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The flowers' song swells, and Vanessa turns to face me. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, reflecting the dancing lights of Aurelia's sky. For the first time since my revelation, she really looks at me – sees me – in my true form.

I stand at the edge of the crystalline shore, where liquid starlight laps against the prismatic sand. The setting sun of Aurelia paints the horizon in shades of gold and violet I've never seen on Earth. Behind me, I hear Vanessa's soft footsteps in the sand, hesitant but steady.

My hearts pound against my chest, but I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. Every instinct screams to turn around, to reach for her, to explain everything again. Instead, I remain still, letting the warm breeze ruffle my dark hair and brush against my horns.

The singing flowers that dot the beach hum a melancholic tune, responding to the storm of emotions between us. Their petals pulse with each note, casting dancing shadows across the sand.

I spread my fingers, watching how the golden light plays across my red skin. It’s never been like this before. I feel exposed in my true form – vulnerable in a way no battle training prepared me for. But I won't hide anymore. Not from her.

The sound of her breathing changes – closer now. Still, I don't move. This has to be her choice. After everything she's been through, everything I put her through, she deserves to decide what happens next.

I hear her breath catch, and the singing flowers shift their melody. Through our strange connection, I sense her thoughts turning to Earth – to the life she left behind, the coffee shop with its garish Valentine's decorations, her friend Becca who will never know what happened to her. The weight of her loss fills the air between us.

The flowers pulse faster, their song growing more complex as Vanessa's emotions surge. I feel her fear, her uncertainty about trusting someone who lied about his very nature. Yet beneath it all runs a current of something else – something that makes my heart race.

I risk turning my head slightly, catching her reflection in a nearby crystal formation. She's staring at me, really looking at me, in a way that makes my skin burn. Not with revulsion or terror, but with recognition. Her eyes trace the lines of my horns, the sharp angles of my face, the deep red of my skin – and I see the moment something shifts in her expression.

The crystal flowers burst into a new melody, bright and clear. My breath catches as I recognize the emotion they're reflecting – it's the same song they played that night on the rooftop when we first kissed, when she was looking at my human form with that same expression of wonder and trust.

She takes another step closer, and I feel the heat of her presence at my back. The triple moons of Aurelia cast her shadow beside mine on the prismatic sand, and for a moment, they merge into one.

"Jack," she whispers, and my name on her lips sounds like both a question and an answer.

I remain still, hardly daring to breathe, as she moves to stand beside me. Her hand hovers near mine, not quite touching, but close enough that I can feel the electricity between us.

My hearts nearly stop when Vanessa steps forward, her eyes meeting mine with fierce determination. The crystal flowers around us pulse with an intensity I've never seen before, their song reaching a crescendo that makes the very air vibrate.

"I don't want to go back," she says, her voice stronger than I've ever heard it. "I want to be with you."

All my careful restraint shatters. I pull her to me, one hand cupping her face while the other wraps around her waist. Her skin is so soft under my touch, and I can feel her pulse racing beneath my fingers.

I capture her lips with mine, pouring every unspoken word, every moment of longing, every ounce of fear and hope into the kiss. She responds with equal passion, her fingers sliding up to trace the base of my horns, making me shudder. I deepen the kiss, tasting the salt of tears – hers or mine, I'm not sure anymore.

The singing flowers explode in a symphony of light and sound around us, their melody weaving together threads of human and Vakutan emotion into something entirely new. Something that belongs only to us.

I hold her closer, memorizing every detail of this moment: the way she fits perfectly against me despite our differences, how her breath catches when I run my fingers through her hair, the small sound she makes in the back of her throat as she pulls me even closer.

This kiss is different from all our others. There are no more secrets between us, no more hiding. Just pure, raw truth – and acceptance.

CHAPTER26

VANESSA

The sunset here bleeds bronze across the waves. Jack's fingertips graze my jaw, the alien texture of his palms catching on my windblown hair. His true form still makes my pulse stutter—crimson ridges along his temples, eyes like twin voids ringed with silver. But when his lips brush mine, taste like stardust and the salted caramel lattes he’d chug at The Love Roast, familiar wins over foreign.

"Tell me to stop," he murmurs against my mouth, claws tangled in the hem of my sweater. His teeth catch my lower lip—sharp, not quite human.

I bite back. Harder. "Never."

Our kiss ignites from ember to wildfire. His tongue traces the seam of my lips and I open for him, letting the universe dissolve into the heat of our shared breath. Sand grinds against my knees as I push him back, following the momentum until he's sprawled beneath me. Three claw marks split the front of his shirt when I yank at the fabric.

"Careful," he growls, fangs glinting. "This isn't negotiable currency."

I press my thumbs into the hollow of his throat, feel his pulse rabbit under alien skin. "Less talking. More proving you're not a hallucination."

His laugh reverberates through my ribs as he flips us. The sudden inversion leaves me gasping, torn between the ache between my thighs and the stupid bubble of laughter in my chest. His claws skate up my side, leaving trails of goosebumps in their wake.

"Humans are so fragile," he muses, dragging his mouth along the cord of my neck.