned. Judging by the look on his face, he was clearly thinking about something.
“Do you know something about it?” I asked.
Mason slowly shook his head. “Not really. I was just thinking that I saw a weird raven too, the other night when we were all out celebrating. I thought it was weird because ravens stay out in the wilderness and don’t really come into town. Wait, did you say the bird wascarryingthe note?”
I nodded. “It’s definitely no ordinary bird.”
Mason looked nervous now. “What does the note say?”
“That’s the weirdest part,” I mumbled.
I went over to sit next to him and then showed him the note. His eyes went over it a few times before he leaned back and muttered, “What? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Maybe it’s some kind of prank?” Mason suggested.
“I thought so at first, too, but the way that bird stared at me when I read the note gave me the chills,” I growled. “I think it’s serious.”
Mason’s face flickered with anxiety. I put a protective arm around him. “No matter what this is, I won’t let anything happen to you or the pups,” I promised with a deep growl. “Just remember that.”
He laid his head on my shoulder but his voice was still nervous. “I know… I just don’t know what it means. Is it a warning or a threat? What are we supposed to do about it?” He glanced at me with fearful eyes. “Who is the traitor?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “And it’s not like we can just go around asking everybody we know if they’re planning to betray us.”
Mason’s face clouded with anxiety and stress. I pulled him closer as a deep growl built in my throat. I was angry on his behalf. I wanted to know who was out there making my mate feel wary and why. What business did the note-writer have with us?
“That bird… it must have been watching us,” Mason muttered. “That means it heard our entire conversation at dinner. I distinctly remember it flying away once we were leaving…” His head suddenly shot up. His eyes were as wide as saucers with fear. “Do you think it went back to Scarlet Ridge?”
