Page 16 of Orc’s Promise (Knotty Monsters #3)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

VERIG

O ur grak and graka stand before our people, all except those on patrol.

As neld, I will repeat his words to them later as well as to our people in our other settlements.

From the stiffness of his jaw and the coal black color of his normally green eyes, I know he’s upset.

Narzik the Cruel’s level of anger. Though comparing Atox to his sire, our former grak, is unfair.

Atox is not as quick to anger, or as cruel in his actions, certainly not against his own people.

“Why doesn’t Paloma sit?” Tansey asks at my side. “She looks drained.”

“Because Atox doesn’t see it. He’s too focused on what he’s about to say, and our graka, who can be as stubborn as he is, fears appearing weak before our people.”

“Why? She’s not the leader here.”

“She was the first human who came to us. Even if she weren’t our graka, she represents all of you.”

“She’s pushing herself because she recognizes that your people don’t want us here.”

“ Some of my people,” I correct Tansey. She does not understand our ways, but she’s trying.

“Their opinion does not matter. Want is irrelevant compared to need. We need females. Most of those who survived the war on Orcos were killed as their ships launched. Others were killed here until we learned the dangers of the terrain. We are the last of our people, and our grak will ensure we survive.”

“Not if your people don’t learn to read human women better,” Tansey says before she breaks away from me and the people gathered to listen to our grak.

She marches up to our graka while our grak is still talking, puts her arm around our graka’s shoulders, and turns her away from our grak, who scowls not only because of the interruption, but because Tansey is leading his female away from him.

“Stop,” Atox orders, his voice carrying loud and far. When she keeps walking, totally ignoring Atox while whispering to our graka, Atox follows with ever-increasing strides.

Every instinct in my body tells me to intercept, to keep him from Tansey, but I know this male. He will not harm a female. And yet my insides push me to protect my female.

She’s not my female.

Yet.

And he’s my grak. I trust him implicitly, but risha or not, Tansey is mine to protect.

“Move away from her,” Atox warns with a definite growl to his voice. Being female will not save Tansey if Atox perceives her as a threat to his mate.

Tansey ignores Atox and helps Paloma sit on a log by one of the fires.

I bound toward Atox, preparing to step between him and my female.

Before I reach them, Tansey spins on her heels, golden hair flying behind her.

Without any thought to what she’s doing, my female pokes her finger into Atox’s chest.

“Some mate you are, making Paloma stand all this time.” She pokes him again, ignoring the baring of his tusks.

“She’s ready to collapse, and you don’t even see it.

She needs more rest. Pregnancy might be easy for an orc woman, but Paloma’s human, not orc.

There are differences, or can’t you see that? ”

Atox stops baring his tusks. Worry fills his expression when he looks at his female.

I stop my approach, as it appears Tansey’s no longer in danger. She’s made her point. But my female doesn’t stop there. She pokes him in the chest again.

“You and your people don’t care about us one iota.

You have no clue what it feels like to be pulled away from everyone and everything you know.

To not know what’s going to happen to you or the ones you love.

And yes, Paloma’s happy here. At least that’s what she says.

I’m still not convinced you haven’t brainwashed her.

Even if she is happy with her beast of a mate, that doesn’t mean the rest of us want to be here or submit to you and your warriors. ”

Submit? Tansey did not submit last night.

Or did she? Was she attempting to manipulate me into letting her leave?

“Female,” Atox interrupts, but Tansey doesn’t stop. I don’t think anything could stop her now. Both pride and fear for her well within me. She is a fighter, as strong as any orc. But like many orcs, she doesn’t back down, even at the risk of her life.

She’s demeaning him in front of everyone. He will not tolerate this much longer.

“Tansey,” I call her name in a harsh voice, the same one I use on my warriors, one that tells them if they don’t listen, they’ll incur my wrath. “Cease, female. You will show respect to our grak or?—”

“Or what? You gonna cast me out? Good. That’s what I want. Get rid of me now, before I incite the other women and they start rebelling. You don’t want to see how much trouble we can be.”

“Tansey,” Paloma calls, no doubt in an effort to quiet her friend.

“Ask yourself if it’s worth keeping a bunch of human women who make it their goal to do nothing but cause trouble. Because that’s what I’m?—”

“Tansey!” Paloma shouts, this time stopping Tansey’s rant.

“What?” Tansey shouts back. “I’m in the middle of making a point here.”

“I think my water just broke.”

“What water?” Atox asks.

Paloma’s eyes lower to the ground.

“You’re leaking!” Atox says. “Ossa!” He roars through the crowd. “My female is leaking!”

Ossa doesn’t appear.

Tansey pushes Atox aside. “Her water broke, you brute. That means the baby is coming.”

“But she has not turned blue yet.”

Both Tansey and Paloma stare at Atox as if he were lying. “Your women turn blue?” Tansey asks.

“Don’t all females?” I ask.

“No. They don’t turn colors. But when the amniotic sac that cushions the baby breaks, it means she’s going into labor and will give birth soon.”

“Our females don’t leak ,” Atox repeats.

“Humans do, which you’d know if you bothered to learn anything about us,” Tansey bites back. “Like not to kidnap us and take us from our children.”

“It’s only been five months!” Paloma says, her breathing becoming rapid as her eyes widen, fear showing in her face for the first time since the racanna nearly drowned her.

Like Tansey, this female doesn’t scare easily, which puts Atox and me on edge.

He puts his arm around Paloma’s waist and calls out for Ossa again.

“Everyone is dismissed. Find Ossa!” I order the crowd.

Tansey squats in front of Paloma. “Listen to me,” she says in a very calming voice.

“Panicking will only make things worse for the baby, so you need to stay calm. Take long, slow breaths.” Tansey breathes long and slow, until Paloma matches her.

“That’s good. How about we get you to your quarters, okay? ”

Our graka nods, fear still in her face. “It’s too early to deliver.”

“We don’t know that. This is the first orc-human child. And as you heard the big brute say, their women turn blue and don’t leak. Clearly, there are some differences in the birth process, yes?”

Paloma nods, her breathing evening out finally. “But Lily had her baby at six months.”

“Lily?” Tansey says. “Who’s that?”

“She ran off with an orc before you arrived at New Earth. She has a healthy baby boy. He had to be eight, nine pounds at birth. But she delivered at six months.”

“Then, five months may be considered a little early, or maybe six months was a baby who didn’t want to come out on time. These babies are half orc after all, which means they’re inherently stubborn and obstinate.” Tansey glares at me.

“You are the one who cannot accept her fate here, female,” I reply.

“I have a son that you’re keeping me from.”

“Mate me. Perform the risha with me, and I will bring your son here.”

“Absolutely not. On both counts.”

I lean in to whisper so Paloma cannot hear. “You think by mating me last night that I would bend to your desires and release you? I am a patient male. You will perform risha with me, and then you will be mine for eternity.”

“Never,” she whispers back.

Paloma lets out a scream of pain. “That was a contraction!”

My grak and graka are about to have their first youngling. I look into the eyes of the female I cannot knot. The female who refuses risha with me. I will never have another youngling. “You no longer have a youngling to guide, to raise, to love,” I say, thinking of Veeya .

Tansey raises her hand to slap me. I react to the movement and catch her wrist, then pull her against my body. “You must accept never seeing your youngling again.”

“You’re a bastard.”

Paloma screams out in pain. “I think it’s coming!”

Tansey yanks out of my arms. “Breathe, Paloma. Follow what I do.” She turns utterly calm for Paloma, her anger at me shoved aside as she demonstrates more breathing, her attention fully on Paloma now.

“Atox,” I call to my grak, who appears at a loss for what to do.

Very uncharacteristic of him, but this is his first youngling about to be born.

“I recommend you carry your female to your chambers. You do not want her giving birth out here should the weather turn foul. I will search for Ossa myself.”

I jog away from them, the need to escape paramount. An impending birth and Tansey fighting to reach her child have brought up too many memories.

Watching the ships blow up. Balls of fire lighting the night sky. Racing to save Haaka and Veeya as metal, fire, and ash rained down on Orcos, forever blackening the hearts of those who witnessed the horror.

No bodies to light on the funeral pyres.

No time to mourn those we lost as we rushed to get the other survivors off Orcos before our planet splintered.

I find myself by the river, throwing up. When I sink to my knees to rinse my mouth and look at my reflection in the water, I see an older orc, with lines of age and sadness, staring back at me. Is this what Tansey sees when she looks at me? An orc who has given up?

I failed my family, and now the gods have given me a chance to have another female, one who stirs more than my cock. Vekk, I never considered taking another mate until I saw her, and now it’s all I think of.

She is my chance to live again, but if I am to claim her through risha, I must first prove myself to her.

And there is only one way to do that. Return her to her son or bring him here.

I cannot bear the thought of losing her.

But taking her son from his home against orders and Tansey’s wishes… I’m vekked no matter what I do.