Page 4 of Craved By the Kraken Warlord

But my body betrays me, pivoting slowly.

A pool dominates the far end of the grotto, its surface still rippling. Slowly, a shadow emerges from the depths. Broad shoulders. A humanoid torso, sleek and muscular, glistening with iridescent scales. Then—*tentacles*. Four of them, massive and coiled, erupting from his lower half like living midnight. They flex as he rises, water sluicing off skin that shifts between obsidian and deep indigo.

His face stops me cold. Sharp jawline, high cheekbones—almost human, but not quite. His eyes are blacker than the deep, with pinpricks of white light where pupils should be. Bioluminescent markings curve down his neck like liquid starlight.

He’s staring at me.

I stumble back, heel catching on the slab. My hipbone smacks the edge. Pain flares, sharp and bright.

He tilts his head.

*“You’re injured.”*

The voice isn’t a sound. It’s a vibration in my skull, low and resonant, like the groan of shifting tectonic plates. I slap my hands over my ears. Useless.

“Get out of my head,” I snap.

He doesn’t move. One tentacle curls absently at his side, tapered tip flicking like a cat’s tail. *“You are… distressed.”*

“Yeah, no kidding.” I edge sideways, putting the slab between us. “Where am I? What are you?”

His head cants the other way. The bioluminescent markings flare briefly. *“This place is mine. I am Va’thar.”*

*The Kraken Warlord.* The title slithers into my mind, unbidden. Old sailors’ tales whispered in the village tavern—a myth, a nightmare, a punchline. Not this. Not a living, breathing thing with eyes that strip me bare.

I grip the edge of the slab. “You pulled me from the sea.”

*“The storm brought you. The bond begins.”*

“Bond?”

He shifts, tentacles rippling. The movement sends him gliding closer. I press myself flat against the cavern wall, but he stops halfway, maintaining the distance. *“Your sacrifice. The ritual. It awakened my need.”*

“Need?” My pulse thumps in my throat.

His nostrils flare. *“Mating heat.”*

The words hit like a rogue wave. I bark a jagged laugh. “Seriously? You kidnapped me because you’re… horny?”

A tentacle slaps the water. The pool erupts in a spray of droplets. *“Not desire. Necessity.”* His mental voice tightens. *“The magic is ancient. Inescapable. Your presence ignites it.”*

I cross my arms. “So put it out. Let me go.”

His expression doesn’t change, but the glowing marks along his collarbones flicker. *“You would die. Your kind cannot survive here.”*

“My *kind* threw me off a cliff. I’ll take my chances.”

A beat of silence. Then, softer: *“You are safe now.”*

Something in his tone makes my chest ache. Stupid. He’s a monster. A predator. And yet…

I push off the wall, testing the space between us. “If you wanted me safe, why drag me underwater? Why not let me drown?”

He blinks—slow, deliberate. *“You called to me.”*

“I didn’t call anyone.”

*“The ritual. Your blood in the storm. It summoned me.”* A tentacle rises, hovering near my left arm. I flinch, but it doesn’t touch me. *“Your scent. Your warmth. They… pull.”*