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I close the door and immediately, the male turns. His nostrils flare, and we stare at one another.
It's my face…but not. His mane is cut short, his jaw shaved. His tusks are gone, and he almost looks…civilized. Me, with all the edges filed off. It's strange, but I touch my own jaw and I'm glad that I kept my tusks. Do they pull at my mouth? Yes. Do they look fearsome? Also yes, and Bee loves them.
"Holy shit," the female says softly.
"You are Mycrul?" I say, taking a step forward. "I am Victor." Pain pricks at my back, as if my spikes are preparing to launch themselves through my skin. Bee told me that Mycrul would not want to fight, but I need to be ready if he does. I need to protect my mate.
As if we share thoughts, he immediately steps in front of his scrawny mate and sizes me up.
"Victor," he says slowly, as if tasting my name. His tail lashes, and his mate swats at it. "As in…winner? Have you battled many, then?"
I can smell the tension radiating off of him as he tries to keep his female behind him. It occurs to me that he has the same concerns I do—that he is worried I will be like Crulden and want to fight and harm—and that is why we are here at Lord va'Rin's estate instead of somewhere more private. "It is just a name," I admit. "Crulden did not fit me, so Bee suggested that one." I manage a half-smile. "She did not want to call me 'Asshole' like the guards did."
The female snorts with amusement.
Mycrul puts a hand behind him, and I see her fingers lace with his, even though his expression does not change. "Do you have his memories?" he asks. "Crulden's?"
"Some," I admit. "None of them good."
"Mine either." His mouth twitches, and then he smiles broadly, the sight of it pleasingly strange and unfamiliar without the tusks. He is a different person, and I am glad to see it. "Mina says I should focus on the future, not the past."
"Bee says something very similar," I admit. "But Bee also likes to tell people what to do."
Mycrul's mouth twitches again. "We noticed. She set up this meeting."
"I know. She wanted me to get to know you both." I love my mate with all my heart, but I know her better than anyone, and I know how much she loves to prod and manage people. "If you do not want to be here, I understand. I just want to live quietly with my mate at my side."
"We don't mind being here," the female says, her voice fierce. "Do we, Mycrul?"
The male wearing a face that is almost mine watches me and then nods slowly. "I thought it would be good to meet."
"My Bee wants us to be family," I admit, since she will be in here in a moment and tell them just that. My collar is tight and I feel awkward and strange. As I watch, Mycrul adjusts his own collar, and it makes me feel a little better. "Just so you know."
I expect the male to laugh in my face. To show his fangs, like the Crulden of my memories would. To display his claws and then use them on every surface—and every person—available. But Mycrul only gives me that strange, tusk-less smile and squeezes his scrawny mate's hand. "It would not be a bad thing to have family."
I smile back, because like me, he is not Crulden. He is his own person. "Family would be good."
"If we are family, then can I unfasten my collar?" Mycrul asks, glancing down at his mate as he tugs at it with his free hand.
I let out a huge sigh and free my own, rubbing my throat. "Thank the stars for that."
Mycrul stares at me and then throws back his head and laughs.
It's almost the same laugh as mine. Almost, but not quite, and when I join in, it feels good to laugh. We are family, after all.
