“Ordus,” I plead, gripping the wrist touching my face. Tears stream freely down my face and over his hands before falling between us. “I wasn’t who you prayed to the Goddess for.” My voice is barely above a whisper.

He lowers his head to mine until our noses brush each other. “You are better than anything I could have wished for.”

“Your real mate might still be out there.” I squeeze him, wishing upon everything he won’t change his mind. Still, I can’t be so selfish as to keep him to myself if he was meant for another.

“You, Cindi. I choose you. Always. If you die, I’ll follow. If you run, I’ll be there. I will never let you go. I will never not choose you.” Nudging my face like he’s making sure I hear him loud and clear, he says, “I am your mate, even if you do not want me to be.”

I search his eyes for any hint of hesitance, and then without any second thought, I crush my lips against his, pouring every ounce of my emotion into the kiss. His mouth moves with mine with the same reverent intensity, like there’s nothing in the world that could pull us apart. Even though the Goddess didn’t pair our souls together, this is fate, and I’m done fighting it.

Climbing up him, I force my limbs to comply against the weight of exhaustion. I fist his hair at the nape of his neck and curl my arms around him, flattening my body to his so there isn’t any space between us.

Fire lights my veins, a single match in the utter blackness of the Curse that then spreads like wildfire. It morphs from a hollow buzz to a rattling roar. With each kiss, another spark turns into flames that burn on water. It extinguishes the frozen chill in my bones until I’m pure molten lava, melting beneath blushing skin.

More, I can feel the Curse demanding, and there’s nothing else I agree with.

I pull apart long enough to say, “Marry me.”

“Cindi, you cannot take it back. You must be sure.”

“Where you go, I go.” I steal his words as he grips my hips. “We’re mates regardless of what the Witch or the Goddess or any other asshole thinks. I want to be with you even if marrying you doesn’t end the Curse. You make me feel safe, Ordus. Wanted, protected, loved. Seen. We had a rocky start, but I was always drawn to you. Even though there were times I wanted to be alone, I wanted to be alone with you. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I don’t want to lose anyone else. I care about you more than I thought I would. So marry me, mate.”

Staring at me in dismay, Ordus says nothing, studying me like he’s waiting for the punchline, and he’s giving me the chance to change my mind or tell him I’ve decided to go off on my own and never see him again.

I press our foreheads together. “You need me to mark you, right? For the bond? Get me a knife.”

Clattering sounds behind me, and I glance at the nearby shelving, watching one of his appendages rummage around for the hunting knife I keep there. I chuckle at his frustrated growl and bite my lip when the stray tentacle smacks things out of the way, opens a drawer, and instantly grabs what Ordus was looking for.

It offers me the handle, and I take it without hesitation, but trepidation makes me pause. This is ’til death do us part. What if he changes his mind or meets his real mate? What then? Will he⁠—

No, Ordus wouldn’t do that. He’s a good man—he’s my monster.

I balance myself with a hand on his shoulder as darkness ripples through me, sapping the little energy I have. I will my body to stay strong, and I raise my chin to meet Ordus’ eyes.

“Neck or chest?” I say, recalling the time I stabbed him and the very notable lack of scarring.

His purr is louder and smoother than I’ve ever heard it. “Anywhere you wish. I’ll be grateful regardless.”

Carefully, I hold the blade over his left pec. Like hell am I about to bring a knife to his throat after I killed Tommy—because he’s dead, and so is Kristy, and every other ghost who’s better left in the past. Cindi is a new woman, a second chance. She is Ordus’ mate and future wife. She doesn’t cower in shadows or huddle in corners.

Cindi does what she wants with a smile. She laughs. She goes to bed feeling safe, protected, loved.

That’s the woman who wants to marry Ordus.

“Do I need to say anything?” I ask.

“Your agreement suffices.” His voice is strained as he glances between me and the knife.

Taking a deep breath, I press the blade into his skin, watching deep blue rise to the surface and trickle down his torso as I say, “I accept this bond.”

I sway forward. The Curse twists inside me in both pleasure and pain, like it can’t decide whether it’s going to rip apart or evaporate into thin air. Ordus’ hands around my waist keep me steady. Our heavy breaths tangle together as we feel the weight of the union. He takes the blade from me and returns it to its place.

“What next?” I murmur against his cheek.

“Do you remember how well you fit me last time?” His deep voice curls around my body, ratcheting up the heat pumping through my veins.

My core tightens at the memory of being stretched around his tentacles. The pure bliss. The way he looked at me like he felt complete for the first time. I cup his cheek, silently telling him I want him to feel that every day—even if we don’t have many left.

I nod, and my throat bobs. Something hard and round presses against my core. I gasp, eyes flying wide open as the muscles in my core spasm.

“You’re going to do it again, except this time, I’m going to put my cock in you and spill my seed—” He breaks off on a strangled groan when I reach behind me to grip the bulb.

Oh dear God.

I don’t think it’s going to fit. The knot is wider than my hand. I can’t wrap my fingers around it or fist it properly, though it looked manageable the other time I saw him relieving himself.

“I don’t think—” Warm droplets of cum fall onto my legs.

His clawed hands dip beneath my dress and follow the curve of my thighs until the pointed edge of his nail runs over the seam of my saturated panties. “No? Were you not made for me?”

My brows draw into a frown. Is he teasing me right now?

Then my breath comes out in a rush when his clawed finger slides over my clit. The thin material is the only thing stopping me from feeling its sharpness.

A shiver rolls down my spine. “You are my other half even if the Goddess did not deem it so.”

The corners of his lips curl into a smile. “You will fit, Cindi, because the only thing your sweet sex will ever need is my cock and feeling my seed fill your tight little hole. And one day, my sweet mate, you’re going to bear my cub.”

Ordus tears my panties in a single swipe, and the tip of a tentacle immediately fills me. I squeak in surprise, my inner walls tightening at the intrusion.

He captures my lips at my next gasp, and he sinks deeper into me, stretching me out to prepare me for his cock. My dress is reduced to shreds in the next heartbeat, then my bra, until there’s not a single thread on me. He doesn’t give me a chance to complain or process the sudden loss, because his suckers latch onto my clit, sending me to see the Goddess he claims exists.

Sparks explode behind my eyes, and I cry out against his lips as he thrusts his tentacles in and out of me. Pleasure reaches every inch of my body. My grip around his bulb must turn to steel, because he snarls, and more cum spurts over me. It’s hard to keep kissing him when all I want to do is throw my head back and scream.

The foreign entity poisoning my soul writhes, vibrating inside me angrily and excitedly. It makes my head spin at the same time as pressure rises in my core, growing as he pushes deeper, forcing me to take the thickness.

“You’re doing so well, little mate,” he croons.

Ordus kisses down my neck, sucking the delicate skin into his mouth to leave behind splotches of blues and reds. I can’t help but smile to myself. He’s leaving bruises on me, and I like the way they feel.