"We should probably get up, or else we're gonna get moss stuck to our asses," I said.
Orpheus picked off a tiny scrap of green from his backside and flicked it away. "Too late."
I chuckled as we both got to our feet. I couldn't stop staring at him. He was so perfect that I didn't want to tear my eyes away. The feeling seemed mutual, as Orpheus continued to rake his gaze up and down my body. It was immensely flattering. I was starting to understand the lovey-dovey looks that the other pack members gave their mates.
Hope flared up inside me. If Orpheus truly was my fated mate, then that meant I would no longer be the only person without one. I wouldn't be alone anymore.
It was impossible to describe the relief flooding me. To find somebody who accepted me for who I was, who acknowledged my identity and forgave me for my past… Orpheus had described me as his angel when I saved him from his crash, but he was mine too.
Orpheus linked his hand with mine. "Want to go show off?"
I chuckled. "There's nothing I want more."
As we walked through the sunlit forest, I couldn't stop sneaking glimpses of him from the corner of my eye. It was like he got more handsome every passing second. His sleek black hair shone in the dappled light and his dark eyes were like pockets of shadow, mysterious and erotic.
Gods, did I just describe an alpha's eyes as erotic? I was turning into a sap faster than I could resist.
I wondered if Orpheus felt the same way about us being fated that I did. He'd expressed disbelief in the concept before, but did last night change his mind? Honestly, I didn't know either. I spent my whole life thinking that it was either fake, or something that only happened to other people, like I'd seen happen over and over in the pack. It never occurred to me as a possibility. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was convinced that I'd never find my fated mate because of who and what I was.
A tiny bit of doubt crept into my mind, but it was smothered by just how happy I felt. The greens of the forest were brighter, the flowers smelled sweeter, the air was crisper. My experience of the world seemed better in every way, as if a dirty lens had been removed, and the only difference was Orpheus.
Was this the so-called magical feeling of finding your fated mate? It was either that, or there were some hallucinogenic mushrooms hidden somewhere among all that moss.
I wanted to bring it up. Orpheus had already taught me not to hold my feelings back from him. He accepted everything I'd told him last night, so I bit the bullet.
"Orpheus, do think we are fated mates?" I asked.
He hesitated mid-step, then recovered. He didn't answer right away. He seemed to be deep in thought.
“If a fated mate makes me as happy as you do, then maybe," he said.
I smiled. "I know you said you don't believe in it. I didn't either. I thought it was the biggest load of dog shit I'd ever heard. But I've seen it happen four times now. Seeing the proof with my own eyes makes it harder to keep being a curmudgeon about it."
Orpheus stared up at the sky, thinking again. Was he remembering Ryker? Just the thought of Orpheus’s ex made my blood boil. I couldn't believe he’d treated Orpheus so terribly. Nobody deserved that treatment, but especially not Orpheus, the kindest man I knew. I suppressed a growl in my throat.
We both stopped walking.
"I'm scared," Orpheus finally said, facing me with a soft smile. "It's terrifying how much I care about you. I'm not used to it. The thought of losing you is worse than both my wings being clipped."
My brows knitted together in sympathy, but knowing I was so important to him made me deeply happy.
Orpheus shook his head, as if at his own weakness. "I never felt this way with Ryker. This is a brand-new experience for me."
"I feel the same way," I said honestly. I knew exactly what he meant about being scared. That was the reason I'd hesitated to tell him anything about myself. I was afraid of losing him.
"But with you, everything’s different," Orpheus said. He stroked my arms. "It's just… the idea of being fated feels so final."
I tensed. Was he saying he didn't want to be with me?
As if reading my mind, he smiled and embraced me. "Oh, don't make that sour face. Didn't I just finish telling you how much I care about you?"
“Tell me again,” I ordered, not even caring that I was being petulant.
Orpheus kissed me. "I care about you more than anyone else, Red. Don't you forget that."
"What about being fated?"
“It's just the term that's gonna take some getting used to."
