Chapter 24

24

THORAK

I slump back against the couch cushions, surveying the wreckage of my usually tidy living room. Empty beer bottles litter the coffee table, mingling with days-old takeout containers. Clothes are strewn haphazardly across the floor. It's like a tornado tore through here, leaving chaos in its wake.

I suppose that tornado is me.

Snuffles snorts softly beside me, his tiny snout twitching as he burrows deeper into my side. I stroke his glossy fur absentmindedly, my chest constricting as I think back on the events that led me here.

Mariah's face flashes through my mind—the hurt and betrayal in her eyes as she confronted me in the town square last week, in front of everyone. The way her voice cracked as she ended things between us.

I rake a hand through my overgrown beard, wincing as my fingers catch on tangles. I haven't had the energy or motivation to groom myself since that day.

It's like a piece of me is missing, carved out and left hollow.

Snuffles lifts his head, his bright eyes meeting mine. He lets out a gentle squeal, nudging my hand with his snout.

His message is clear: time to stop your moping, you big green lug.

"You're right, boy," I sigh, my voice gravelly from disuse. "It's time for me to get my shit together."

I heave myself up off the couch, Snuffles hopping down beside me. I start with the dishes, piling them into the sink and turning on the faucet. As the hot water runs over my hands, the fog in my mind starts to clear, like cobwebs being swept away.

Next, I tackle the living room, scooping up dirty laundry and tossing it into a basket. I right an overturned lamp, straighten the crooked wall hangings.

Slowly but surely, my space begins to look like a home again instead of a disaster zone.

Snuffles trots over to me, a discarded sock dangling from his mouth. I chuckle as I bend to take it from him, scratching behind his ears.

"Thanks for the help, buddy," I murmur. "And for sticking by me through all of this."

He snorts in response, butting his head against my hand.

I toss my grungy t-shirt in the hamper and pull on a freshly laundered henley, the clean cotton a welcome change. Then, I stride toward the bathroom to clean myself up. The beard trimmer hums as I run it over my overgrown scruff, the vibrations oddly soothing against my skin. Tufts of dark hair rain down into the sink. I stare at my reflection, meeting my own eyes.

There's a clarity there I haven't seen in days.

And I no longer look like a heartbroken slob, even if I still feel like one inside.

It's a start.

With a sigh, I realize what I must do next.

It's time to go finally deal with my parents. I can't undo the damage that's already been done, but I'll be damned if I let my family's prejudices dictate my future any longer. I need to have an honest conversation with them, lay it all out on the table.

For Mariah, for myself, for any chance we might still have together—I have to try.

I can't lose her. Not like this. Not without a fight.

The entrance to my parents' home looms before me, the roughly hewn stone archway suddenly far more foreboding than welcoming. I take a deep breath, steeling myself, then cross the threshold into the cavernous foyer.

"Thorak!" Ma's voice rings out, her footsteps echoing off the high ceilings as she hurries towards me. "What a nice surpri?—"

She stops short, her eyes widening as she takes in my expression. I'm in no mood for pleasantries. Da emerges from the sitting room, his posture rigid. There's a wariness in both their faces that sets my teeth on edge.

"Son." Da inclines his head stiffly. "To what do we owe the...pleasure?"

My gaze darts between them, noting the way Ma's hands twist nervously and how Da's brow furrows even deeper than usual. Realization strikes me like a blow to the stomach.

"Ygra's been here, hasn't she?" My voice comes out low and accusing. "Returning the ring you never should've given her."

Ma opens her mouth, but I hold up a hand, cutting her off.

"I'll tell you what I told Ygra. She and I? We're done. Over. And I have zero interest in changing that, no matter what schemes you two cook up with her."

I start to pace, my agitation growing with each step.

"Meddling in my love life, in my relationship with Ygra, was completely out of line. Especially since you had just heard me say that I was engaged to Mariah." I jab a finger at them for emphasis. "I'm an adult in control of my own life. I'll be with who I want to be with. And right now? That's not Ygra. It's Mariah."

Ma's eyes widen at the mention of Mariah, while Da's face hardens into a scowl. Their disapproval practically radiates off them in waves.

Da steps forward, his expression stern. "You can't be serious, son. What would this mean for our family, for our legacy? Don't ruin everything over a human."

His words are like a slap in the face, a harsh reminder of the lingering prejudice against humans that still festers within orcish culture. A history of forced exile and oppression have left deep scars, and even now, in a town as progressive as Elderberry Falls, those old wounds still ache.

Ma reaches out to me, her eyes shining with tears. "Even if you don't think Ygra is right for you, surely we can find you an orc woman who would be a better fit. Someone who shares our values and traditions. Please don't marry that woman."

I can see the pain in her eyes, the desperation to cling to the old ways. But I know that I can't live a lie, can't pretend to be someone I'm not just to please them.

"I'm not marrying her. It was a fake engagement in order to help secure a distribution deal with a human investor," I tell Ma.

Relief washes over my parents' faces. It only fuels my anger.

"But here's the thing," I growl, my voice rising with each word, "fake engagement or not, I've fallen for Mariah. Hard. And what you did, interfering with Ygra, has fucked everything up. Mariah broke things off with me, and I lost the distribution deal. All because you couldn't respect my choices."

My chest heaves with the force of my emotions, and I have to pause to collect myself. I know I'm not entirely blameless here.

"I take responsibility for not having this conversation with you sooner," I admit, my voice gruff. "In fact, I never should have had a fake engagement to begin with, it was a shitty way of doing business. But that doesn't excuse what you did."

"We were only looking out for you, Thorak," Da interjects, scowling. "The decisions you've been making over the past few years—well, they just don't make any sense."

I growl at him, my frustration boiling over, years of pent-up resentment spilling out in a torrent of words. "They don't make sense to you because you haven't tried to see anything from my perspective. You don't like that I left the family business to start my own brewery. You don't approve of me wanting to distribute my brews to human lands. And you can't stand the thought of me being with a human woman."

My hands clench into fists at my sides, the muscles in my arms tensing beneath my green skin. Anger courses through my veins, hot and potent, but beneath it all, there's a deep well of hurt and betrayal.

"But guess what?" I continue. "It's my life, and I get to make my own choices. And I am done being polite about it for the sake of respecting you when it's clear you have no respect for me. You say that me being with Mariah would ruin our family? Mariah makes me happier than anything I've ever experienced. You are the ones ruining our family."

Ma is quietly weeping now, her shoulders shaking with each sob. Da remains stone-faced, but I can see the flicker of pain in his eyes, the realization that his actions have driven a wedge between us.

"I love you both," I say, my voice softening slightly. "But things need to change between us. You have to learn to let me live my own life. And it's time you rethink your feelings towards humans. Until you can do that, I think it's best if we take some space from each other."

With that, I stride out of my parents' home, both relief and sadness washing over me. The weight of years of expectations and disapproval lifts from my shoulders, but in its place is a hollow ache, the pain of knowing that I may have just severed the bond with my family.

I slowly make my way home, lost in thought.

I can't help but wonder if I've made the right choice. I hope that Ma and Da will come around eventually, that they'll accept me for who I am and the choices I've made. I hope they'll learn to be more open-minded about other species, too.

Things are very likely too late for Mariah and me, and I'm going to continue giving her the space she clearly needs. But with all of my truth finally out in the open with my parents, we now have a chance to get to a more honest place as a family.

Suddenly, my phone begins to ring, startling me out of my thoughts.

I pull it from my pocket, my heart pounding as I see Robert's name on the caller ID.

What could he want?

With a deep breath, I answer the call, steeling myself for whatever comes next.