8. Renowlf

"I'll saywe have much to discuss," the human, Mia, says angrily once Rayowlf leaves the room. "Starting with this whole breeding slave nonsense. I'm nobody's slave, buddy. Not now, not ever."

The fiery defiance in the female's voice makes my engorged spikes vibrate on the surface of my cock. Standing beside her bed, I tower over her. Although she has every reason to be afraid, she does not cower before me. The only hint of fear I see is the white-knuckled grip of her fingers on the bedding pulled high on her chest.

Now that she is clean, her alien beauty and unique scent take my breath away. Her hair is the color of rich, damp soil and falls in soft, sensual waves around her shoulders. Stray tendrils frame her bruised face and, for a moment, my beast wishes Orgel was still alive so I could kill him myself.

I sink onto the mattress beside her, my weight causing her to shift positions, and place a hand on her covered thigh which quivers beneath my tough. "You will bear my child, Mia."

"What happens if I refuse?" she says defiantly.

My gaze narrows. "Subjects rarely defy the king."

"Why not?" I see a flash of hesitation in her dark eyes before the defiance returns. "What happens if they do?"

"They lose my protection and are banished from the kingdom."

"You'd throw me out if I won't have your baby?" she asks incredulously. "I wouldn't last a day in the wild."

I will never let her leave, yet she cannot know this. "I rule with a firm yet fair hand, and every command has a purpose. The kingdom's safety depends on absolute fealty by all subjects. Banishment is the penance for disobeying an order."

My response deflates some of her will to fight. "I didn't ask to come here, you know. I was stolen from my bed, ripped away from my family and friends. All I want is to go home." Her words are angry, bitter, sad.

"I didn't ask to be king, either, yet my brother's death made me so. This is your home now, Mia." I lean over her, my hands braced on either side of her head, my face close to hers. "And once your injuries are healed, you will come to my bed and welcome my spikes into your hot, tight cunt."

Her grip on the bedding tightens. "What are these spikes you talk about?"

"My cockspikes carry the seed I will plant in your womb." I clasp one of her hands and press it roughly against my covered cock, which is throbbing for release yet again. "They will give you unparalleled pleasure."

"Holy shit," she whispers, and the scent of her blossoming arousal perfumes the air. Her fist closes around my girth, and her fingers explore the sensitive nubs that are filled with my seed. "When you said spikes, I thought hard-and-pokey-rip-my-insides-to-shreds like the ones on your helmet…not extra ribbed for your unparalleled pleasure."

"My spikes will bring pleasure to both of us," I tell her, groaning when she abruptly pulls her hand away, as if she suddenly remembers to resist the fated connection forming between us. A connection that will grow stronger with each passing day.

"No, they won't, Renowlf," she states. "The only way I'm having sex with you is by force."

My beast hears—and accepts—the challenge in her words. "I have never forced myself on another, Mia. Females willingly come to my bed, and you will, too. Even now, I smell your desire, your need."

"I can take care of my own needs, thank you very much," she mutters angrily. "If so many females are lining up to fuck you, why don't you go empty your baby-making spikes in one of their cunts."

"My spikes only emerge for you," I whisper in her ear, gently tucking away a stray tendril of hair. "You are the one the gods and my spikes have chosen to carry my heir."

My incidental touch makes her shiver, though not from fear. "What are you talking about?"

"You are my perfect genetic match, Mia, the female fated to bear my offspring."

"No." She vigorously shakes her head as if the motion will erase the truth. Truth that will not be denied. "That can't be. Rayowlf told me that's an orc thing. I'm a human."

"I, too, find it hard to comprehend. There has never been a genetic match between an orc male and a female from another race. Yet my cockspikes have staked their claim," I tell her. "You are mine, Mia."

Her laugh borders on hysteria. "You talk about your spikes like they're sentient or something. You know that sounds crazy, right?"

"To an off-worlder, it may seem that way," I concede with a nod. Her confusion is understandable. The bond between an orc male and his fated mate is not something easily grasped by outsiders. It will take time for her to accept the inevitable. Mia is mine, bound to me by the most sacred of orc traditions, whether she comprehends it yet or not. In time, she will come to embrace her destiny.

"This is all a bit much for me." She leans back against the bedding with a heavy sigh. "It's been a long day, and I'm really tired. Do you think we could continue this discussion later?"

I nod my consent. "Do not speak of my spikes to anyone other than myself," I caution, "not even Rayowlf."

"Why not? Are you embarrassed to be hot for a human or something?" Her attempt at humor falls flat, as it is clear she does not yet comprehend the profound implications of our bond. I feel a flicker of frustration, yet push it aside.

I tilt her chin up and hold her gaze. "Orgel's public proclamation that you are a universal breeder puts a price on your head, Mia. Inside the palace, you are safe, protected. Yet even within the kingdom's walls there are hidden traitors who would gladly sell you to the highest bidder."

My warning makes Mia angry. "If I"m a universal breeder, and my only role on this planet is to grow orc babies, what"s the difference between being a breeding slave for you or some other orc?"

MINE! My beast roars at the thought of another male touching her.

I am not certain if her bitter question is rhetorical or not, yet a response is needed so she understands the stakes. "Cockspikes," I say. "If word gets out that you are my genetic match, my enemies will do whatever it takes to keep you from conceiving or carrying my heir to term…even if that means ending your life instead of selling you to another orc."

"That sounds a bit dramatic. Why do your enemies care whether or not you have a baby?"

"Rayowlf and I are the last two orcs in the Owlf bloodline. If neither of us produces an heir, upon our deaths, our kingdom will fall to another ruler. If you die, our kingdom might die with you. I will not let that happen. You are mine to protect, mine to breed to secure our kingdom for another generation."

You are mine!

"Yours to breed? How romantic." A single tear leaks from her swollen eye and trickles down her mottled cheek. "You know, when I thought there was a chance I could go back to Earth, I wanted to live. Since life as I knew it is over, and all I'm good for here is baby making, maybe death wouldn't be so bad."

Her emotions pierce my heart, although I must remain strong. "Your life on Earth is over, and there is nothing I can do to change that. Yet within these palace walls, I will treat you like a queen, Mia. I will make your life worth living."

"Treating me like a queen and making me your queen are two very different things, Renowlf." She pauses to draw a breath, and I dread the question she inevitably asks next. "Are you offering to make me more than just your breeding slave?"