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Chapter Two

Caivid

“ W hat do you mean, you want us to just walk in the woods?”

“Do you mean we’re patrolling?”

I stood with my arms crossed and my brow furrowed as my brethren bellowed their complaints. The warrior camp smelled of familiar woodsmoke and roasted meat, most of which was only half done. Many of the fires were still embers and many of my fellow orcs still had sleep in their eyes.

It was too early in the morning for this confusion.

“Why do we need to patrol?” Ogvick asked in his bright, high voice. He’d roused first and looked like he’d already had a bath. His green skin was damp and his light hair was slicked back in a tight queue. “I thought these woods were safe.”

“They are.” Chief Brovdir’s voice sounded more like broken rock than words. The puckered white scar at his throat looked even more pronounced in the morning light. “These are orders from Chief Sythcol.”

“Why should we have to listen to what that prissy conjurer wants?” Hendr, a burly orc with a death wish, shouted.

“He is chief ,” Brovdir said with a tone that left no room for argument.

But Hendr liked to argue anyway. “ You’re our chief. He’s chief of the Rove Wood Clan. We don’t have nothing to do with them.”

“We are part of them now,” Brovdir said low enough to shake the ground under my feet. “We are members of this clan.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see a few of my brethren relax into this truth. After decades as part of the Warlord’s elite fighters, after years of constant travel between clans and in battles, we were finally settled. These perfect, blessed woods were our home now.

My back ached from tension at the thought. I wished I could beat that truth into my skull.

“Report any oddities to Chief Sythcol and me.” Chief Brovdir grimaced as he rubbed the scar at his throat.

“But what oddities?” Ogvick’s young face went tight. “Do you mean soldiers of the Waking Order?”

“No. No soldiers. Just look for anomalies.”

“There’s only fifteen of us,” Toj said from the back, surprising me because he was usually quiet. He was a tall, slender male with skin so dark he didn’t have to paint it when on night patrol. “That’s not enough to cover the entire forest.”

“Or even the main proximity of it,” Ogvick added.

“Do it anyway.” Brovdir’s eyes narrowed.

“I thought we were supposed to be making camps for the other orcs who are coming to settle here,” Ogvick said despite Chief Brovdir’s deep scowl. The male’s youth always showed in his inability to shut up. “Aren’t some of them going to be here in less than a moon?”

“If we don’t start soon, they’re going to show up and have to sleep in the mud,” Toj said under his breath.

“We’ll do that later,” Chief Brovdir said .

“And what about finding women?” Hendr’s voice was so loud it nearly echoed off the trees. “Some of us weren’t successful at this morning’s trade!”

“You will all stay away from the humans,” Brovdir said firmly. “You have to wait until the next trade.”

“But why?” Hendr shouted. “We finally have a chance to get a conquest, to have sons , and you want us to tromp through the muck of these blasted woods instead of trying to win one?”

“Silence,” Chief Brovdir said in a grave tone that was as low as the goblin’s deepest mine. “You’ll have plenty of time to find conquests and have sons later. Now, you will walk and send birds back with reports. Fan out to cover more ground. Go!”

The crowd dispersed, though somewhat begrudgingly, and I walked through the mud back to my tent to gather provisions. We’d been staying on the outskirts of Rove Wood Clan for twenty days, longer than we had stayed anywhere, and the camp was showing its age.

Deep wells of mud marred the middle of the paths and the trek around them was growing just as bad.

The logs we’d gathered for seats around our fires were breaking down.

The fire pits we’d made weren’t large enough to properly cook the elk and boar we’d hunted, and the sticks we’d carved into skewers to roast our fish were splintering.

Usually, we only stayed in a place for a single night unless someone was gravely injured. We marched, fought, and scavenged for food along the way. We were always on guard. Always ready for the next battle. Always choosing which clan to aid next or which Waking Order scheme to thwart.

Now I was here, in these woods, surrounded by peace and tranquility, the likes of which I’d never known. My only job was to walk in the woods and report anything odd. Simple. Easy. Low risk.

And I’d never felt more on edge.

I pushed back the flap of my elk skin tent and kneeled down on my bedding, trying to keep the mud off it. I gathered up my supplies. Dried meat. A water pouch. Some bandages and healing tinctures and. . .

And I didn’t need those things, did I? There weren’t any soldiers here trying to slaughter us. The only humans were from a village that had been peaceful with orc kind for centuries.

I exhaled. An attempt to get my tension to leave me. The chatter of my brethren trailed off as they ventured into the forest. The wind in the trees felt stifling, and every crackle from the dying embers made my muscles clench.

The quiet of this place made my skin prickle and my ears strain to hear what might break it. A deep-seated ache hummed in my marrow, like the rumble of thunder after a lightning strike. Like the storm wasn’t finished with me yet.

But it was. These peaceful woods were where I was meant to stay.

Stay.

Forever.

I tied up my pack with such force I was surprised the drawstrings didn’t tear and pushed back out of the tent into the morning light.

Brovdir remained at the edge of the camp near the woods. I approached him and was glad to see his eyes were light with ease. I knew being named chief by the warlord, his brother, had been the last thing Brovdir wanted. My friend had always preferred to receive orders rather than give them.

“Been given a house,” he said as I got closer.

I raised my brows. “A house? You mean one of the tree dwellings in the clan?”

Brovdir nodded.

I hummed under my breath, “I suppose it makes sense. You are chief now, after all.”

“ Half chief,” Brovdir said. “Chief Sythcol is just as important.”

I nodded. The oddity of having two leaders wasn’t lost on me, but if Brovdir didn’t mind sharing his power, then who was I to care? “You going to live in it with that baker you like?”

Brovdir’s face went instantly flat, and I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up. “No.”

“Have you. . . seen her at all?” I broached tentatively.

“No,” he said. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Since he’d made the decision to put aside the woman he fancied to tend to his new duties as chief, Brovdir had refused to speak of her.

But I knew from the way he brooded that he still thought of her. Often.

“You want it, Caivid?”

It took me a moment to realize what he’d asked. “Want what? The house? What would I do with it?”

“Live. ”

I snorted with laughter. “You know what I mean, Brov. I’ve never lived in anything but leather. Not sure what walls would do for me that my own skin couldn’t do better.”

Brovdir gave me a knowing look. The kind that didn’t settle well in my bones. He’d been my friend for too long and knew me too well. “Might help you settle.”

I clenched my fists. I’d fought hard to be here.

Brutal, bloody challenges that had left many maimed.

Only fifteen of the fifty warriors in our band had won the right to stay and protect the Rove Woods.

The rest followed Warlord Karthoc back out into chaos and carnage.

At the time, I’d felt lucky to have earned my place.

And now. . .

“I’ll take you there tonight,” Brovdir said quietly, and then he turned away and walked back into the clan.

I exhaled sharply as I watched him go. The forest loomed before me. A place where the trees seemed to glow with life, and the air was so fragrant and clean, I could taste the sweetness on my tongue.

I set off into the woods.

The trees above me were golden and red, dappling the light through the foliage. Birds sang, drifting their sweet melody through the air. The scent was intoxicating, moss and pine and rich soil.

I took another deep breath through my nose, filling my lungs, but not for enjoyment. How many times had I been ambushed while traveling in woods? How many times had humans lunged from behind rocks and trunks to slaughter me where I stood?

At least half the scars on my body were from such encounters. The other half were from face-to-face combat. A lifetime of blood and fear.

And now it was just. . . done.

But my body did not seem to think so. Every tweet and rustle and distant sound made me flinch. My claws came out, my body tensed to attack.

I continued on, wandering aimlessly, with little purpose. How would I know an oddity when I saw one? Everything in these woods was an oddity. They were too lush. Too bright. Too fragrant.

Too perfect.

I did not belong here.

As I exhaled, I tasted the air on the back of my throat. My shoulders loosened with the confirmation that there were no humans nearby. I wondered just how long it would take for me to no longer feel the need to check for danger around every blind corner.

Rustling sounded to my left, cracking of twigs and I leaped to attention, claws out, posture braced for attack.

It was birds. A flock of robins had been startled by my presence and had taken flight. I watched with heated cheeks as they disappeared into the ever-darkening sky.

When had it gotten so late? I’d been patrolling much longer than I’d realized. I supposed I should make my way back to camp. Certainly, one of the warriors would have happened upon an elk or maybe some rabbits and they’d be roasting over the fire now. My mouth watered at the thought.

I took one last deep breath, drinking up the scent of the crisp autumn evening. The damp tasted sweet on my tongue. So alluring and stark like rosemary.

I snapped to attention. That was not the forest.

That was a human.

A human female .

My stomach clenched with dismay. I’d seen the humans of Oakwall Village at the trades twice now. Their tables of goods were as full as their glares. They were peaceful with the orcs of Rove Wood Clan and did not want to make enemies of us warriors, but that didn’t mean we were welcome.

I was about to turn tail back to camp when a yelp of fear pierced the air and all the hair on my body stood right to attention.

“Help!”

Ah, fuck.

I was under no obligation to aid her. None at all. It could be a trap!

It wasn’t a trap. I knew that. I’d scented the air already and there were no other humans about. She couldn’t have even known a warrior orc would be here.

“Someone! Anyone! Help me, please !”

My throat tightened against my own sense of self-preservation, and I made my way through the underbrush. Tiptoeing closer and closer to that sweet rosemary smell.

Fades, it smelled like comfort made tangible. Like the coziest fire on a warm night. Like the break of dawn after snowfall. I wanted to bask in it. To drink it up and—

Fuck, I’d nearly forgotten what I was doing!

I was quickly reminded when I broke through the trees and found a mound of boulders three times my height .

“Help!”

The voice was right there now—near the top. I climbed up onto the nearest rock so I could look over the edge.

My heart dropped right down into the pit of my stomach.

I could see the feet of a human woman sticking out of a massive black crevasse. Her toes were curled around a crack in the rocks. One wrong move and she would plummet .

Without forethought, I bolted up to the ledge she was on.

“Is someone there? Please help!” she cried, obviously having heard my scrambling as I climbed. The delicious scent of her was overwhelming, and I rushed to her side. There was no time to lose here.

Reaching down, I gripped the woman around her waist and yanked her.

Her yelp of alarm cut off as I swung her into my arms and backed away from the crevasse toward a safe location to put her down.

Fades, have mercy . She felt good. I’d never held a woman before, and I hadn’t realized how soft they were. Or how warm. Or how fucking incredible they smelled .

Suddenly, I understood why some orcs wanted to take a woman as a mate, to have her for a lifetime , instead of just taking one as a conquest.

Her hand tightened against my chest and her face went pale with shock. Fades, blast me back to the depths. They were so blue . Like the coolest, calmest depths of a lake. Perfect waves lapped at my soul and made my whole body lax.

And then she inhaled sharply like she was about to start screaming.

Blast it all. For one blissful moment, I’d forgotten that I was a monster in her eyes. Compared to the slender, regal conjurer orcs of Rove Wood Clan, I looked like a scarred-up beast.

“Y-you’re a—you’re one of those new orcs!”

Ah fuck. I set her down quickly and backed away. She was saved. Time to leave.

A hot grip circled around my wrist, and I froze with shock.

“Wait!” she cried, golden hair frizzy from her tumble with death, cheeks a bright, perfect pink. She looked like a vision from one of my best daydreams.

“I need your arms. ”

More like my nightmares . “You what ?”

“I need your arms!” she said forcefully again, giving my arm a jerk as if they might come free of my body if she tugged hard enough. “Now hurry up. There isn’t time!”