"I am sorry, I wasn’t myself," Faris quietly said to Aiko.
"It’s no matter." She tried to keep the disappointment away from her voice, unable to meet his eyes.
"You are jealous," he sheepishly whispered, leaning closer to her.
"Pfft! Of some imaginary creatures. I am sure if I were to drool over some unseen Fae prince, you wouldn’t be jealous at all," Aiko retorted, and Faris had to suppress a laugh.
"Fair, but I wasn’t myself. Princess Lotus has some powerful powders in her arsenal. No one can fight their compulsion. I found out the wrong way."
He paused and then pleaded.
"I will make it up to you. I promise. Please!"
A tiny smile crept up on Aiko’s lips seeing her grovelling mate.
"Don’t let him get off the hook so quickly, Aiko. Make him beg you and fall at your feet," Siroos leaned in and interjected, keeping his promise to Faris that when his time would come, he would tease him ten times more.
Faris dangerously narrowed his eyes at his brother.
"Keep your big ass out of my business."
Siroos’s annoying smirk widened even more, seeing he had successfully triggered his brother.
"Firstly, my ass is not big, it’s perfectly toned. You can ask my mate, she has seen it plenty."
Razial had to fist his hand and shove it over his lips so he wouldn’t guffaw.
"Ewww! Brother-in-law, we don’t want to hear of it." Lotus glared, halting her walking and placing her hands on her hips.
"Siro!" Cassandra playfully punched him, but it was like punching a boulder; her hand hurt.
Aiko had turned several shades of red, but Siroos, being as shameless as he was, continued.
"Secondly, you never kept your wiggling nose out of mine. Remember how you always stole my mate or chased her away? Or should I refresh your memory?" Siroos stood in front of them, all imposing, his arms folded over his chest.
"You will regret this, big brother. I will take revenge." Faris poked his finger in Siroos’s chest, with his eyes getting so small that the sides crinkled over many times.
"I won’t. Come, Aiko, walk with me. Let him fret and chase those fairies a little while longer." Siroos offered his hand, and although Aiko had always been slightly afraid of the big, brooding Alpha, she had never seen this light and relaxed side of him. It was a great opportunity to get to know better and not be that frightened of him.
She took it and Siroos guided her forward, letting her walk with him through this thick forest.
Cassandra was quick to take the arm of a very seething Faris and patted the front of his shoulder.
"Don’t worry, we will plan revenge together."
Lotus chimed in, trotting forward and taking Faris’s other arm.
Razial remained behind them, very vigilant of the surroundings.
"I will help too. He can’t just steal your mate. We will teach him a lesson. Sorry, about the Hallucination Dust earlier."
"Yeah! It made a fool of me. My mate thinks I am a pervert who chases big-boobed fairies." Faris sadly shook his head, pouting his lips like a baby.
"It was quite funny, though, but I wish it had been brother-in-law in your place. Then he would have been grovelling in Cassandra’s feet." Lotus clicked her tongue.
"I can hear all of you. You people are horrible at being discreet," Siroos called out from front without turning his head.
"We haven’t planned anything yet. You won’t even know what will hit you?" Cassandra retorted.
Their banter continued while they remained aware of the forest around them.
"Are you happy with us? With Faris? He is treating you well? Keeping aside today’s shenanigans." Siroos addressed Aiko. He wanted his brother and Aiko to form a proper bond.
"Yes, you people have been too kind and understanding. And, he cares for me."
"That he does and will always do right by you. I know my brother, he might act as a jester but he cares too deeply. Don’t tell him I said so." Siroos spoke in a very low voice so Faris wouldn’t hear.
Aiko placed her hand in front of her mouth and let out a comical laugh. "I know."
"But, let him squirm a little." Aiko bobbed her head in approval.
"I am hungry, can’t we eat something," Lotus complained, placing her hand on her tummy. It was growling.
The forest was much denser and humid now and they had begun to sweat too. There was no snow in these areas so they took off their heavy coats.
"Let’s take a break. I can see a clearing ahead." Siroos pointed.
Everyone gathered and pulled out a sheet from Lotus’s satchel.
Spreading it on the ground they settled down and took out the food they had reserved.
Dried salted meat and bread.
Washing their hands, they sat to eat. Siroos remained standing while Cassandra’s shield was constantly covering her companions.
She was getting exhausted, though, from the continued use of it. Her human body couldn’t hold the full extent of her powers. That’s why she needed to reach the tree to transform into her true self.
Soon, they weren’t alone; the trees around them began to shuffle as different creatures crawled out, seeing intruders and the smell wafting from their food.
Siroos’s eyes wavered all around and he bared his teeth at these creatures, warning them to stay away.
They had long tails and seemed like a mixture of squirrels and monkeys with brown fur coats, big round eyes and webbed claws.
"I think they are just hungry," Cassandra remarked, getting ready to toss them some bread.
"Don’t make that mistake. They will attack and will want all of the food. I can sense a lot of them hiding to attack as soon as the opportunity presents itself." Siroos stopped her, he understood the nature of animals. His spirits were warning him that these creatures might look friendly but they were not.
Seeing they weren’t getting any food, the creatures began to shriek loudly. The skin around their mouths stretched back and sharp teeth were revealed as about twenty of them simultaneously jumped on CAFLRS.