Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

The voice was so crisp and unexpected, it startled her a little, but she tried not to show it.

Ka’Cit’s eyes were still on her when he answered. “There’s been a…situation.”

“Will you be able to intercept the package?”

Ka’Cit let out a breath and his brows furrowed. That’s when she realized what was so different about his face—what differentiated him from all the other Merssi she’d met so far.

His face was smooth, like hers.

All the other Merssi she’d seen—Riv, Sohut, and even that boss lady, Herza—had ridges running along their brows, down their noses, and even down their chins.

Ka’Cit had none.

His face was as humanlike as an alien face could get.

There were still differences, like his bone structure was a bit different, harsher, but not unattractively so, and his ears were elf-like. Now that she was staring at him hard, they perked off the sides of his head.

“That might not be possible,” he spoke to whoever was on the line and she saw bits of his teeth as he enunciated the words.

Yeaaaa…humans didn’t have teeth like those.

His fangs looked vicious, like he could tear into raw meat without trying hard. Plus that blue skin and those eyes…even his hair was thicker, richer, than human hair.

She only realized she was really staring when his head tilted a little. Startling diopside met hers and she saw something change behind them.

Nia forced herself to look somewhere else.

She saw it in his eyes.

He knew what she’d just realized—that he was different from the others.

“I cannot leave the base until our scheduled time to meet. What are the chances of us losing that package?” The voice almost sounded robotic, like a super-advanced male version of Siri, and Nia wondered if Ka’Cit was talking to a computer.

“I’ll get you that package, one way or another. It might just take some…time.”

“Time is what we don’t have, brother.”

Ka’Cit released a breath as if he knew.

“Keep me updated. I will contact you again.” With that, the call clicked off.

She couldn’t help the feeling that she was the reason he’d said he might not be able to collect this “package.”

Should he be somewhere else right now?

When she glanced at him again, he was still looking at her.

Here she was feeling self-conscious for staring while he was doing it as if it was perfectly normal.

“Work,” he said, gesturing to his wristband.

Nia granted him a soft smile.

Work, huh.

Was he some kind of soldier then?

He sure looked built for it.