Page 42 of X’nath (Dark Orcs of Helfallow)

42

The End of Dreams

GRACIE

A deep crimson pool formed beneath him, the squelch of X’nath’s boot reminding me of our first time meeting, of our first time fighting side by side in the swamp.

He was breathtakingly beautiful in his full warrior glory. Had I truly believed X’nath was just a cocky, reckless young warrior, chasing whatever he desired? Had the battles we fought not shown me the depth of his strength—what he was truly capable of? This new life, where death lingered around every corner, had changed everything, and I had only begun to grasp the weight of it all.

"My mate," he taunted with a casual grin, running the tip of a smaller blade along the flesh of his neck, "doesn’t like you very much. And what my mate wants, she gets.”

My breath caught, not only from his words but from the perfect cadence in which he spoke my language, so fluid and effortless. I realized then how much we had both changed—how much we had learned and grown together, symbiotically, until we were almost one. Our fated union now felt undeniable under the light of the moon.

“I don’t know the whore! Whatever she told you was a lie!”

I curled my lip at his derogatory slander, about to shove my spear into his chest when X’nath let out an almost imperceptible whistle. Immediately Yargol landed on my shoulder, stopping me from moving forward.

The man let out a string of curses, his eyes fluttering from the loss of blood, and suddenly his death didn’t seem as satisfying as I thought it would be.

“ Lak’osh, ” X’nath cooed. “Come to me.”

Yargol jumped off my shoulders and I did as he bade. He positioned me with my back to his front, his arms wrapped around me as I let go of my spear and gripped the hilt of his secondary blade, his large hands covering mine.

“I want you to let go, lak’osh, ” he said seductively. “I want to offer this sacrifice as a goodbye to your old life, as a promise to embrace your new one… with me by your side.”

My hands shook. As much as I fantasized about my revenge, I had never truly killed anyone before. The man lay beneath me, rolling head side to side, moaning in agony.

“You are mine, lak’osh, ” he whispered as if we were both lying in bed after a long session of sex and debauchery. “Nothing that happens after this will change that. But I figured this is better than laying the heads of your enemies at your feet as a token of my love.”

“X’nath, I?—”

X’nath gently grabbed my face with one hand and turned my lips to his, passionately kissing me as if we didn’t have a dying man before us. His lips danced against mine, his tusks brushing against my face as he covered my hands again and aided me in driving the blade into the man’s throat.

The gurgles and coughs pulled me from my reverie but X’nath growled and forced my attention on him, his tongue invading my mouth with a purpose.

I gasped the warm blood made the blood slip from my grip, X’nath turning me until we landed on the ground beside the slaver with my back to the ground and my mate on top of me.

It was so wrong, yet it felt so right. My body ignited with a raw, carnal desire for the orc who would burn the world for me with just a single word from my lips—lips that were currently chanting my name in worship as it traveled down the slope of my neck.

His strong legs trapped both of mine, allowing his hands to quickly divest me of my boots. He tossed it aside and ripped down my leggings, while he simply untied his at the waist, pushing it down just enough for his cock to spring free.

I snaked my hand between us and stroked it roughly, loving his weight in my palm as his mouth continued to devour mine, smearing blood between us.

“Open up for me, lak’osh , it’s time for me to worship you again,” he panted against me.

" Gar'roshgu ," I whispered in Orcish, my heart belongs to you . It was a phrase I had been perfecting after secretly asking old Borba for help. Deep down, I knew my fight with X’nath wouldn’t last, no matter how much I pretended to stay mad. X’nath had stormed through my life, forcing me to embrace a life worth living—one where I stood by his side as an equal partner.

The statement made him pause, his gaze locking onto mine, searching my soul for something. A wave of nervousness washed over me, unsure if I had made a mistake, even though my rational mind told me it wasn’t possible. And then, after the last cough and gurgle from the slaver, X’nath’s face broke into the brightest, most genuine smile, one that made him appear much younger than his battle-worn skin suggested.

“Gar’roshgu tu,” he replied, and my smile broke free, wide and uncontrollable—the exact way he always made me feel when he was around me.

Before I could think about anything else, X’nath thrusted his hard cock inside of me vicously, his hard pounding scraping my back against the rough ground. My pleasure climbed quickly, the way it always did when he was this ravenous, as if trying to prove a point, trying to bury his very essence into my very spirit. He peppered love bites across my shoulder as I opened my eyes and stared at the stars above us.

With a twist of his hips, he grabbed one of my legs and opened me wider, ramming into between my legs as if he could make a permanent impression of his cock inside my womb.

“X’nath,” I breathed.

“ Lak’osh, ” He growled, smearing the blood on his hands between us, pinching and pulling my clit feverishly.

My climax hit me within the next few moments and I bit into his shoulder to muffle my cries, afraid it would further draw monsters to us during the deed. With each wave that hit me, my teeth dug in further, making him groan in ecstasy as he filled me up with his spend until it dripped between us onto the forest floor.

When he pulled out of me, I whimpered with the loss of him. He let out a chuckle before pulling another small blade from his other thigh, handing it to me. I looked at him questioningly, wondering what he wanted me to do with it since the slaver was probably already dead and in hell by this point.

“The scars on the body of a warrior are a testament to his battles, but the scars on his cock are a testament to the rewards of his victories by much different means,” he grinned arrogantly.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this information. I knew he had a life before me, but…

He guided my hand down to his still erect cock and ran the sharp end around his shaft.

“Ish om’gara,” he purred, licking the blood off my cheek. It’s a right of honor.

Shaking my head at him, I caught his lower lip between my teeth and dragged the blade gently across his flesh, savoring the hiss that escaped him.

" Lak'osh , you wield with the same fiery passion that burns within you," he laughed, taking the blade from me and resheathing it.

I watched with satisfaction as he carefully redressed me, his touch possessive, before pulling me to my feet. There was something undeniably gratifying in how he handled me, and I finally let myself savor the feeling of his control.

As the haze of my lust dissipated, I looked at the lifeless body on the ground, missing a few limbs. “What are we going to do with?—”

X’nath kissed me on the forehead and let out an imperceptible whistle. “Let me take care of that. Do not worry your pretty little head over it. Yargol, escort our mate back to the village and grab Gorruk.”

Yargol trilled and weaved between my legs, guiding me away from the scene with a sense of purpose. I glanced over my shoulder at X’nath, my curiosity itching to ask more questions, but I held my tongue. Something in his eyes stopped me—an unspoken understanding that didn’t need to be questioned. His gaze softened, and with a teasing grin, he blew me a kiss, followed by an exaggerated human finger wave. It was so absurdly him that I couldn’t help but shake my head, a smile tugging at my lips despite myself.

I turned away, following Yargol’s path home, but my thoughts kept circling back to the chaos that unfolded in the forest while on our first patrol together. It wasn’t just the slaver or the bloodshed that stuck with me, but how far X’nath had come since I had met him. He had been so full of pride—too full, in fact—his arrogance often blinding him to the greater picture. I had spent so much time pushing him to see beyond himself, to recognize that sometimes humility could be as powerful as strength. I laughed at my own inner thoughts. Little did I know he was doing the very same to me, that even a survivor as strong as me could not stand alone forever.

Slowly, with each challenge we faced together, he learned to set his ego aside and recognize that true power came from standing as equals. He wasn’t just the warrior, and I wasn’t just the one who needed saving. Together, we were more than the sum of our parts.

There was still a fire in both of us, but it wasn’t the fire that burned with selfishness—it was the kind that blazed with purpose. The universe had bound us together, stronger than we ever could have been apart.

I had learned how to trust, how to let go of my own walls. I had become something more than the broken woman who had been sold on those docks. Together, we had found a balance—a dance of strength and vulnerability that neither of us had known we needed.

Home wasn’t just a place anymore—it was the space between us, the shared air we breathed. As I followed Yargol back, the weight of the day settled over me, and I felt the warmth of everything we had built. The past had tested us, but now, standing in the aftermath, I could see that all of it—every fight, every lesson—had brought us closer. We weren’t perfect, but we were real, and that made all the difference.

We had forged something stronger than pride: a bond that could withstand anything. And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.