Chapter 11

Zoe

The third morning after the tropical storm had passed, the drizzle finally stopped, and lights came back on for Eastshore Isle.

More importantly, the air conditioning came back on.

"Oh, thank fuck !" bellowed Lux from his cold morning shower, and I had to giggle.

Actually, I was just feeling all-around giggly lately. Maybe it had something to do with the way my roommate had developed a habit of waking me with his mouth on my clitoris. Or the way he'd wrap me in his arms afterwards, as if I was important to him.

As if I was more than just his roommate-with-benefits.

Lux still wasn't back to his normal self. In fact, he seemed to be getting even weirder. Antsier, maybe? Ever since his eyes had started glowing, the night Ursula passed overhead, he seemed jumpy and nervous…but when I asked, he said he didn't feel sick, just off .

Hell, even I could tell that, and I wasn't a doctor. Although I was starting to think I should make an appointment for him with Doc Payne once the island opened up again. Poor guy really didn't seem to be himself.

I mean, I didn't really have a reason to complain, though.

Whatever was going on with him, Lux treated me like I was his cure. He'd spent the last days around town, helping with clean-up, as had I. But the moment we were together, he needed to be touching me. It was as if being apart somehow was hurting him, and he was only at peace when we were together.

And believe me, I didn't mind the attention.

The dude was talented—in the kitchen, in the bedroom, in the bathroom—and yeah, he made me laugh. Made me happy , to an extent I hadn't really realized was possible.

Even later that morning, as we slogged through the puddles of Main Street, he gripped my hand as if it was a lifeline and kept me chuckling with his observations of the town and the people.

"Hi Mrs. Melbourne! You're looking stunning, as always!" he called out to the octogenarian carrying a purple umbrella. Then, an aside to me, "Pretty sure she lacquers her hair, it's the only explanation."

As I hid my snicker, he waved again to a regular I recognized from work. "Elizabeth, you and the kids make it through okay? Do you need any help at your place?"

The young mother shook her head as she navigated the stroller around a pile of debris. "No, but thank you. Giza was already over to help clean up the downed limbs yesterday. Oof ," she grunted as the stroller wheel hit something underwater.

Luxor immediately dropped my hand and darted over. "Here, let me help." He lifted the stroller in both hands and turned toward the opposite curb. "Lead the way."

With a grateful smile, Elizabeth took her older son's hand and crossed the street as Lux followed, making faces at the toddler. As he set the conveyance down on higher ground, he nodded to the older kid.

"I'll bet you're looking forward to school starting up again?"

"Are you kidding, Luxor?" the boy blurted, rolling his eyes. "This is the coolest! Four days without school? We're going to check out the beach next!"

Lux exchanged glances with the mother as I moved up to join him. His arm went around me without even looking, as if he'd known I was there. "Be careful, the surf is still rough. Hopefully now that this rain has stopped, the island can shed some of this water."

Elizabeth was already helping her son stand on the back axle of the stroller again. "Not until at least tonight. We're in the middle of a king tide, remember?" She gave a little sigh. "We were getting stir crazy, hence the outing. At least the TV works again now."

I had to chuckle at her expression. "Good luck making it until school starts again."

She laughed and rolled her eyes, then waved as she headed toward the public beach access.

That's the direction we were heading, because I told Mrs. Albee I'd help her get the library books back where they needed to be. But I wasn't in a hurry; now that it wasn't raining, and there was a slight breeze to work on the humid air, it was actually pretty pleasant.

I just wished I didn't have to wear galoshes; pretty sure they made my feet sweat. But while there's nothing attractive about sweaty feet, it's even less attractive to lose a toe thanks to all the debris under the standing water.

I had my flip-flops in my bag for when we got to the library.

"Zoe?"

I heard an unfamiliar voice, and when I looked up, it took me a moment to place the petite lady with the teal-streaked hair. "Um…Nikki, right? Hi! Did you stay on the island?"

She was eyeing Lux—and the way we were holding hands—as she approached a little warily. "N-no. I ended up chickening out, heading to the mainland and sleeping in my car."

"In your car!" I clucked my tongue at her like we were friends already. "Nikki, I told you to call me!"

If you'd invited her to stay with you during the storm, you and Lux wouldn't have had that fuck-fest on the couch .

But she was shaking her head. "It's okay, not the first time."

I didn't like to hear that, but I wasn't going to push. Since she was still sending Lux glances, I looked up to find him smiling in that goofy way of his. "This is Luxor, my…" What was he to me? "My roommate." That seemed safest. "Lux, this is Nikki. She's the new teacher at the elementary school. Oh!" I swung back to her. "That means you're Emmy's teacher, right?"

Lux blurted, "Oh, she's a doll, isn't she?"

I knew the only orc-human hybrid on the island—maybe in the world—didn't speak because of some trauma, but I'd met the little girl, and she seemed sweet.

Perhaps it was Lux's enthusiasm that calmed Nikki. Her smile seemed genuine, and her shoulders relaxed as she turned to face him as well. "She is. She hasn't said anything to me yet, but I figure the school year only just started, so we have time."

I smiled too. "I like that positivity, Nikki. You still have my number?"

She tucked the teal tuft of hair behind her ear and ducked her chin. "I do. I put it in my phone. I'm sorry I didn't text you—"

I cut her off with a pshaw and a wave of my hand. "It's been a busy week."

Lux and Nikki both chuckled at that. "It has," she agreed. The smile she offered was a little shy but seemed genuine. "Thanks again for the offer. I'd—I'd really like to hang out one day, if you're seriously okay with it."

"Okay with it?" Impulsively, I opened my arms for a hug, and was only a little surprised when—after a moment's hesitation—Nikki stepped in for a quick embrace. "We can all use more friends."

My new friend was still smiling when she stepped back and offered me a little wave. "I'll text you. It was—it was nice meeting you, Luxor."

He rumbled his goodbyes and then took my hand again as we watched her splash through the puddles back toward the park. "How'd you meet her?"

"She came into the restaurant to pick up a to-go order. She seems nice, but…maybe afraid?"

"Looks like she doesn't get to hang out with many orcs," he suggested quietly as we turned back toward the library.

I snorted and nudged his thigh with my hip. "It doesn't help that you're fucking huge , dude. Seriously, you're bigger than even the other orcs on the island, yeah?"

I expected him to make a joke. You know, flex his muscles or waggle his eyebrows and mention how he's big all over. When a few steps passed and he didn't, I glanced up at his face…

To see him staring down at the puddles, something… sad in his eyes.

"Lux?" I asked, tugging him to a stop.

"I wasn't always huge," he said quietly. "For most of my life, I was the opposite. I set out to make myself huge when I realized I was finally safe." He met my eyes with a wry little twist of his lips. "Calories are the best."

"That makes sense why you ate half that cherry pie I made last week," I teased.

But he didn't grin. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction Nikki had gone. "When I decided to get as big and strong as I could, I wasn't thinking about the humans who were already scared of orcs. Maybe I shouldn't have—"

"Hey!" I grabbed his other hand and, with my leverage, tugged him into the shadows beside the used bookstore. When my butt hit the bricks, I tipped my head back and peered up at him. "Luxor, what do you mean? You're amazing just the way you are, and you don't need to worry about what humans think."

He just sighed and shook his head.

"Does this have to do with…" I remembered the times he'd talked about being broken , the little brother of the group, and my chest tightened. In a quiet voice, I asked, "What were you like before you joined our world, Lux?"

His gaze was on my chin. Not my lips, but my chin, as if he didn't want to meet my eyes.

"I…was born different. Twisted."

I squeezed his hands. "Oh, hon…"

"My legs didn't work right. I had six older brothers, and then I came along, and my mother didn't survive the birth." He took a deep breath and held it. "There were already so few females, and the ones who were Mated kept trying to have daughters. She got me instead."

I fought to keep my eyes free from tears as I whispered, "It wasn't your fault."

His large tongue flicked out to touch the tip of his tusk, the orc equivalent of a nervous gesture. "My father and brothers blamed me, though. So it was easy to leave me out of…"

"Out of what?"

Finally, his gaze darted up to mine. "Everything. I didn't learn the psanta , I didn't klept my F'zar . I never learned to hunt or howl or any of the other rituals, because I couldn't keep up, even after I learned to walk."

Oh, so this is what a broken heart felt like?

It wasn't until the tears spilled from the corners of my eyes that I realized I had lost my battle not to let him see my pity. "I'm sorry."

"I had pets," he said simply. "Wild animals I saved from the cook pot, a few of the domesticated beasts of burden. I was good with them. I understood them."

Light dawned. " That's why you work with the dogs in the shelter?"

He nodded, one side of his lips curling just slightly, as if laughing at himself. "Thanks to Sakkara's investments, I bought my house outright, and I can live on the interest. I've done all sorts of jobs over the years but working at the shelter has made me the happiest."

My mind was spinning, and I wondered if he'd be interested in enrolling in a veterinary program, and if it'd even be possible without a high school diploma.

Whoa, get a hold of yourself, girl. He just said he's happy with his life, he doesn't need a degree just because you did !

True.

I swallowed. "I'm sure Mrs. Albee would be fine with giving you more responsibility so she could focus on the library. I could help you set up all your records digitally—"

He cut me off by stepping closer, then moving one of his hands to the brick next to my head. "I don't want that, Zo. I'm happy just following directions and getting the chance to cuddle with the puppies."

My throat had gone dry with his nearness, and from his little smirk, he could smell my response to him. I managed, "They are really cute."

"They are," he murmured, leaning closer. "Especially Seamus and Hamish." His cheek rubbed against mine, and I felt myself shiver. He hummed in response. "Sweet little human."

God, that should not be attractive. It should be degrading and insulting. So why did it send a flood of warmth to my crotch?

I sucked in a breath, trying to remember what we were talking about. "So…So when you came here, you got swole?"

He paused in his nuzzling. "I don't know what that means," he said against the skin of my neck. "Should I know what that means?"

Chuckling, I managed to nudge him upright again. "It's something the kids say. Or used to say. I dunno, I can't keep up. It just means…you got big?"

"Orc got big," he grunted in agreement, suddenly pushing away so he could flex his arm and continue speaking like a neanderthal. "Orc get muscles. Zoe want tickets to the gun show?"

I burst into giggles and smacked his chest. "I am familiar with your muscles, Lux," I teased him, turning the touch into a caress. Even through his t-shirt… yeah, I was familiar with his muscles.

His goofy grin froze as he inhaled, and I guess I needed to be a little more careful with my reactions, because a green spark suddenly flared in the depths of his eyes.

"So you came to our world, ate lots, and your legs healed?" I prompted him with another pat on his chest.

He lowered his arm to rest against the bricks by my head. Instead of feeling trapped, though, it was as if he was…protecting me. Cushioning me.

"I grew up eating the dregs of whatever my family could—or would —spare. Lots of berries, lots of fishing on my own." He shook his head. "When I learned that the elders had finally agreed to send a delegation to the human world, I knew they wouldn't let me go along. They only sent their strongest, bravest warriors, those without family back home to care for."

"And you?" I whispered.

His gaze dropped to my lips now. "I followed them. Had to crawl at times, through the night, because my legs couldn't keep up. But when they crossed over, I went after them, and they accepted me."

It was the way he said it that made me realize what it meant to him. "They became your family."

It wasn't a question, but he nodded. "Yeah. And suddenly, there I was in this research facility, with a bunch of males who were looking out for me, and enough food to get fat—shit, Zo, do you know what a miracle a microwave burrito seems like, after a lifetime of berries?"

I felt myself grinning, imagining this cheerful goofball with all this energy and excitement for life—really, just like one of those puppies he was so fond of—eating everything he could reach, just utterly delighted to be there.

With a shrug, he moved his hand to my shoulder, then the place where my neck met my ear. His attention was on that bit of skin as he continued. "The doctors and scientists offered to fix me. We realized later they were just interested in an excuse to cut one of us open and study our insides, see how compatible we were with humans, but…" He shrugged, still staring at my ear as if it was fascinating. "I didn't care, because it worked. They fixed my legs; they gave me medicine to get stronger."

My voice was a whispered rasp. "And microwave burritos."

His grin flashed when he met my gaze. "And healthier stuff. But for the first time, I was strong and healthy. I realized I didn't have to be weak, I could be…swole? That's what you called it?"

I loved how this guy could always make me chuckle. I smacked him again, but lightly. "Don't use that word where any kids can hear, they'll tease you." Impulsively, I slid my arms around him and stepped away from the wall to press my cheek against his chest. "I'm proud of you, Lux. That must've been really hard to overcome, but you did it. And you are big and strong and brave and powerful and at the same time absolutely adorable and gentle around puppies."

His arms had tightened around me. "Puppies are easy," he deadpanned. "Humans are harder."

Unable to resist, I flexed my hips forward just enough to feel his hardness. "That's what she said."

A pause, then over my head Lux broke into guffaws, and I rolled my eyes and grinned.

And from the street came the call of, "Hey, Lux, get your ass out here!"

With a sigh, my roomie pressed a kiss on the top of my head and straightened away from me. As he turned, I could see Cairo standing in the street with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.

You know, for a change.

"You'd better start helping him," I sighed, "before he becomes even more bad-tempered."

"Impossible," Lux quipped, brushing his hand down my back to squeeze my butt briefly. "But I have seen him with his Mate, and you wouldn't believe how sweet he is then!"

"You're right!" I called after him as he jogged off. "I don't believe it."

But as I hurried toward the library, I thought about what he'd told me. Not just about Cairo and his Mate Meli, but his own mother. I knew the orcs had crossed into our world because fewer females were being born and their race was dying off, but I had the impression they had to be Mated in order to try for babies anyhow.

When Lux said, "Mate," I could hear the capital letter.

I let myself in with the key Mrs. Albee had given me and mused over this puzzle in silence as I worked. At least the A.C. was working, and this place wasn't as muggy today.

I'd been taking birth control for years, so that hadn't been something I'd worried about when I started this—this whatever with my roommate. But clearly, humans and orcs could have children, as evidenced by little Emmy. I vaguely remembered hearing her father wasn't Sakkara, but another of the orcs who'd crossed over with them…and his Mate had been her mother.

I realized I was standing in the middle of the research section, tapping my flip-flop with my hands on my hips, staring at the ceiling as I pondered this. Well, I was in a library , wasn't I? The temple of human knowledge? Why was I sitting around wondering about shit when I could just look it up?

Scoffing at myself, I flip-flopped my way over to the computer and pulled up the catalog. Sure enough, we had a copy of The Customs and Culture of the Orcs , by McIlhenny. Apparently—according to the blurb and the accolades at least—the definitive research of orcish culture.

I found it easily enough, and it was three inches thick.

Thank God for indexes, huh?

Children…kits, caring for…kits, education…kits, impregnation.

I turned to that page, but humans weren't mentioned. Just stuff about sex between orcs, which frankly, sounded like a lot of white-savior-obsessed-with-the-primitives kink.

It did say conception only happened within Mated pairs.

Frowning, I flipped back to the index. Mates, finding…Mates vs. sexual partners…Mates, unfulfilled.

That one stopped me, and my finger hovered over the words. Unfulfilled? I flipped to that page and skimmed.

Until the word "green" stopped me, and I went back to the top of that page to read more closely.

When an orc male finds his fated Mate, but something prevents their joining, sometimes he experiences symptoms of a Heat. Unlike the heat of, say, the common domesticated dog, for instance, the orc male's Heat isn't just sexual, although that is one aspect.

It is possible for an orc male to be completely satisfied sexually while still being in Heat. The concept, although biological, is linked to his heart. As close as this researcher can ascertain, it means that when a male cannot be with his Mate in a permanent way, he exhibits symptoms of Heat.

For instance, an orc male experiencing Heat can become violent or depressed, even when such behavior is outside his normal purview. He often becomes anxious, unable to find peace unless he is near or with his Mate. This can cause him physical pain, and often only his Mate's presence will calm him, which is unfortunate in the case of those who have lost their Mates without the Mating bonds being realized.

Fated Mates are very important in the orc culture, and the stories told indicate the bonds are more than just physical; they are psychological and emotional as well. Moreso than a human marriage. However, the orc males this researcher has interviewed speak of a knowing that is a physical prompt, a sort of bone-deep certainty humans can only imagine.

Moreover, there are stories of orc males in the midst of a strong emotional attachment to his Mate, particularly before the Mating bonds have been formalized, whose physicality itself changes. Tusks and claws become more obvious, as if the male is being challenged by another male (see Chapter Sixteen), and the male's eyes are said to glow green.

There is no biological explanation for such things, and this research cannot determine if such stories are metaphors. But several of those interviewed agreed they had seen Mated males whose eyes changed from black to green when in the throes of passion with their fated Mates.

I stopped reading.

I mean, my eyeballs kept moving over the words, but my brain had stopped.

Slowly, I moved my finger over the words fated Mates , and lifted my gaze to the stacks opposite my little desk.

Fated Mates.

Heat.

Green eyes .

I swallowed. Lux…was in Heat? Not because he was fertile or something, but because…because he'd found his Mate and couldn't be with her?

No.

I shook my head, bending back over the book. What had it said? Oh yeah. When a male cannot be with his Mate in a permanent way, he exhibits symptoms of Heat.

I tapped my finger over the words, considering them.

The description matched Luxor's experiences, but the explanation was still mind-boggling…

Exhaling slowly, I straightened once more, chewing on my bottom lip.

Lux had met his Mate, and for whatever reason, couldn't be with her. But the only woman he was around, the woman he was around when he experienced those symptoms…was me .

I.

Was.

Luxor's.

Mate.

I was Luxor's Mate?

I was Luxor's Mate.

The knowledge settled in my chest, perfect and true, like a ray of sunshine. It filled me, bubbling up from inside of me until I had to open my mouth and allow a strange sort of surprised laugh to burst out.

I was Luxor's Mate.

Which meant he was my Mate.

I knew it was true.

I mean, hello? It was in a book , so it had to be true, right?

My smile was huge as I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the passage I was reading, just so I could refer to it later. Refer to it? Hell, I was going to read this book cover to cover, and if Mrs. Albee wouldn't let me check it out, I'd come to the library every day after work and—

Wait.

I was getting ahead of myself.

I wanted to know everything about my Mate, but I could do it with him. With Lux .

My pulse was hammering, but my breathing was slow and steady as I pulled up his number and pressed call.

The storm damage, the uncertainty about my future, the weirdness of his past…all of it seemed irrelevant once I was faced with this truth.

I was Lux's Mate.

He picked up, and a huge grin split my face. "Lux, sweetie, I've got some big news."