“Who are you?”
He blinks down at the tiny child. She fluffs her blond hair and scowls at the rest of us like we better not dare intrude on her private conversation with him.
“Ronit.”
“Ron.”
“Ron-it!” my alpha emphasizes.
“Ron.”
He sighs. “Fine. What’s your name? Where are your parents?”
“I’m Cassidy, and my parents are gone,” she whispers sadly.
“Gone?” Ronit asks, snapping to attention.
Mei lets go of Leaf and wanders past, bumping into the tiny child. I glare at her, wondering what she’s even thinking.
“Hey, watch it, lady!”
Mei turns towards the sound and puts out long fingers tipped with black claws. “What are you, small thing?”
“A child!” Cassidy snaps in outrage.
Mei sways on the spot, shifting her weight from one foot and back again. She doesn’t agree nor disagree. She is silent and suddenly one of the most dangerous creatures I’ve ever met.
The girl’s clothes are very new, but not dirty, even though she was running around.
I glance at Reed, who is watching the child with predatory interest.
Is this our test?
Ronit crouches. “Where have your parents gone?”
“They just,” the child flutters her hand dismissively, “went elsewhere.”
“And left you alone?” Ronit says with a dark thread of violence in his voice.
Ronit threw his life away when he discovered that he had orders to kill children. They are his weakness. I need to talk to him, separate him from it.
“Well, duh.”
Mei snags the child by the hair and lifts her off her feet, shaking her violently.
“What are you doing? Stop it!” A man shouts and rushes towards us.
More screams come from all around us.
Should we interfere? No.
“Don’t!” I say to Reed, who moves to intercept the humans. “Just watch.”
The man attacks Mei with a desperate fury. Leaf sends him flying. Chaos explodes around us as people charge in, trying to save the child Mei is hissing at.
People throw things at her. A man tries to tackle her. She moves too quickly, too aggressively. The child is a rag doll in her hands.
“Mei!” Ronit commands. “Put the child down.”
