"What the hell is that?" the poacher cried.
The shadowy figure rolled his pale eyes. "Never a warm welcome with mortals, is it?"
"Animus," Castor said, sounding surprised. "You came back."
That was Animus? I took a closer look at him. The spiralling black horns, the long black claws, the flowing cloak… It was exactly how I'd heard my family describe him. But from their testimony, I’d expected him to radiate terror and evil. In reality, I thought Animus almost looked pretty. Hell, I was jealous of his inky black hair.
"I said I would help you, didn't I?" Animus said, waving his claws. "I may bemalicious, but I don't go back on my word."
He said the word 'malicious' as if it was an inside joke I didn't understand.
Animus cast his gaze down at me. "You must be the alpha. The fated mate."
"Yes?" There was a mild note of derision in his voice, though I got the sense he was trying to tone it back.
Animus regarded me for a moment before looking at his blackened fingertips. They were glowing softly. "Well, Castor, I must thank you. Our little plan worked after all. We both got what we wanted, hm?"
What did this guy do exactly except distract the poachers with a little fog? But I didn't say it out loud. The last thing I wanted to do was to scorn a spirit.
"I see that disbelief on your face, alpha," Animus muttered to me. "And after all the effort I went through to sound the alarm?"
I blinked. "What alarm?"
Animus lifted his gaze towards the horizon. "Here they come now. Which means it's time for me to leave. We don't need to add any more family drama to the pile, do we?"
I was speechless.
"Oh, and by the way," Animus said, "that new buyer? That was me. So you two weren't in any real danger." He winked at Castor. "Anyway, it was nice working together. See you. Ah, one more thing before I forget. And speaking of forgetting…"
Animus touched his clawed fingertip to the poacher’s forehead. I watched the slurry of emotion drain off his face until he simply looked confused. Animus gestured at the other man still standing awkwardly on the shoreline and the same thing happened to him. He scratched his head and looked around as if he didn't know where he was or how he got there.
"Is it a little mean to wipe their memories?" Animus said, wearing an impish smirk. "Perhaps. But I never said I was a nice guy. Bye now!"
He disappeared in a puff of black smoke that dissipated in the air, as if he was never here at all.
18
Castor
The two menwho had previously been poachers walked around dumbly until they found the boat and left the area. What they did after that was none of my concern. I was too busy relishing the joy of being free with my fated mate.
After Animus and the men disappeared, I took a moment to enjoy River. I grasped his face and kissed it all over, holding him as close as possible. I didn't care that my clothes were soaking wet. I was just happy to be with him.
"What the hell just happened?" I asked with a laugh.
River shook his head but he was smiling. "I have no clue. Who cares? We're free now." He pressed his forehead against mine and grinned. "That means we can make out as much as we want."
"I would love to, but… it looks like we have company."
River frowned and looked over his shoulder. The movement on the horizon was close enough to make out distinct shapes. One appeared to be a huge bird—the biggest I'd ever seen. It was accompanied by two figures moving swiftly in the water, one much larger than the other.
The meaning of Animus’s words suddenly made sense. "Wait. Are all those people coming for us? Is that what Animus meant by sounding the alarm?”
River’s eyes widened. "He went to tell my family where we were," he murmured.
Relief hit me. Now I understood why Animus had disappeared. I felt guilty for not having more trust in him, but he came through in the end.
"That's my cousin, Zak and his mate, Kamari," River said excitedly, gesturing to the two figures in the water. Then he nodded to the large bird. "And that's my brother Cloud!"
