Page 8 of Enchanted with the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #4)

Enka

I have her.

I saw it in her face. The gorgeous witch was finally beginning to see sense. I couldn’t understand what could possibly have scared her enough to run from her coven and the clan.

The building that we’d made our home had a protection spell around it and it was monitored by Rudgar’s company—that I worked for—around the clock. There was no way someone could bypass that.

Knowing all of that, I figured that since she didn’t trust me, it would take time to ease the answers out of her. I put my hand on her lower back, my palm spanning so much of it that I wished I could pull her against me and claim her in public.

I stopped myself from making a spectacle—barely—and moved toward the front desk instead. The green-eyed nymph blinked her long eyelashes at me, the twinkle in her eyes telling me things I didn’t need to know.

I quirked an eyebrow, narrowing my gaze at her and she cleared her throat, appearing chastened.

“How may I help you?” she asked with a melodic voice.

“I’d like to speak to Darak, please,” I told her, and I watched as her eyes widened before she nodded, grabbing the phone and lifting it to her ear.

“Who’s Darak?” Tasia whispered next to me.

“Rudgar’s friend. He’ll cover our tracks,” I explained, wanting her to feel as safe as possible.

I watched her stiff shoulders relax a bit, some of the stress she’d been holding easing. “He can hide us?”

I searched her gaze before I nodded. “This would be the best place,” I told her, before shrugging. “Other than home. There was much more backup there. But this is second best.”

She looked away, staring at her shoes instead. “I couldn’t stay there,” she sighed, her tone telling me that there was so much more to the story, but I wouldn’t be hearing a single bit of it. Resigned to that fact, I turned to look in the direction I knew Darak’s office was located.

The male was already on his way, his gaze moving between Tasia and I. I didn’t like the way he was looking at her, and I curled my upper lip to let him know my distaste. A quirked eyebrow was all that it earned me.

His expression—as usual—never changed. He moved over to us with a grace and presence that always confused me. He acted like a chief, yet he worked for Rudgar. When Rudgar had founded Everlock Securities, Darak was his right-hand male.

Before I’d met my mate, I had briefly considered working on Darak’s team with the hope that I would be able to travel more and meet my mate faster. As it turned out, the little minx had been under my nose the entire time I’d been on this plane.

“Enka,” he said in his deep, rough voice with a nod in my direction. I always assumed that when a male didn’t speak much—like my brother Savla—then the raspier their voice would get. I’d yet to be proven wrong.

I slammed my fist to my left breast-bone in the age-old greeting of orc-warrior to orc-warrior.

While it wasn’t often used on this plane, I found it difficult to break the habit.

The male returned the gesture and I noticed that Tasia winced both times at the loud sound, but it hadn’t even jostled Gabbi, who was still fast asleep on her shoulder, a moist spot forming where she was no doubt drooling on her shirt.

“A youngling?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he tilted his head at where the little one was tucked against her.

I nodded, gesturing toward my mate. “This is Tasia. We need a place to keep them safe,” I explained, giving him as much of an explanation as I could without giving too much away. I didn’t want my mate to be uncomfortable.

“Of course,” Darak said, without hesitation, and it earned another notch of respect from me.

Keeping females and younglings safe was of paramount importance, and any male who had the same values as I’d grown up with would be treated like a loyal brother.

“Follow me,” he told us, turning on his heel and walking off without another word.

I continued on, seeing Tasia look around with awe in her gaze at the decor that surrounded us. The first time I’d visited this hotel to meet Darak, I’d also been thunderstruck by its beauty.

A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the lobby, the light glinting off of each delicate piece of glass in prisms that lit up the space. Our shoes echoed off of the marble tile under our feet, sinking into silence as we crossed a plush rug.

Two well-dressed guests in deep-backed leather seats eyed us as we passed, but the majority were too busy chatting and enjoying the live music from the grand piano discreetly placed in the corner.

The low murmur of voices did nothing to disturb the little one in her mother’s arms and I was glad that she was such a deep sleeper.

I’d prefer for her to wake up when we were safely ensconced in our temporary home.

The burnished steel doors of the elevator caught our reflection as we approached and pride swelled in my chest as I saw us. My mate was by my side, holding our youngling close. She wasn’t pressed against me the way I wanted her to be yet, but I held the hope that one day that would change.

The doors slid open as soon as Darak pressed the button to take us up to the higher floors. There was a smiling semi-translucent male, in a dark uniform that I could barely discern the color of, standing inside, his form wavering as he lifted a hand in greeting.

A ghost.

This was the first time I was seeing one on this plane, and I had to admit that I was startled.

The ghosts of our plane—Hellplane, as Zara had dubbed it—were sad creatures that haunted battlefields and burial zones.

This male was smiling, his semi-translucent teeth gleaming in the light of the elevator.

“What floor, sir?” he asked Darak, his voice lilting with an accent that I didn’t recognize.

“Forty-seventh,” he told him, his expression still stern.

The ghost pressed the button and as we rose, he hummed a little ditty that was going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the week, I was sure.

The elevator was spacious, but I edged myself closer to the corner that Tasia was standing in, declaring to Darak and the ghost—who wasn’t paying any attention to us—that she was mine .

I pressed my arm against hers and she glanced up at me from under her lashes, narrowing her eyes. I blinked with innocence down at her, glancing at where a huge drool spot was forming around Gabbi’s little mouth, her lips parted in her sleep and her cheeks puffed with her breath.

A smile formed on my lips before I could stop myself. My mate was an amazing mother.

The sharp inhalation of breath took me by surprise and I met her gaze for a moment before the elevator slowed and came to a stop.

The open, soft look in her eyes wasn’t expected, but I almost lowered my head to her for a kiss before Darak cleared his throat, startling us from the moment that had been coalescing between us.

I felt my face heat and I gestured for Tasia to go ahead of me while the ghost rocked back and forth on his heels as he watched us. We were out of the elevator and heading toward the only visible door on this level when the elevator chimed behind us, letting us know it was leaving.

“Will anyone have access other than us?” I asked Darak and he shook his head, holding out his hand with two blank, black cards in his hand.

“No. This floor is secure. The suites on this level are each served by individual elevators. Access will be closed and we’ll be watching the emergency stairwell,” he said, his tone business like.

“You’ll be able to use the rooftop pool, but not the restaurant.

It’s too open. Use room service for everything that you need.

The concierge can get anything , so don’t worry about it. ”

His emphasis on the word told me everything that I needed to know. We would not be stepping out of this hotel until whatever was chasing my mate went away or was subdued. This was our new home.

I nodded, watching as he tapped on the door handle with the black cards before he handed one to each of us. I took mine, tucking it into my pocket as he gestured for Tasia to go ahead. I waited behind and he turned to face me, his brow furrowed.

“What’re we looking out for?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, releasing a huge pent up sigh of relief now that my female and youngling were safe inside the room. “But she’s scared, so whatever it is, I’ll have to get her to tell me so I can fix it for her.”

“ We can fix it,” he said, baring his teeth. “Whoever it is, they’re threatening an innocent female and child. They’ll go through me, too.”

Gratitude filled me. My clan used to be tiny—with just my brothers—but now it was growing in spades with males who I respected and was growing to love. Darak was one of them.

“Thanks, brother,” I told him, slamming my fist against my chest.

He returned the gesture before slapping me on my back, glancing at the door where my female had entered. “Whatever you need, call me. The fact that she’s running tells me that whoever it is, they’re close.”

I nodded, agreeing with him, a shot of fear piercing my heart at the thought of my female and youngling being hurt in any way.