Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

RYKO

I inhale a deep breath, searching for Lily while trying to ignore the odor of so many dirty humans. Then I catch the delightful scent I know so well. Lily. She's here somewhere. Likely in the square. Too many tables and people block my view to locate her.

My gaze quickly shifts to the approaching threat.

Eight human males barrel toward us, cutting off our view of the square. Hands on knives, rods, even rocks, the males form a line opposite ours, their intent clear. They will not allow us entry.

The warrior in me is eager to tear them apart. The male who worries for his female's safety prays to the gods that our neld will order us not to engage. The humans' show of force, as weak as it is, warrants a response on our part, and is just what our grak wants.

"Get the fuck out of here," the smallest of the human males warns. Then the others join in.

"You belong in the moxxel animal pens!"

"Leave, beasts! "

"Go back to your caves, orc filth."

The slurs strike fast and furiously. Words meant to hurt, to scare, but one cannot be hurt by words.

Unless they come from a trusted friend, lover… mate.

A growl launches from my throat, intended more for me than the males waving their arms at us as if we can be scared off like younglings. Human younglings perhaps, not orc.

Certainly not orc warriors.

Anger rages through me as I stand here, waiting for my neld's orders.

Misplaced Anger. That's what my sire would call it if he'd survived the Undoing. The moment Lily told me of the male who harmed her on her home world, red hot anger loosed a fog upon my brain. The desire to kill him had been so intense, so incredibly unyielding, I would have lashed out at any human male had another been standing nearby. That same anger threatens to usurp my control now as these pitiful males stand between me and my female, challenging us. They want bloodshed.

So do I.

Deserved or not, these males will receive my wrath if they make one move. I need to leech the anger, especially the contempt I hold for myself.

I reach for the sword sheathed on my back.

The humans raise their sticks and knives higher, preparing.

My eyes latch onto my first target. A male who snapped at Lily weeks ago. The soothing sound of steel leaving my sheath focuses my blood, my body, my mind.

"Fall back!" our grak's voice booms.

I turn swiftly, a quick glance, long enough to see Atox standing beside two males, a bantaran and human. Not fighters, not with those lean, weaponless forms.

"Owen, move the men back," the human with my grak shouts to the eight males waiting to attack us .

My grak swipes at his forehead, a signal to disperse, then he speaks in low whispers to the human and bantaran. Negotiations.

With puzzled expressions, the eight humans facing us trade glances but withdraw as ordered.

"You saw the signal," Verig says. "Separate and fan out. Move through the market. Let yourselves be seen."

We'd been ordered to the humans' sector as a show of strength. Nothing more. I'm relieved and… surprised. Our grak has changed since our escape to Kovos. On Orcos, we would have charged the enemy and taken what we wanted.

Not today.

Kodex and Telin peel away, disappointment on their faces. Verig wears his usual mask of ambivalence, revealing nothing. Then again, as neld, he knows what our grak is planning. And he's vekking good at keeping secrets.

"Leave, Ryko," Verig orders over his shoulder.

I can't, not without seeing my Lily.

With a simple shift of the wind, her sweet scent fills my lungs. My eyes home in on her instantly.

My heart speeds up as our eyes meet.

For a brief moment, I see the hurt and pain in her expression.

I cannot exist without this female. With her deep smile and the sparkle in her eyes, Lily wafted past my defenses the moment I saw her all those months back, leaving me vulnerable. To her.

Which is why my heart tightens when she turns away.

She hasn't forgiven me.

How can she? I've never made amends to her, begged her forgiveness, proved I'd never be so callous with my words again.

My feet leave the ground abruptly as Verig yanks me toward him, then shoves me forward, into the common area of Pen'Kesh. "You are as vekking useless as a newborn youngling today. Stay away from the human sector, Ryko. You will be given a female soon enough. You've been moved to the top of the list."

My eyes snap to him, seeking an explanation .

"We've all seen the restlessness in you these past several weeks. Your attention wanders, you pick fights among the warriors over trivial matters, and you…" The ridges on Verig's brow rise. "It's almost as if you've been seeking punishment so Atox or I would place you on escort detail to Pen'Kesh."

I won't deny it. That, and I've been miserable without Lily. Worrying about her.

"Once you start fucking a female and sate your needs with her, your focus will return. The female chosen for you…" He looks over the groups of human females in the square. "Is not here today. The female chosen for you has sun-colored hair."

Mated to a female that is not Lily. My stomach roils.

"No, he cannot?—"

Verig silences me with a glare. "He is our grak. He can do whatever he wishes. And you will follow orders, Warrior."

There's no room in his tone, his words, or his expression to argue. Even if there were, he's right. Our grak's word is law.

"Atox has found a bantaran to write the treaty between him and the humans."

"I do not want to be assigned a female," I grind out, my jaws clenched so tight my tusks begin to scrape my upper lip. "I will choose my own female."

"No, you won't."

My mind spins in a cloud of chaos grappling at all I know of the humans and our grak, seeking a way to stop this. My grak can give me a female, one for which I must take responsibility, but he cannot force me to take her into my furs. As long as I don't perform risha, I can find a way to be with Lily.

With his hand on my shoulder, Verig leads me farther from the humans. "You will take the female chosen for you and be grateful. Once risha is performed, you will be bound to her. At least you won't know the loneliness of empty furs for the rest of your life. Like me."

How much time do I have? Days? Hours? Not only must I prove myself to Lily, I must devise a plan for us to be together, in a way our grak will sanction.

Risha. Nothing can break the bonds formed during the sacred ceremony.

If I can formally mate Lily, then our grak can't deny her a place among our people. I must get to her, convince her?—

I scrub my face. How am I to convince her to mate me when I'm little more than kuvak dung to her? And for risha to work, there must be witnesses. No warrior will witness for me, as that would defy our grak's orders to stay clear of the human females.

Vekk!