Page 55 of Their Promise

“You felt a portal to the demon world wassafeto approach?” Kayden asked and ran a hand down his face. “You’re going to be the death of me. I just know it.”

I flinched, feeling like he had physically slapped me. “Mason, let’s go. Seems I’ve overstayed my welcome.” Turning to Trey, I smiled, and said, “I had a wonderful time on our date. I’ll be in touch to schedule our second date.”

Trey stood, grabbed my waist, and pulled me against him, kissing me deeply. His tongue stroked mine and I put my arms around his neck as I returned the kiss. Pulling back, panting, he said, “Don’t put our date off for too long, okay?”

Finding it difficult to speak, I nodded, and quickly went up the stairs, unless I gave into the temptation to find out what they would do if I instigated something with all three present at the same time.

The idea had me wet all over again, but I ignored the desire, grabbed my bag from the couch, and climbed into Mason’s car so he could drive me home.

We drove in silence, once again, but it was nice not to answer questions or feel the need to apologize again.

I lucked out with no one downstairs, so I tossed my bag inside the door, shut it, and ran towards Mason who was halfway down the road towards the area of the forest we preferred to hunt in.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded and waved. “Lead the way, eagle eyes.”

He glared at me, spun around, and said, “Ravens have great eyesight, too.”

Laughing silently, I clasped my hands behind my back and skipped beside him. “So, have you done anymore reconnaissance missions?” Kieran was a hawk shifter and he had often been used for spying, but when he settled down with Sheila, he had started training Mason to be his replacement. Ravens were even more common than hawks, so it made him even better as a spy since people would pay no mind to a raven flying around.

“I’ve done a few,” he said as he continued to lead the way deep into the forest that we owned. With so many predators in one area, the prey tended to stay farther away, so we had to head pretty deep into the forest to hunt.

“Any fun ones?” I asked.

“Most recon missions are boring,” he admitted. “Listening to people discussing secrets then reporting that back to one of the kings. They don’t let me fight them or try to capture them, so it’s not much fun.”

Of course, Mason would hate a mission where he didn’t get to punch someone.

He paused next to a tree with narrowed eyes.

I froze, assuming he could see an animal we could hunt.

Glancing over his shoulder at me, he asked, “Did you have sex with Trey last night?”

My eyes widened at the sudden question, but I answered immediately, “No.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

We resumed walking and I noticed the muscles in his back had relaxed a bit. Clearly, he’d been concerned I had slept with Trey. But why? Because he wanted to be first, or was it something else?

He stopped again and immediately shifted.

I shifted as well, assuming he’d seen something for us to hunt. My assumption was right when I saw a large jackrabbitwalk into my view. It was the perfect size to allow me to eat, satiate my hunting desire, but finish digesting it before the evening and my date with Kayden. Normally, if I had no plans, I would eat something like a boar or a deer, but I rarely had time without plans.

Flattening myself as much as possible, I slithered closer until I was within striking distance, then struck. The jackrabbit squealed and tried to run away, but my jaw was firmly locked around the back of its neck and I encircled its body with one of my coils, wrapping tighter and tighter until it couldn’t move.

Once it was dead, I released it and moved back to let Mason eat first. As a constrictor, I would swallow the jackrabbit whole, so I needed to give him time to eat before that.

Once he had his fill, he made an odd honk sound, then flew up into a tree nearby.

Beginning the slow and tedious process of swallowing the rabbit, I let my mind drift into peaceful oblivion, focused on the sole task at hand.

Once swallowed, I closed my eyes and lay still to digest it, knowing Mason would keep me safe.

Occasionally, I heard him fly from his post to attack something, to eat more, but since he didn’t make any noises to alert me, I continued to nap.

After finally digesting enough to shift, I stood and dusted myself off. “Thank you, for coming with me.”

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