Page 40 of Bounty Hunter

Ikar’s hand curls into a fist at his side, and Rupi’s chirp sounds borderline indignant on his behalf. Her feathers have rustled and quilled, stabbing Ikar in the neck. To his credit, he doesn’t even wince.

I quickly wrap my hands around his fist as I begin to pull him away, shaking my head at the fact that my bird has become protective of my criminal. Not sure how it’s going to go when I drop him off with the officials. Will Rupi decide to stay locked up with him? I don’t know anymore. Rupi’s never acted this way, but he’s certainly tempting enough that I begin to wonder if she might choose him over me.

“We’ll be back soon,” I say quickly, tugging Ikar back toward town. No way am I allowing that guy to be my no-expiration-date mate. The way he emphasizes every word like everything he says is as gold as his eyes is far too annoying.

Ikar gradually relaxes, and somewhere along the way I reluctantly release his hand and walk beside him like I know I should. Rupi’s feathers slowly return to their familiar softness, and only then does Ikar reach up and wipe a bit of blood from his neck, looking at his fingers with a frown.

“She’s more dangerous than she appears,” he mutters.

I laugh at the bewildered look on his face. “Want me to take her?” I ask, as I begin to reach for her.

He steps away so I can’t reach. “I actually think she likes me.” He cranes his neck a bit to see her better where she perches on his shoulder, then pets her so carefully you’d think she was made of spun glass. Rupi practically croons beneath his attention.

I mutter beneath my breath and shake my head. What exactly am I supposed to do about my traitorous pet? Doesn’t help that, apparently, we have the same taste in men. She’s making it even more difficult to hate him.

The city isn’t very big, consisting of the path we took here and a handful of other intersecting streets, more aptly described as garden paths. The walkways this time of day are teeming with people and animals. We pass a few shops that smell of meat and bread, and I’m tempted to try to tug Ikar into one, but as we pass, a cat lazily flicking its tail off the awning above hisses at me, and I find myself stepping away too quickly and bumping into Ikar again. Rupi gives a string of upset chirps as she shuffles down the length of Ikar’s shoulder and back to his neck again, her feathers beginning to quill again with nerves at the sight of the predator. I glare into its golden cat eyes.Rude.I highly doubt Ikar would set aside the mission for a bite of fresh food anyway.

We pass a family of rabbits, and my eyes are drawn to a baker shouting at a squirrel that apparently snitched something. I laugh until it turns to a yelp as Ikar pulls me quickly into his side in order to avoid my squashing a larger-than-normal scorpion beneath my boot.

“Watch your step. They don’t allow killing in the city,” he says sternly.

“I wasn’ttrying.”

He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Don’t kill anyone.”

I’m ready to toss back a sarcastic comment, but it’s swapped with a very pertinent question. “Wait. Does that mean theydoallow killing in the forest?”

Ikar chuckles low and deep. “How else do you think they survive?”

My voice grows higher, “They hunteach other?”

“Not intentionally, probably. But they are part animal.” He says it in that matter of fact way of his.

I have no response to that. With that knowledge, my dreams of a whimsical, safe Shift Forest journey have turned to dust. I purse my lips, but I keep my eyes on my feet more closely. Don’t want to unintentionally kill a shifter on our way through town. I avoid bugs, too—just in case.

We turn down one street, and then another. I catch sight of a couple of wolves with their golden eyes stalking down the street, and even a few birds with eyes as golden as the wolves’, indicating their shifter faction. With how busy it is, it’s easy enough to find someone on the street to direct us to mate licensing, and we finally find ourselves standing before a small and ridiculously designed shop at 3rdand Main. A curly and dramatic sign hangs in front of a yard reading ‘Mate Licenses’in bold font. Inside the small wrought iron fence is an untamed garden full of a variety of flowers of all colors and sizes, including a wall of robust roses that climbs the front of the building, almost hiding it beneath their heavy blooms. Two pane-glass windows peak out behind roses on either side of the narrow wooden front door with a window the shape of a heart in it.

I’d been looking for a more… official-looking office, but after double-checking the address and re-reading the sign three times, I’m positive we’ve found the right place. I shouldn’t be too surprised. This building is much like the others in this odd city. I march, determined, up to the gate and pull it open, heading toward the front door in the midst of the heavy scent of the flowers around me. I look back to see Ikar, unmoved, outside the gate.Look who’s wasting time now.

“Coming?” I call.

“This can’t be the right place,” he argues, as he steps somewhat hesitantly through the small gate. I hold back a snort, and look away to hide my grin. The man will fight vicious magical creatures without any wisp of magic, doesn’t blink when stabbed with poisonous claws, willingly traverses dangerous mountains, and sneaks through goblin nests without a second thought, but hesitates at the gates of this tiny shop. How bad does he think this can be?

I open the shop door with the heart window and hear a dainty bell ring as I step inside. The scent is heady, a perfect combination of sweet and musky. To the right is a pretty, natural wood counter with flowers that match those in the front yard tumbling from a tall etched-glass vase atop it. The back of the shop contains an intricate wood arch with more flowers adorning the top in an artful design. To my left are built-in shelves that span the length and width of the wall,holding vials of all sorts of colors with tiny labels beneath each. Interesting.

“Oooooh! Delightful!” A round, kind-looking woman comes scurrying toward the door with her hands pressed together in front of her generous bosom. Her eyes seem to glow just a little brighter gold. “I just love to see such a charming couple.”

Ikar steps in behind me, coughing slightly at the smell and appearing as if he’s just stepped into a den of gloam snakes. I’m not sure someone could look more out of place in this shop with his thick leather armor and tall boots, but it’s the weapons that fill his pockets and sheaths and the tears across the armor on his back that add an extra dollop to his already dangerous look. Not to mention the glower on his face, only enhanced by his unkempt beard. The woman’s eyes widen as she takes in his appearance, lingering a moment too long on his accessories, but she quickly recovers her cheery and professional demeanor. She wraps her arm around my shoulders in a motherly way and guides us over to the shelves of tiny vials. Small description labels sit directly beneath each row of varying colors.

“Before we begin, please understand you aren’t actuallymating.” Dread curls through my belly as I wait for her to jump into further, highly awkward details. Ikar’s jaw is like granite, but she seems oblivious to our discomfort and continues into a memorized explanation. “This license will give you temporary use of a mate bond, which will protect you as you cross the Shift Forest. For non-shifters, a mate license is temporary and must be renewed every six weeks to be considered active. If one of you dies, the other will be vulnerable to a searching mate, so travel carefully and don’t get bit.” She smiles brightly.

Alright, then.

“Now for the fun!” She gestures to the vials. “Here are the mate bond types. Think of them as thespice.”She gives us a knowing look. “Do you have a preference?” She eyes the two of us, not waiting for a reply. “I’m thinking this one.” She pulls a burgundy vial from the shelf. She looks between us with squinted eyes, thinking hard. “Or maybe this one.” She grabs a gold vial and sets them both on the wood counter in front of the shelves.

“Isn’t there just abond?” Ikar asks, sounding grumpy.

She gestures to the vials, “Thoseare the bond, young sir. It’s so much more fun with variety, don’t you think?” She looks at me as she says the last part, and I smile uncomfortably. She winks. “When you’ve chosen, bring it to me, and we’ll get you mate bonded in no time!” She giggles and scurries back to the other side of the room behind the wood counter, where she grabs a large piece of parchment and starts scrawling across its surface.

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