Page 29 of Blood of the Sirens
The boat came into the dock smoothly, and soon I struggled against the crowd to stay with Barrett. This gave me the perfect excuse to leave him and find Jesse. “Thank you for the help! I will see you later for the hunt!”
Barrett laughed, not fighting against the crowd as more people grew between us. “I see how it is! You want to scope the best spots. Happy hunting, my friend!”
I let him think whatever he wanted because it worked in my interest. The crowd separated us and carried me toward a large, empty square of road with many of the human transportation machines sitting between drawn, white lines. I looked around in dismay, not recognizing anything from the other night.
“Hey buddy! You look lost. Whatcha looking for?”
I tried to calm my expression of alarm as a large man with a big belly called out to me from where he was loading up into one of those quieter machines. The golf carts, Jesse had called them.
“I am looking to go into the city,” I tried, hoping there was only one.
“You a spring breaker then? Look a little old for that.”
I wasn’t sure what the last part of his sentence meant, but he said ‘spring break,’ so I seized it.
“Yes! That! I am here for the … spring break.”
The man chuckled and sucked on a large brown cylinder that protruded from his mouth. Foul smoke wafted from it.
“Sounds like you need to get into town. The shuttle line starts over there.” He gestured roughly across the road where a group of other humans were standing around a sign with a picture of a large machine on it.
“Thank you.” I joined the group of humans waiting, listening to their conversations. There were a few older human mates, females with males with gray and white hair. Standing apart from them was a group of five or six men who looked a little younger than me. Their conversation was more interesting than the older mates’ argument over where to eat their dinner.
“Yeah, so I heard this year the bonfire is going to be Friday on the beach. It’s going be lit, man.”
A male with short, bright green leg garments gestured wildly in the air. Small and dark glass coverings covered his eyes. I wondered if he was injured. Looking around, I noticed that many of the humans wore these small eye shields. Shoes protected their fragile feet, and small shields protected their fragile eyes. It was a wonder they got anything accomplished. My imagination spun with all the things I could make with glass that clear, and that sharp. Most of the sea glass from the ocean was opaque and rounded.
“I can’t wait. I bought a new suit and everything.” A girl grinned at him in a way that had my stomach twist nervously. If Jesse ever looked at me like that, I didn’t know what I would do. I’d likely pin her to the floor and—
“Psh, I’m excited for the food trucks. Denny’s barbeque is gonna be there!”
The male didn’t seem to notice the female deflate as he dismissed her clear advances in favor of his stomach. Were all human males so dismissive of their females? Perhaps she was not his mate. That would explain it. Especially with the waythe other two males in the group watched her. The other female rolled her eyes and stared down at a small black rectangular device in her hands. She ignored the other males as she tapped on it furiously with her fingers.
“Excuse me, are you talking about spring break?” I interjected when their conversation seemed to lull. Perhaps I could travel with them to where I needed to be.
The female glanced up from her device, her eyes going wide.
“What's your name?” she asked, her voice lowering significantly in pitch. My eyes couldn’t help but flick to her breasts, which she pushed invitingly out toward me.
“Merrick,” I answered easily enough, keeping my gaze on the males. The way they were staring at me certainly didn’t seem friendly. I didn’t want to offend them by staring too openly at the female, if she belonged to one of them.
“Merrick? That’s … different.” The female moved in closer. Too close. She put one hand on my chest and I jerked back, alarmed by her boldness.
I liked it with Jesse. On this female, it simply made me uncomfortable. Her hair was a straight sheet of dark brown, almost black. The way her blue eyes pulled at me had moisture appearing on my forehead. The other males closed in, their shoulders tense and rigid.
“I … no, thank you,” I stuttered, unsure why I said that and what exactly I was refusing. She hadn’t asked me a question or offered anything. The wind changed, blowing her scent toward me. I froze, recognizing the same tang that Jesse’s scent had—a biting heat with a spicy undertone.
No. That was impossible. Well, improbable. Certainly not impossible, but what were the odds I’d found two siren born females on my own?
I didn’t like this female, though. I didn’t like how she lookedat me like a predator. Only Jesse could look at me like that. Perhaps Barrett could have this one. Or even Aris. This female was aggressive and wasn’t sensing that I didn’t want her hands on me.
Was this what it was like for females when we hunted?
I was saved from further introspection by the large machine that groaned its way toward us, coming to a lurching stop. It was much larger than anything I had ridden with enough seats for all of us waiting, with many empty ones to spare. I waited until the group of young males went in first; the female gave me one disgusted last look before climbing up the steps. They went all the way to the back, so I sat up toward the front.
I thought about reporting back to my father this one siren born, and then immediately dismissed it. I may not like this female, but that didn’t mean she deserved to be impregnated and left alone. I would leave it to chance if the others found her or not.
A sudden thought occurred to me. What if the mers who came on shore forced themselves on their females? My stomach soured. Surely no honorable mer would do that, would they? I could not imagine forcing myself on Jesse. I would be heartbroken if she turned me away, of course, but that was still her choice. To force myself on her just to create young?
