Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“What shall I do with this one?” Mol asks. “I kill him or you want him?”
“Where’s Darrell?” Tigor demands, standing from cutting Dominic’s bonds and turning on Yarek, who starts to grin. “You won’t be smiling in a minute, you fucker. I’ll cut off each of your toes after I hold your feet over a fire until you are a cinder—”
“No. You won’t.” He nods, his eyes focusing behind us all, and I turn to see what he’s looking at.
There, through the hole in the wall where Tigor and his brothers just entered, stands an entire squadron of orcs behind a stocky one with graying hair. He narrows his eyes. “We heard fighting. We came. Who is the woman?”
“She just signed over her claim to me,” Yarek says, grinning. “And this human Judicial Enforcer has sold me the rest of the subdivision. I now own it all.”
“There’s one claim you don’t fucking own,” Tigor growls. “And if you want it, you’re going to have to fight for it.”
Yarek laughs. “Clan Lakktra dies now. Kill them.”
Some of the orcs outside start forward, brandishing swords, guns and axes, but the stocky orc puts out his arms, barring their way, and their faces fall in confusion. There’s murmuring as Yarek’s eyes narrow.
“Are you challenging me, Hothron?”
The stocky orc turns to me. “You sold him your claim?”
I laugh. “Sure. At gunpoint what else was I going to do?”
“This is not orc,” he growls, turning on Yarek. “You act like a fucking human, like a fucking Judicial Enforcement. Like you own everything.” He turns his head, glaring down the orcs behind him that are starting to get restless. “Stay back!”
Yarek lets out a howl of fury. “Kill Hothron! Kill the Lakktra!”
Screams of battle rage erupt all around, half the orcs outside fighting half the others. With my bonds untied, I stand and back away, getting closer to Dominic in the relative safety behind Tigor. But I’m not under any illusions. As Mol stands in confusion, Yarek grabs his own knife from the table and whips it around, stabbing it through Mol’s upper arm. He howls with rage and pain even as Tigor and Oran move to join him.
I watch as Yarek’s head comes flying from his shoulders as Tigor rips it off with his bare hands. Hothron falls back from the crowd outside. He’s surrounded as he steps back, coming closer to Tigor, Mol and Oran, who quickly move to stand by his side.
Thirty or more massive green bodies move into the small structure, blades glinting as they try to kill their former leader.
Then gunfire erupts.
The rebel orcs pull back, freezing at the sound of the automatic weapons, and a deadly silence falls over everything.
“Everyone out,” comes a growling orc voice from outside. “Any more killing, and we kill all of you. Understand?”
Mol is grinning, and I see the three Lakktra boys finally relax. Tigor turns to me.
“Not just us three now,” he says. “The rest of the clan followed our scent. Including all the next members. You cannot buy loyalty.” He laughs, but I can’t relax yet.
“Darrell,” I say. “Kent said he’s upstairs.”
Chapter
Eleven
Tigor
It’s been a week since my family was taken and Emmie is not entirely pleased that I will no longer let her out of my sight.
If she’s picking vegetables, I’m picking vegetables.
If I’m working on the house, she’s there somewhere I can see her.
This morning, she woke saying she wasn’t feeling well, but she won’t let me into the bathing room and I’m ready to break down the door.
“What are you doing? Are you sick?” I pound my fist on the flat wood, thinking maybe no doors in this house would be better.
“I’m just, Tigor, I think I’m…” She opens the door, her face pale and cool when I touch her forehead.
“You are bred. Yes, I’ve known since the morning of our mating.”
“But...”
I take her hand and lead her back to the bed as she crawls in and I grab her hair brush from the stump stand with the lantern and start to brush her hair.
“How did you know the morning of our mating? We didn’t mate until later.”
Oops.
“Well.” I take a deep rumbling breath, my pulse speeding because my mate is beautiful and kind and perfect, but she will call me on my shit when it’s necessary, as Raven would say. “Something happened when you were drunk on the mead and sleeping.”
She glares at me. “Did you fuck me in my sleep?”
“Yes.” Her mouth drops open and I pivot. “I mean, no, not that night. But, yes, I have fucked you in your sleep since, but that’s for another time. That night, my cock started its glow and well, I sort of pleasured myself all over your pussy then fingered it inside you.” I blurt it all out in a huff, hoping the speed of my confession will somehow lessen the punishment I know my wife is about to deliver.