Page 33

32

Cindi

Ordus whispers words I can’t make out as I slip in and out of consciousness.

I feel it. It’s hungry, ravenous.

A beast wanting both slaughter and rest.

The moon shines overhead, bright and not quite full.

It hides behind the trees we’re darting past. I’m not sure how long it’s been since I blacked out in the room.

Minutes. Maybe an hour.

Could be longer.

“Deedee is the Witch’s daughter, Ordus.” I force out the words between bouts of energy.

“She’s the reason your lands remain Cursed.” My voice is raspy like it hasn’t been used in days.

“I can feel it, Ordus. The Curse. It—it’s in me. It’s there.”

Ordus slows to a stop, and I have half a mind to survey my surroundings, but I can’t bring myself to turn my head.

“We—we need to talk,” I pant, held upright by his hands around my back and cupping my cheek.

“About the Curse.”

“I failed you,” Ordus rasps against my lips.

I shake my head, fighting another wave of fatigue.

“You didn’t.” My voice is barely above a whisper as I try to keep myself together.

“Take me home.”

The request turns his expression tortured.

“You can leave, Cindi. Move away from the krakens and those who wish you harm.”

Grief hits me at the thought of leaving behind the cave and the beach I know better than the back of my hand.

It’s like I’m losing someone I care about, and I refuse to go through it again.

In the past five years, all I’ve done is lose: Dad, my college friends, my freedom.

Enough is enough.

I’m not going to let myself lose the one place I’ve felt any semblance of safety.

No one is allowed to take that away from me.

Deedee herself confirmed I’m the only one who can end the Curse.

That gives me massive bargaining power with the krakens.

We can swing it somehow.

Vasz wedges himself in the gap between our torsos, subtly licking my face as he loops around me to circle the area again.

There’s no universe where I could leave him behind either.

I don’t care if I have to spend every waking moment in a state of panic; this is Vasz’s home as well, and I won’t do anything to cause him discomfort.

He’s my dog as well.

“There’s nowhere Vasz and you can go other than the mainland.”

Ordus shakes his head stiffly.

“No, Cindi. You must leave. I would rather become one with the sea alone than be the reason you get hurt.”

My lips part.

He’s… Tears spring to my eyes, and I swallow down a sob.

“ No . You—you—” I choke on the words.

He can’t . He’s not allowed to die.

He’s not allowed to tell me to leave.

I shove him in the chest. “No!”

“Cindi, please .” His forehead wrinkles like he’s in agony.

“I—I cannot keep you safe. I?—”

“I don’t give a shit,” I scream, shoving him again.

Face riddled with guilt, he drops his arms to his sides.

“I don’t care about safety. I don’t want to run anymore, don’t you get that? I’d much rather die than live a life in which I constantly feel like I’m dying—because that’s not living. Life shouldn’t be torture. I’d prefer risking death if it means I can be happy.”

He reaches for me, and I wrap my hands around the back of his neck.

“You wish to stay?”

“Yes.” Without a doubt.

“With me?” he says uncertainly.

“Always.” As soon as the word is past my lips, worry strikes.

Ordus still thinks I’m his mate.

He thinks his fated mate just accepted him—the one thing he wanted most.

“Take me to your island.” If he decides he’d rather search for the one the Goddess chose for him, I’d at least like to say goodbye to my home for the past month and collect my things.

“ Our island,” Ordus corrects.

“Yours and mine.”

“Yes.” I nod, tasting bile as I unthread my fingers from his hair to place my hand over his, pressing a kiss to his inner wrist. “Yours and mine. Take us home, Ordus.”

It’ll be my home if you let it.

“Cindi,” a honeyed voice whispers beside my ear, stirring me awake.

I groan, blinking against the line of harsh blue light before we’re plunged into darkness.

The cold bite of the water only adds to my exhaustion.

My eyelids droop closed again, and a wave of nausea has me whimpering, curling into Ordus’ chest.

“I have you, little mate,” he croons.

A big hand rubs over my back as he tucks me tight up against him, bridal style.

“You are safe.”

A soft purr vibrates against my arm as I try to orient myself to the present.

Memories flash of Deedee, bloodshed, and the stone-cold relief of feeling Ordus’ warmth against me.

Muted pain presses against the front of my cranium, like there’s a hundred-pound weight sitting on it, and any second, my head is going to go splat .

I can feel the Curse like it’s a living entity within me, a void of bleak nothingness with fangs and an insatiable hunger for blood.

Breathing and hissing, it claws at the inside of my skin, trying to break free.

I can feel it gnawing away at my life force.

Unless I can rip it out of me, it’s going to kill me.

“Are we here?” I grumble, nuzzling into the crook of Ordus’ neck, wishing I could sleep for just a few more hours, or days.

I’m so tired, I never want to wake up again.

Water sluices down my arm as I bring it into the air dome to rub my eyes.

I cringe as the bubble bursts, and I push past the surface of the water into the pool.

He sets me down on my side on the padded floor and rushes around the cave in a flurry.

My eyes drift shut, and I fall victim to the darkness again.

Loud clattering jars me out of sleep.

I blink my bleary eyes up at Ordus as he hunches down beside me, a tray in hand that he sets on the floor.

He pulls me upright against him, using his tentacles as cushioning and support.

My brows pinch as I try to make out the myriad of objects on it: water, pill bottle, protein bar, a pestle and mortar of something that looks like healing poultices, and a little green jar he cracks open and brings to my lips.

The putrid smell assaults my nostrils, and my gag reflex immediately kicks in.

Chicken Essence . I could identify that stench anywhere.

I unlock my jaw and swallow it down in a single go, willing my body not to throw it back up.

It settles unhappily in my stomach, but Ordus wastes no time offering me a couple of gulps of water before forcing me to eat the entire protein bar and painkillers.

I don’t have the heart to tell him nothing he’s doing is going to fix what’s wrong or change the inevitable.

“Ordus,” I whisper, feeling energy trickle back into me as his warmth seeps into my body.

Rubbing his hand over my legs and arms like he’s making sure I’m in one piece, he cradles the back of my head against his chest. “Rest, mate. We will speak once you are better.”

I shake my head, weakly pushing against him.

I look up to meet his frown, and I almost burst into tears.

What if I lose him? What if I tell him the truth about what we are to each other, and he rejects me?

This island will be torn from my grasp, I’ll never see Vasz again, and Ordus…

I can’t do it.

I don’t want to think about a future in which I won’t have him.

I don’t want the only thing driving me forward to be a fear of everything.

Panic flares in Ordus’ expression as my eyes water, and he starts rubbing the back of my neck.

It wouldn’t be fair of me to trap Ordus when he has spent his life praying to the Goddess for a mate who isn’t me.

He—he wants a fucking kraken.

I blink back tears. “I am the destined bride who will end the Curse. But Ordus… I—” I choke, not wanting to say the words.

Just a month ago, I was wishing I meant nothing to him.

Now, it kills me that I’ll get what I asked for.

I take a deep breath that does nothing to steel me.

“I’m not your mate.”

“You are,” Ordus responds instantly.

“No, I’m not.” He’s making this so much harder than it needs to be.

“You only thought I was because of the mark Deedee tattooed on my back. You—it’s only because I carry the Curse.”

He carefully arranges me so I’m facing him, propped up against his tentacles.

His warm hand moves to cup my cold cheek while he twines his fingers with mine.

“You are my mate, Cindi. Fated mate or not, I choose you. If you do not want to marry me, I will still choose you. If you want to leave this island and move to a faraway land, I will follow, because I still choose you.”

“Ordus,” I plead, gripping the wrist touching my face.

Tears stream freely down my face and over his hands before falling between us.

“I wasn’t who you prayed to the Goddess for.” My voice is barely above a whisper.

He lowers his head to mine until our noses brush each other.

“You are better than anything I could have wished for.”

“Your real mate might still be out there.” I squeeze him, wishing upon everything he won’t change his mind.

Still, I can’t be so selfish as to keep him to myself if he was meant for another.

“You, Cindi. I choose you. Always. If you die, I’ll follow. If you run, I’ll be there. I will never let you go. I will never not choose you.” Nudging my face like he’s making sure I hear him loud and clear, he says, “I am your mate, even if you do not want me to be.”

I search his eyes for any hint of hesitance, and then without any second thought, I crush my lips against his, pouring every ounce of my emotion into the kiss.

His mouth moves with mine with the same reverent intensity, like there’s nothing in the world that could pull us apart.

Even though the Goddess didn’t pair our souls together, this is fate, and I’m done fighting it.

Climbing up him, I force my limbs to comply against the weight of exhaustion.

I fist his hair at the nape of his neck and curl my arms around him, flattening my body to his so there isn’t any space between us.

Fire lights my veins, a single match in the utter blackness of the Curse that then spreads like wildfire.

It morphs from a hollow buzz to a rattling roar.

With each kiss, another spark turns into flames that burn on water.

It extinguishes the frozen chill in my bones until I’m pure molten lava, melting beneath blushing skin.

More , I can feel the Curse demanding, and there’s nothing else I agree with.

I pull apart long enough to say, “Marry me.”

“Cindi, you cannot take it back. You must be sure.”

“Where you go, I go.” I steal his words as he grips my hips.

“We’re mates regardless of what the Witch or the Goddess or any other asshole thinks. I want to be with you even if marrying you doesn’t end the Curse. You make me feel safe, Ordus. Wanted, protected, loved. Seen . We had a rocky start, but I was always drawn to you. Even though there were times I wanted to be alone, I wanted to be alone with you . I don’t want to be alone anymore. I don’t want to lose anyone else. I care about you more than I thought I would. So marry me, mate.”

Staring at me in dismay, Ordus says nothing, studying me like he’s waiting for the punchline, and he’s giving me the chance to change my mind or tell him I’ve decided to go off on my own and never see him again.

I press our foreheads together.

“You need me to mark you, right? For the bond? Get me a knife.”

Clattering sounds behind me, and I glance at the nearby shelving, watching one of his appendages rummage around for the hunting knife I keep there.

I chuckle at his frustrated growl and bite my lip when the stray tentacle smacks things out of the way, opens a drawer, and instantly grabs what Ordus was looking for.

It offers me the handle, and I take it without hesitation, but trepidation makes me pause.

This is ’til death do us part .

What if he changes his mind or meets his real mate?

What then? Will he?—

No, Ordus wouldn’t do that.

He’s a good man—he’s my monster.

I balance myself with a hand on his shoulder as darkness ripples through me, sapping the little energy I have.

I will my body to stay strong, and I raise my chin to meet Ordus’ eyes.

“Neck or chest?” I say, recalling the time I stabbed him and the very notable lack of scarring.

His purr is louder and smoother than I’ve ever heard it.

“Anywhere you wish. I’ll be grateful regardless.”

Carefully, I hold the blade over his left pec.

Like hell am I about to bring a knife to his throat after I killed Tommy—because he’s dead, and so is Kristy, and every other ghost who’s better left in the past. Cindi is a new woman, a second chance.

She is Ordus’ mate and future wife.

She doesn’t cower in shadows or huddle in corners.

Cindi does what she wants with a smile.

She laughs. She goes to bed feeling safe, protected, loved.

That’s the woman who wants to marry Ordus.

“Do I need to say anything?” I ask.

“Your agreement suffices.” His voice is strained as he glances between me and the knife.

Taking a deep breath, I press the blade into his skin, watching deep blue rise to the surface and trickle down his torso as I say, “I accept this bond.”

I sway forward.

The Curse twists inside me in both pleasure and pain, like it can’t decide whether it’s going to rip apart or evaporate into thin air.

Ordus’ hands around my waist keep me steady.

Our heavy breaths tangle together as we feel the weight of the union.

He takes the blade from me and returns it to its place.

“What next?” I murmur against his cheek.

“Do you remember how well you fit me last time?” His deep voice curls around my body, ratcheting up the heat pumping through my veins.

My core tightens at the memory of being stretched around his tentacles.

The pure bliss. The way he looked at me like he felt complete for the first time.

I cup his cheek, silently telling him I want him to feel that every day—even if we don’t have many left.

I nod, and my throat bobs.

Something hard and round presses against my core.

I gasp, eyes flying wide open as the muscles in my core spasm.

“You’re going to do it again, except this time, I’m going to put my cock in you and spill my seed—” He breaks off on a strangled groan when I reach behind me to grip the bulb.

Oh dear God.

I don’t think it’s going to fit.

The knot is wider than my hand.

I can’t wrap my fingers around it or fist it properly, though it looked manageable the other time I saw him relieving himself.

“I don’t think—” Warm droplets of cum fall onto my legs.

His clawed hands dip beneath my dress and follow the curve of my thighs until the pointed edge of his nail runs over the seam of my saturated panties.

“No? Were you not made for me?”

My brows draw into a frown.

Is he teasing me right now?

Then my breath comes out in a rush when his clawed finger slides over my clit.

The thin material is the only thing stopping me from feeling its sharpness.

A shiver rolls downmy spine.

“You are my other half even if the Goddess did not deem it so.”

The corners of his lips curl into a smile.

“You will fit, Cindi, because the only thing your sweet sex will ever need is my cock and feeling my seed fill your tight little hole. And one day, my sweet mate, you’re going to bear my cub.”

Ordus tears my panties in a single swipe, and the tip of a tentacle immediately fills me.

I squeak in surprise, my inner walls tightening at the intrusion.

He captures my lips at my next gasp, and he sinks deeper into me, stretching me out to prepare me for his cock.

My dress is reduced to shreds in the next heartbeat, then my bra, until there’s not a single thread on me.

He doesn’t give me a chance to complain or process the sudden loss, because his suckers latch onto my clit, sending me to see the Goddess he claims exists.

Sparks explode behind my eyes, and I cry out against his lips as he thrusts his tentacles in and out of me.

Pleasure reaches every inch of my body.

My grip around his bulb must turn to steel, because he snarls, and more cum spurts over me.

It’s hard to keep kissing him when all I want to do is throw my head back and scream.

The foreign entity poisoning my soul writhes, vibrating inside me angrily and excitedly.

It makes my head spin at the same time as pressure rises in my core, growing as he pushes deeper, forcing me to take the thickness.

“You’re doing so well, little mate,” he croons.

Ordus kisses down my neck, sucking the delicate skin into his mouth to leave behind splotches of blues and reds.

I can’t help but smile to myself.

He’s leaving bruises on me, and I like the way they feel.

“Do you want me to stop?” Ordus asks, sensing the shift in my thoughts.

I shake my head, pushing my hips down onto his appendage.

I try to lift myself up to ride it, but the Curse leaves me winded after the second grind.

He leans back against the rock and uses his tentacles instead to yank me down onto him.

The motion takes me by such surprise, the pressure in my core reaches a detonation point.

Pure, unbridled pressure surges through me.

My nails dig into his shoulder as my screams echo through the caves.

Ordus growls against my throat from the grip I have on his cock, but he doesn’t relent, using the opportunity to push another tentacle inside me.

My walls clamp around him.

Eyes rolling to the back of my head, I massage his bulb in my fist. It never seems to get smaller.

He slips the appendage back out, thrusting into me with the single limb.

Wiggling my hips back, I whimper, trying to seek out the fullness.

“More?” Ordus rasps.

His suckers continue their torturous puckering at my clit, and I grunt in response, unable to form any words.

“I don’t think so, mate. I need to hear you say it.”

He slides the second tentacle back in, only to pull it out.

“More,” I cry.

Ordus complies immediately, stuffing his limb into me and fucking me until I’m so full, I can barely breathe.

He leans back against the rock, and my arms drop forward to balance on his chest.

Moans and cries fall past my lips from the overwhelming sensations.

It’s too much and not enough at the same time.

He tugs his cock out of my hand, and I feel it skate along my thigh down to my pussy.

A violent shudder tears down my spine as he removes his tentacles, notching his cock at my entrance.

Warm liquid coats my core and drips down my legs.

“Are you certain, little mate? Once we do this?—”

I cut him off with a whimper.

“ Please , Ordus.”

The tapered tip slides in, and I gasp at the screech the Curse releases from the depths of my soul.

Its panicked cries raise the hairs on the back of my neck, and I crush my lips to his to try and block out the roaring in my ears.

His appendage abruptly stops, and my eyes widen at the hard, flared bulb pushing against me.

Carefully, he contorts my body to the side, easing my legs apart with a tentacle wrapped around each ankle so I’m spread wide for him to see his cock inside me.

I turn my head to gape up at him, curling one arm behind his neck to keep stable against the sprawling limbs he has me lying on.

Ordus’ purr rumbles against my side as he draws his appendage out before thrusting back into me.

I moan when the knot hits me, over and over, suckers plucking at my clit intensely as he pushes the bulb harder with each drive.

He pinches my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, groping the flesh as his harsh breaths fan over my heated skin, snarling and gnashing his teeth in barely restrained hunger.

The Curse is rearing its head, torn between fighting what’s happening and soaking it in.

With each thrust, my screams ricochet off the walls of the cave.

The echo turns into a symphony, harmonizing with Ordus’ grunts and groans.

Pleasure pools and spills from my core.

His hands are on me.

Around me. Over me. I’m not sure.

I can’t think from the combination of him fucking me and the way the Curse is jerking around inside me.

It’s painful at the same time as it makes every sensation heightened.

Bright lights flash everywhere—maybe it’s in my mind.

Maybe it’s real. I cry from the pure pleasure that ruptures through me, and it only climbs higher when this thick bulb pushes into me.

I can’t feel the sting of pain through all the euphoria, but all at once, it becomes too overwhelming.

“My mate,” he rumbles.

“My perfect mate.”

I push his suckers away as he gives short thrusts, his knot inside me, pushing against the spot that makes me see stars.

Ordus roars as spurts of liquid heat coat my insides and drip out of the place where we’re connected.

The Curse thrashes against the walls of my body, frantic, feral, and I feel like I can’t breathe or I’ll explode.

Tears gather in my eyes, and I try to blink them back.

It all feels too much.

“I must return the mark.” I can barely hear Ordus’ heavy rasps over the live wire sparking in my veins, threatening to wrap around my heart and crush it so it stops beating.

His cock pulses inside me, pumping me full of his seed.

“Will it hurt?” I force out, the sound almost animalistic from the darkness clawing at my throat.

“I’ll be gentle.”

A tear trickles down my face.

“You’re always gentle.”

He kisses my wet cheek.

“Only with you.”

I drop my forehead to his, trying to swallow back the searing pain in my soul.

“I’ll be gentle with you too.”

He lowers his lips to the left side of my chest, like where I put my mark on him.

Teeth pierce skin, and the Curse comes alive.

Agony like nothing I’ve ever known rushes through my veins.

Blinding white light bursts behind my eyes.

My soul twists and tears like I’m about to rip into a thousand pieces.

I open my mouth on a silent scream.

Everything goes black.