Page 5 of Adored By The Orc

“She killed him,” someone says finally.

“Who is he?” I ask. “I still can’t remember. Not anything.”

“He was our king.”

Oh. Well, that can’t be good.

Another one, shorter and thicker, steps forward. “Now that he’s gone, I will be. And you,” his eye turns sly. “You are my mate. Jogug of the Blackhearts.”

“Jogug,” I repeat, wondering why it doesn’t feel familiar. Neither does my husband. Yes, his face is ugly, but surely it shouldn’t fill me with distaste? “What’s happened to me?”

“You hit your head.” He shrugs. “A fall from a wild horse. We told you not to try to break it in, but you don’t listen. We’ve been tenderly nursing you since then. Wife.”

The others guffaw and I’m not quite sure what that means. But now I know why the back of my head is sore.

“And who are all of you?” I ask.

No one seems surprised that I don’t know their names.

“I am Stug,” my mate answers.

Lucky me, I think he is the ugliest of the lot. Maybe more so than the king I killed. He has a wild, unkempt beard and the hair on his head is unbraided, uncombed and unwashed. He wears long, loose clothing of a rough material. He speaks with a lisp, and I think he may be missing a tooth, but I’m too horrified to look closely.

“Doparth.” This one wears black leather, though it looks worn and frayed, the gold stitching that should look majestic against the dark instead looks stained. His face sports a goatee instead of a beard, though I think it’s to disguise a weak chin.

“Gnark.” He could easily be a brother to Doparth, though at least he’s clean shaven. Like the other, he wears his hair shorn, which probably keeps them cooler considering they take pride in wearing black leather in the midday sun.

“Shodun.” Like my mate, he’s also bearded and scruffy. I’m not sure why two of my clan mimic their styles to each other, but there’s probably much I’ve forgotten with my aching head.

“Grilud.” The last of the males is another one dressed in black garb, though he’s the most heavy and muscular of these vicious orcs. It gives credence to the story that they may have stolen their clothing to mask themselves.

“We’ll take pity on you this day,” Stug says. “Allow you to take it easy. But enough is enough, Jogug. Five males in this clan are starving. Take your time, but know that the evening meal is yours to prepare.”

I automatically look up at the sun. ‘Tis midday, so I guess it’s not that hard—if I didn’t have a massive headache that makes me go cross-eyed.

And then my mate puts his hand on my leg, his thumb rubbing my inner knee.

“Of course, if you would like to pay in other ways, would probably be easier on you to stay laying prone—”

“I’d rather serve fish.”

His face darkens as the others laugh.

“Uppity bitch. Think you’re too good for us? Then, you’ll catch it yourself and serve it to your clan.”

It’s not too bad being away from the loud males, I think, as I wade through the gurgling stream. I have a fishing pole set up and I brought a pot to boil some water. It feels good to dump the cool water over my bump and carefully rub the dried strands to loosen the blood.

Odd I’m clueless as to who I am, or to who the males of my clan are. I have a ton of questions to ask— like why is my dress so different from theirs—but I don’t think Stug is in a mood to answer, especially not with how I’ve turned him down.

A shudder runs through my body. I’d rather die a thousand deaths than join his furs. Though right now, I’m beginning to feel like death.

I smell like death and a sinking sensation hits my belly. I did think I was too good for them and obviously, I fit in. I smell like them. I look like them, ragged and dirty.

But I won’t sleep with the bastard. I would never ask him to go prepare a meal for the clan with a knot on the back of his head. Actually, I would never let him sleep in his own blood. Why didn’t someone bother to clean me?

The more I think about it, the more aggravated I become.

But once I catch a couple good sized fish, I add some water to the pot and bring them back. I can’t imagine that not one male will help me. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, but my entire body aches from unuse.

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