I was panicked and my heart was racing, but at the same time everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. I saw the injured poacher lying in the dirt, bleeding from his leg. He was pissed. The other man looked scared of sharing the same fate.
This was our chance to make our final break for it.
Castor didn't waste time shifting. He ran towards me in beaver form. There was time. He would make it. I was already standing by the edge of the water. I didn't jump in because I didn't want him to think I was leaving him behind.
Only a few more seconds—
The poacher came out of nowhere, ignited by adrenaline and rage.
A vicious hand slammed down on Castor’s back. The poacher’s hand was like a claw as it grabbed Castor by the back of the neck. Castor yelped as he was pushed face first into the dirt. The human’s teeth ground together in an ugly snarl. The poacher now had both hands gripping him hard, and Castor couldn't turn around to fend him off. I didn't need to wait and see what would happen next. The cruel expression on the poacher’s face said it all. He was going to kill Castor in anger.
My body moved like a rushing waterfall. I didn't think. I just acted.
I grabbed hold of the man, and with a burst of strength fuelled by the alpha urge to protect my mate, I flung him into the water. I leapt after him like a shark chasing the scent of blood. I shifted into my mer form in midair and pushed him deeper into the water. Beneath the waves, I came face-to-face with him. My long crimson hair flowed around us, blocking off his view of anything except me.
His bravado suddenly vanished. We were in my element now.
"Don't youever," I snarled, jabbing my finger into his chest, "threaten my mate or my baby, unless you want to lie in a watery grave."
Unlike me, he wasn't suited to the water and couldn't speak clearly. He sputtered something unintelligible, his failed words escaping his mouth in a stream of bubbles. When words didn't work, he tried to attack me even now, slinging a slow punch in my direction that I easily dodged.
"You know, I've had just about enough of humans," I said, narrowing my eyes. "You in particular."
When the man realized he no longer had any power over me, fear flashed across his face. It seemed to strike him for the first time that he could actually drown.
Lucky for him, I wasn't so violent. I snapped my tail and shot back to the surface. He came up clumsily a few moments later, flailing his arms and gasping for air.
I scanned the shoreline. Castor was back in human form, looking worried. The other poacher stood back hesitantly, like he was two seconds from abandoning this whole endeavour and running away.
"River! Are you okay?" Castor called.
"I'm fine," I replied.
He splashed towards me, meeting me halfway. He threw his arms around me in a tight embrace. "I was so worried when you disappeared with that creep underwater."
He grinned. "Why? The water isourdomain. They can't touch us there."
Castor let out a relieved laugh. "You're right." His expression turned hard as he glared at the half-drowned man behind me. In a low voice, he added, "What do we do about them?"
"I don't know,” I admitted. What was the right choice to make in a situation like this? It was clear the poachers had lost this battle, but Castor and I weren't the killing type. Then again, if we let them go, they might do the exact same thing to someone else.
A bloodcurdling shriek cut through my thoughts. In a last-ditch effort, the aggressive poacher splashed awkwardly towards me looking like a drunken monkey. I could've laughed at how graceless he was in the water.
Castor wasn't as amused. He held me tighter and snarled at the man, "Come any closer and you'll get a chunk ripped out of your other leg."
"Oh yeah," I said. "He's bleeding everywhere, isn't he? You know, Castor, my uncle Nero is a shark shifter. He can probably smell it from miles away."
Castor raised a brow and chuckled. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, and I don't think he'd be too happy to find out his nephew was kidnapped, put in a dirty bathroom and starved…"
The poacher’s face paled in terror. Then he sucked in a breath and let out another scream.
"Now what?" I asked irritably, turning around.
But this time I was just as startled as the poacher.
Because standing on the surface of the water was a strange man-creature I'd never seen before.
