“Hands off her, Perez.”
Fucking mammals.
That seal Elliot was stomping over to us—and this time he wasn’t alone. There was a girl tucked under his arm, her purple hair catching the neon, a drink in one hand and a sharp smile across her face. Magic rolled off her, uncontrolled, tiny electric shocks tickling my nose.
Elliot’s entire posture had changed around her, looser and tighter at once. One hand splayed wide at her waist, as if she might float away on him.
The shark in me knew it immediately.
Sated mates.
Although neither of them looked very sated.
Maybe that was why Whiskers was in such a bad mood and Violet’s magic was haywire.
Why was he bothering Selena when he had this new witch on his arm? When Selena was mine?
That pleased the shark.
Mine.
But this bleacher-carrying midnight snack had cost me an extremely romantic kiss with Selena, who had taken a step back from me, the smile gone from her face.
That was unforgivable—to both me and the shark.
All that energy flowed into the less pleasant part of me, and that part wasn’t angry. Anger was hot and stupid. This was older and patient, the primordial desire of a creature that had found a target and saw no reason not to rip it apart.
My heart slowed, my vision narrowing until only he remained. I let him see my shark teeth.
“Elliot. What an unwelcome surprise. Shouldn’t you be busy rescuing some turtles?”
He glowered at me, which was adorable for prey.
“Didn’t think sharks liked parties. Too many witnesses when they go into a frenzy.”
Careful. You have no idea how close that is, Whiskers.
I glanced atSelena, and her eyes were only on me. She scowled, but I saw what she meant beneath it.
Show me what you’ve got, Perez.
My girl. So competitive, and nearly as feral as me.
“Depends. Sometimes the crowd makes hunting easier.”
I let my gaze drift over the woman next to him, and, oh, Elliot did not like that. He started spouting off at me, but I got bored about a sentence in and stopped listening. The shark doesn’t concern itself with the opinions of sea lions, and all that.
“You always bark this much?” I asked after he just wouldn’t shut up.
I felt Selena’s eyes on the side of my face like the sun’s rays, and the shark preened under them, because some old instinct had decided she should see this. She’d seen my half-shifted form—well, done a lot more than that—and it was time to show her the rest. The predator.
I wanted to show off for Selena, not tongue-lash each other to death.
“You’ve gotten too close to my people. Normally, that’s when I bite,” Elliot shot back.
Oh, tough guy, huh?
I finally tore my focus away from Selena and put it back on his girl.
