Epilogue

PALOMA

After spending a week in our chamber, my overprotective mate finally lets me venture out of the mountain. And that is only because Ossa declared me strong enough. I’ve been doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Glorious, uninterrupted, restful sleep tucked safely in Atox’s arms.

But I’m restless. Anxious. We’ve been hearing yelling in the tunnels.

In English.

Atox told me about the women he took from New Earth. I can’t exactly object. Well, I can, but they’re better off here.

They were in greater danger in New Earth. The men who control my former colony, will continue selling women when they see fit. At least here among the orcs, I can protect these women, keep them from being forced into mating.

Now, I have to convince them of that. More importantly, I need to be their advocate to the orcs. I know what they’re going through, how scared they are, how betrayed they feel.

“I’ve asked Verig to guard you,” Atox says as he climbs atop his gorja to address trouble on one of the borders.

“I don’t need a guard. I’m going to talk to the other human women to help them get settled.”

“Let Ossa deal with them.”

“You said that would be my job. I need this, Atox.”

His frown deepens, flashing more of his tusks. Not a threat to me, quite the opposite. He worries about me, especially now that I’m pregnant.

“They’re not going to hurt me. Trust me on this.”

“Fine. You are in charge of the human females, Graka. But Verig will guard you. These are my terms.”

It’s not worth arguing. “Agreed. Just be safe, okay? I can’t stand the thought of losing you again.”

“You won’t lose me. But you will rest after talking with the females.”

“I’m rested.”

“I want to be sure. I will claim you tonight. Prepare yourself.”

He’s already waited a week, and his cock is permanently hard around me. He’s shown amazing restraint. More than me. I’ve used my hands on him at least four times over the past few days, to take the edge off for him, but it isn’t the same, and that feral look in his eyes tells me as much.

“Tonight, female. I will be inside you.” With that, he disappears into the woods. A shiver travels through me at the warning in his voice. Pregnant or not, I have a feeling I’m going to be well used later tonight. And nothing pleases me more.

Before I make it halfway to the middle of the camp, shouting knocks me out of my euphoric fantasy of imagining my mate taking me. One of the women, a leggy woman with wild red hair, shoves a warrior while yelling at him. Before I can reach her, she punches him in the face. Hard. Instead of fighting back, the warrior grabs hold of her wrists to keep her from hitting him again.

“What is going on here?” I demand in Orcan of a warrior I’ve never met.

The warrior nods a greeting to me but doesn’t release the woman. “My female refuses to return to our quarters.”

“Your female?” I scrub my face. The woman’s expression, one of anger mixed with horror, tells me she doesn’t want to be with him. I don’t recognize her, which means she must be new to Kovos. “What’s your name?” I ask her in English.

“Phoebe. Are you her? The woman who’s behind my kidnapping? Just because you fuck orcs doesn’t mean the rest of us want to.”

Her verbal attack stuns me to the point of forgetting all those speeches I composed in my head for welcoming any woman brought here. I’m now realizing walking freely among the orcs, having them greet me and treat me as one of them decreases any chance I have of gaining the women’s trust. And I’m late in welcoming them.

This woman sees me as the enemy. I can only imagine the others agree with her wherever they are.

“Problem, Kodex?” Verig asks as he approaches the warrior who’s still holding Phoebe’s arm.

“My female left our quarters and will not return.” He lifts her up and tosses her over his shoulder.

“Put her down!” I order.

The warrior looks at Verig, who thankfully nods in agreement, backing me up.

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” I add. Whether the woman hates or blames me doesn’t matter. It’s my job to ensure the warriors don’t force any of the women to do anything they don’t want.

“Verig, where are the rest of the women your warriors kidnapped?”

“They were not kidnapped. They were taken according to our laws. The humans broke the contract.”

I wave a dismissive hand. “We can debate nuances later. Where are they?”

“Most were taken to the warriors’ quarters in the mountain.”

“And they’ve been there the entire week?”

“Yes,” he says with a definite growl that I’m not sure how to interpret. He’s Atox’s second, but that doesn’t mean we’ve developed an easy rapport yet.

“Did you take a woman, Verig?”

His tusks grind against his upper lip. “Another warrior took her.”

Ah, so there’s a specific woman he’s interested in. Atox told me of Verig’s history, and his refusal to take another mate. That’s a concern for another day.

“None of these women should be in a warrior’s quarters against their will.”

“Are you ordering me to remove her from Baloq’s quarters, Graka?” Verig emphasizes my title, which he never does. More than that; he sounds eager to implement that particular order.

“Not just her. Get all the women out here now. Every one of them. And find me a cave that is big enough for all of them. Alone. Without any warriors.”

“You can’t take my female from me,” Kodex objects. “Our grak said we could choose the female we want. I took her from the human colony. She’s mine to keep.”

Atox promised these women to them without giving the women any say? I’m stunned at how everything has gotten so out of hand already that I miss Phoebe biting Kodex’s hand and slipping from his hold. She takes a swing at me, but Verig throws himself between us, taking the blow to his chest before capturing her around her middle and lifting her off the ground. He looks mad enough to throw her down and injure her, except I’ve never known him to be rash or take out his anger on a female.

“Put her down, please, Verig.”

He drops her unceremoniously and walks away. “Control your female, Kodex. If she harms the graka, you will answer to our grak.”

“Where are you going?” I call to him as he storms into the tunnels.

“To clear the trainees’ quarters on level 3. It is large enough to house all the human females.”

That was easier than I thought it would be.

“Phoebe,” I say, trying to calm the fire in her eyes. We need to talk. You, me, and all the other women. There’s a lot you don’t know about what’s going on here. And it appears I’ve missed some vital information as well.”

“You let them take us.”

“I was in a cell in New Earth when the orcs came. I didn’t know anything about what they planned.”

“You’re one of them,” she says, slinging the accusation with hate in her eyes.

“Yes, and proud of it, but I started out much like you. Taken here against my will. In fact, that colony that you’re so eager to get back to sold me to the orcs and planned to sell me to the vints when they kidnapped me back. Did anyone tell you Council had a treaty with the orcs? That they agreed to sell five more women after me?”

She stops fighting Kodex’s hold on her. “Sold? I was told you betrayed us and fled to the orcs.”

“Lies, to cover Council’s collective ass. And it’s the reason we need to talk. All of us. Those self-appointed, self-righteous men who are supposed to protect everyone in New Earth don’t care about you or any other woman in the colony any more than they cared about me.”

“You have proof?”

“Only my word. But I can tell you two things. If you run off, you won’t get far.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“I’m recounting the facts. I nearly died out there,” I say pointing into the woods where the yengas chased me and Evve, “but not at the orcs’ hands. They saved me.” I rub my face as the world sways.

Ossa’s hand touches my arm. “You need rest, Graka.”

“Not yet. I can’t just walk away when she’s scared. All the women taken are terrified. I have to reassure them. Explain what’s happened,” I say to Ossa in Orcan.

“You speak their language,” Phoebe says, her eyes narrowing as if I’ve lied yet again.

“Their leader, his title is Grak, which is similar to king, bought me a language implant so I could communicate with his people. Phoebe, it’s a really long story. Can you please gather the other women and we’ll meet back here in two hours? Outside, in the fresh air. Let them see the orcs, ask questions, have a chance to understand what is happening.”

“How? The other orcs are as possessive as this brute,” she points to Kodex. “They say we belong to them, like we’re shoes. They’ll never let them leave.”

I translate for Ossa and we discuss logistics.

“I will take care of it, Graka,” Ossa says.

“Phoebe, go with Ossa, please. She’ll make sure the warriors let the women leave, but you’ll have to talk to the women, advise them to go with you so we can all talk.”

“I don’t trust you.” She folds her arms over her chest.

“Then what do you propose? The orcs won’t take you back. I might be able to convince them, but I’ll need time to do that, if that’s what everyone wants. Until then, we need to ensure some peace between the women and the orcs. If nothing more, to make it clear to the orcs they are not to touch any of you. Kicking, punching, and running will only increase their determination to dominate. They… like a challenge.”

Her eyes widen, then she nods. Just in time, too. I’m ready to collapse. Ossa grips me and holds me up, calling Briza over to walk me to my quarters. I’m thankful for the help. Atox was right. I’m doing too much. But he didn’t tell me everything that had been happening with the women. We have a lot to discuss.

“You’ve takenthe females and gathered them in a room intended for younglings in training. My men are upset with you,” Atox says as he enters our chamber later that evening.

“No hello?”

“Unnecessary words. You’ve caused trouble in my absence.”

“No, you caused trouble by how you took those women. I’m trying to make this better for them, as much as is possible under the circumstances.”

“None was harmed.”

“Not physically, but they’re scared, Atox. More than I was even. I knew I was coming here, but I was still terrified. They were stolen from their homes and witnessed the mayhem I could only hear from my cell. I smelled smoke, heard screaming… I still don’t know all the details, but I’m telling you, it traumatized them. Add to that the fact that they don’t speak Orcan, know nothing about your culture, and expect to be used against their will. Just as I expected.”

His hand curves over my belly. “Do you regret my taking you, female?”

“You know I don’t. Not now. You are my future, Atox, but women are imagining the worst and will continue rebelling and acting out of fear. If you want them to accept being here, to take mates from among your people, then you need to see this from their perspective. Imagine if someone took Evve. What would she go through?”

“If someone stole my niece, I’d hunt them down, kill them, and bring her home.”

“Of course you would, but what would happen to her before you found her? Weeks. Months could pass. Like with me, Atox. Did you ever think what was happening to me when my father forced me to return to New Earth?”

“Vek, you’re all I thought about, female. The only solace I had was believing you returned to your people of your own will. Because you wanted to be there.”

I shake my head, too emotional to speak. He pulls me against his chest and holds me, reminding me I’m safe. And loved. Very loved.

“I was terrified, and that was among my own people.” I need him to understand what these women are going through. That’s hard for an orc warrior, even one abused by his father.

“Imagine if the vints took Evve. She wouldn’t speak the language, and she could be thrust into the quarters of a male or several males intending to breed her. Males who care nothing about what she wants or that she’s terrified. What if we have a girl, and that becomes her future?”

I see genuine worry his eyes. “Guide me in the way of humans, my graka. Tell me how to make them understand this is their home.”

“Treat them like they are equals to the other orcs here. Give them the same rights and opportunities. Assign jobs and the freedom to move about at will.”

“They’ll run.”

“Some, yes. Maybe all. Or maybe if we handle this right, we can prevent that.”

“Any who run could die.”

I remember the day the racanna dragged me under the water. That is but one of many deadly beasts on Kovos.

“Give them the knowledge and power to be anything but victims, and then give them the opportunity to leave. Give them a reason to want to stay. Decide, my mate. Will you treat them as orcs or as prisoners?”

“It is my duty as grak to protect them, even from their own foolish behavior.”

“Wanting freedom isn’t foolish. Dying to attain it sounds very orc to me.”

Atox lifts the hem of my dress and kisses my growing belly. “I will follow your lead, mate.”

“In here, or out there with the women?”

“Both. Neither. I must follow my instincts, too.” He leans his head against my belly. “But there is wisdom in your words. I believe the biggest mistake my grak made was never trusting his mate, never listening to her wisdom. I will not make that mistake.”

He nudges my legs apart, and a moment later, his tongue finds my most intimate area. I can’t see him past my baby bump, but his moans match mine. He’s doing all the work, all the touching, but that’s part of being mated, giving as well as receiving.

A moment later, my fingers dig into his shoulders and my body shakes with a quick but powerful orgasm. Dark green eyes peer up at me, past my belly. “This youngling is keeping me from my mate.”

“Wait until he’s born!”

“He? We’re having a son?”

“The baby feels too big to be a girl.”

“I prefer a female youngling.”

I run my fingers through his hair. “I thought you’d prefer a boy. Most men do.” Then I see the fear in his eyes. He’s afraid he doesn’t know how to raise a son… all because of his father.

With both hands, I grip his face. “You are not your father, and you never will be. If we have a son, you will teach him all that you know, including how to be fair. You’ll make him strong by showing your weaknesses as well. By acknowledging that even a grak can falter. You will instill in him the love and loyalty that you’ve instilled in your people... and me. And he will learn it’s not the admission of needing help that weakens a grak but refusing to accept it.”

With that, I climb onto the bed on my hands and knees, my belly brushing the furs. One wiggle of my backside and my mate’s lifting my dress, exposing me. His large hands cup my ass cheeks, and I know what he’s thinking. We haven’t had sex in a while and he’s afraid to hurt me or the baby.

“Just go slow,” I whisper. “The baby will be fine. He’s half orc, after all. I hear orcs are made from strong stuff.”

His cock slides into me, slowly, with great care. I whimper at the unbelievable gentleness with which he rocks inside me. This is more than reconnecting after so long. He’s showing his vulnerable side, the one full of fear and hope. He’s taking his cues from me, and it fills my heart in a way I never expected.

As my knees and arms begin to shake from the strain of my big belly weighing me down, Atox roars his release. Not soon enough, too. My arms give way, but he catches me, as I know he always will.

“No knot?” I ask.

“My body knows you carry my child. No knotting. Until you’ve birthed our youngling and have recovered.” Atox tucks me against his side and pulls the furs over us. His tusks drag against the outside of my ear as his hand caresses my belly. “This child may be half orc, but he’s half human too, female. A benefit I never realized until I found you. She—or he—will rule our people one day with the best qualities of both species. This is my hope for our future, Paloma, that… and a lifetime with you in my arms.”