"What are you doing?" I asked.
His reply was muffled through his teeth. "No time."
I recognized that voice. Incredulously, I asked, "Hey, are you the beaver shifter that almost dropped a tree on me?"
"Yes."
I blinked, surprised and baffled. Was he trying to free me from the cage? Never mind that, where did he even come from? He appeared out of nowhere like a guardian angel.
"What's your name?" I demanded.
The beaver shifter clearly didn't want to stop what he was doing. He had a point. The cage was sinking too slowly; the boat was still in dangerous range. The humans were morons but they weren't that stupid. They would quickly realize the cage was gone, and if the beaver didn't free me soon, the men would come looking for me.
But the beaver spared a single breath to say, "Castor."
Castor… The name made me shiver.
The next few moments played in slow motion. As Castor gnawed the bars, determined and vicious, all I could do was wait for him. I wished I had some useful ability. Teeth, claws, hell, at this point I would take chainsaws for arms. Anything was better than my useless mer tail.
But it wasn't meant to be. Despite Castor's best efforts, escaping the cage wasn't going to be so easy. The men had realized their prey went overboard. Rough hands grabbed the top of the bars and hauled the cage up.
"Castor!" I cried.
There was a desperate look in Castor's eyes. "I won't let them hurt you. I'll follow wherever they take you."
In one final struggle, Castor clamped his teeth down on the bars and pulled backwards, using his weight to counteract the humans. But a beaver wasn't strong enough to overpower two men. With loud grunting, they pulled the cage back onto the boat. Jarred by the sudden change in gravity, I crashed against the floor sideways, soaking wet and frustrated.
Castor was still hanging on wildly. Fire burned in his black beady eyes.
"What the fuck?" one man said. "Get off, you stupid rat!"
My eyes widened in horror as he lifted his leg and kicked Castor off the boat. Shock and anger rippled through me. How dare he treat my Castor like that?
Wait.MyCastor? What was I saying?
That didn't stop the sudden surge of possessiveness and fury I felt. If I wasn't trapped in this cage, I would've torn that man to shreds.
While he was kicking things, he kicked my cage upright and my head hit a steel bar. I scowled and rubbed my hair.
"Latch this damn cage properly this time," he snapped at the other man.
The second guy grumbled, "I did. Not my fault it has fucking hands."
They both stared down at me. I glared back. For the first time since my capture, I felt actively defiant instead of scared and meek. Castor's attempt at rescuing me woke me up. These humans weren't just incompetent idiots, they were a real threat. I had to start taking them seriously.
"Get that rope and tie up its hands," the first demanded.
I leaned back, holding my hands close to my chest. No way. They weren't going to take away one of the only freedoms I had left.
The man paused, raising a suspicious brow.
Crap. I realized I'd given away the fact that I understood them. Then he grabbed the rope himself and snatched my hair. I yelped.
"Give me your wrists now."
The other man chuckled. "What are you talking to it for? It doesn't understand you."
He ignored him. I refused to offer my hands. But the longer I didn't obey his command, the harder he wrenched my hair. Tears of pain and frustration stung my eyes. I hated giving in, but what choice did I have?
