I was on the edge of laughter, but I held myself back at the last second. Red was dead serious in his belief. I saw it in his expression and heard it in his voice. He genuinely believed in fated mates. He didn’t strike me as a naïve guy, or one who was deluded by fairy tales. He was smart and realistic. So why did he seem to care so much about this made-up phenomenon?
I knew I had to tell him now.
“Red,” I said, putting my hand gently on his. “You’re a great guy, and your pack has been nothing but good to me. But I can’t stay here forever.”
I’d planned to be more eloquent with my words and to make a convincing argument as to why I had to leave, but when I looked into Red’s face, I got tongue-tied and that was all I was able to say.
Red’s expression was mostly unreadable again, but he gave me a small smile and nodded. “I got you, don’t worry. I know you need to be free.”
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t expected him to understand, but the mention of that word—freedom—told me everything I needed to know.
“Thank you,” I said, then winked. “Now, that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun while I’m here.”
Red’s laughter filled the alcove, plucking at my heartstrings.
5
Red
A few dayshad passed since Remington slathered Orpheus in doctor-approved poultices. The raven shifter seemed to be getting a bit better, which was a huge load off my mind. Despite my disappointment in the fact that I knew he had to leave eventually, I truly did know what he felt like. To have your freedom stolen from you was terrible, and I’d gone through the same thing enough to understand his pain. I would never want to inflict the same thing on Orpheus.
The light rain that had sprinkled over the land for the past few days finally cleared up. Now the sky was bright and blue with a shining sun. I figured it was a good day for Orpheus to get out and about. Even if he couldn’t physically leave the alcove, I’d carry him outside to enjoy the good weather.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said as I ducked into the alcove.
“Hey, handsome,” I replied with a grin. He’d taken to calling me that sort of thing lately. I honestly didn’t mind it. I wasn’t about to say no to nice compliments from such a good-looking alpha, even if he had no intention of following up on them. “How’s the body today?”
Orpheus chuckled. “You tell me.”
“Very funny. Do you want to tell jokes or do you want to go outside?”
His expression changed suddenly into one of hesitant enthusiasm. “Wait, are you serious?”
“Of course. What, did you think you were a prisoner or something?”
Orpheus looked baffled, like the concept of going out hadn’t even occurred to him. For a guy who cherished his freedom so much, he sure did a bad job of utilizing what he had. It was almost amusing. He talked a big game, but there was something innocent about him, too. I found myself inexplicably drawn to him with each passing moment.
Of course, there was no time for that. I shoved my budding crush aside to deal with the real problems.
I kneeled beside him. “Okay. Can you get up on your own? If not, I can help you.”
“Let me try.”
With a grunt, Orpheus managed to shakily rise to his feet. I leapt up beside him, ready to catch him if he swayed, but to both of our joy he stayed upright without my help. He grinned at me.
“Hey, that weird herbal crap really did the job!”
I couldn’t help but smile at his elation. “Remington and the others told me what Dr. Pyne said. From the description of your state, she said that it didn’t seem too serious and that you would be fine with a lot of rest. The poultices were just to soothe your pain and speed things up a little.”
“That’s a relief.”
I looped my arm under his armpit to steady him as we walked. His legs seemed to be okay. I was glad they weren’t injured during the crash. His arms—and wings— seemed to bear the brunt of it. “I still think it’s a miracle that you didn’t break all the bones in your body.”
“Not a miracle,” he said, leaning against me. “I was saved by an angel, remember?”
Every time he said that about me, I couldn’t help but blush. I glanced off to the side so that he wouldn’t see my face. “If that’s what you want to call it.”
Dammit, did he know what his flirtatious little comments did to me? I wondered if he was riling me up on purpose or if he spoke this way to everyone. If it was the latter, there was no reason to take his words to heart.
