Page 15 of The Orc's Oath

"Yes, it surprised me too. I've never gotten an orc to say anything to me other than 'I love fighting' before."

"They do love to fight. He must really trust you. It's not that orcs don't have a rich, complex culture. They have just learned not to trust outsiders. They've been persecuted a lot."

"He said they've struggled with being attacked and keeping their place in the forest. It seems like he trusts me at times. He calls me 'Uk'lah' which I assume means therapist or something. It could be an insult for all I know. I didn't want to ruin the progress we were making by asking. At one point he said I smelled like an axe and a dead lion, though. Which is rude, right? Or is that an orc thing?"

Heather choked on the coffee she was drinking.

"You okay there?"

Heather took a few moments to gulp in air and regain her composure.

"Oh, Serena."

"What?"

"Oh. Oh dear. Well. Oh, dear."

My chest tightened. She seemed stressed for a moment and then she burst out laughing. I watched baffled for a while before I got annoyed.

"Why are you laughing at me? I came here for help. Heather, stop!"

I crossed my arms and tried to push down the fire flaring in me.

"I'm sorry, Serena. It's just funny. Has anything, you know, happened between you?"

Heat flushed my face, and I knew I was probably bright red.

"Look, I know I shouldn't have, but he's just… appealing. I sort of can't stop thinking about him, even though he said I smelled bad. I don't understand it."

"You're an idiot, Serena."

My temper flared.

"How dare you!"

I was ready to give her a good tongue-lashing when she raised a hand to stop me. I gritted my teeth.

"Uk'lah means mate."

My brain froze.

"And orcs' mates smell of something very important to them. I assume his axe means a lot to him, given he's an orc."

"Well… it was his first axe and his first kill."

"And he has opened up to you. Trusts you. Oh, Serena. You thought you were going to get a suave, calm, classically handsome merman or alien or something, didn't you? Someone who wore suits and smart shoes. I remember you saying that. Someone falsely accused or convicted of something nonviolent."

"I'm… Well, I've always been open-minded about it."

Heather chortled but said nothing more.

"Oh fuck. I'm mated to an orc. Oh fuck, Heather."

I threw myself sideways on the bed and collapsed into the blankets.

"Well, it makes sense. As much as you pretend not to be, you are sort of… feisty."

"I try to be a nice, professional woman. The way my parents wanted me to be. They always said I was difficult. And that when I found my mate it would be someone who calmed me down."

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