Episode Forty Here’s What You’re Going to Do

T hallose

Only dim shards of moonlight filter through the canopy of mostly fallen autumn leaves. It's more than enough light for me to read the hatred on their faces.

"I wish to all the gods above she hadn't chosen you." The monk's face is so pinched and angry, his lips are vibrating.

"I should have intervened before we let him bite her. He already hurt her more than any male has a right to." The orc's fists tighten and release, telling me just how much effort it's taking to hold himself back from punching me.

"I have no fangs," I say in my defense. "I didn't know how else to make the mating bite."

Wham! The orc's self-control crumbles, and he hits me so hard in the cheek it feels as if something explodes under my skin.

"Shut the fuck up!" the monk seethes.

I'm still staggering, seeing stars, so they simply wait for me to get my bearings before they say another word.

"We're going to talk," says the enraged monk.

"And you're going to listen," finishes the enormous green orc.

He's rubbing his knuckles as if punching the shit out of me so hard I almost hit the ground hurt his hand more than the pain in my throbbing cheek. I say nothing.

They speak slow and clear. Perhaps it's because they aren't sure if my mind is fully functional after that punch. The monk relates the story of my new mate's life Up Above. The orc lets him tell the tale except for a few interruptions to add details.

I knew I hated humans, but the more they talk, the more I hate them. The males, that is. I get a fresh appreciation of what little Nadira has been through and can picture all the harm that came to her at the hands of the males Up Above.

Before they put these pictures in my head, I'd already felt remorse for any harm my words or actions caused her. Now my contrition has grown and changed into guilt. Initially, I'd hung my head to avoid another punch. Now it's hanging in shame.

"I never meant to hurt her," I say, which earns me a punch to the gut so fierce and painful it's hard to believe it came from the monk and not the orc.

"We both heard you at the rendezvous, Thallose," the orc says as he leans close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath. "None of us will forget when you said you had no desire to fuck her, or when you leaned into her face and told her you'd never want her."

"Neither of us will forget that, horse-man. Ever," the monk says. "Nor can Nadira. But here's what you're going to do."

He leans even closer and says, "You are going to be the most attentive of her three mates. Do you hear me? If her mouth sounds parched, you're going to fly to the stream to get her a cool drink of water. If she kicks the covers off at night, you're going to rise from your pallet on the other side of the hut and cover her. If she wants a red fox pelt to sew into a pretty cape, you will go on a hunt and not return until you have more than enough red pelts for her to sew an entire outfit."

Grabbing my hair, the monk tips my head and forces me to look him in the eye. "Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes."

"You will be civil and cordial to Dhar and me because it will please her. She will never again get even an inkling that you don't care for us all. You've already made it clear you don't want to join us in the furs. Good. That will be better for all of us. But she will never again doubt how deeply you care for her."

"Are we clear?" the orc asks, his enormous tusked face an inch from mine.

I don't bother to tell them I'd already decided to do all of this. That agreeing to this is no hardship and didn't require one punch, much less two. I don't desire to hurt any of them, certainly not Nadira who has already paid more than enough of a price to be born a human female.

"Yes. Perfectly clear."