Red's Demise

You Know What They Say, "Animal In The Bed-" Wait... What?

Red

Something was wrong. Not once in my twenty-two years of being alive have I ever woken up with someone in my bed. I woke up feeling panicked at the arm that was thrown around my waist and the body that was spooning me. The familiar scent of leathery woods filled my senses when I took a deep breath and I knew instantly who the male was that still laid in my bed. 

Ezekiel always made a habit of disappearing before I woke up, not once had I ever heard him leave - however, here he was, still sleeping in my bed and still holding me in his arms. 

As weird as it was, the initial panic that I had felt had already disappeared. There was something comforting about how he was holding me and had his head buried in the back of my neck. With his every exhale, my hair shifted on my neck and I briefly worried that my thick hair would suffocate him. 

A sudden rumble had my eyes drifting towards the end of my bed and the events of last night came rushing back like a dam opening. There was a giant feline that somehow got in my room last night and it was still here. It laid with its head on its paws while its intelligent eyes watched me. 

There was an apex predator on my bed that seemed to watch me lazily - as if it had made a habit of crawling into random people's beds. I felt the overwhelming urge to pet it but knew with how the male behind me clutched me to his chest that there was no way for me to wiggle out of his hold. So instead I laid and studied the creature. Its paws looked to be about the size of my face and when it yawned I got a glance at another one of its killing tools. This feline was created to kill, yet here it lay in my bed without a care in the world. 

How Strange. I found myself nearly chuckling at how easily I had just accepted the fact that there was a giant murder kitty in my bed. 

While although lost in my drifting thoughts, I was still aware when the arms around me tightened and the breathing of the male behind me suddenly became more ragged and uneven. I could've even sworn that a small whimper had left his throat as I recognized that he was having a nightmare.

It was with a jolt that Ezekiel had suddenly woken up and I made sure to even my breathing and relax. Although I knew he would never talk about it, I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable around me. I needed a comforting presence every now and then whether I wanted to admit it or not. 

All of my willpower went into not reacting as one of his hands let me go and gently started to play with my hair. I couldn't find a reasonable explanation as to why he was doing this. Did he know that I was awake and wanted to torture me? Did he believe I was asleep and couldn't help himself? Why? 

One thing was for certain though, my body liked what he was doing as my arms broke out with little bumps and a shiver threatened to shake my body all the while my stomach fluttered. I was not used to affection and I found it very hard to believe that was what I was receiving from the Head Assassin. 

A sudden low growl came from the predator at my feet and the hand at my waist suddenly gripped me harder. "She's mine, fur-coat," Zeke's deep voice mumbled and was met with another rumble. 

Deciding that I didn't want to decipher what that statement meant, I faked restlessness.

Slowly, I moved my head as my body shifted. It worked too as within seconds, Zeke had released his hold on me and got out of my bed. The door shut quietly and I found myself strangely missing his presence. 

By the time I opened my eyes and looked at the creature on my bed, the feline managed to look as if it was grinning at me. I was not surprised at the intelligence that this animal showed as it reminded me much of what Ivar has displayed.