Haru nodded. “There’s an artists’ colony here. They produce quite striking paintings.”
Reo dipped over Brock’s shoulder to indicate he steer the boat over to a small wooden dock near a rocky beach. There were trees for miles in both directions, and except for far off in the distance, it didn’t look like this part of the island was inhabited.
Nerves swam in my gut. Selkies were a bit of a wild card. We were taught about them at the Bounty Hunter Academy, but it was a lot of guess work and word of mouth stories. They kept to themselves, abhorred strangers, and were prone to reacting with violence if anybody approached their habitats. I’d only ever heard of one instance in which one had been brought in and booked for a crime.
Haru consulted a map on his phone. “It’s about a five to ten minute walk from here.”
Good, because I had an uneasy feeling about this. The sooner we got it done, the better.
Cass flew out of the boat as it brushed against the dock, Tianna tossed him the rope and my bestie worked to moor us. I grabbed the leather bag that held the pieces of my katana and climbed out, sensing Brock’s concerned gaze on my back. If my baby daddy was going to worry about me when all I was doing was climbing out of a damn boat, it was going to be a very long day.
Once we’d all disembarked, Haru and Reo led our small party along the edge of a pebbled beach to a thick copse of trees beyond.
Brock, positioned like a sentinel, didn’t leave my side. “I should have brought Sabine,” he muttered.
“I’ll be fine.” I hoped I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with some hormonally charged selkies. Besides, we didn’t want to charge in with a big crew and alert them to our presence. Brock was the only wolf present, then my odd bunch. It was going to have to do.
Once we left the beach, we traipsed across ancient tree roots and rocks. Critters chirped and scattered off to the sides of the path while we forged through the virgin wilderness.
After we’d been walking for a few minutes, a hissing noise filtered through the sounds of nature, and Haru put up his fist, military speak for “stop or we might walk into a trap.” Every one of us halted immediately, quietly withdrawing our weapons.
The hissing grew louder. Bushes rustled to our left and a woman walked out of the trees. She was stark naked but for a seal skin draped around her shoulders, leaving the entire front of her body naked and exposed.
Selkie.
“You’re trespassing. Fuck off,” she snarled, showcasing pointy teeth behind thin lips.
My eyes flicked over to Molly, who was staring, open-mouthed. Her shotgun hung uselessly at her side, but just because this woman was naked and unarmed didn’t mean she was harmless. Selkies would kill you and not skip a beat.
My lover stepped forward. “I’m Brock, alpha of the wild hunter pack.”
The selkie’s eyes washed over his body like she was preparing to seduce him. “Werewolf,” she purred, and I had to restrain myself from launching forward and wringing her fucking neck for talking to my man in a sex voice.
Brock cleared his throat. “Yes, I am. We’re here to access your healing pool, then we’ll be on our way.”
Haru was creeping slowly, working to mute his footfalls across the forest floor, trying to get behind the selkie while her attention was diverted. Did he think she was going to attack? She was undressing my man with her eyes, not broadcasting violence.
But when Haru crunched fallen leaves with his next step, she spun half around, keeping him and us in her sights at the same time. “Stop, warrior,” she hissed.
Haru froze, not bothering to pretend he hadn’t been trying to sneak up on her. He gripped his unsheathed katana in a tight hand. The selkie’s eyes were sharp—gleaming with a wild edge, but astute. I doubted she missed much, which made her all the more dangerous.
The selkie eyed Molly and Tianna, before boring her eyes into me. “Which one of you is the kitsune?”
What the fuck?
Reo stepped in front of me, his katana pointed at the creature. Brock growled, and Cass unzipped his black leather Gucci fanny pack, loaded with Gran’s magic potions.
The selkie tipped her head back and laughed, a horrifying sound that set me on edge. I got a great view of her sharp teeth and shivered. They were more animal than human.
“Do you know nothing of my kind, you idiots?” She surveyed us all, one by one, scanning us with a predatory gleam to her wild eyes.
Tianna put things together first. “You can read minds?”
The selkie looked at her approvingly. “To a certain degree, yes. It’s a greater challenge in a group such as yours, made up of so many magical creatures.” She pointed a look at Cass, who tilted his chin up at her and tightened his grip on his gun.
“You have a kitsune in your midst,” she said, making the slithery words somehow seem like a threat.
Brock let loose a full wolf growl and inched closer to the selkie, edging his body so as to be more fully between me and the creature.
