Chapter Two

NOEL

The last thing I needed right now was some injured human slowing me down. Not when I had a damn reindeer to find. Cupid, one of Santa's prized reindeer, had gotten loose again, and if I didn't track him down before the snowstorm hit full force, we'd both be in for it. The Dark King wouldn't take kindly to me losing one of the few magical creatures still tied to the old Christmas ways. Especially not Cupid.

The Dark King had taken over everything, including this forest. My farm—once part of the vast lands owned by Santa—was now under his rule, and he'd put me in charge of overseeing the reindeer. And ever since his rise to power, things had only gotten worse. What used to be a peaceful place full of magic and light was now a twisted version of itself, shadowed and cold. The forest was his territory now, dark and foreboding, crawling with his evil minions bent on destroying anything and anyone who opposed them, and yet here I was, out in the middle of it, searching for a runaway reindeer. Of all the nights for Cupid to disappear, it had to be during a snowstorm, and right before Christmas, no less.

But, as usual, life had a way of throwing curveballs at me. One minute, I was trudging through the woods, following faint hoofprints in the snow, and the next, I was hauling some half-frozen girl out of a ravine. A human girl, no less—small, fragile, and now apparently my problem.

I wasn't known for being a bleeding heart. Orcs weren't exactly famous for their compassion, but leaving her out there? I wasn't that much of an asshole. Orcs had a reputation for being tough, sure, but we weren't heartless. Most of us, anyway. So, yeah, I'd help her, but that didn't mean I had to be happy about it.

I glanced down at her as I carried her through the trees, her head resting against my shoulder, her breaths shallow and uneven. She was delicate—definitely human—though something about her was different. She smelled...off. Not in a bad way, but strange. She didn't have the usual sharp, bitter scent that came with humans who wandered too far into the Dark King's territory. There was something sweet to her scent, something familiar. It reminded me of the forest as it used to be, back when Santa ruled, back when white magic still thrived in the land. Pine and cinnamon, with an odd undercurrent of something else. Magical, maybe? I wasn't sure, but it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

She was in pain—bad pain. Her face twisted every time I took a step, even though she was barely conscious. Her leg was a mess, twisted in a way that didn't look right. But I'd seen worse. If I could get her back to the cabin and patch her up, she'd live.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked weakly, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Her words surprised me. I figured she'd be out cold for a while longer, but she was still hanging on. Tougher than she looked, this one. I didn't answer right away—I wasn't used to explaining myself to anyone. Orcs weren't exactly the conversational type, especially me. But after a second, I grunted, "My cabin. You're hurt. You need to rest."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn't. Her wide doe eyes fluttered shut again, and her head slumped against my shoulder.

I cursed under my breath. This wasn't how I'd planned to spend my night. I wasn't a healer, but I'd seen enough injuries to know she wasn't walking anywhere anytime soon. Hopefully, the storm would pass by morning, and I could figure out what to do with her then. For now, we both had to get inside before the harsh conditions finished what her fall started.

The wind howled through the trees, whipping at my coat and biting into my skin, even through the thick layers of sheepskin. The snow was coming down harder now, piling up fast, and it wouldn't be long before the whole forest was buried under a thick blanket of it. If Cupid was still out there somewhere, I'd have to find him later. Hopefully the creature had found temporary shelter to wait out the storm. Right now, getting this girl to safety was my priority.

My log cabin wasn't far—just a short walk through the woods—but even that short distance was enough to make my arms ache from carrying her. Not that I'd admit it. Orcs didn't get tired that easily, but I'd been on my feet all day tending to my farm, and carrying the weight of the girl over the rough terrain hadn't been part of my plan. Still, I kept moving. The storm was closing in, and I needed to get us inside before this wretched night swallowed us both.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the warm glow of the cabin lights came into view, barely visible through the torrents of sleet and snow being hurled down from the sky. I pushed the door open with my boot and carried her inside, the heavy door slamming shut behind me in a gust of wind. The heat from the fireplace hit me instantly, the flames crackling in the hearth, sending waves of warmth through the room.

The cabin wasn't much—just one large room with a small kitchen, a bed in one corner, and the fireplace that kept the place warm. It was enough for me, but I hadn't planned on entertaining company. I carried the girl over to the couch near the fire and laid her down as gently as I could. She winced, her face contorting with pain, and I cursed under my breath again. I wasn't equipped for this. But I'd do what I could.

Grabbing a dark green wool blanket from the back of the couch, I quickly threw it over her. She was still trembling, her body shivering from the cold, but at least in here, the warmth would start to thaw her out. Her ankle, though… that was a mess. I knelt beside her, eyeing the way it was swollen and bruised. The skin was already turning a dark shade of purple, and the swelling was bad. Worse than I'd realized.

"Lucky it's not broken," I muttered, more to myself than to her. I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't, but I was trying not to think about that right now. I had enough to deal with.

I grabbed a clean cloth and some bandages from the small storage cabinet near the bed and knelt beside her again. As I started to wrap her ankle, she stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She blinked at me, dazed and clearly in pain, but the intensity in her amber eyes made me pause for a second. There was something about her gaze that unsettled me.

"You're...an orc," she whispered, her voice hoarse, and I worried whether she'd caught fever.

"Last time I checked," I grunted, not looking up from her ankle. "Don't worry. I'm not going to eat you or whatever other bullshit you've heard."

She didn't say anything, just watched me work. I could feel her eyes on me, and it made me uncomfortable. Most people didn't look at me like that. They avoided eye contact, too afraid or too wary to engage. Orcs were intimidating—that's just the way it was. But this girl wasn't looking at me with fear. She was studying me, and it put me on edge.

"What's your name?" I asked, more to break the silence than anything else.

"Rue," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "My name is Rue."

Rue. It was a soft name, simple. I rolled it around in my head as I finished wrapping her ankle. She didn't look like she belonged out here in the wilderness, with her delicate frame and wide, wild eyes. She looked like she belonged somewhere far away from the Dark King's grasp.

I grunted. "Noel," I offered after a moment, though I wasn't sure why. She didn't need to know my name. This wasn't a social call. As soon as the storm let up, she'd be on her way, and I'd be back to my quiet life of chopping wood and looking after reindeer.

I sat back on my heels, studying her for a moment. Her skin was still pale, too pale, and her shivering hadn't stopped yet. Her eyes were drooping, heavy with exhaustion and pain, but I could see the tension in her body. She was scared. I couldn't blame her. Not out here, not under the Dark King's rule.

"Why were you out there?" I asked, keeping my voice low, though I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.

She hesitated, her brow furrowing as if she wasn't sure how to answer. "I... I was running," she finally said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Running from what?" I pressed. We were close enough to the Dark King's territory that it wasn't hard to guess. His rule had spread like a disease, infecting everything it touched. He'd taken the land, the farms, the forest—and people ran from him. At first, that is. The ones that chose to flee were caught and dealt with, in ways so gruesome to serve as a warning to anyone who dared defy the coming Darkness.

Rue didn't answer right away. Her eyes darted away from mine, and she bit her lip, like she wasn't sure she could trust me. Smart girl.

"It's complicated," she muttered, and I could see the fear in her eyes. Whatever she was running from, it wasn't good. And I wasn't sure I wanted to get involved. The Dark King wasn't exactly someone I wanted to piss off.

I sighed, leaning back against the couch and running a hand through my hair. Outside, the wind howled, the snow tapping against the windows like icy fingers. The storm was getting worse. We weren't going anywhere tonight.

"Look," I said after a long pause, my voice gruff. "I don't care what you're running from. You're safe here, at least for now. But when the storm passes, you're on your own."

She didn't say anything, just stared at me with those soft wide eyes of hers, and I could see the conflict in her expression. She wanted to trust me—wanted to believe that I wasn't going to hurt her—but I could see the fear still lingering.

I didn't blame her. Hell, if I were her, I'd be scared too. But I wasn't her. I was just a guy trying to survive under the Dark King's rule like everyone else. And now, I had to deal with Cupid running loose in the storm. That damn reindeer would be the death of me yet.