Page 14 of A Monster’s Future

The cooki took this instance to dart forward at my platter. I tried to protect my food by snatching its furry body up off my plate, but not before it grabbed another piece of the tatertot stem.

Ugh! There were two other platters here, and the little bugger was only stealing from mine.

The critter held the food to its mouth, trying to stuff as much of it as possible into its mouth. It was utterly adorable the way it held food in its little paws like they were hands.

“Why my food?” I asked.

“You’re the weakest link,” Chris teased.

“You’re also the only one with fried tatertot stem,” Charlene said. She and Chris had gone for something sweet. And Kat only ate the meat skewers.

“Hey, you’re right.” I held the little troublemaker up away from my plate, even as it continued to nom on its prize. “Tatertots, huh? You know what they say, you are what you eat. I hereby dub thee, Tatertot.”

“Oooh, Tatertot is a cute name!” Kat clapped her hands together. “Perfect. It suits him.”

“Step one done. We named it. Now we have to figure out if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“And a way to keep it out of trouble for the rest of the trip,” Chris added.

I’d always wanted one of these little fluffballs. Penelope’s cooki, Hardtack, was adorable. But I’d never managed to convince one of the ones living in the stronghold to stay with me. I couldn’t believe this one managed to sneak on the ship. They’d done a whole bunch of sweeps and scans to make sure none were on board before we boarded.

“Greedy little thing,” I mumbled, watching as Tatertot devoured the last of its prize. It licked its paws clean before turning those big eyes on me, as if to say, Was that it?

I sighed. “That was the last of them. You ate them all.”

Tatertot didn’t look the least bit sorry.

It scrambled up my arm and sat on my shoulder, wiping its tatertot-grease-covered little paws on my hair.

“Ewww! Stop it.” But I was too smitten by the little cutie to evict it from its spot on my shoulder. “I see why Penelope lets Hardtack get away with so much. They’re too freaking cute.”

I chugged the rest of my water, leaving a tiny swig at the bottom. I turned my cup to the side and offered it to the cooki. It wasn’t interested.

It had its eyes on something else. I heard a click right by my ear, followed by a sharp tugging of my hair. And then Tatertot was off, running away with my hair clip.

“Hey!” I scrambled to my feet, chasing after it. “That’s mine!”

The cooki darted between tables, its tiny paws skidding on the metal floor. I lunged, nearly grabbing its tail before it twisted away, clip still clutched in its jaws. It shot toward the door, and I followed, determined to reclaim my hairpiece.

The door slid open. My heart leaped into my throat as my eyes landed on him.

I skidded to a halt just in time to avoid crashing into the three Kadrixan warriors even as they stepped through. The last thing I wanted was to collide with Grtirr of all people. If I did, he’d probably see it as proof that I was too uncoordinated for this mission. I windmilled my arms, trying to stop my momentum, but my socked feet betrayed me. My balance wavered, and I pitched forward.

A strong hand shot out, catching me before I face-planted onto the deck. The moment Grtirr’s fingers wrapped around my arm, a jolt of heat raced through me, sharp and undeniable. My breath caught in my throat. His touch was electric, sending a shiver down my spine, and for a second, the world narrowed to just the two of us.

His golden eyes locked onto mine, wide with something I couldn’t name. Surprise? Recognition? Dread? All three? Whatever it was, it mirrored the way my pulse spiked, the way my skin tingled where he held me.

I swallowed hard, my cheeks heating up, but I forced myself to ignore him and search for the little furry thief instead. It was trying to duck through the door, but one of the other warriors caught Tatertot.

“The cooki stole my hair clip.”

I reached out, and Trsak tossed the clip he’d wrestled away from Tatertot into my hands.

“Thank you!”

I was clipping it back into my hair when I realized the entire room had gone completely quiet, their attention on me.

Well, not just me. Me and Grtirr.