Orpheus grinned, puffing out his chest proudly. "If you're all right having me, that is."
"Of course," Hugo said. He shook Orpheus's hand. "Welcome to the pack, Orpheus."
A tender wave of joy washed over me. Even if the pack didn't fully understand my identity yet, that was okay with me. There was plenty of time to teach them. All that mattered was that they accepted me for who I was.
No more hiding.
* * *
That evening,we stayed in the old alcove we shared during Orpheus's injured days.
"You know," Orpheus said softly as we gazed out into the sunset. Rays of gold and pink painted the landscape. "There's so many shades of red in the sky right now." He turned to me, smiling. "But none of them are as beautiful asmyRed."
I blushed, turning pinker than the sky. "Oh, cut the crap."
"Not crap." Orpheus grinned and leaned in to brush his lips against my mouth, eliciting a shiver down my spine. "It's true. Wherever I look, whatever I see... Nothing would surpass you."
I groaned and put my hand over his mouth. "No more. Please."
He chuckled as he pulled away. "Fine. But I do want to say something. Seriously."
When I faced him, he was beaming. Joy sparkled in his eyes.
"I'm proud of you, Red," Orpheus said. "So proud."
My heart felt tight. Warm. I embraced him, shutting my eyes and soaking up the gentle heat of his body.
"I love you," I murmured.
Orpheus stroked my hair like I was a treasure. "I love you, too, angel."
18
Orpheus
A few months later...
My angel was turninginto a devil. And I say that in the most affectionate way possible.
As his belly swelled, so did his temper. And his hormones. And his food cravings. And his sex drive.
Not that the last one was much of a problem.
"I wouldkillfor a ground squirrel right now," Red muttered, glaring out into the field. With how round he was, it was difficult for him to go out hunting on his own, which irritated him further because he wasn't used to being reliant on others.
"Let me get one for you," I suggested.
"You'd do that for me?" he asked, sounding embarrassed at his own impatience.
"Of course." I kissed his forehead. It was damp with sweat. He had flashes like that lately. "Coming right up."
I shifted and took to the sky, scanning the surroundings. For my mate's sake, I tried to make it quick.
As if sent by the gods, a plump ground squirrel milled around a nearby patch of dirt. Ravens are mostly scavengers but I could pick off a piece of prey when I wanted to. I swooped down on it—not as elegantly as a true bird of prey by any means, but hey, whose watching?—and quickly ended it. It was well-fed and a bitch to carry back in my talons, but it was worth it to see the expression on Red's face.
He teared up, to his own visible annoyance. "Orpheus, you're the best. Seriously. Now gimme that."
He shifted into his fox form and scarfed down the rotund ground squirrel in one gulp.
