Page 43 of Enchanted with the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #4)

Enka

I didn’t go back home right away like most of the clan did with Hanna in tow.

Instead, Rudgar, Dristan and I made our way into a building I’d never seen before.

We’d dropped the male that we didn’t know off on the side of the road, uncaring that his eyes were covered and he might get hit by a truck or eaten by an animal.

Not our problem.

Dristan had David by the arm, dragging him along on the ground, uncaring for the yelps and sobbing he was doing inside the black hood.

Rudgar moved to the huge metal doors, pressing his palm to the reader on the side.

A loud beep sounded and the door swung open.

Both Dristan and I peered into the cavernous interior that lit up when we entered.

It was an empty, unpainted space with no furniture except for a group of chairs and tables along the perimeter.

“I could have used this place when I was dealing with the assholes who fucked with Pen,” Dristan huffed, walking in with David sliding along behind him, bumping him over the entrance without a care.

“I got this because of that. Our clan can’t seem to stay out of trouble,” Rudgar said with wry amusement. He walked over to the tables and grabbed one of the chairs, moving it to the center of the space. “This is good,” he said, pointing to it.

Dristan walked over, tossing David into the chair without a care until he tipped over with it. He fell backward and his sobs grew louder. We all rolled our eyes but I looked over at Dristan. He was our Chief and I was going to defer to him.

He folded his arms over his chest and looked me in the eye as he tipped his head toward David. My grin was grateful and feral all at once.

Have at him, was the message I was getting, loud and clear.

I moved forward, yanking the asshole up with ease, fixing the chair and sitting him on it before I pulled his hood off. He stared up at me with panic and horror, a whimper leaving him.

I squatted so we were eye to eye, making sure he was getting my message loud and clear as I said, “So you’re the puny human who’s been hunting my mate. Who hit her and forced her to run.” My voice was pitched low and I watched as he began crying in earnest.

It was everything I could do to not roll my eyes again. The theatrics were becoming tiresome.

“And you tried to hurt my daughter,” I tsked. He shook his head vehemently and that was when I decided to let him bury himself a little deeper. “No? Tell me what you did, then.”

I ripped the tape from his mouth—hard—and he cried out but sobered as soon as I glared at him.

“I—I don’t know who your daughter is,” he gasped, looking around in a panic. “But I didn’t touch her. I only tried to take Tasia and Gabbi.”

I grabbed his throat then, giving it a squeeze that let him know I could pop it like a fucking twig. His eyes were huge in his face, but he shut up so fast I figured he got my message.

“Gabbi is my daughter,” I growled, possessiveness and ownership in my tone. “Tasia is my mate. Mine . And you tried to hurt them.” I tried to stay calm, but it was a struggle and my fingers were shaking with the need to squeeze. “Tell me why you deserve to live.”

He was sobbing again. Great heaves and hiccups. “I didn’t know, I swear.”

“That’s not an excuse, is it?” I asked Rudgar over my shoulder. He and Dristan were standing there, arms crossed on their huge chests.

“Nope,” Rudgar agreed. “Sounds like he’s making shit up.”

“I’m not,” he gasped, “I didn’t know she’d met someone. If I had—”

“You wouldn’t have come after her?” I asked, my lip curling in a snarl as my fist tightened. “You wouldn’t have terrified her?”

He was gasping now, and I watched with satisfaction as his face turned blue. His legs and arms scrabbled in their restraints. That was when I heard the knock on the metal of the door.

I released him, reaching up with my blunted claws to dig into the flesh at the side of his right eye, pulling hard to make a gash that ended at his temple.

He was howling and screaming as the metal door behind me opened.

Blood poured down the side of his face, but I ignored it, turning and wiping my hand on the side of my pants before smiling as Zara came inside, leaning up to press a kiss to her mate’s jaw.

“Hey Zara,” I said jovially, as if there wasn’t a wailing male behind me.

“Hey Enka,” she said, hugging me tight. “You okay?”

“Better than okay,” I told her, my arms wrapping her tight. I watched Rudgar scowl behind me, but she was my friend, and I wasn’t saying no to her offered hug when she was doing such a huge favor for me. “Dristan told me he asked you to help me.”

“Always,” she told me, leaning back to smile at me. “You helped me when you didn’t need to and I’ll owe you and your brothers for the rest of my life.”

That sobered me. “You don’t owe us anything,” I told her with firm conviction. “None of us expect anything back for that.”

“And that ,” she told me with a mischievous grin, “is why I owe you.” She rubbed her hands together with glee. “And I heard that I get to have some fun too. There’s an asshole that needs some payback?”

My smile was slow and wicked. “Right over here. I was thinking we should send him to a place where his kind will be welcomed with open arms. No matter how much I want to kill him, it’ll just make trouble for Tasia.

Sending him there means he’s as good as dead without bringing any unwanted attention to the clan or coven. ”

Zara’s laugh was more of a cackle now and she nodded as she pulled away, her arms moving as magick swirled around us. Her head was tossed back as she started chanting in a low voice. I turned to look at David and saw that blood was still pouring from the cut I’d given him.

I moved over to him, and he started struggling harder as he screamed. I lifted him from the chair just as a portal began opening in front of us. Zara was glowing along with the magick now, her head thrown back with a gleeful expression on her face that made me hope I never got on her bad side .

“You’ll feel right at home where I’m sending you, David,” I told the puny male, and his screams quieted long enough to ask,

“Where’re you sending me?” his breath coming in pants now.

“To Hellplane,” I said, without explanation. Just as the portal opened, I tossed him, his arms and legs still bound, while he shouted and scrabbled, trying to get back. He landed in a forest, looking around in fear.

I gave him a cheerful little wave as the portal got smaller and smaller, disappearing after one final look at his terrified face. Zara was still cackling.

“He’s either going to get killed or he’ll face some orcs,” she laughed before sobering. “Would they take him in?”

“Not with the scar I gave him,” I said with a smirk, tapping the side of my face where I’d cut him. “It’s meant for traitors.”

A guffaw left her and she doubled over. I sent Rudgar an amused look, vindication filling me. He shrugged, moving over to hug his mate around her waist.

“There’s my feral witch,” he purred.

“Feral bitch,” she corrected with a sniff, kissing him. I scowled, looking away and spotting a similarly disgusted expression on Dristan’s face.

“Will the sorcerers help him?” Rudgar asked, looking between Zara and I. Orcs weren’t the only ones on the plane after all.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “They barely trust each other. They’d never take him in and they only speak Magick. They’d gut him faster than the orcs would.”

I snorted out a laugh, turning toward the exit, not feeling an ounce of guilt. “Ready to go?” I asked them, and they all nodded, moving to the door with me.