Chapter 18

ATOX IM GRAK

Iride alongside Verig, returning to the abandoned camp I found two days after lighting Fotak’s pyre. My thoughts remain on those who murdered him as much as my female who both surprises and worries me. If I cannot bend her to our ways, our people have little chance of surviving. Paloma doesn’t know it yet, but she is the first of many. I need her on my side, to help other human females assimilate. My warriors neither have the time nor patience to deal with a wild and untrained female.

Paloma still plans on escaping; I am sure of it. While I could keep her locked up, I don’t want a prisoner. I want a mate. One who will support me, stand at my side against those who question and oppose me.

Fight by my side. I consider the notion. Expecting a human female to fight would be like sending a youngling into battle. Paloma is no warrior, but she is a fighter, in her own way. I need that energy and stubbornness directed at a common enemy, not me.

“You are lost in thought, Atox,” Verig says as we travel through narrow, rocky terrain.

“Other than the vints, I don’t know who would have killed Fotak and why.”

“The vints are on the other side of the human colony.”

“That is what concerns me. They’ve never traveled this far before.”

“Perhaps they heard of the deal we made with the humans.”

“It is possible, but why kill Fotak?”

“A warning to stay away from the humans and let them fight their own battles.”

“Is that what you think the humans should do or an interpretation of what the vints are thinking?”

“If the humans are too weak to survive on Kovos, then let the vints wipe them out.”

“Normally, I might agree, but we need their females. Taking them by force risks injuring them.” I hold up my hand to keep Verig from speaking. “Before you suggest destroying the human colony outright, remember that could result in no more of their females arriving from Earth. We ensure the humans’ survival so we may ensure our own.”

“Their women are weak. You expect us to mate them, have younglings with them.” Verig growls. “You will make us weak, Atox.”

Only Verig could call me weak without me using my sword to remove his head. And that is because he is my second, the orc I trust the most, the orc I need to question and force me to think beyond my own constraints as much as I need him to watch my back.

“You said it yourself, Verig. If any more of our people were still alive, they would have come by now. If we are to survive, we need more females. The humans are compatible.”

“You take the word of the cendagi on that.” He spits to the side, the ultimate insult. “They cannot be trusted.”

“That is why I’ve taken the human female. Once she conceives, we will know for sure. Unless you can prove the cendagi lied about our compatibility.”

“How would they even know?”

I suck in air. “Their experiments.”

“Vekking cendagi. They treat us like animals.”

“Not only our people. All the species here. They sent us here for a reason, Verig. Never forget that. Focus your hatred and suspicion toward them. And the vints. The humans are weak and duplicitous, but they are merely trying to survive here like we are. Remember, they lost their world to the Coalition.”

Another growl. Like many of us, Verig chooses not to think of Orcos too often, or what he lost. He had a mate, Haaka, and a beautiful youngling, a little girl under three seasons old.

“You are right, Atox. The humans have neither the technology nor numbers to challenge us.”

“Fotak was killed because he found someone spying on us. While I don’t believe the humans killed him, we cannot rule them out.”

When we reach the abandoned campsite, I slide from Caju and let him graze while Verig searches the area for anything I might have missed my first time here. I sit on a log by the firepit, puzzling through who’s watching my people and why. With the rough bark of the log cutting into me, my thoughts return to the river yesterday and how I had raised my hand against my female’s ass. I never touched a female like that.

I like rough sex, but that was not sex, not at the start. I don’t know how to reach her, to make her understand my position as grak as well as her own vulnerability, not only as a human but as my mate. My people don’t approve of her, which means her defiance might put her life at risk.

Smacking her backside accomplished nothing. She continues to defy me and I’m becoming more like my father. Though my father’s punishments were much worse than a smack on the ass.

A very fleshy, delectable ass, that I fully enjoyed touching. Along with the rest of her.

I long to taste her again and sink into her. I will never again find my release in a vekking elimination chamber. Somehow this female got into my head and I’d fled like a spineless vint.

Vekk, this female is taking more of my focus and time than I imagined when I bargained for her. The next time she defies or disrespects me, I’ll… I have no vekking idea what I should do.

I am not like my father. I will not treat her as he treated my mother. And yet, my female continues to refuse me. This cannot go on much longer or more of my people will notice. The mighty Atox im Grak, falling to a human female…

I must find a way to control her, before she ends up controlling me.

PALOMA

I haven’t seenAtox since yesterday, when he left me tied to his bed. After freeing myself, I searched camp for him to no avail. When I asked one of his warriors when he’d return, the male refused to answer.

To some extent, I wonder if Atox is testing me. Before I can attempt an escape, I need a plan. Orc warriors guard the perimeter of their land, and we traveled nearly a full day by gorja from my colony to reach this settlement. I slept during part of the ride, and those gorjas moved faster than a horse. I could easily be a hundred miles or more from home and I have no way of knowing how far. Or the route. Going east toward Pen’Kesh would be just as risky since I’d be traversing terrain I don’t know and on foot. Kovos holds as many dangers as Earth, perhaps more because I simply don’t have the knowledge or experience here.

Riding a gorja would be safer, but that means stealing one and figuring out how to ride it. My horseback riding on Earth was limited to horses that knew the trails so well they didn’t need a person to guide them. Gorjas are massive beasts, the perfect size for these orcs. I’m not sure I can control one.

The cart! I could hide in the back the next time it leaves to pick up supplies in Pen’Kesh.

With Atox not here, I spend most of my days walking around, exploring the settlement which is much larger than I first envisioned. I’ve ventured to the gorja pens, the cooking area, the area where animals skins are stretched on frames, and even wandered off into the woods… without anyone stopping me. But I haven’t found the cart.

And everywhere I go, I’m followed. Evve, the little girl from the tunnels, has become my shadow.

She doesn’t hide from me, but she keeps her distance. Ten feet at all times. Her expression appears strained, nervous even, not carefree as when I first met her.

I’m betting someone said something negative about me. That upsets me more than being ignored by the orcs here. Evve didn’t fear me when we met. Now, she does, and I can’t defend myself against whatever lies the orcs spread about me since I don’t speak Orcan.

At night, after a long day of hard work, the orcs gather around the firepits, eating and talking. No one offers me any food, but they don’t stop me from taking a plate and filling it with as much food as I want. Typical fare includes gamey meat with bitter purple pulp spread on top. Orcs don’t have any vegetables in their diet.

While I enjoy having the freedom to roam their settlement, I’m essentially an outcast. I have no way of communicating with them, and by their expressions it’s clear they don’t want me here.

I retreat to Atox’s sleeping chamber. When I open the door, the dark doesn’t swallow me, because I know I’m safe here. I hit the light disk and sigh. Worse than darkness is the loneliness that greets me. Right now, I’d take an overbearing male who doesn’t know boundaries, who doesn’t truly care about me, but who is the only ally I have in this wretched place.

As I lay in the dark, listening to the wind whistling through the tunnels, I realize how much has changed in a week. The dark still scares me, but not as much. Mostly because Atox’s scent clings to the mattress. I love the heat of having him wrapped around me, as well as the safety he provides.

Damn, I need to stop lying to myself. I miss more than his body heat or how safe I feel in his arms. There’s honor in Atox that I admire, enough that I want to see him again.

I take a deep breath and force myself to think about escaping. The goal I’ll lose sight of if I think about Atox. The longer he stays away, the better my chances are. No one is watching, except my shadow. But I can slip away from her when I’m ready.