Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

GOVEK

“ W hat the fuck is she?” Evythiken’s voice was jagged. Sharp glass slicing through Govek’s mind. He held Miranda tight in his arms and stepped away.

“Miranda,” Govek rasped, shaking her slightly.

Fuck, she was gone.

Her body was limp, her eyes closed. He was trembling too hard to tell if she was breathing.

Gone.

Fades help him.

“Get her away from me,” Evythiken said, gripping his head, half doubled over. He staggered toward the far edge of the path.

The seer’s voice blistered through him like a red-hot poker and Govek managed a few more steps away, fighting between keeping Miranda in his grip and the trembling agony burning through him.

“Away!” Evythiken nearly roared. “I’ve enough of my own agonies. I need not hers too. Get her away. Do not come near me again.”

Fuck, fuck. An order from the seer was higher even than Karthoc’s and still Govek grappled, caring only for his mate, who was now lifeless and still in his arms.

He had to get her to the healer. To shelter.

The storeroom.

Govek backed away from the seer and the bubble of agony popped around him the moment he was out of the male’s mental reach. He glanced back only once to find Evythiken limping into the forest, head still in his hands. Fighting his own terrors.

Or Miranda’s.

He nearly wrenched the door to the storeroom off its hinges and slammed it hard behind him as he entered. Inside, all was still, quiet. No one was here.

He staggered to the bags of stacked grain on the opposite wall and laid Miranda down, checking her breathing.

She was alive.

He fell to his knees next to her, his heart pounding, his blood coursing sharp terror through his veins. “Miranda, come back to me.”

Her eyes fluttered slightly, and he gripped her hands. They were so tiny in his. So warm. Red streaks from his own bloodied palms marred them.

“Govek.”

A croaking gasp left his throat as his mate’s eyes opened. He ducked his head to hide the gripping tide of emotions flooding through him.

“Govek. What . . . where are we?”

He couldn’t speak. He pressed her hands to his forehead. He wanted to rake his claws along his scalp, but refused to let her go.

“Govek, where are we? What happened? There was a bright light and...” She shifted her weight, eyes clearing, breathing steadily.

She was all right. She’d recovered.

Fuck , he couldn’t get his heart to stop pounding. His hands shook in hers.

“Govek? It’s okay.” She pulled her hands from his grip and grazed her gentle fingers along his scalp. Her soothing touch rolled over him like a balm. “I remember a bright light and... oh, the seer! Where’s the seer?”

Fuck the seer. “Gone.”

“What? Gone where?”

“Into the woods.”

“But I need to talk to him. Let me up, Govek. I want to go find him.”

The fuck? “No,” Govek snarled, snapping his gaze up to hers. She jolted, hands falling from his hair to his chest. He worked to ease his fury but could not find the power in him to change his mind. “ No , Miranda.”

“But I need to talk to him. I need to?—”

“You were gone , Miranda.”

“What do you mean gone? I’m fine now. Let me up.”

Did she not hear herself? Did she not see how insane this was? “ No, Miranda. You are not well. He hurt you.”

“Govek.”

“No.”

She pulled her hands away from him and it felt like his blood was icing over. She searched his face a long moment before saying, “Govek, I need to know where my babies are.”

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but no words came out. He knew how important this was to her. He knew .

But she was important to him too. He couldn’t lose her.

“I have to talk to him, Govek. I have to at least try .” She took a deep breath. “The light in my head.. . it was because I touched him, I think. Which means I can just ask him questions without touching him. I really don’t know why I grabbed his hand to begin with. It was so odd, like a magnetic pull.”

She examined the hand that the seer had touched, rubbing it gently.

“Dredging,” Govek said thickly.

Her eyes met his again. “What?”

“He was dredging... pulling things up from the darkest depths of your mind.” It was one of the most intimate and unsettling conjuring’s the seer could perform.

“Dredging...” she said to herself. Her hands were shaking, eyes wide, and his stomach rolled. “I need to try again, Govek.”

“No.” His refusal shuddered through him.

“Govek, you don’t understand. I need to do this. I can feel it.”

Fuck! The image of her shivering and collapsing bellowed through his mind. “Miranda, dredging can cause irreparable harm, if not done carefully. Your mind may never recover if you try again.”

Her brows knitted. “But... what if it’s the only way? What if I won’t be able to find my babies any other way?”

“That’s not impor?—”

“Govek, don’t you dare tell me that my babies aren’t important,” she said so forcefully he felt the snap of it blister down every limb.

Anger rose up, balling in his chest, vibrating his hands. The light of the Fades began to glow at the back of his mind.

Why couldn’t she see this was not worth the risk?

Why couldn’t she see what this was doing to him?

He couldn’t lose her.

“Govek, I have to try again. I have to .”

He gritted his teeth, anger blazing in his gut and pulling his magic to the front of his mind. He fought it back.

“I can feel it, Govek.” Miranda touched the middle of her chest. “I can just... tell that this is what I’m supposed to do, that this is the only way to find them. You believe me, right? I know it sounds so crazy.”

It didn’t. When the pull to dredge was birthed by the Fades, it was like a compulsion .

But he couldn’t let her. He couldn’t.

He would lose her.

“Govek?” Miranda’s voice felt distant. Distorted. He bowed his head and took heaving breaths as everything pounded into his mind at once.

How dare Karthoc try to force his hand? How dare the seer touch his woman and birth this madness? How dare the Fades push his woman to do something that may kill her ?

His anger was growing, flaming, alive . The Fades light was raging, swallowing him up. Threatening to burst.

His fingertips tingled with the force of his withheld magic.

He needed to leave. To get out of here and away from Miranda before he lost control and hurt her.

He couldn’t control it.

Hands slipped up his cheeks and into his hair.

His breath caught in his throat as she swirled gentle circles around the base of his skull, massaged the hinge of his jaw.

He met her gaze and was unsettled to find her expression tight. “Govek... if you don’t want to help me with this, you don’t have to.”

What ?

“I can do it on my own,” Miranda said softly, and she may as well have screamed it into his ear. Burst apart his eardrums with it.

“This is something I have to do, but you aren’t obligated to help me, Govek. You’ve helped me more than enough already. I’ll never be able to repay you for everything you’ve done for me. So, it’s okay. I won’t blame you for bowing out entirely.”

Bow out entirely.

She meant leave him.

She would leave him over this.

And all the anger evaporated out of his chest to make room for terror . The magic snuffed out, and he reached to grip her sides, wrapping his fingers around her middle, as if that might stop her from going without him.

He couldn’t let her go. He couldn’t .

“Govek?” Her voice held concern. Concern for him . Fuck, he did not deserve her gentle kindness.

“I’ll help you,” he managed past the lump in his throat. “I will, just... fuck .”

But she’d passed out . Even the seer felt it was wrong.

Govek gulped hard. “The seer asked you to leave him alone.”

“He... what? No, that doesn’t make sense.” Her brows knitted in confusion. Her hands left his face so she could rub the middle of her chest again.

What he would give to read her mind in this moment, to feel what she was feeling.

“Can you help me find him so I can ask? It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that... that...” She chewed her lip.

He gulped hard, mouth so dry it felt like sun baked sand. “The seer asked to be left alone and his orders are higher than the Warlord’s. Going against them could get us banished from his presence permanently.”

“Then... then what do I do? What do I do now?”

His eyes fixed on her chest, and he gulped hard. “We... must wait for him to make the first move.”

Fades, he hoped the male never would.

“What do you mean wait?” She let out a dry laugh. “I don’t think I can do that, Govek. Every second we aren’t searching for my babies is another second they could be hurt. What if I’m too late? What if I’m too late to save them?”

Did she really think it was possible for her toddlers to have escaped like she did? It went against all logic and reason.

And yet, he didn’t have the energy nor the desire to fight her on it. He’d almost lost her moments ago. He could not risk losing her again. No matter how his gut screamed that this path would end in disaster.

If he lost her, he would lose everything.

Including his sanity.

He took deep, cleansing breaths. “Miranda, the Fades will ensure things play out exactly as they want them to. They hold the power here.”

“It’s hard for me, Govek,” she said, hugging herself and looking away. “The Fades are your gods, not mine.”

“But they saved you just the same.”

Her eyes shot to his, going wide.

“Can you trust them for now, Miranda?” he asked. “Just for a few days?”

She looked deep into his eyes and searched his face.

“Okay,” she said softly. “For now.”

He wanted to collapse from relief, but Miranda collapsed first, falling against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. Embracing him. He closed his eyes and crushed her in return.

“Gosh, dang. Today has been...” Miranda murmured, her breath warming his cheek. “You’re right, Govek. We need a little break after all that.”

He let out a long breath.

“That fight with Karthoc was really intense. Are you okay?”

He certainly was not okay , but he was better now that they were alone. “I will be fine.”

“Yeah, you will.” Miranda stroked his head and down his back. “I’m gonna make sure you are.”

His breath caught.

“Ooh, did your heart just skip?”

Heat radiated in his cheeks, but he didn’t have the strength to push her away yet.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “So, I do have something else to hit you with.”

He tensed, bracing for a stinging slap. He should have known that the hit would come from her words instead.

“Were you seriously going to just haul me off into the woods without getting my say on the matter at all? Really? And be careful what you say here, because the seer totally gave all your plans about bolting away already.” She pushed back, leveling him with hard eyes.

He gulped. “I just... could not stand to be here.”

She pressed her finger into the middle of his chest, poking him with all her strength. He barely felt it. “Don’t you ever start making life-altering decisions like that without my input. Especially when you’re as wound up as a fish on a line.”

“I apologize, Miranda. I vow not to do anything like this again.”

“Good,” she muttered, wrapping her arms around his waist again. He curled around her, breathing her in.

“And another thing, for pity’s sake, next time you want to fight somebody as buff as your cousin, you gotta at least put me somewhere out of the way. Somewhere I can see. Maybe get some mud and find me a camera. You guys make speedos here?”

What in Fades was she talking about?

Then she smoothed her palm over his shoulder. “Okay. I feel better.”

He continued to hold her lightly even as she began to look about.

“Wow,” Miranda whispered as she scanned the shelves and boxes. Everything in excess was stored here from canned preserves to bear traps. It was all neatly organized as well. Not a single item unaccounted for or out of place.

Chief Ergoth prided himself that his orcs didn’t have to fight over scraps like some of the other clans. His father felt no sympathy for the orc warriors whose inability to connect to the Fades was leading their clans to famine.

Govek raked a hand over his face as Miranda stepped further into the room. Fuck, he was honestly supposed to lead these males when he did not even understand them? He’d witnessed how they grumbled over the prospect of being forced to reduce their own supplies so others did not starve to death. He’d not been present for the votes where the Rove Wood orcs denied aid to struggling clans, but he’d heard them proudly discussing the decision afterward.

Thinking about it now made him want to challenge them, brawl until they saw reason, and slug his fist into their jaws until their complaints were silenced.

But that was not the way of Rove Wood Clan. The way here was to call for judgments, to discuss and vote and dole punishments that were so much worse than the momentary wounds from a challenge.

He was not fit to be chief.

“Viravia? Are you in here?”

Pulled from his thoughts, he watched Miranda search each aisle and corner. “What are you doing?”

“I saw Viravia in here a few minutes ago.”

Govek frowned and sniffed the air. “She is not here.” Nor did her scent linger enough to indicate she had been here within the last few days.

“But I saw her. Is there another way out?” Miranda continued to look around, peeping into every nook.

“There are two larger doors at the back that are locked.” Govek plucked the linen scroll off the table at the entry and waved her over to his side. “Everyone comes in through this door to ensure they do not forget to register what they took or contributed.”

He flicked through the scrolls, distracting himself from darker thoughts by explaining where his allotment was, what the things inside the storeroom were roughly worth by trade, and how to reduce his share after she took something. He could tell from her expression that she was finding it rather complicated, but couldn’t help thinking the level of concentration on her face was adorable.

“Why is the elk you brought in yesterday worth less than the dozen rabbits this guy caught?” Miranda asked, pointing out the clear discrepancy.

Govek did not have an answer. He rolled up the scroll quickly, wanting so badly to keep his irritation at bay. “I play no role in the allocation. Chief Ergoth is in charge of this.”

“Your dad.” Miranda pursed her lips. He nodded. “He gives you less on purpose?”

Govek’s brow furrowed. “No. I simply don’t need much. And the less time I spend in the clan, the better. The less interaction I have with other orcs, the less I will be drawn to violence against them.”

She hummed in thought. “Fighting seems to be second nature to your cousin. Karthoc almost fought you right outside, and he didn’t seem too shocked and horrified by the prospect of it.”

“The warrior orcs of Faeda are not the same as the orcs of Rove Wood Clan. I was born of Rove. I should have control. It should not be possible to goad me into violence so easily.”

“You were born here, but it’s clear you don’t belong.”

His face contorted as agony gripped his chest at the truth of her words.

It hurt even more when her own expression crumbled. “Oh gosh, me and my mouth. I didn’t mean it like—come here.”

He went to her readily, falling into her embrace, breathing in her crisp honeyed scent, and letting it soothe him. Fuck, she felt so good.

“I meant you don’t seem to belong here . You look like your cousin. Like the other warriors. There’s a picture on that tapestry in the hall of an orc fighting a wildcat that looks just like you.”

He blinked. He’d never noticed that.

“You don’t seem to belong in the Rove Woods, but you certainly belong on Faeda. I’m just surprised you didn’t leave to find a better place for yourself a long time ago. Even if your brother was here.”

Govek said nothing, because truthfully, he did not understand it either. But there was no undoing the past, regardless.

“Okay. Let’s move on to less heavy stuff. After taking care of me for so long, I think you deserve some pampering.”

“Pampering?”

“Don’t grumble at me. I felt your heart go all fluttery when I mentioned taking care of you.” His cheeks began to burn again, but she just shot him a smile and began to search the shelves. “I’m going to—wait, are these usually open?”

Frowning, Govek went to examine the window she’d indicated. In the summer, they were occasionally left cracked, but not during the winter when damp could easily get in. There was also a stack of blankets on top of a barrel beneath the window that seemed to have been knocked over.

“Do you think... Viravia went out that way? She’s awfully pregnant... she would have had to be desperate.” Miranda picked up some of the wool blankets and stacked them back up.

“I still do not...” He paused and took in another deep breath. Viravia’s scent was not present, but the scent of sage was a little stronger than usual and he knew the woman had an affinity for that herb. “I am not sure. We could find her and ask if you would like.”

“No, no. I’m going to cook for you.”

His heart began thundering again. “Cook for me?”

She raised her eyebrows. “You haven’t had anyone make you a meal before, have you?”

“Tavggol would occasionally bring me a plate of what was left after seasonal celebrations or larger meals at the hall.”

“Ooh, that’s not the same at all.” She grinned. “I’m excited. What do you like to eat?”

You. “Meat.”

“I should have guessed that.” She laughed and her delight soothed away a significant chunk of his tension. “Hmm... let’s see. I’m not a very good cook but I’m sure I can make something you’d really enjoy. Do you guys have cheese in here? And butter?”

Govek followed her deeper into the storeroom until she came across the vegetables.

“Oh, these aren’t in season, are they?” she asked, picking up a basket of strawberries.

“Anything can be grown with enough magic.”

“Ah, right.” She put it back down with a smile that tore at him. “Do you have a skillet in that kitchen of yours?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. How about the oven? How does it work? Can I control the temperature easily?”

“Yes. It’s controlled by magic and is quite precise.”

“Magic coming in for the win again,” she said, gathering up onions and peppers. “We need a basket. Is there bread around here?”

He fetched the basket, growing more excited by the moment. “What kind of bread?”

“Like, rolls? Oh, those would work.” She picked up some fist-sized rounds of sourdough. “How many do you think you could eat? Two, three?”

“Of those ? Likely twenty.”

Miranda laughed again, and it lit his whole world. “We’ll take four . Cause I’m gonna put stuff on them.”

“On them?” But they were round, wouldn’t it fall off?

“Yup. I’ve got you all confused, don’t I? I’mma keep what I’m making a secret.” She shot him a smile that had him relaxing. Despite all the turmoil of this afternoon, Miranda’s babbling had soothed him.

After a few moments, she finally paused, tapping her chin. “You know, it is a shame to leave behind your kitchen. It’s really nice. And your house too. You clearly spent a lot of time on it.”

Only because he had nothing else to do. “Yes.”

“I wonder”—she fiddled with a head of lettuce—“Couldn’t we just...” She shrugged. “Live here?”

His fists balled. “Live here ?”

“Yeah. I mean, if you don’t become the chief, the rest of the clan will have to leave the Rove Woods, right? That means the whole place will be abandoned.” She chuckled. “We could start our own little commune with my babies. We’d turn Rove Wood Clan into a membership of twenty, instead of two hundred. I mean, technically, you wouldn’t have ruined your clan, just reduced it.”

His mind reeled.

“We just have to find my babies first. Once the seer tells us where they are, it shouldn’t take too long, right? I mean, I landed right near the Rove Woods. Maybe they did too?”

His stomach started twisting to the point he was no longer excited about her food.

She still wanted to go searching for them. She would insist on this.

Karthoc’s threat spiraled through his mind. “You will find no friends, no aid, not even a fucking scrap of food will be thrown your way. I will see to it that if you abandon this clan, the rest of your kind will abandon you too.”

The world outside of the Rove Woods was already dangerous. Between blight and war, there were few safe places to go. And those safe places were all orc clans and settlements.

Clans and settlements that would no longer harbor them after they got Karthoc’s orders.

Fear laced his every limb and quaked in his mind.

It was too fucking dangerous.

What were they going to do?

“And we could be friends with Oakwall Village too, right? Trade with them and winter over with them, if need be. They’ll have doctors and schools and all that...”

Fuck. Yet another snag. Though, arguably, this one was not nearly as dire. “I... am not sure.” Miranda rose a brow, and he forced himself to say, “I may not be welcome at Oakwall.”

“Because of what happened with your ex? I thought you said you didn’t hurt her.”

“I did not.” Of that, at least, he was certain. “But many from Oakwall believe that I did and will not welcome my presence.”

“Then why not just set them straight?” Miranda insisted, as if doing so was that easy. She must have read his expression because her own fell. “Govek, for a tough guy, you sure don’t know how to defend yourself.”

“The reason I cannot is because I am tough, Miranda. I am too aggressive. Too uncontrolled. Speaking my truths only ends in violence.”

“You mean like today in the hall when Rogeth tried to snatch me?”

Govek’s brow screwed up. “He was trying to save you.”

“The difference between being saved and snatched is perspective. From my view, as someone who did not want to leave you and doesn’t feel unsafe with you, it was snatched.” Miranda reached up and pulled down a shriveled haga root.

“Don’t use that.”

“Why? Is it poisonous?”

“The taste is abhorrent. Like half rotten tomato with the texture of charcoal.”

“If it tastes so bad, then why keep it?”

“It is very good for health and keeps for a long time.” He was certain the ones in that basket were at least two summers old.

“It can’t be that bad,” Miranda scoffed and took a bite before he could warn her further.

Her face instantly paled and Govek had to use every ounce of his will not to burst with laughter. “Oh my god. That’s horrible. ”

Her voice was so shrill Govek was unable to hold back his mirth and nearly doubled over with it.

“You’re so mean!” Miranda snapped making his laughter seize in his throat. Her words split him until she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down. “I’ll have to punish you.”

He froze as she planted a hot kiss on his lips. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and his groan was both from pleasure and disgust. She tasted so strongly of haga root and yet he wanted to delve deeper.

He’d had no idea that dueling with a woman’s tongue could bring so much intense pleasure.

He growled, lifting her off the ground by gripping her under her tight ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist, bunching the skirt around her hips.

Fuck, he was lost. The taste of the root was forgotten as Govek drank her up. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and nibbled on her lips. In his haste, he accidentally prickled her soft skin with his teeth, but it only made her moan and squirm. The pleasure she brought to him was stark and consuming.

She broke off the kiss, panting, and looked around the floor. “We’re making a mess.”

He realized he’d shoved her against one of the shelves of sewing supplies and most of the contents had fallen around their feet.

“I’m prepared to make a real mess.” Govek lapped at the little bumps that had appeared on the side of her neck. “I want to take you here.”

It was a foolish idea. Anyone could walk by the windows and see. But the truth of it was that he wanted the clan to know this woman was submitting to him. That she enjoyed his presence and eagerly accepted his cock.

“You can’t,” she whispered mournfully. “My period.”

He gulped involuntarily as the truth of it brought him back to his senses. He adjusted her carefully so he could put a hot hand over her abdomen. “How is your pain? You mentioned cramping.”

“Oh, it’s fine. No cramps right now.” She kissed his cheek, right at the corner of his mouth, teasing with her tongue. “It’s just a bloody mess.”

Govek tipped her chin to examine her face skeptically. He’d ripped the throat out of a blighted boar with his teeth a few days before and she worried about bloodying his cock?

But before he could argue an eagerness flooded her features and his gut pitched into want. “You know, on Earth, we call this time blowjob week.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

She snickered and then kissed his jaw. Then his neck. He shivered as she licked right over his pulse. “Let me show you what else humans like to do with their mouths.”

She squirmed out of his grasp and pushed at him until he was half sitting, half leaning against a barrel of ale in one of the darker corners. A place that couldn’t be seen from the windows. Her hands moved down his chest to the tie of his pants.

He let out a long exhale as she stroked over his member, tingling pleasure danced through his gut. His cock sprang free the instant she’d undone the closure.

“Oh man, you are happy to see me, huh?”

He huffed with amusement.

She smiled and then, inexplicably, went to her knees. His eyes bulged. “What are you doing?”

Her smile turned sly, and it raked a spike of confusion down his spine. “Like I said, showing you what else humans do with their mouths.”

She couldn’t possibly mean?—

She held his cock in her soft, warm hand and dragged her tongue along the shaft, licking him from base to head.

Pleasure so brutal it was almost painful rocked through him and he lost his breath. He hardly had a chance to catch up before her wet tongue stroked him again. Sliding along his length and swirling around his tip.

His hands dug into the barrel, threatening to splinter the wood under his grip. She seemed to not understand how stretched his control was as she continued to torture him with slow, almost leisurely laps of her tongue.

“Govek, hush, or someone might find us,” she chided gently, her lips close enough they brushed the head of his cock when she spoke. His mouth dried up.

Govek rested a trembling hand on the back of her head, desperate to ensure she didn’t leave him yet.

He watched as her lips spread, and she took the head of his cock into her sweet mouth. Sharp, tingling pleasure barreled through his limbs. The urge to thrust deeper blistered through his veins, making him jitter and squirm to fight the urge. He was loath to hurt her.

He was too big for her. In every way. He was going to hurt her. The thoughts gave him back a tiny snippet of control.

Then she used her hands to stroke the hard length from the head all the way to the base. Her soft fingers sent torrents of pleasure through his stomach. Everything became tight. He felt inconceivable ecstasy, and he could feel nothing but Miranda everywhere. He dragged her honeyed scent into his lungs. Her soft fingers stroked the base of his cock. Her warm, wet mouth wrapped around the tip. She swirled her tongue at the head. Pressure mounted.

“Fades, Miranda, I’m going to—I can’t hold?—”

His warning went unheeded, and she doubled her efforts. He lost the battle against being quiet and let out a strangled cry. Ecstasy burst as he came. Pleasure danced up his loins, trembling through his spine. Flooding him. Filling him up. His sanity left him, and his hips thrust into her soft mouth against his will as the rapture pulsed on and on and on.

As the scattered remains of his sanity fell back around him and he heaved in breaths, his gaze jerked to the woman nestled between his legs. Her lips popped off his cock and her gorgeous eyes speared him right through the chest.

Her throat worked as she swallowed down his seed.

Fuck, the sight was too good, too right. Miranda was perfection. His deepest fantasy made real. Better. Even in his greatest dreams, he could not have imagined a woman more radiant than her.

He hadn’t realized he had spasmed again until her tongue came out to lap at his cock. The gentle touch was too much, and his hips jerked away, desperate for reprieve. He gripped tight under her chin and used his thumb to wipe her sopping lips clean.

“I take it you liked that then?” she said softly, as if there could be any question. As if any male in this fucking world wouldn’t prostrate themselves before a woman willing to give them this kind of pleasure.

He would worship her.

The sharp honeyed scent of her own arousal flooded his senses then, and he was struck by the knowledge that performing this gracious, selfless act had pleasured her too. Govek found his sanity, scooped his woman up, and planted a feverish kiss to her lips. The taste of himself on them made him more determined.

“What are you doing?” Miranda asked as he lifted her skirts.

“Returning the favor.”