A few ideas were already simmering in the back of my mind, but I couldn't focus on them right now. My heart and body vibrated with need. I was holding hands with River but it wasn't enough. I craved more skin-to-skin contact.
I noticed we'd moved closer to each other at some point. When? It didn't matter. River angled his head slightly, as if preparing to kiss me. His lips were a few inches away and the gap was closing fast. My heart pounded painfully. I felt dizzy as River's breath came out in gentle puffs against my lips. This was really happening. I was about to kiss my fated mate.
All it would take to capture his mouth with mine was to lean in, just a tiny bit—
The men’s angry voices shattered the quiet.
"...checked on it lately?"
"No. Where could it even go?"
"Just go look!"
Heavy footsteps stomped on the other side of the door before it was thrown open with a slam that rocked the hinges.
We were interrupted by the poachers.
11
River
I was sofrustrated I could've screamed. I was less than a second away from kissing Castor, but then those humans had to go and ruin it.
Castor disappeared. At least, the man version of him did. His lightning-fast reflexes allowed him to shift back into beaver form before the poachers laid eyes on him. I wondered why he bothered doing that until I realized it was still a hidden ace up his sleeve. If the poachers didn't know Castor was a shifter, he could use that to our advantage later.
But for now, I was a bit disappointed that the man I'd been so close to kissing was gone. Not that I didn't think his beaver form was adorable, but it wasn't exactly like he could wrap his big, strong arms around me.
And how big and strong they were… I don't know what I expected Castor's human form to look like, but he was the most handsome man I'd ever laid eyes on. I didn't know why Castor was so self-conscious about his age. He showed it for sure—the wrinkled features, the shadow of stubble along his jaw, his coarse yet tender hands—but it only made him sexier. In a way, I was glad he hadn't shown me that side of him before I got to know him, otherwise I might've fallen for him based on appearances alone.
But it wasn't just his good looks that attracted me to him. Even in the short time we had been stuck together, Castor proved to be selfless and kind. Following me in the boat, huddling next to me at the campground, and choosing to let himself be kidnapped by the humans—all of it was for my sake. At any moment, he could have simply stopped and turned back. Hell, I practically begged him to, but he refused.
No, Castor wasn't just a pretty face. He was a good man. One that, despite my hesitancy, I was slowly falling for.
Right now, I had more important things to worry about than my crush on Castor. Because unlike him, I didn't think fast enough to shift back into my mer form. My human legs were fully visible. And the humans were staring at them, jaws stupidly agape.
"What the hell happened? What is that?" one asked frantically. In a lower voice, he hissed, "We didn't accidentally kidnap a person, did we?"
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. So I didn't count as a person?
"No, it can't be," the other said, not tearing his eyes off me. The expression on his face was a mix of confusion and disgust. "I know for a fact it was a mermaid."
I clenched my jaw, irritated. When would these stupid humans get it through their thick skulls that I wasn't a mermaid? Couldn't they tell a merman apart from a mermaid when they saw one? I didn't even have breasts. Then again, maybe I should've been thankful they weren't ogling my body hard enough to notice that.
"Then why isn't it one anymore?"
"How am I supposed to know?" He shoved his partner. "It was your idea to lock them up in this room! I told you we should've been watching it the whole time!"
The other snarled back, "Well, I didn’t think it would turn into a fucking person when we weren't looking!"
While the humans argued, Castor and I exchanged a glance. We remained silent but I knew we were thinking the same thing. These poachers were dumber than rocks.
After a bout of childish fighting, one man shook his head vehemently. "No. A mermaid can't change into a person. It just doesn't happen."
"What are you saying?"
He jabbed a finger at me. "It's casting a spell on us. That's the only explanation that makes sense."
Realization dawned in the other poacher’s eyes and they both nodded as if they'd made some grand revelation. It was so funny that I couldn't help myself. I snorted in amusement.
