"At least we have plenty of time to think about it," I said. With a smile, I reached over to put my hand on his belly. Red always blushed when I did that. I couldn't wait to see him swollen with our child.
"Though if we keep arguing like this, our kid might be born nameless," he teased.
"Hey, Nameless is a pretty cool name."
"Don't even think about it."
"Of course not, angel."
Red turned over to look at me with a long smile. His long auburn hair, the same colour as his fox's pelt, was stark and bright against the green of the grass. Sometimes when I looked at him, it struck me just how gorgeous he was. I was truly a lucky man.
"Aside from choosing a name, we do get along pretty well, don't we?" Red asked mischievously.
"I'd sure hope so, since we are fated mates and all," I said before kissing him.
The kiss didn't last long. A sudden flutter of wings—too many and too large to just be the simple flight of a group of sparrows—startled me up right. Red shot up, too. His eyes widened as he snapped his gaze up towards the sky.
"I knew it," he muttered under his breath.
The moment that his words sank in, recognition struck me like lightning. Four ravens descended upon us, their actions too determined and organized to belong to any mute animals. My heart turned to lead and plummeted into the pit of my stomach.
It was my Treachery.
Instinctively, my thoughts went to protecting Red. I shot up to my feet and stood in front of him, holding out my arm to keep him behind me. The Treachery let out loud, deep caws, the sound echoing ominously through the woods. Their wide night-dark wings blackened the blue sky.
"I told you so," Red muttered.
"You can gloat later," I said.
I never thought I'd see these people again. I didn't want to. I'd cut them out of my life for good, or at least that's what should've happened. Why the hell were they here now? What did they want from me?
They all shifted as they landed, and in human form they took up a lot more space. Their presence darkened the tranquility of the forest clearing. Behind me, I heard a growl rumble in Red's throat.
I didn't look any of them in the eye. They didn't even deserve my time, let alone eye contact.
"Let's just leave," I mumbled to Red.
I knew it would piss off the Treachery if I acted like they weren't even there. My plan worked. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryker scowl like he always did. The other three—Dust, Pitch and Zephyr—stood behind him like bodyguards waiting to knock my teeth in. Good luck with that. I shared my past with these guys and I knew exactly what they were capable of, which was to say that they were all bark and no bite. It was a joke that they thought they could threaten me.
"No," Red said.
"What?" I whispered.
Red crossed his arms. A sly smirk appeared on his face. "Please. I'm not running from anyone. Let's see what they have to say. And by the way, I haven't even been formally introduced."
I blinked at Red in shock. He was so paranoid earlier about being followed, but now he didn't seem worried at all. Maybe his opinion changed when the threat was right in front of him and he could assess it properly. Either that, or he wanted to piss them off just as badly as I did. I stifled a grin at the thought.
Unlike me, Ryker wasn't amused. He glared daggers at Red while the three behind him did the same, though with less intensity. They seemed to be following Ryker's lead, so I assumed he was the organizer of this event. It made sense—if he could be so controlling over me, then he had the capacity to do so over the rest of them too.
Everybody went silent. The comedic irony of the situation would've been hilarious had it not been for the fact that I had to talk to my shitty ex.
I cleared my throat and gestured to the other raven shifters. "So… this is my old Treachery. Ryker, Dust, Pitch and Zephyr."
Red looked hilariously bored. I doubted he would remember any one of their names except for Ryker’s, who he already hated before he’d met him.
When none of them said anything, I gestured to Red. "Old Treachery, this is Red."
"Old?" Ryker snapped. "What the hell are you talking about? You've been missing for weeks and this is how you talk about us? Are we nothing to you?"
