Why would I threaten Seth?
I huddled behind Fyn, tears sliding down my cheeks. What was going on with me? I hardly ever cried, but now, I was bawling at the drop of the hat. I hated it, but I didn’t know how to stop it or the tension radiating through me.
The thought that this wasn’t my body and it didn’t belong to me kept circling my thoughts. I needed out, but that was ungrateful. Yolkeltod hadn’t had a second chance, and here I was in his body, squandering it.
A few breaths passed before Kal relaxed, and once he did, Fyn did. My Sunshine waved to the couch. Seth plopped down, pulling Kal with him, while Fyn and I settled on the rug. Legs crossed, I pressed against his side and seized his hand. He wiggled in my grasp, and I loosened my hold.
I kept hurting him.
Seth glanced at Kal, biting his lip. Seth didn’t do well in the quiet or with new people. Was I a new person? We’d spoken through Sunshine a few times. But now I was in a new body. Oh my god, I was a new person. He probably didn’t like meanymore. All I’d wanted since I saw him for the first time was to be his friend, and now, we had to start over.
“Breathe, Mate.”
I took a heaving gasp, lungs burning. How the fuck did I keep forgetting to breathe?
Kal crossed his arms, and I blinked. Maybe Seth wasn’t nervous about me, but rather, they were having a silent conversation again. They did that often, though I didn’t know how much they could communicate like that. No one had properly explained it yet.
Eventually, Kal said, “Seth and I would like to invite you and Zoltilvoxfyn to the beach for an outing.”
This plan was definitely Seth’s idea, and I wasn’t sure why Kal was so resistant to me. He’d liked me before. I squished against Fyn, tail curling around his leg. It hurt the sensitive appendage, but I liked it better than wrapping around my own leg. Something about it calmed me.
“Today?” Fyn asked. “You know Father and Mother told us not to leave.”
“I cleared it with them, but no, not today. I was thinking about next week. We’ll go somewhere private; it should be fine,” Kal answered. “Serlotminden is willing to take us, or we can take a different shuttle, so everyone can go.”
A family outing. Part of me bounced to say yes. I liked spending time with people, but the thought of the ocean with its constant breezes, the sand, the noise, and everything else was too much. Unbidden, I tightened my tail around Fyn’s calf, somehow terrified I would lose him all over again. What if a wave took him? Or some kind of creature I didn’t know anything about?
An urge to rub all over him struck me again, and I couldn’t control it. I nuzzled his shoulder, and my floral fragrance grew. Icouldn’t remember what I smelled like when I was human, and I didn’t hate how I smelled now… but it was new.
He brushed my cheek, and I shivered. Looking at Kal and Seth, he said, “Caleb has to see the doctor first.”
Seth asked, “Are you alright?”
“Yolkeltod was in a shuttle accident.”
His eyes flicked to the wicked scar on the side of my head. My fingers twitched as I resisted the urge to cover it. Yolkeltod’s hair and scales hadn’t grown back, much like spots on his side.
Fyn drew me closer, arm around my waist. A flash of longing went through me. What would this have been like if I was still human? As Yolkeltod, I was broader and taller than Sunshine. As a human, I’d been much smaller. Would he have been warm or cold against my skin? How would his scales have felt?
As a drakcol, I liked how he felt (when I wasn’t freaking out). He was the same temperature as me, our scales would scrape delightfully, and the solidness of him against me was wonderful. My dick perked up, and I stared down in horror as the front of my trousers tented. I shifted to hide the obvious bulge. A glance at Seth’s red face assured me I hadn’t acted fast enough.
Kal and Fyn didn’t visibly react, but Sunshine did rub his fingers over my spine, sending electric shocks to my dick. I swallowed, fighting the instinct to tackle him and rub all over him, taste him, and hear him call my name, though, at the same time, I recoiled from such touches—so new and strong.
My head was a confusing place to be.
“Next week, though?” Kal asked. “It would be nice to do something as a family.” His gaze lingered on me. “The whole family.”
I grinned, bouncing my knees, then hissed from the sharp sting.
“Are you well, Mate?” Fyn asked, voice turning sharp as he whipped toward me.
I nodded, but the worry in his expression didn’t fade.
“When are you two making it official?” Seth asked.
That’s right. We had to be bound, and then reaffirm the bond in front of the Crystal. “I don’t know.”
Fyn’s arm tightened around me. “Not yet.”
