“Perhaps it is time to look at marrying?—”
“No,” I snarl.
I would sooner sacrifice my soul to the Goddess than eventhinkof bonding with anyone other than Cindi. Whatever kraken bride the Council sends will either be one who is rejected and hated by society, or a strong female who will kill me the moment she has my cub in her stomach.
His eyes darken. He’s probably wishing his brother never failed at killing me. “Time is running?—”
My tentacle shoots out and clamps around Lazell’s throat. Bubbles explode around us, and a streak of lightning flashes above the surface to illuminate his panicked face. “I do not appreciate repeating myself, Counselor.” My voice is low.
His own pathetically weak limbs fly out to push back against my tightening grip. My limb spans wider than his neck, forcing him to stare up at me. I chuckle as his eyes bulge as he uselessly grabs at my arm with his tapered fingers.
“If I say no, that means no. If I have to question your ability to listen again, I will remove your ears because, clearly, you have no use for them. Do you understand?”
His mouth gapes. Air bubbles replace words.
“Nod if you understand.”
Lazell frantically bobs his head, a barely noticeable movement against my tentacle.
I release him, throwing him aside. “The Council will be informed once I have taken a bride,” is all I say before going back toward my den.
Rage simmers under my skin. I swim harder to dispel the energy and the need to tear another kraken apart—“limb from limb,” as Cindi said.
Letting my vapid Council look at—or evenspeak to—my mate wasn’t a thought I delved into with much detail. It filled me with too much rage.
It has been at least a moon since I came across another kraken. I once went half a year without interacting with anyone other than Vasz. Most barely spare me anything more than a sideways glance.
I’m obviously a fool. My wishful thinking had me believing my mate would want me back and I could have Cindi to myself, away from every other kraken.
The runes at the cave entrance glow silver beneath my touch. The stone groans as it slides against rock, a low, grating sound that can only be heard if nearby.
A confusing mixture of excitement, dread, hope, and fear winds my hearts into a tight knot. She cannot hate me forever, right? At some point, she will soften to my efforts because…because fate deemed it so.
Fate. Fate. Fate.
It’s never because of me.
The gills along my neck bristle, and I steel myself to weather the disgust Cindi doles my way.
I’m torn between racing through the tunnels or leaning into my trepidation by prolonging the inevitable pain. I want to see my mate, make sure she’s okay, but I…I don’t want her to see me. I never thought I could feel such joy from simply touching another, yet such pain at the same time.
The glowing algae illuminates the path into the den before I can decide what I want to do. My senses tip closer to the edge. My nose twitches, suckers pulsing as I taste the saltwater.
Blood.
I speed up, splitting the surface, claws out, chest puffed, muscles coiled, ready to defend my mate to the very end.
The stench of her fear, anxiety, and the metallic scent of her blood permeates the air. My stare swings around the den to locate the intruder, but there are no new scents. A gasp pulls my attention toward the large stone near the side of the cavern.
Cindi’s frightened eyes burn into mine, and my muscles tense to strike…Vasz.
“What…” I frown, lowering my limbs to the floor. The creature, blissfully ignorant to my and Cindi’s panic, continues gnawing on a coconut as my mate presses herself flush against the rock, tucking her limbs close to her body beneath her dress to create more distance from Vasz as he wags his tail, happily playing with a husk.
“Tell me if he bit you,” I demand.
She shakes her head at the same time Vasz huffs, “I wish.”
Try as I might, I can’t figure out why she’s sitting beside his coconut pile or how a piece of driftwood made it from Vasz’s quarters to my mate’s lap.
