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“You are cold. I will start a fire.” He walked over to an empty crate, and broke it apart like it was made of cardboard.

Within minutes he’d used one sturdy board to dig a pit in a corner where the concrete had crumbled away.

The walls and roof here were still pretty solid, so it was sheltered from the wind.

I helped to build a nice pile of kindling, and we gathered dry leaves and some old rags.

Xandros built the pile with care, before he picked up a stick.

He stuck one end into the leaves and began to twirl it between his big palms.

I watched with interest. “So—you’re a dragon, but you don’t breathe fire?”

He continued to twirl as he raised a brow at me. “I—I get angry, but I have never breathed fire.”

So much for my childhood fantasy stories. Somehow, a seven-foot dragon twirling a stick was more appealing, anyway.

And it was working, too. Little drifts of smoke appeared, and he leaned in to blow on it. When a tiny flame leaped to his bidding, he grunted in satisfaction and we fed it small bits of things until finally the kindling started to burn.

As I leaned to add a few more twigs, I brushed against his arm. He was big and solid and warm. And he smelled like heaven itself—a mixture of musk and pine, earthy and slightly damp, much like the forest outside.

“Well done.” I didn’t sound at all like myself.

He’d gone very still. I gathered what was left of my wits and moved across the fire from him. I tried to meet his gaze, but his skittered away from mine.

Sitting down, I held my hands out to the fire. He remained crouched as he stared at the flames, but after a moment, his brows drew down.

“I’m sure they are okay,” I said in English.

That I’d guessed right was obvious by the way his mouth twisted. “I—I should be with them.”

“You were needed here,” I argued.

He shook his head. “Zyair—he was not focused properly for a mission like that.” And when he glanced right at me, the anger had returned.

Anger at me .

Dammit. I shot it right back at him. “What happened between us should not have happened at all,” I snapped.

His jaw jutted. “Did he force himself on you?”

No. No, he hadn’t. My gaze narrowed. “My willingness wasn’t the issue. Although I—I still wonder if it was due to the serum. It was—very intense.”

His brows dropped even lower, shadowing eyes that were now glowing sapphire. “Do you not know? The serum does not make females desire fornication.” His voice had lowered to a hoarse growl. “What you did with Zyair was because you wanted to.”

My mouth opened, and closed again. His brother had said the same thing, but the desire I’d experienced—it had been so raw. A part of me couldn’t believe it had been natural. “Are you sure ?”

“As sure as rain. And you locked. That only happens when you find your true mate.”

Desperation rose within me. “But he didn’t tell me that would happen. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have done it.”

His gaze softened, ever so slightly. “He should not have given in to his own urges. Zyair usually has admirable control. True mates are rare, and he could not have known with certainty that the two of you would lock.” One big hand gestured in the air.

“My elder brothers told me that when you meet your true mate—there is no resisting that attraction.” He said something in Drakonian, and then translated it.

“It is a perfect blend of heart, spirit, and soul. Fated.” He gritted his teeth.

“Our brothers found theirs among the humans. Their bond—it is awesome.”

My mind spun. If it was true that the serum hadn’t influenced me then the attraction I’d experienced was real . Zyair still should have told me about the mating thing—but he’d assumed I’d been evaluated already. And therefore told about it. Do you want this? He’d asked… and I had said yes.

If what they’d told me was true, Zyair couldn’t have known we would lock. That we were Fated .

I swallowed, but the pain in my heart didn’t abate. “Are the Drakes really taking human females as mates?”

He grimaced. “As breeding partners, yes. With this new serum, they can now have viable offspring.” His eyes snapped back to me. “That is not the same as a true mate . True mates are about the soul.”

A gust of wind screamed through the open doorway, sending sparks flying. The roof creaked, and Xandros looked up.

I was too preoccupied to notice. “You only lock with your true mate?”

His gaze dropped back to me. “Yes.”

I cleared my throat. “If I walk away from Zyair, will he find another?”

His eyes flared an even more brilliant sapphire. “No. There is only one.”

I felt as though something was ripping apart inside of me. This couldn’t be happening. When I’d told Zyair that Yani and I needed to be set free, he hadn’t said one word about me being his one and only.

“He could have told me this.”

“He should have,” Xandros agreed.

The wind punctuated his comment with a howl, and with a shriek, a section of the roof tore away.

I rose and nervously scanned it as a scattering of rain drifted across my skin. The fire hissed as the drops hit the hot wood. “How long ago was this place abandoned?”

“Years,” Xandros stated. He stood and walked with me toward the entrance, staring up at the roof as we went.

“So, it has withstood the storms for that long.” It was a statement, not a question. What were the chances that it would give way during our brief stay here? But the wind gusted again, and another section rattled ominously.

Then images pummeled my brain. Of trees? Flying through the air? That made no sense…

“Something’s coming.” I spun to face the far wall.

Xandros went very tense. Then he ripped off his cloak and moved up beside me. For just an instant, he stood there with the firelight dancing over his naked skin. It brought every bit of ink he possessed to vivid life.

I think my jaw hit the ground, but then I heard it too. Snapping and cracking, as if a giant were pelting toward us, crushing the forest as it came.

With a tremendous crash, several trees burst through the far wall and of the warehouse.

All I saw was a wave of thrashing branches heading straight for us…