I didn’t bother to respond, let alone turn around.
“I need you to look at me, Bloom.”
I frowned at his careful tone, facing him. His arms were crossed and his tail twitched something fierce. I asked, “What’s going on, Pest?”
“There is someone you need to see, and you must remain calm.” Kalvoxrencol gripped my tail with his.
“I’m in no mood to meet someone. Tell them to leave.”
“I cannot. You have to, and I believe you’ll want to.”
“What is going…” The words died on my tongue as Seth moved into my line of sight. He wasn’t alone. A tall drakcol male stood beside him. His scales were light gray with glimpses of gold and emerald green. His jewel blue eyes were fixed on me, and his rich brown hair was shaved on one side with a long scar on his scalp, revealing his mottled skin where the scales hadn’t grown back.
Something lurched in my gut as I stared at him. My soul throbbed.Mine. This drakcol was mine. Anger, potent and hot, swept through my veins like wildfire. Howdarethe Crystal reject Caleb and yet give me another? Caleb was my everything, and I would accept no other. He was my mate.
My wings sprawled. “I don’t want you.”
“Fyn,” Seth admonished.
I slashed a hand through the air, and Seth flinched. Kalvoxrencol growled in warning, which I ignored. I couldn’t take my eyes off the intruder. Caleb was my mate, not this drakcol. I did not care what the Crystal said. I would die before I accepted another soul.
The gray-scaled drakcol grinned at me, bobbing on the heels of his feet before stopping with a grimace. “Hey, Sunshine.”
My breath harshened. “You do not call me that.”
“Yes, I do.” He wiped a hand down his chest, straightening the red tunic. “I know the… container is different, but I’m still me.”
“What?”
He stiffly limped toward me, and my wings spread to their full width. I would not be disloyal to my mate.
“I know this is not what you’re used to,” the drakcol said. “Fuck, I’m not used to it. I’m taller than you now, which is… unbelievable. I mean, you know how short I was better thananyone, and I was tiny. Now I’m ginormous. How do people deal with being so big? It’s weird, and I don’t like it.” He sucked in a breath. “It was easier to ramble when I was a ghost. I didn’t need to breathe. Anyway, I am stillyourCaleb.”
“Liar,” I hissed. I moved to shove him, but the instant I came in contact with his scales, I froze. Unable to stop it, my fingers curled around his tunic and hauled him closer, the warmth of him sinking into me. I desired the bite of tingly cold, not this.
“I’m not lying, and you know it,” the man said. “That’s why you’re holding me. You know I am yours. Fyn, you know I belong with you and you belong with me.”
“No.” I forced myself to let him go. “Pest and Seth must have shared things or you somehow found out.” No one truly knew much about Caleb, and all of the information on humans was currently restricted; I didn’t even have access to it. “My Caleb is gone.”
“I’m still here, Sunshine. I never left you. I promised I would always come back to you. Now and forever. You are mine, and I am yours. I can tell you anything you want from the first time we had sex to the random things you said. Whatever you need to prove who I am. But I am Caleb, your Caleb, and you aremySunshine.”
I shook my head, staring up into the blue eyes, such a different shade than what I was used to.
“I am,” he yelled; his voice was deep and not the one I knew. “I am your Caleb. The Crystal marked us as mates.”
“I’m refusing you. I will be loyal to my mate.”
“I am your mate, Zoltilvoxfyn. I did not spend weeks fighting with doctors about who I am to debate it with you. I am Caleb. I am your mate. I love you, and I know you love me.”
“I love Caleb,” I shouted.
“Fuck everything,” he said. “Fine, you don’t have to believe me, but I am who I say I am. And guess what, you still have to bondwith me before the Crystal will allow us to break apart. You want to reject me? Go ahead. Either way, we have to become mates first before you can reject the bond in front of the Crystal. So one way or another you will be mine. If you still don’t want me after that? Fine. I will spend the rest of my life chasing you. I was willing to risk oblivion for you, so why wouldn’t I be willing to spend my life fighting for you?”
My instincts demanded I draw him close, claim him, protect him, and never let him go. But my mind warred with my soul. This wasn’t Caleb, but my soul demanded he was mine.
The man grabbed me, yanking me against him. “You are worth it, Zoltilvoxfyn. You are worth everything. I will always stay with you.”
I crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. The drakcol yelped. I seized the front of his tunic, shaking him. “You are not Caleb!”
