My predatory instincts are in full swing. Whatever is happening at the airport is freaking Penny out. I weave her through the crowds of people and keep myself alert. The only thing I have to go on are the Primals that might be around me. So I can’t afford to miss a single one of them.
Especially if I can catch them acting as suspiciously as Penny is.
We step out of the airport, and I can feel the tension leave her body. Her heart rate is slowing down, but her grip on my hand doesn’t loosen. I shake her hand away from mine, and she looks up at me, throwing me those big, round eyes of hers.
Apparently, opossums have puppy dog stares, too. But there’s something different about her stare. I feel—tugged.
I don’t like it.
“Come on,” I say, shaking her off me. “We have a lot of ground to cover.”
“Do you know where we’re starting?” Penny asks.
“No, but I have a good idea of where we should.”
In the Primal world, Hawaii is known for two things. Rodents and vacations. It is the only spot in the world where Primals can safely vacation. The rodent population in Hawaii is the highest in the entire world. They and the bears are the only two species not dying out from the lack of female mates. And if there is any place to start our hunt for Cats, it will be there.
I hail a cab, and Penny gets in beside me. She presses herself against me a little close for my liking. A low growl emanates from my chest, warning her of her advances. I know what she’s doing. I’m not oblivious to her actions. And while Primals of different races can mate, the stench of an opossum is not one I’m willing to stomach to get a pathetic release.
Besides, I’m already attached to Clarissa. And keeping her safe is the only thing on my mind during this journey.
The cab drives us out to the ferry, and we load to cross. If there are any Cats on this island, we will know. Cats hate water, which means they don’t vacation very often out here. And if they do, it must be for one of two reasons.
One, they really need a break.
Or two, they really need to hide.
I can’t stand how slow the ferry is going. It’s inching along the water like I don’t have somewhere else to be. Penny is standing on the edge, practically hanging herself over the water. We hit a small wave, and she flails, and before I even think my hand snatches her away from the side.
“The last thing I need is you getting killed,” I say with a growl.
“I didn’t know you cared so much,” Penny says.
“I don’t. But Clarissa does. She seems to like you.”
“And you don’t?”
“You stink.”
“Hey. I don’t like the tone of your racism.”
I bite back another growl as we approach the island.
The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. I can feel my blood pumping through my veins. The wind whipping off the ocean is riddled with the smell of Cat. Something I did not expect out in the middle of the sea.
We are in the right place.
My body senses it.
“Do you feel that?” Penny asks.
“Do you?” I ask.
“Opossums do more than riddle through trash,” she says flatly.
“We’re in the right place.”
“Good. About damn time.”