Page 81 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

He gritted his teeth. He did not want to leave her. He wanted to remain here in her embrace until the end of days.

But she would be famished when she awoke, famished and irritable, and his instincts screamed to provide boons to quell that fury.

“I don’t want you to offer me boons...”

Govek raked a hand over his face. What was he supposed to do then? How could he ensure she would stay with him if she did not want his offerings?

“You’ve been doing an excellent job of winning me over so far, Govek.”

And that was by providing—keeping her safe and well fed.

Govek slowly untangled himself from her, leaving his cloak to keep her snug and warm. The chill in the cave was oppressive. The fire was embers. He gave it a quick stir to get it blazing again. He would not be gone long.

He went to his undergarment and found it ripped beyond easy repair. He had some tools to mend it but would have to do so when he returned to the cave. For now, he put on his slacks, trusting that Miranda would sleep through his absence and wouldn’t need them.

In the quiet of early daybreak, Govek abandoned his sleeping mate for the familiarity of the woods. Frost dusted a layer over the fallen leaves outside the vine curtain. The icy scent of incoming snow forced a shiver down his spine and not only because of the cold biting his bare flesh. An oddness gripped the air, a deep thrum unsettling the land. No birds called. He was unable to scent any animals.

There was a storm coming. Likely a blizzard.

His hand grazed over his face, into his hair, and tugged at his scalp until the sting brought clarity. But the clarity it brought made his blood quake, his teeth gnashed, and his claws came out, threatening to slash.

Miranda would not survive a blizzard and he did not have enough provisions to last them through a harsh winter.

Govek circled round the cave entrance in ever-growing arches that took him deeper into the woods. The imprint he carried for Miranda was strong enough he would hear her call even at great distances, but he was loath to go any further than necessary.

The blasted storm had caused every animal to take shelter, forcing his hunt to take longer than he wanted, but not any longer than usual for the season. On a typical winter hunt, he could be gone for a few days, sometimes an entire moon, and only bring back scraps.

It would not be possible for him to sustain Miranda’s health.

He would have to fucking return to the Rove Wood Clan.

Blast the Fades for their ruthlessness. Why could they not have dropped her in his lap near Karthoc’s forge? Or held off winter long enough for him to get there?

Govek slashed into the bark of a nearby oak, slicing deep through the soft wood with both claws and magic. He cut through with both hands, thrashing his flesh with splinters, gouging harsh and deep until the tree groaned, snapping. It plummeted.

The thunderous boom of it slamming into the ground rocked him to his core, but did nothing to crack the agony growing in his desperate frame.

Miranda was too weak, Karthoc’s forge was too far, and these woods were too fucking perilous for him to guarantee her safety without more provisions.

He would have to return to Rove Wood. To the clansman who wanted him dead.

There was no other choice.

Govek dug the wood out from beneath his claws. Some had left scrapes but nothing deep enough to draw blood.

The scent of a small animal speared his senses. The crash had startled it out of its burrow. A rabbit skittered across the leaves, already turned white for winter.

Easy prey.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus on following its tracks. They were frantic and wide at first, then the tracks were closer together as the rabbit slowed, entering the thick underbrush. Govek scented the air to determine where it was cowering and crept around.

Being at Rove Wood did not mean he had to interact with the clan.

Govek took a brief pause in his hunt. The clan had never been warm to his presence. They would likely leave him alone.

Slowly, crouching, Govek silently moved nearer to his prey.

They may not even notice he’d returned at all.

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