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They stared at himandat his mate.
And when he caught anyone looking at her in a certain way—because she caught the attention of both men and women alike—he gave them a warning glare.Back off. She’s mine.
Interestingly, he caught her doing the same thing.
Luckily for them, most humans possessed good enough survival instincts that they immediately came to their senses.
At last, they reached the place where this infernal thing of hers—whatever in the Nine Hells it was—was supposed to be. There was a brightly lit area with a display in the center. Saccharine music played from a hidden speaker. People crowded around the place, their faces blank; their expressions drone-like.
Lurid holos danced around the central platform.
They depicted some sort of hideous creature with pointed ears and whiskers and white fur and a green scaled tail.
What evolutionary disaster had created this infernal thing?
What special level of hell was this?
He shot Riana a wry look. “Is this the thing you were looking for? This fish-creature?”
Kail folded his arms and frowned, but he couldn’t help but feel secretly amused.Humans.They were sostrange.
Her shoulders slumped. “Well, yes, this is the thing. And it isn’t a fish-creature, it’s a mermaid. Well, a mermaid-cat. A rare and special edition of a cute character that’s inexplicably attained cult status amongst my people. And yes, we’re programmed to fall for the hype. But I don’t understand. We’re early. Why is the damn thing alreadysold out?”
Kail scanned the throng of humans. “Who do I need to kill?”
Riana gently punched him in the side. “Oh, you. You’re very sweet, my love, but this is far from a death-worthy situation. I’m gutted, but I’ll survive. Let’s go and check out the cafe. There’s a sushi train. Can I tempt you with the promise of sashimi?”
Hedidlike sashimi.
“That’s it? You’re going to give up on it?” Kail inclined his head, half-focusing on her, and half-concentrating on the crowd.
He was aware of every single person in that room; what they were doing, how fast they were moving, whether they represented a potential threat.
This state of vigilance was normal for him.
He logged three humans exiting the space; pushing a wheeled cart filled with small gleaming boxes. Two males and a female. The males were armed. Their weapons were concealed beneath their clothes—they wore heavy black jackets—but Kail justknew.His truth-sense told him as much.
Also, they looked like they knew how to fight—for humans, that is. Heavyset builds, swaggering walk. Arrogance.
He’d seen these types a thousand times before.
“Well, it’s just a figurine. I’m obsessed and obviously disappointed, but I know when to snap out of it. Being able to come out here withyouis good enough for me. It’s fun going out in public with you.” Noticing the three strange humans with the full cart, Riana turned, her eyes going wide in disbelief. “Oh my god, are those people just taking off with the entire stock? Likehundredsof them? That’s ridiculous. I can’t believe the store doesn’t have a one-per-customer limit.”
Her disappointment was fuel for Kail’s icy anger.
Sensing his mood, she placed her hand on his chest. “Kail, relax. I’ll handle this.”
“No.” Normally, he would have let her, but these people were armed, and Kail wasn’t going to take any chances. “I’llhandle this. You want those things in their cart, yes?”
“Well, I only wanttwo, but other people might want one too. They can’t just take the entire stash ofMerpipis.That’s so rude and entitled.”
Kail really couldn’t care less about those useless objects, let alone a bunch of human strangers who all wanted one, but when Riana’s happiness was affected,hewas affected.
“Stay close to me,” he murmured, slipping his fingers through hers.
“Kail, don’t go overboard,” she whispered as they swiftly walked toward the group of humans.
He smiled at her, baring his fangs. His truth-sense was telling him to go after these people. “I’ll only do what’s necessary.”
