What if I snuck away from Ordus after marrying him?
My stomach sours as soon as I think it. He’s not Tommy. I can’t leave him out here for dead. It’s not… I wasn’t raised likethat. Despite everything, Ordus is a good man—to me, at least. The universe was just pitted against him, and he had no one in his corner to help him out.
His mom died. His sister. His best friend and brother. I’d be addingmateto the list, and that thought makes me sick.
But I’d be doing the same thing to myself. I lost all my friends and the one man who truly cared about me. Maybe I don’t truly believe soulmates exist, that Ordus is mine, but fate has given me another chance. I have someone who will always have my back, protect me, never leave my side, bend over backward to please me.
I’d be losing a man who lights up whenever he looks down at a hair tie on his wrist, who purrs for me every night until I fall asleep. A monster who learned how to cook and brought an entire kitchen and a farm to a secluded island so I don’t have to eat the same thing day in and day out. He’s building me a shelter so I can watch the sunset, handwove a hammock for me to snooze on.
He looks at me like I’m the only reason he’s still breathing when I’ve done nothing but fight him or talk his ears off.
I’d be losing my mate too.
The wordsI’ll do itare caught in my throat. I can’t make myself say it. “I don’t know,” is all I manage.
I need to process everything andthink. I just clawed my way out of one marriage; I can’t jump straight into another.
“I promised I’d take you to the mainland.”
My brows knit together. I can’t believe I forgot about that. At the time, I thought it was said in the heat of the moment, not a promise.
Ordus dips his head. “Forgive me, I had planned on taking you after lunch, but it is too dangerous. My kind will likely be waiting for me in the waters.”
Somethingishappening again.
The familiar coil of paranoia wraps around my lungs. The need to look over my shoulder hits me with full force.
But it’s not as potent as usual. Before, there was the doubt, the never-ending question of whether someone hid around the corner.
Now, I know nothing’s there. I want to check for peace of mind, because three sets of eyes are better than one, but no one would be able to sneak past both Ordus and Vasz, supernatural beings with heightened senses. Still…I feel safe with him.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Maybe tomorrow.” He looks guilty, and I can only guess why.
“I trust you.”
Ordus snaps back like I’ve struck him. “You shouldn’t. I—they—” He’s back to his normal height, gliding up and down the short path of the cavern, fists clenched and stiff at his sides.
My fear spikes for only a moment before it ebbs. It doesn’t stop my body from responding on its own, hunkering down to brace forsomething—anything—even if my head knows better.
The sounds coming from his chest are pure vicious. Vasz matches them with his own warning growl as he searches the cavern for a threat that’s not there.
Ordus pauses in front of the pool we’ve slowly been adding fish to, like a makeshift aquarium with coral and vegetation we’re trying to harvest, but it isn’t going well. Everything always dies within two days. Three, if we’re really lucky.
A tentacle lashes out into the water to catch a fish, killing it with a crack of its head. I wince at the sudden movement, and Vasz jumps up to his feet to check if the kraken needs backup. I press my lips together, attempting to keep my breathing even. I watch him snatch a knife off a nearby shelf and skulk toward a bench against the back wall.
Ordus’ hair falls onto his face when he hunches over the bench, beginning the process of skinning and filleting the snapper. He’s vibrating, strung so tight, I’m worried if I blink, he’ll snap and the threads will turn into barbs.
His life is going up in flames too. He’s got everything to lose. That realization is a slap in the face, because I’ve spent every waking moment thinking the world revolves around me.
The swipe of the blade is jerky, and he slams the innocent creature against the table, flipping it over. Streams of black hair spill in the way, and he releases a full-blown snarl, straightening to hit it away before curling over the short table again.
He repeats the process another three times, growls growing louder. I hesitate for a moment before jumping from the stone and padding over to Ordus. Hesitantly, I place a hand on his forearm. He freezes midway through smacking his hair out of the way. His jaw feathers, and he carefully turns to face me.
Like this, I barely come up to his chest. I roll onto the balls of my feet to curl my fingers around the inside of his elbow and give it a gentle tug. “Let me help.”
His forehead wrinkles in confusion. I flick my eyes at his hair draped over his shoulder in answer.
