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Ordus

My mate is distressed.

I must fix it.

Her chest rises and falls with panicked breaths, dark eyes wide with panic as she stumbles away, fists trembling at her side.

Claws protrude from my nails as I search the street for danger.

My sights land on a nearby man smoking a cigarette as he stares at a square device in his hand.

Shall I kill him? Will that make her feel better?

“What is wrong? Speak to me.” My attention catches on the black brace wrapped around her wrist. Fury explodes through me, white and searing.

Someone harmed her after she left her den.

She wasn’t wearing it at the beach yesterday, or during the brief moment I was blessed enough to catch her departing her cabin.

I had to barter with Vasz again to convince him to locate her.

It was not my intention to have this interaction, but I could not resist the urge to come near her.

It’s fortunate I did, because my mate needs me.

I step forward, raising my arms to touch her.

My fingers still tingle from the memory of her soft flesh beneath my skin.

It was an effort not to shift to my true form to taste her with my suckers.

Even now, I’m fighting my primal instincts not to act on my urges.

I want to nuzzle my face into her neck, lick her frantic pulse, memorize every inch of her small human body with my limbs.

My fate-sent mate flinches away from me, staring up with her arm poised in defense, as if I’m a monster.

Daggers pierce my hearts.

She’s looking at me like the others do, which can’t be right.

That’s not how mates are.

I will kill whoever made her upset.

Man. Woman. Another kraken.

They’ll die.

I will thread shells into his entrails and gift them to her so she may decorate our nest.

Yes.

That is an excellent courting present.

It will prove I am a strong mate, capable of protecting and avenging her.

My mate will be the one thing I do right in my life.

I failed to protect my siblings, failed to save the waters.

This , I will prosper at.

I must.

“Your hand. Tell me who harmed you,” I demand, speaking in the tongue both visitors and locals often speak.

The fear slips from her face, and she blinks up at me in wonder.

My mate is even more beautiful up close, with big brown eyes framed by long, curling lashes that kiss her sharp cheeks every time she blinks.

Her tapered jaw ends in a point I want to press my lips to.

I could spend years staring at her, and I would never be bored.

I am the luckiest male to have ever existed to have found such a perfect mate.

I am certain, without a shadow of a doubt, she will be the one to end the blight over my lands.

There is no other option.

She is the one. She must be the one, or else no creature will survive the Dead Lands.

Her sweet face contorts and her scent burns, directed at me.

My claws recede into human form, and my stomach twists with unease.

Is my mate…angry at me?

That cannot be right.

She should be feeling joy, excitement, elation, all good emotions at discovering I am her mate.

Is she unwell?

Just moments ago, her arousal scented the air as she took in my small human form.

I even puffed my chest for her.

My human had found me worthy.

She wished to mate me, have my children, become my bride.

But now, I am…confused.

She does not want me?

That’s not possible.

The Goddess chose me to be her mate.

There must be a threat I am not seeing.

“You’re asking a lot of questions for someone who has no business asking me anything,” she snaps.

Her voice is better than a siren’s song.

I want her to keep talking and never stop.

Yet, her eyes harden, and her lips curl into a sneer.

At… me ?

How would my brother, Yannig, navigate this?

He was smoother with his tongue, able to bend anyone to his will.

He would know how to calm my?—

No.

She is my mate. I do not need another male to tell me what my mate needs.

I extend my hand toward her, and she flinches, stumbling back.

A flare of panic goes through me.

Did I hurt her before?

I tried to be gentle, but maybe I held her too tightly.

I must fix it. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.” She hides her hand behind her, eyeing me warily.

I frown. “It very obviously isn’t nothing. Show me your hand.”

My mate gapes at me, taking a step back.

“No, I— No . You can’t just tell me to do something. I don’t know you. You’re a random stranger off the street,” she says, more to herself.

“I am no stranger,” I assure her, reaching for her once more.

“Please?—”

“Excuse me.” She shoves past me, storming in the opposite direction of the beach.

I stand there, staring at the tiny female running away from me.

I did something wrong.

I clench my fists, playing back the interaction.

Was there a human greeting I forgot to do?

Did I say something offensive?

Bile curdles up my throat at the thought I might have harmed her.

This was not how our first meeting was meant to go.

She is angry at me. She hates me.

No. Mates do not hate each other.

She must know our souls have chosen one another.

Her injury must be severe if she has not registered who I am to her.

She exited the black, wheeled vessel upset—the one still parked in front of the shop she was in.

The urge to follow is strong, but the need to defend my mate is stronger.

No one gets to upset her.

No one gets to lay a hand on her.

My sister was a lethal killer.

My brother was a mastermind with charm.

I will be both.

Somehow.

For my mate.

I can take another’s life easily—it’s the only thing I excel at—but I am unsure how to be as eloquent with my words as Yannig.

My interactions with others have been limited to Vasz and the occasional Counselor.

But I can woo my mate.

Of that, I am certain.

My claws dig into my palm.

I have to be certain.

I’m forced to watch my own mate from afar as she enters a vehicle and takes off.

As soon as she is on the road, I stalk toward the vessel she exited moments before colliding with me.

The pores of my skin undulate, blending me into my surroundings, turning me invisible to all creatures until I can be identified by scent alone.

It’s impossible to see the male through the blackened windows, but I can smell him clearly when I open the door and slide into the seat behind him.

I’ve never been in this type of vessel.

It’s smaller than I thought, dirtier.

And the windows… Fascinating.

I can see outside clearly, but those outside cannot look in.

I’ll need to find this type of glass to keep in my cave.

I’m not yet sure what I could make with it, but my mate would like it, since she enjoys her privacy.

Before the male can react, I summon my magic to the surface, shifting parts of my body to allow a few tentacles to unfurl.

I have the door shut and the man subdued in a single breath.

My kingdom’s main laws are that we must never reveal ourselves to humans or kill them.

But what is the point of being king if I cannot break my own rules?

His fear scent explodes into the small space.

His battle roar turns into a stunned cry when my limbs wrap around his waist, arms, and legs.

I can see his wide eyes in the middle mirror as he stares down in horror at my tentacles.

No one can see inside the car, and his screams are pointless against the blaring of horns and the thump of music playing up and down the street.

A rectangular device clatters to the floor as a searing pain hits my tentacle.

I snarl and whip the cigarette off my limb.

“Stupid human,” I snarl.

I circle my fingers around his neck, and his cries vibrate against my palm.

It’s more satisfying to feel their life drain from my hand, being able to choose who meets their end and who can continue plaguing the Earth with their presence.

It’s a surge of power forever unmatched.

He uselessly attempts to thrash against me, wiggling his arms in a pathetic attempt to dislodge my hold on him.

It’s a truly useless endeavor.

Five of him couldn’t fend me off.

Humans are weak. They always were and always will be.

I tighten my grip, and his screams cut off entirely.

Nothing but the radio can be heard.

“You upset my mate.”

“Who?” he chokes.

At least, it sounds like the word who .

This imbecile dares play stupid about my beloved?

He jolts when I snarl.

“Do not act stupid with me, human .” I could make his bones splinter out of his skin in a blink of an eye.

The male sputters with his attempt to speak.

As much as I would rather take his pathetic life now, my curiosity wins over.

I loosen my grip. “I don’t know?—”

“You are testing my patience,” I snap, tightening my limbs around him to drive my point.

The first bone cracks, and I smile.

“The precious treasure who was in this death contraption with you earlier.”

I adjust my hold enough for him to speak.

“Cindi?” he coughs and sobs at the same time.

That is my mate's name? It’s perfect.

“ Cindi ,” I say, rolling my tongue around each letter as if I may be able to taste her. I repeat her name several more times, enjoying the way it sounds.

Queen Cindi of Aletia, breaker of the Curse upon the Dead Lands.

Yes. I like that a lot.

The slimy human’s nails dig into my tentacle. “Cindi is?—”

Crimson sears my vision. How dare he speak my mate’s name on his tongue. I crush his throat in my hand. Tendon and bone mince together. He has no need for speech or breath. No human is going to educate me about my own female. He has lived long enough. He must suffer for what he’s done to Cindi.

A delighted sound rumbles through my chest.

My mate, Cindi .

I repeat her name in my mind, over and over, as I squeeze my limbs around the human until his bones have flattened against the seat, stabbing into me. Blood pours over my tentacles, soaking into the fabric of the vehicle, but I pay none of it any mind.

“Cindi,” I say again, a slow smile spreading across my face. “Cindi, bride of Ordus.” A purr rumbles through me, and one of my tentacles wags side to side on the floor. I lean my chin against the headrest, picturing the way her eyes heated when I was holding her.

Cindi wanted me.

My mate wants me.

I avenged her. She will want me now.