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CHAPTER 2

MAHK

M y pace was a little faster than a normal human’s. That was one of the first things I’d learned when I’d crossed the barrier into their world. They walked very slowly. I tried to match their pace, and normally I was very good at it. But today, I had a big brown bag that was soaked in grease and filled with tacos that I needed to bring back to my Tanner. It was making it very hard to move at a human speed.

For someone who had been human his whole life, Tanner wasn’t very good at it. They were very vulnerable. So many things could kill them! It had been terrifying when I’d first started researching everything I’d need to know to keep Tanner safe. Did you know they could trip on the sidewalk and break their wrists? Or their ankles? Simply touching paper the wrong way could cut their skin and cause them to bleed. I didn’t understand how this entire race of very vulnerable people walked around every day like they were oblivious to all the ways they could die. That wasn’t even taking into consideration all the factors they needed to heed to stay healthy on the inside.

That seemed to be what Tanner struggled with. Humans could get very sick if they didn’t have a certain amount of vitamins and nutrients and many other things that had overwhelmed me when I’d read it on the Google, and Tanner barely got any of them. He was very good at taking care of other people though. His siblings always had vegetables with their evening meal. But Tanner would make do with a bag of chips he’d purchased at work, and it was simply unacceptable.

I thought he believed I only watched him while he was at his job, but I watched him all the time. I couldn’t help it. Tanner had to be safe. So, I’d sat outside his small home he shared with his family and observed as he’d made sure his mom and siblings had their evening meal, then bathed them in the very narrow bath they called a shower. I’d seen him wash their clothes and comb their hair and pack food in colorful bags for a midday meal. It was clear Tanner knew everything a human needed to survive. He only seemed to forget about it when it came to himself.

But that was okay. I was here now. I’d learned how to use the Google and knew all about human nutrition and their well-being. I’d take care of my Tanner now.

Which meant I had to hurry up and get him his tacos.

When my half-brothers, Nash and Axum, had found their mates, I’d been happy for them but had also thought they were being a little ridiculous. They were mesmerized by their mates, like they were more important than the air that they breathed. Simps. It was a word I’d learned since being stuck in the human world, but I thought it fit them.

At first, I’d been worried when the portal had closed. I hadn’t wanted to be trapped here, far away from my brothers and the only life I knew. But it hadn’t taken long to figure out why it had happened. Not once I’d seen my Tanner. Nash always bored Axum and me with stories about fated mates. He was a romantic at heart, my brother. One of the tales he loved to share was how our world only opened up to those who had their perfect match on our side. Their fated mate. Many humans had crossed over throughout the years, and they would not be able to get back into the human realm until they accepted their mate. Axum and I used to laugh at Nash and how strongly he believed that.

That was, of course, until it had actually happened to them. Then I’d crossed over to the human world, disguised as one to find Koth. As soon as I laid eyes on Tanner, I knew the stories were all true. Fated mates were real, and Tanner was mine. Everything in my soul had just settled and made perfect sense. In the same way a human couldn’t leave our world until they accepted their mating, the same would be true of me. Tanner was mine. I had never been surer of anything in my entire life.

Now, I understood my brothers’ obsessions with their mates. In fact, I believed it wasn’t strong enough. I thought they were simps? It was nothing compared to me. I was the biggest simp to ever simp. If the humans that posted videos on the internet saw me, I’d be the subject of them as they teased me for my obsession. I wouldn’t care either. I was proud to be a simp for Tanner. I was proud to feed and care for him. I would be the best mate he could ever hope for. Once I figured out how to tell him I was an orc, that was.

I was nearing the convenience store that employed Tanner when I sensed it. Magic. Magic very similar to the one that formed the illusion that made me look human. Magic only someone from my world or who had been in my world would have access to.

I held the bag of tacos close to my chest as I scanned the area for my target. There was an old automobile that Tanner always called a truck pulled next to the gas station pump in front of the store. It looked like many of the other trucks that I had seen in this town over the last few weeks. Nothing about it should have set off alarm bells, yet I walked toward it cautiously, expecting the worst.

No one was inside. I tried the handle, only to find it locked. I glanced inside the store, but I couldn’t see anyone, not even Tanner. I didn’t like that. I knew he didn’t spend all his time behind the counter. He sometimes went into the back to restock or had to go help a customer, but when there was the scent of magic so strongly in the air, I needed to have eyes on my mate.

My hands curled in frustration. Not my mate, not yet. Because I was too cowardly to tell him the truth. I wished I had a way back to my world. My brothers would know what to do. Or maybe their new human mates could talk to my Tanner. That would be the easiest way to explain everything, right?

I got a stronger whiff of our magic as the ding of the front door opening reached my ears. Two people walked out, one behind the other. One was an older woman. She was holding cigarettes and a coffee and went right to the truck. Behind her was a man, his hands full of human snack food and one of those frozen drinks in neon green. He hummed to himself and was not paying attention to his surroundings at all. His mistake.

He took two steps toward the cracked sidewalk before he froze, one foot still raised off the ground midstep. Our eyes met, and all the air was sucked out of the room.

He looked as human as I did, but it was impossible to ignore the magic coming off him in waves. I knew he could sense it on me, too, with the way his eyes widened in fear and his Adam’s apple bounced rapidly.

For a moment, neither of us moved. We were locked in place. I could not be rash. We were in broad daylight in front of a human convenience store on a somewhat busy road with my Tanner just inside the doors. I had to be careful not to make a scene.

Clearly, Koth had no such worries. Once he got over the initial shock of seeing another orc where he thought he was safe, he reacted. His armful of snacks crashed to the ground as his grip tightened on his frozen, neon drink.

“Koth,” I growled in our native language. My blade that I had sheathed on my side, and cloaked under an invisibility spell so no humans saw it, was already in my hand. I took a step toward the orc.

In hindsight, I should’ve seen it coming. I prided myself on my reflexes and instincts. But I was too focused on Tanner, who was walking back to the counter. He wasn’t looking at the window but instead frowning down at something on his communication device—his smartphone. But he could look up any time and see what was happening.

Ice-cold slush smashed into my face.

I blinked, focusing back on my target. Koth was running, as always. The neon-green concoction dripped down my face, into my eyes, and onto my clothes. The asshole better hope this did not stain. I had no faith in the human washing machines to get it out, and I did not have the kind of magic that would help with fabrics. And this was my favorite shirt.

I took one last glance at the window. Tanner was still not looking. I regretfully dropped the bag of tacos to the ground, grabbed my blade, and aimed.

It sank cleanly into Koth’s thigh as the slimy orc attempted to turn the corner. I wished I could have aimed for his neck and ended this right now. But I couldn’t risk Tanner witnessing me kill a man, not until I could explain everything. I had no doubt my mate would understand and accept me. He was mine. But seeing that without any context could be frightening, and I never wanted my Tanner to be frightened of me.

My hand curled around my other blade as I stalked toward Koth. He had collapsed because he was weak. He was trying to stand, but the poison on my blade would make it difficult. I needed to get him somewhere less open, and then I could end this miserable bastard’s life once and for all.

He let out a pained scream, one loud enough I was sure even Tanner’s human ears could hear. I took another step forward, getting ready to change my plan and silence the orc for good, when the chime to the front door rang.

“Mark?” As it always did, hearing the wrong name out of Tanner’s pretty lips startled me. I didn’t mind being his Mark. He could call me whatever he wanted. It was just that I had a hard time getting used to it.

I turned to him, immediately sheathing my blade and stepping to block his view of Koth.

“Oh fuck, what happened?” He ran toward me, concerned. I frowned, unsure what he was talking about, until Tanner was inches away from me, his fingers reaching toward my face.

Everything disappeared. I no longer cared about Koth or if he was getting away. I no longer cared about my mission or the secrets I was keeping. All that mattered was Tanner’s thick, callused fingers reaching for me.

My skin tingled as he touched my cheek. My eyes fluttered closed and I let out a soft sigh. My Tanner was touching me. All was right in the world.

“Is this a slushie?” My eyes snapped open.

Tanner was staring at his hand that was now covered in sticky, melted green liquid. I wanted to clean them for him. Lick his fingers until he was no longer covered in the stuff.

“Huh?”

Words weren’t wording. Neither were thoughts. Tanner was so close. All I could smell was his sweet yet spicy scent. Those fingers flexed, and I wondered how they felt flexing around my throat.

“Mark.” Tanner’s voice was deep and commanding and in control. It brought me back to reality.

“Yes?”

“Did that guy throw a slushie at you?” He sounded angry. Was he angry at me or for me?

Koth! Fuck. If my brothers saw me now, I’d never hear the end of it. I spun to where he had been lying, not surprised he was no longer there. I was too focused on my mate to do my job properly.

Shame filled me. I’d had him in my grasp and easily let him go. He wouldn’t be far though. The poison on my blade would work through his system, and even if it wouldn’t be enough to kill him, it would leave him in unbearable pain and nearly paralyzed. I could still sense his magic nearby. Once I settled my Tanner, I would find Koth and end this once and for all.

Tanner was still standing there, one hand on his hip, his eyes narrowed in frustration. He looked so beautiful like this, even if I didn’t like him being angry at me.

“Um, yes? I am fine.”

“What the fuck? Why would he do that? Where did he go?” Tanner started to stalk through the parking lot, heading in the direction that Koth had crawled off in. He must’ve used some kind of invisibility illusion since he’d vanished so quickly.

Fear pounded in my chest. Koth may be little danger to me now that he was injured, but he was still orc, and he could harm my mate. That wasn’t fucking happening.

I grabbed Tanner’s arm, stopping him. “No! It is okay. It was a misunderstanding.”

Tanner was spitting mad. I was still confused as to why he was so angry. I was pretty sure it wasn’t at me, but the way he was glaring, I couldn’t be positive. He didn’t look convinced.

“I brought tacos!” I twisted around, glad to find the bag still upright and mostly intact. “I think they should still be edible.”

Tanner’s lips twisted, like he was ready to argue. “Please?” I batted my eyelashes. Tanner seemed to like when I did that.

He sighed heavily, but there was a small tilt to his lips, like he was trying not to smile.

“Fine.” See, I told you he liked when I did that. “Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up. I might even have an extra shirt for you. But this isn’t over, Mark. There’s something you aren’t telling me, and I don’t like it.”

My stomach twisted in an ugly knot. If he only knew. But I forced a bright smile and picked up the bag, hoping we could salvage our lunch and that Tanner would eventually forgive me for everything I was hiding from him.