Page 32 of Kraken the Seal

“Let go of her!” I snarled and went to shove him away. Dale might be taller than me, but my round body hid a lot of muscles. My shove made him let go of Abby and stagger back. Both he and Abby gasped in surprise.

He stared at me with absolute shock, as if I'd grown a second head. “You pushed me!”

The door slammed open, and Delmar's massive body was suddenly between me and Dale. “Back away from my mate!”

“I’m sorry, this is my fault.” Abby's words were barely audible. She was staring down at her feet, and her shoulders were hunched. I hated that.

“Hey, it's okay,” I said.

“No, it's not,” Dale said. He didn't sound as confident, but he was determined to speak up. “Abby has no reason to speak to you before you officially join the colony. None of our women are supposed to talk to outsiders unless they’re inconsequential human tourists. She's known for acting badly and disobeying her father or brother. This isn’t the first time she’s been in trouble.”

Even as he spoke, Dale kept taking little steps back from Delmar's intimidating presence. He was standing in one of the parking spots in front of the store before he stopped moving.

“I don’t care what your policy is, you don’t grab people like that,” Delmar said. I saw one of his tentacles peek out from under his shirt. I gave it a little pet and urged it back under. I felt him relax slightly at my touch.

“You d-d-don’t understand!” Dale protested. He was trying very hard to be brave and probably talking loudly to draw attention. Too bad no one was around to come to his aid because they were avoiding Delmar. When he spoke next his voice was much quieter. “That’s not how we do things.”

“Keep him over there,” I said to Delmar. “I’m going to talk to Abby.”

He looked over his shoulder and gave me a smile before letting his scowl come back out as he faced off with Dale again.

“Are you okay?” I asked. She didn’t meet my eyes but nodded her head.

“I’m fine. This is fine. I should go.”

“Hey, no,” I said, becoming more worried. Had all of this messed up her escape plan? “Stay for a moment. Talk to me. I’m sure we can help.”

“No!” her harsh whisper startled me. “The longer I talk to you, the worse it will be tonight.”

“What’s going on here?”

We all turned to see Archer walking across the street. It was startling to think no one drove around here.

“Abby is being willful!” Dale accused, looking relieved and triumphant at Archer’s arrival. “Mayor Norris declared her a troubled woman, remember? That means we all have a duty to monitor her. She was talking to Nina. Nina isn’t a colony member yet, and she isn’t a human tourist. I disciplined Abby for acting against colony rules. I was a good colony member.”

Archer let out a long sigh. “I know what Mayor Norris said, but it’s better if you call me instead of doing it yourself.”

I was ready to lay into Archer for not taking Abby’s side when he turned to her and his voice turned soft and gentle. “Can I walk you home, Abby? I’ll make sure your dad knows that you were trying to talk Nina into staying with us. You were working for the good of the colony, right?”

“Yes, absolutely,” I said loudly. “Abby was telling me how wonderful it is here. I’d like her to spend the rest of the day with me.”

Archer looked conflicted but then shook his head. “That would cause too many issues. I don’t want her to be harassed by every male in the colony. What if Abby had dinner with you tonight?”

I looked at Abby, hoping she’d meet my gaze, so I knew what she wanted. She wouldn’t look up so I went with my gut.

“Yes, I’d enjoy having dinner with Abby.”

Her expression didn’t change, but she stiffened slightly. Was that because I’d made a bad choice? Damn it, I hated this whole situation!

“I’m going to be there,” Delmar said. Abby didn’t move or react. “I’ll make Abby the same promise I made the sheriff earlier, I’m not a threat to anyone who isn’t a threat to Nina.”

“I’ll be there too,” Archer said. “No one will harm you. No one.”

He leaned close and whispered something to her. I saw her bite her lip and blink rapidly, but other than that, she didn’t look up or respond to what he said.

Turning back to us, Archer tried to smile, which translated to a frownless-frown. Don’t ask me how that works, but that’s the best way I could think of to describe Archer's expression.

“I’m going to walk Abby home,” he said, putting a hand at the small of her back. “Please finish your shopping.”