Episode Twenty-Seven The Two of Us

D har

Thallose flew out of here fast. He said he would gather his things and meet us at the monk village. One thing is clear, he's not a nice male.

Nadira, Azael, and I are making our way through the meeting grounds and will hurry to make it to the monk village before the sun sets. My males will join us later. Knowing them, they'll want to stay here until the rendezvous ends in a few days so they can partake of all the mead and revelry the gathering offers.

My new mates are full of unusual scents. There's an undertone drifting from both of them I can't quite place. A hint of arousal clings to the female, but her overwhelming scent is sadness.

I'm told I can be brash and self-centered. I've never cared before. Frankly, I never thought that was a bad thing. But no matter how this started, orcs mate for life. I never believed I'd be lucky enough to find a female, but I stumbled into this and am going to make the best of it.

I'm going to be with these two until I die in battle, which is how I've always known my life would end. I must figure out how to live in peace with them. Especially with the female. I may be brash and self-centered, but I won't force my cock on her.

I chuckle, thinking of her demanding I place my cock on the table. Did she think it would embarrass me? Nudity is nothing to me.

Still, her looking me in the eye and challenging me, despite being two heads shorter than me, makes me respect her. It wouldn't hurt to get to know her before we get to their hut and mate.

They're whispering, trying to leave me out of their conversation. The monks are an isolated bunch. They don't know much about orcs. For one, I can not only scent people from far away, but I can read their emotions through it. I might keep that bit of information a secret. It gives me an advantage.

Walking up behind them, I barge between them and keep their pace.

"It's not nice to keep secrets from your mate. Since you're big on rules, mayhap we should have a rule about that."

Azael glowers at me. The female looks ashamed.

"This is new," she says. "It's a lot for all of us to absorb."

"I can walk away from this now. Just tell me," I say evenly. It's only when the words are out of my mouth I realize I'd rather not walk away. Now that it's within my grasp, I'd like a female to sleep with. Truth be told, I'd like a female for more than that.

She stops her forward motion. The monk and I stop, too.

"You're right. No secrets." She spears me with a sincere look.

Gods, her blue eyes are so beautiful in her pale face.

"Thallose was mean. It was hard to swallow." She pauses, considering her words. "And you can be rude."

I nod. No need to argue with the truth.

"I'm terrified of what's going to happen between us tonight," she says as she bites her bottom lip. Instead of marring her beauty, it makes me want to kiss her plump lips.

"The monk has had your attention since you dropped from the sky, right?"

She nods.

"Honor me with your presence on the walk home. Let's talk. Get to know each other."

Silence. She takes a step toward the monk, but then steps back. It's obvious their first impulse was to whisper to each other.

"Azael, will you let Dhar take me home?" she asks him sweetly, a sad smile on her face.

Even if I couldn't read his scent, his face tells the tale of his reluctance. Neither of these two wanted a second or third male to invade their lives. The monk sees this as a loss, so does she. To me, it's a gain.

"See you at our home," he says, his lips tight. His face is a mask of anger and pain.