Page 6 of His Orc Warrior (Human Omegas for Monster Alphas #1)

Thrain

Everything was set up for the meet and greet. I had a table with snacks and water bottles. I had a printer plugged in and connected to my phone in case anyone wanted a signed photo. A permanent marker to sign said picture.

There was still hope. People could show up last minute or come over, not willing to pay the entrance fee. I would let them in, of course. There was a chance, no matter how small, that my fated mate would come today, led by some kind of sixth sense or gut instinct.

Fate could push him here.

“What if he shows up, and I scare him to death? I’m a far cry from those romanticized versions of orcs in the media,” I fussed, wishing I’d never set the whole thing up.

“None of that will matter to someone who has a good heart. Don’t be nervous. Oh, look. There he comes,” Saka said.

I turned around to see a male come into the shop. The bell above the door rang, and a demented chime rang out from some speaker in the back. This place used to be a comic book store that had Dungeons & Dragons nights and cosplay contests. I’d often thought of coming here to meet humans, but showing up like this and claiming it was cosplay was cheating.

The human looked around, a faint smile on his face. His thick brown hair was cut short on the sides, longer at the top. His gaze curious. A bit too thin, if I had my say, but humans were built differently. They thought about body image and strength in a way that was strange to my kind.

“Is this the meet and greet?” His voice made my chest buzz with anticipation.

“It is,” I said after Saka elbowed me in the side. The human had stupefied me, leaving me void of any thought but him.

“Oh. I expected a long line and tons of people. Oh golly, am I early? I didn’t get the time wrong, did I?” He checked his watch and then pulled the sleeve of his sweater up to tap on the side of his phone.

“No.” I wanted to ease his anxiety even though I currently had zero control over my own. “You’re right on time.”

He had on a light striped sweater with jeans and a cute backpack on his shoulder. He was maybe the most gorgeous human I’d ever laid eyes on.

I sucked in a breath as he walked over and, to my surprise, reached out and placed his palm on my biceps.

“I, uh, am going to get some coffee. You two have fun.” With a wink, Saka left us there. Alone.

The man pulled his hand back and looked at it. Perhaps he thought my coloring would come off. Humans had some strange ideas about all things monster. Mostly from their stories and books and movies.

While he inspected his hand, I filtered through the noise inside me. My chest hummed. My veins burst into flame, the starting point right where he’d touched me. If I could see myself in a mirror, there would be no doubt my cheeks had gone dark green. We orcs blushed not pink or rose but a deeper green. My ears heated. My cock bobbed under my loincloth, trying to get free of the small patch of fur.

“Well, how many tickets did you sell? I’m sure everyone is just late.” A sunshine outlook if there ever was one.

“I only sold one ticket.” I shrugged. “I was hoping to have some walk-ins.”

The human looked around. “You worked so hard… I’m sorry, how rude of me. I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Lucas.”

Lucas. A lovely name for a lovely omega. I took a long drag of air in through my pierced nose. He smelled like morning and a sunny day and the wind at the exact point the day got too hot for your skin. None of that made sense, but that was how he smelled.

And this orc wanted to wallow in his rays.

“I’m Thrain.”

His cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. “Yes. It was on the event announcement. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Duh. Of course he knew my name.

“Do you have questions? About orcs or anything else?” I needed to tell him he was my mate. Immediately. But I found myself wanting to ease him into the matter. Let him find out more about me before I sprang that knowledge on him.

“Sure. Um, are there games? I thought you and I could play something while we get to know each other. Is that okay?”

“Games. Oh. Yes. Games.” I rubbed the back of my neck. I’d thought of snacks. Balloons. Tablecloth. The printer. But not games. Silly orc. Humans loved games. And it was on the advertisement.

Wait. This place used to be a nerdy-type shop. There had to be something in the back. Dart game. Bean bags. Something.

“Give me a minute, Lucas. Sorry. I’m unprepared.”

He giggled and nodded. “Sounds good. You’re doing great.”

Soaking up the praise, I rushed to the back room. The shelves were empty. Nothing but posters and a few T-shirts that looked too small even for a human child.

Then I spotted a small box sticking out from the bottom of a shelf in the corner.

A box of playing cards.

Go Fish.

That counted as a game, right?

It would have to do.

“Do you like to play Go Fish?” I said, returning to the main area, holding up the box, hoping he wouldn’t laugh at me.

“I love Go Fish.” He took the box of cards from me. “Oh, these are fancy. With superheroes all over them. Pull up a chair. Let’s see if I can beat an orc at a game.”

I chuckled and did as he asked. “Let’s see, then, shall we?”