Archaic (Reverse Harem 2)

I sigh and keep moving, thinking maybe I will find something nice at one of the stands for her. A gift from me, like Theo did, only I’m not going to fucking whittle something out of wood. Bears, overachievers in every way, making the rest of us look like beggars. It is what it is. The romance of the cat will be lost, but I still won’t let her go without a gift from Thailand. If we came here together it would be like Japan all over again, only I would end up seeing things I have never seen before, viewing the world with her for the first time.

If she was mine, we would see the world, travel from place to place, stay in exotic hotels, hike through the jungles, discover everything for the second time. I can almost feel her in my arms, wrapped in my warmth, sitting on the edge of the world, looking out together. I would make love to her in the grasses, kiss that sweet skin, and make sure that her body and her mind never needed for anything. She is the mate I want, and drunk it feels like a tragic love story, one that I will never recover from.

I’m a survivor though, and I know that the time will come when I will be useful. When my ideas will be pertinent. Then, she will need me to whisk her away to some beautiful place, to protect her from the world even though right now she refuses to see that she needs to be protected. A life as a Primal, or half-Primal in her case, is not an easy one. It’s one that takes patience and a careful step. She will eventually come to understand a cat’s touch is exactly what she needs.

For now, though, I will wobble my furry ass back to the bar and collect Hiro. We both need a good nap, laying in the sun somewhere, to melt the alcohol from our systems. Maybe when we get back, I will talk to Clarissa again, tell her about all the places I want to go, try to implore reason. I walk around the corner, and the bartender laughs, Hiro is laying in his own slobber, snoring. I shake my head and lean against the doorframe.

I guess I learned my lesson.

Chapter 14

~ Sebastian

“H awaii. So romantic . I wanted Gus to take me to Hawaii.”

Penny’s voice is grating on my nerves. It is bad enough I have to be shoved next to her on a plane ride halfway across the world from where Theo and Clarissa are. But hearing her incessant talking is enough to drive me wild. The smell of an opossum is rancid, at best. They are scavengers. Rustling in the bushes and scrounging around in trash cans. No one can trust an opossum.

They are known for manipulating the circumstances toward whatever their heart desires.

And with the betrayal Toshi brought down upon our heads in the past, my guard is up.

“I don’t like airplanes. Do you?” Penny asks.

“Not really the flying type,” I say.

“So tense. Do you want me to sing to you? I can sing, you know.

It’s what drew Gus to me. Or so he says. Well, said.”

I look down at the woman beside me and watch a sadness fall upon her face. It’s not fair to her that my guard is up. She’s hurting like the rest of us are. But she’s an opossum. I know she has something up her sleeve.

“No. No singing,” I say.

“Suit yourself.”

The clouds float by the plane as we begin to descend into Hawaiian airspace. I can smell the salted water and feel the electricity of the town rolling against my skin. My senses are heightened. On alert for anything that can point us in the direction we need to head toward. All we have are three X-like markings on three separate territories on a map that is practically disintegrating.

Nothing to clue me into where the hell I need to go.

“Not a fan of descents?”

My eyes peer down at Penny as she smiles up at me. She looks like a kid sitting next to me. With her big round eyes and her wild hair. I roll my eyes and buckle myself up, preparing myself for the swirling this massive slab of metal would do before we hit the ground.

No, I was not a fan of descents.

Or of flying, for that matter.

We walk off the plane, and Penny is gravitating closer to me than usual. She tries to stay in line with my steps rather than walking in front of me. Opossums are confident manipulators. To

come across one that takes a back seat means something is brewing in the air. I look around the airport and take a deep whiff, then focus my ears on the sounds

around me.

The squirting of ketchup. The cussing of angry passengers missing their flights. Voices over the intercom rattling off flight numbers, and the padding of heavy feet on the floor.

I feel Penny press into me as her hand slips into mine.

“Get me out of here,” she says. “Please.”