Page 13 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

Someone burst into the clearing.

Or rather something. Any sliver of doubt this wasn’t an illusion conjured by her shattered mind was destroyed as she examined the inhuman male approaching her.

He was massive. Had at least half a foot on the tallest man she’d ever seen. He was easily seven feet. His shirt was torn open, revealing a chest rippled with muscles. His arms bulged under the tight sleeves of his shirt.

And they were green. His skin was green.

It wasn’t a mild green either. Not the kind of green she could pass off as nausea or really bad concealer. He was bright green—new spring growth green. Hand him a jug and he could be the mascot for a limeade commercial.

Miranda was fairly certain By-Pass nuclear bombs didn’t turn people green. They were more likely to melt your flesh clean off. Then again, her own skin wasn’t melting, and she’d been at the epicenter.

The man was coming right at her, and the horrid dogs were still barking, getting closer. He reached out to grab her, to pull her up, but Miranda knew those monsters, and she was in no state to outrun them. Neither was this mystery guy. He had a distinct limp. He’d get picked off and eaten before you could say salsa verde.

She grabbed him first, by the wrist, wrenching him forward and caught him off balance. His eyes widened in shock, but he didn’t fight the plummet into the leaves. With deft, practiced motions, Miranda pulled her bleach citrus spray out of her bag and spritzed a healthy layer over them before yanking the foliage up to cover them.

She hoped this green guy wasn’t stupid enough to move or breathe while they were hiding, but she had no time to tell him to shush. The dogs broke through the tree line less than a second after she’d gone still. Their growls and snarls had her fighting the urge to tremble. They were so close. Any rustle of leaves would give away their hiding spot.

The sniffing continued, and Miranda found the courage to open her eyes, hoping by some miracle she could see what was going on through a gap between the leaves.

Instead, she came face-to-face with the mystery man, less than six inches from her.

She skittered her gaze down to the slope of his slightly crooked nose, to the jutting under-bite that made his face look squat and disproportionate, and to the wide span of his lips, which were a shade darker than the rest of his pea soup skin.

Wait, were those fangs?

No. Not fangs. The two sharp white points of his teeth jutted from his lower jaw so that made them tusks, right? They poked into his cheeks, and she resisted the urge to touch them, ensure they were actually there and not part of this radiation-induced delusion.

A low rumble sounded from him. Quiet enough that she was certain she was the only one that could hear it or rather felt it. A deep, buttery vibration that turned her guts to mush and made her want to collapse into the fold of his embrace.

Dang, she was really being stupid now. The truth was, she’d been so starved for human contact it didn’t matter where it came from. She would take a literal alien and be glad.

Was that what he was? An alien? She was certain the growing national tension had caused the apocalypse. World War V had been rolling on for ten years. It was a constant looming threat, smothering everyone like a blanket in sweltering summer heat.

She shifted her weight slightly and the leaves felt like prickly ice against her skin. She had to force herself not to shiver. The alien was still watching her. His harsh gaze was the only thing that kept her still.

Wouldn’t it be her luck to have a fricking alien come down and abduct her in the final hour? Fly her off in a saucer bound for a laboratory. Get herself a nice vivisection before the radiation could melt the skin off her bones. She wasn’t sure which fate would be worse, honestly.

Maybe she should alert the dogs and get herself eaten after all.

“Shh.”

The hushing sound jerked her attention back to the man’s eyes—emerald with flecks of gold.

Beautiful.

Was she dreaming or dead? Her throat constricted. She had plans, dang it! She wanted to move into an apartment she didn’t hate. Get promoted at the bank. Apply to be a foster parent.

Leaves rustled next to her head, and she flinched. There was a dog there. Right freaking there, holy shit, she really was going to get ripped apart.

It backed away, snorting. Its tail smacked a leaf or two and a tiny crack allowed her a good look at the creatures that had haunted her for days.

But it wasn’t them.

The dogs from Earth were black and half rotting, with piercing eyes and foaming teeth.

These dogs were wolves. Gray. Clean. Healthy. Thick, glossy fur. Not a limp in sight.

Wolves had been wiped out a hundred years ago, hunted to extinction like most of the predatory animals. She’d only seen videos of them in ancient documentaries.

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