The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw #2) - Melissa Haag Page 0,129

Mom said.

One of the mermaids saw me and rolled her eyes.

“Will you please tell your mom we weren’t the ones to scratch you?”

River stared at me from the back of the group. Jannette was standing right next to her.

I turned to Mom, my lips curving in a sultry smile.

“Fish are food, not fiends, Mom. Who cares what they did or didn’t do?”

Mom’s angry scowl melted into amusement.

“Witty girl.” Her gaze shifted to the mermaids. “Adira made me promise I wouldn’t feed on Uttira’s young tonight. But I never promised not to play with them. Go have fun, my little minnows.”

I could feel the wave of coercion Mom released.

“Spread love, not hate,” I said, giving an extra push that evolved into a rather forceful shove.

Lannie moaned, grabbed Dash by his short green hair, and kissed the heck out of him in front of us while the rest stumbled away. The lust and need coming off of River was enough to stir my hunger, and I regretted not feeding more.

“Adira made me promise not to feed, but she said nothing about you,” Mom said.

“I’m fine. I ate before I arrived.”

“Mrs. Quill already let me know. She said it was the most she’d ever seen you eat at once. She was quite proud.”

Given the stream of people passing us, I sent Mom a pleading look.

“Can we please not talk about this now? Do you need help with anything?”

She hooked her arm through mine. “Not at all. Tuff only called me here because I’d asked to be notified about any mermaids.” We started walking toward the bar. “I gather from your comment the offender was in their midst?”

“Yes. But, honestly, she doesn’t matter. Megan will be home soon. I’d rather let her deal with the injustices here than have you risk upsetting her by handing out justice yourself.”

Mom laughed.

“Please. I met the fledgling. The fury was protective of Oanen, not angry for any perceived wickedness. I would be fine and so would Megan.” She patted my arm. “But I promised to be on my best behavior tonight.”

We stopped at the bar. “Now, what can Ymir get for you?”

A giant looked up from the drink he was making.

“Not the Ymir, just Ymir.”

“A chocolate martini mocktail, please.”

“They’re all mocktails tonight,” he said with a smile before addressing Mom. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m fine, Ymir. And if Eliana wants anything stronger tonight, you have my permission to oblige her.”

I looked down quickly and pretended to fix my dress so no one would see my eyes and know how I’d taken Mom’s words. I should have eaten more.

“That’s a lovely dress, Eliana,” Mom complimented. “It’ll match your eyes if you don’t hide their color.”

Groaning, I looked up at her.

“I hate when they do this.”

“And some women feel shame when their nipples harden and seek to hide them with padded bras. It’s a waste of time, just as wearing sunglasses would be. Most people are too worried about their own insecurities to notice yours. And those who do notice and are immune to your special talents will seek to use your insecurities against you.

“You’re too high on the food chain to be viewed as prey, baby. It won’t end well for them.”

“Chocolate martini,” Ymir said with flare. “And she’s right.”

I looked up at him, and he winked at me before helping the next person.

Sighing, I took my drink and turned away from the bar. My very black gaze scanned the crowd in an idle search for Jenna or Fenris as I sipped liquid chocolate.

“Their dancing is atrocious,” Mom said. “Any chance you’ll go out there and show them how it’s done before they give my club the wrong name.”

She watched a group of students near the human entrance.

“Since all your current patrons are my peers and won’t be able to return here until they obtain their marks, I highly doubt what they do tonight will tarnish Blayz’s reputation.”

“Perhaps you’ll change your mind for the right partner.”

I gave her a warning look. Fenris’s name had popped up repeatedly during our shopping excursion. Jenna, having already been let in on what tonight would entail for her, had kept mostly quiet on the topic. That hadn’t mattered to Mom. She’d kept trying to get me to talk about him.

“Raiden is an idiot,” Mom muttered before taking a cleansing breath.

“I think I’ll go upstairs and sit for a bit. I promised your father I wouldn’t overtax myself.”

She walked away, ignoring the dancers and party-goers she’d invited. They didn’t ignore her, though. No