Chapter 1

I gave my Naga three babies — and he told me he wished he'd never brought me home.

Naga are known for low fertility.Most females are lucky to carry one. I gave him three.

But the man who once guarded me with an almost obsessive possessiveness now looks at me with cold, distant eyes.

"Honestly? I regret it."

I look up at him, confused.

His gaze sweeps over my full breasts, my curved waist, my hips.

"I never should've let my fight with Aria push me into taking you. Looking back, you're just another empty-headed female who's only good for breeding."

"Meanwhile, my Aria has suffered for years because of me."

My whole body goes rigid. My eyes sting red.

I whisper back — tell him he can't live without me.

But Caspian doesn't flinch. If anything, he gets more animated, already scheming to bring his true love home.

He shoots me a look of disgust.

"You think I stayed for you? If it weren't for that body of yours, I wouldn't have looked twice."

"Relax. You gave me snakelings, so I won't throw you out. My brother still needs a female. When he gets back, you'll move into his room."

Naga males are driven by primal need. Once they've had a mate, they can't go without one.

And that brother of his? He's been sneaking around, trying to get his hands on me for longer than I can count.

…

"You're sure you want to transfer your female's registration to your brother's name?"

The clerk at the Bonding Registry thinks he's heard wrong.

He stares at me — curves, full-figured, soft in all the right places.

Then he stares at the woman in Caspian's arms — bony, frail, like a stiff breeze could snap her in half.

"Once the record's changed, you can't reverse it without the other male's consent."

Caspian doesn't even seem to hear him. He frowns impatiently.

"Obviously. Could you hurry it up? My female just got here. She's still adjusting. I need to take her home and get her settled."

The clerk chokes on his words.

With a grunt, he scratches out the name next to Caspian's and writes in a new one.

My name gets filed under a different Naga — someone called Caelen.

"Done. When's your brother coming back? He just needs to press his mark on it."

Caspian is too busy soothing the woman in his arms to care. "Tomorrow," he says absently.

Outside the Registry, I stand alone.

I watch Aria pout and press herself against Caspian, whining about how he abandoned her all those years ago — how he bought another female right in front of her face.

Caspian coos and comforts her. When he's done, he glances back at me.

In the cold wind, I must look small. Thin. Hollow.

He hesitates. Something catches in his throat.

Before he can speak, I do.

"Do I need to move out today?"

Caspian frowns. "You don't have to rush—"

"Your name's Amber, right?"

Aria cuts in, her jealous eyes raking me from head to toe.

"I remember you. The most popular female at the Auction."

"Shifters just love your type — big chest, big hips. But seriously, aren't you embarrassed walking around with those two watermelons strapped to you? If I had those, I wouldn't even leave the house."

She turns to Caspian with a pitiful little pout.

"Caspian, you like that kind of thing too, don't you?"

Caspian tenses immediately, rushing to deny it.

"Who said that? I think it's disgusting."

I freeze. My eyes burn.

Disgusting?

Every single night, he coiled his tail around me and pulled me into his arms, pressing against me, wanting more.

When the heat took over, his scales would drag slow and heavy down my spine.

Sometimes once wasn't enough.

Twice. Three times.

Until my body went limp — only then would he stop.

And now he calls that disgusting.

Aria smirks and hooks her arm through his, gazing at me with pity.

"Don't be upset. If Caspian hadn't bought you, could you have lived this well? You should be thanking me, really. If I hadn't had that fight with him, you'd never have had a chance."

I glance at Caspian. He doesn't move. Doesn't react.

A bitter sound escapes my throat. "Mm."

When Aria sees I won't fight back no matter how hard she pushes, she loses interest and tugs at Caspian to leave.

He smiles — soft, indulgent — and lets her pull him forward.

After a few steps, he turns back.

"Amber, since you want to move, go ahead."

"Don't take it to heart. We're still family."

Family.

Right. We're still family.

I'm just not his anymore.

I belong to his brother now.