Page 2 of Orc’s Promise (Knotty Monsters #3)

CHAPTER TWO

TANSEY

M y stomach lurches as the orc’s horse charges into the dense forest to escape the blaster fire. I don’t know which asshole is shooting at the orc that’s captured me, but if I ever make it back to my colony, I’m sure as hell going to give him a piece of my mind. And fist!

A huge hand lands on my ass and squeezes, reminding me I have a demon to slay first. Unfortunately, the concept isn’t new to me; I have a collection of demons in my life. This one happens to be green, ugly, and smells worse than his horse.

As I bounce up and down on the beast’s shoulder—the orc, not his horse—I try to focus, but a million thoughts are racing through my brain.

That orc back there, the one with the massive build and eyes that wouldn’t release me…

Damn, I shouldn’t be thinking about him. I have to figure out how to escape.

“Put me down!” I shout over the noise of the horse’s six hooves.

“I’m going to be sick,” I warn, but my captor doesn’t respond or slow his horse.

Hanging upside down on a horse that’s darting through the forest at top speeds steals my energy and turns my stomach.

I’m in serious danger of throwing up on the orc.

“Last chance. Release me,” I demand, riding over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

He doesn’t answer. Probably believes there’s nothing I can do to him.

I bite the exposed flesh in the middle of his back.

“Vekk, female, stop that,” he shouts and dumps me on the ground.

Crashing to the ground from that height knocks the air from my lungs. The orc brute stands over me. True fear crawls across my flesh when I see his loincloth tenting. And I can’t fucking move! I can’t even breathe!

He kicks my legs apart. “You are mine.”

My hand claws at the ground as air rushes back into my lungs. I snag a branch and wrap my hand around it in a death grip.

His foot slams down on the branch. “We will make this quick, female. Then no other can take you from me.”

I throw a handful of dirt into his face, blinding him long enough for me to scurry backward, scramble to my feet, and run.

Sharp branches slap at my face and torso, but I register no pain, only terror as a monstrous roar shakes the forest. I can’t let him catch me! I have to survive for Ethan!

My foot catches on a root, and I go down hard, my ankle flaring in pain, but it’s not broken. I’m running on instinct, with no destination or direction in mind. Just away. I have to get away.

My lungs expand, desperate for more air. I finally stop and grab hold of a tree while I catch my breath. That’s when an eerie silence surrounds me. I don’t hear the monster following me, but like a deer in the sights of a hunter’s rifle, I can feel his eyes on me.

He’s here…watching me.

VERIG

My gorja races into the woods in the direction Baloq took my female. Not knowing if he kept true to his path or veered right or left, my insides tighten. He could be anywhere, and tracking by moonlight will slow me considerably.

Too many thoughts invade my mind. Nothing has been as expected with this raid. Finding Paloma, my grak’s mate, in the human’s prison did not surprise me as much as learning she’s pregnant with Atox’s youngling. She thought Atox was dead, and he’s been a ghost of himself without her.

And now I’ve encountered this golden-haired female who…stirs me.

Not since Haaka have I had any interest in a female. Why now? Why a human?

So much confusion over the past few months…years, even… I must focus. Baloq has my female.

I do not trust him. The look in his eyes tells me he is eager to claim her, despite our grak’s orders not to touch the females.

As I’m about to turn back and look for tracks where the path splits, I catch a most delectable scent, like sossa blooms sitting in the midday sun of Orcos. Not much on Kovos reminds me of home, except the scent of this female.

Vekk, how can I take another female when I swore myself to Haaka? Death ends a mate bond, but still….

I rub the spot over my heart. The spot I often held Haaka’s hand and told her that’s where I felt her, even when she wasn’t with me. I still feel her there, but the connection fades more every year. What if I forget her by taking another female?

A twig snaps a hundred yards ahead of me, tearing me from the past. My future lies ahead of me in the form of a human female…if I can find a way to make her mine.

Baloq is nowhere to be seen. I have the opportunity to take her. Except he declared her his. If she ran from him…Hmmm. Th e law is murky on this. Better to have her in my possession, and let Baloq object if he dares. Our grak can decide.

Quietly, I slide from my gorja and draw her scent into my lungs while I debate if I should leave here without her and let her return to her colony. Having a female will only complicate my life, but vekk, her scent, light and sweet, reminds me of Orcos.

Home.

Haaka.

Except the female before me is not Haaka.

She’s human, with no ridges above her eyes, a smaller frame, a surprisingly narrow nose, and no tusks—that will take time to adjust to—but her eyes…

Vekk, they are so blue I could swim in them.

Even covered in dirt, she smells delicious. Better than sossa blooms.

I don’t deserve this female, but there’s an allure that won’t allow me to walk away from her, not a second time.

I vekking want this female.

I’d gladly remove every leaf and twig tangled in her golden hair myself before wrapping her locks around my hands, holding her steady, and thrusting into her warm cunt.

Not only from behind, either. I will take her from many angles, even facing her. There is more to a female than the ridges on her forehead or the length of her tusks. And this female has pleasing features, for a human. She will warm my furs nicely.

If I’m fortunate, she will not be weak of mind. Haaka understood there are times even a neld questions his path.

Like now.

My cock twitches at the idea of conquering the human female, making her mine, having her share my furs. Maybe one day she’ll prove as loyal and smart as Haaka.

No, I’m expecting too much. Having a female in my furs will be enough. I don’t need anything from her beyond what her body will give me.

“Stay away,” the human warns as I approach. Her knuckles turn white as she grips a fallen branch to use as a weapon. She stands tall and fierce, ready to strike me the moment I approach her.

Yes, I will enjoy taming her.

When my lower lip curls back, revealing the length of my tusks, her eyes widen, and she grips the branch harder.

I once believed human females were weak, but our grak’s mate proved me wrong. Unless Paloma is the exception.

“You cannot escape me, female.” The words fall from my lips too easily. The need to make her acquiesce increases with every second. Vekk, I should leave here before I do something foolish like mate her. I will not survive losing another female.

“Touch me and die, Orc.”

The expression on her delicate face, one of pure determination and anger, intrigues me. But it’s her eyes, as blue as the Great Okoton Sea in the southern hemisphere of Orcos, which keep me from leaving.

So very human. And yet calming.

“I won’t harm you. You are under my protection. All the females we took today are,” I add, to distance myself from her. “I am the neld, second to our grak.”

“I don’t care if you’re the fucking head of the Coalition offering to leave Earth. Don’t underestimate me because I’m a woman, Orc. If you even try to touch me, I will kill you.”

My bottom lip curls back further, revealing the full length of my tusks to show her I’m powerful and worthy of a mate.

A mate. Who is not my Haaka.

Walk away, you vekking fool. Rid yourself of this human before it’s too late.

I almost convince myself to abandon this female, but then the wind shifts, carrying her scent to me once more.

The memories of home I buried the day Orcos exploded return with a vengeance.

Remembering The Undoing and all that came before is painful and a curse.

It’s why I don’t speak of Haaka or Veeya to anyone except Atox on rare occasions.

He lost family, too. All of our people did.

But Atox met my mate and youngling. If my memory ever fails me, he’ll remind me of them.

Contrary to my intent to leave while I can, I step toward the female with sun-colored hair. She raises the branch.

That fuels my desire for her.

I take another step without delay.

Her eyes widen.

My next step is slow, but purposeful. I take what I want. And I want her.

She bends her knees, securing her stance.

Vekk me. That makes my cock harden further. A female who will fight me, make me prove my worth, will make the claiming all the sweeter.

TANSEY

Run ! my brain screams until logic kicks in. The male’s height, the size of his muscles…He’ll run me down in seconds.

They like to dominate , Paloma’s words return.

I brought meals to her in New Earth’s cell since the day they brought her back in chains from Pen’Kesh.

Her father and Council imprisoned her, accused her of being a traitor to our people, of giving the orcs details about our defenses.

The entire situation made me distrust our leaders more than I already did, especially after learning they had sold her to the orcs.

Paloma had returned. Mentally worn down and pregnant .

This monster across from me doesn’t want to kill me. He wants to breed me. Like they did to Paloma.

Except she spoke highly of the Orcs, especially of their honor.

Despite what Council said, she didn’t appear brainwashed.

If anything, she’s the most sane, honest person in our colony, especially compared to the men of our council.

They continually badgered her, telling her she needed to abort the abomination she carried.

She defied them at every turn, determined to save her baby. I hope she survived the orc attack.

Ethan. Oh, God, what if he’s hurt or…

All the blood rushes from my body, and I nearly lose my grip on the branch.

The orc steps closer, stalking me like a puma about to lunge at its prey.

My hands tighten around the branch. I must survive. For Ethan. If he’s still alive.

Stop that! He’s alive. These beasts won’t hurt a child.

That’s what I tell myself because without believing that I won’t have the strength to survive.

“Come on, Orc. Stop stalling. Or are you afraid of a mere human?” I shout at him because it’s either that or run.

He stops, the ridges on his brow rising. His bottom lip curls back, showing me how incredibly long those tusks are. Fucking long! I can’t stop the shudder traveling through me.

I narrow my eyes as his lower lip curls upward. Is he grinning? Actually grinning at me, like this situation is amusing ? Fuck that. Fuck him! If he even attempts to lay one of those thick green fingers on me, he’ll find out how hard I hit.

“You will return to Mount Racha with me, female.”

“Go to hell, Orc.”

“A human construct, as I understand it. And yet I’ve already been there and returned. You, though, my small female, will not return to your people. Ever.”

Never see my Ethan again? Rage fuels me. I swing at the orc as hard as I can, pouring all my energy and body into the blow.

The branch halts, his large hand wrapped around the end. He barely moved, and his eyes, beautiful green with flecks of gold, remain locked on mine. It’s beyond unnerving.

“Now what?” I say, refusing to let go of the branch .

He yanks it toward him, and I fly forward, still gripping the branch.

Those green eyes never leave me. Why can’t I look away?

I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I tug on the branch, and it doesn’t move from his iron grip. His lip curls further. Those tusks look enormous close up. All of him does. That’s the point. Intimidation.

I let go. “Have the damn branch.” That’s when I do something incredibly stupid. I turn my back on him. Why the fuck I do so is beyond me, but I know it isn’t out of fear. People don’t turn their backs on danger.

A hand clamps down on my shoulder. Not a painful grip, but not exactly light either. Just enough to stop me from fleeing.

Like a deer caught in headlights, I freeze up and don’t move. The orc inches closer until his body presses against my back and his head towers over me, blocking the moonlight, the breeze, and what’s left of my survival instincts.

A hand encircles my throat, the fingers fully wrapping around. That’s how large he is. He could choke me or snap my neck with minimal effort.

The warm callused fingertips move up my throat and along my jaw, then across my right clavicle. I haven’t been touched with such gentleness in a very long time, and it softens my hatred for this monster. I’m not supposed to like his touch.

And yet…I do.

His fingers glide up my throat to my jawline and cheek, before sliding into my hair, just as something hard pokes my ass cheeks through my thin dress. I dare not move.

Soft lips brush my ear as his warm breath cascades down my exposed neck. He inhales deeply. He’s scenting me.

God help me, I draw in a deep breath, pulling this male’s scent into my lungs. I’m no animal.

Neither are the orcs. Despite what my people say .

And yet I luxuriate in his masculine musk. Clean, woodsy, with a hint of smoke from the attack on my people.

Ethan!

I spin around and slap the orc’s face. Fuck, that’s not the way to attack a monster, but all the fear and anger poured out of me with the only weapon I have left. My hand.

He flashes those tusks again.

I should have fisted my hand before striking him.

“You want me, female,” he says with what I’m convinced is a grin. A smug, condescending, arrogant grin.

“In your dreams, Orc.”

“You will not share my dreams, female, but you will warm my furs.”

This time, I ball my hand into a tight fist. I won’t make the same mistake twice.

I pour all my energy into the punch. He shows no emotion as he catches my fist in mid-air and curls his hand over mine. Slowly, his fingers caressing my hand as he keeps his eyes locked on me. I want to look away, but I can’t. Something inside me won’t allow me.

His tongue drags across a tusk.

And my pussy twitches.

“You bastard,” I spit out, angry at whatever he’s doing to my body. “I’m not your plaything.”

“No, you’re my mate.”