Page 36 of Bind Me

“Neither do I,” I admit, my gaze locking on to hers.

There’s a moment of silence, my attention remaining on Sasha, at the way she stands, hands stuffed in her pockets, smiling down at the otter, to how she nibbles on the edge of her lower lip. There’s something captivating about her mannerisms, the way she tucks her blue-green hair behind her ear. The girl is spectacular, a beauty I can’t get enough of.

Already, my feral side, my beast, is pushing me to claim her as ours, wanting to claw to the surface to destroy anyone who upsets her. It’s admirable how quickly he’s taken to her when, most of the time, he wants to destroy anyone new we meet.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asks, breaking the silence. “Are you going to just stare at me?”

“Sounds good to me, though I’d like some food. My gut’s grumbling.” I reach down to pat Chowder, but he shrinks away from my touch.

“Don’t touch his head. He doesn’t like it, especially from strangers,” Sasha says, watching me closely. “Let him approach you first. And I’m not a restaurant.”

Fair enough.

Chowder tilts his head, his whiskers twitching, saying, “Hello again.”

I blink, genuinely surprised. “All right, now I’m impressed by this otter. He talks.”

“Chowder, what do you mean by again?” She stares at the otter, then glares up at me. “He must have seen you drop off Belu in front of our door.”

I shrug, chuckling. “I guess.”

Crouching next to Chowder, she strokes the fur around his neck. “They did something to him during the experiments. That’s why he speaks, among other things.”

“Who the fuck would do that?” I ask, frowning, my hackles raised. I will kill anyone for looking at me wrong, but hurting animals, that’s a line I won’t ever cross.

“A jerk I was meant to catch for my last job,” she explains, her voice tinged with frustration. “Bastard got away, but I saved Chowder and kept him because he deserved the best life.”

I admire her for her caring nature, something I’m not necessarily used to.

“So, are we going to talk about what happened back at the station? What did they accuse you of?”

“Does it matter?” she says, her tone weary. She goes to sit on the curved couch in the corner, tucking her legs under as she makes herself comfortable.

“It matters,” I state, strolling after her, eyeing the seated cushion right next to her. “If you’re in danger, then I’m going to fix it.”

She half laughs, even though she furrows her brow. “This isn’t something you can fix. Trust me.”

I go to sit, but Chowder leaps up just before I do, pressing himself against her hip and stretching out his body across the cushion, taking my spot, glaring at me with narrowing eyes.

You little shit.

So, I sit a bit farther away but still close enough to squish him in his location.

“Tell me more,” I insist, curious. Lounging back, I drape an arm across the back of the couch just as Chowder’s back leg kicks my thigh, as if he needs more space. I chuckle, gazing down at this tiny otter with the personality of a damn kraken.

Sasha’s face hardens, and her attention shifts to the floor.

“They think I killed seven men on a ship that crashed in the docks recently,” she says quietly. “But it wasn’t me. It was my mother, who, long ago, turned into a siren. So, you see, there’s nothing to really address. Mistaken identity, that’s all.” Her voice cracks, her posture curling slightly forward.

Her words hit me hard, remembering when I lost my mom, murdered along with my father by a gang he’d crossed. Exhaling deeply, I push the past aside, leaving it as that.

“She’s a siren, then?” Everyone knows once a mermaid has enough drownings under her belt, the darkness inside them manifests and changes them permanently into a siren.

“Happened when I was a child.” Her eyes glisten, but she quickly wipes them and puts on a forced grin.

I reach over to catch the tear rushing down her cheek, suddenly feeling the hard slam of Chowder, jamming those little feet into my side, hissing. I almost adore the otter for his tenacity.

She doesn’t pull away when I wipe the tear.

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