Page 27 of The Orc Outcast's Mate

Miranda jolted back into the woods, surrounded by massive trees with houses built into them and lanterns on top of birch trunks and rough dirt paths lined by dense forest so thick and dark and growing more ominous as the light of day faded to night.

The two strange women regarded her with skeptical brows and pursed lips. Both in cloaks like the one Govek had given her and cotton dresses with long sleeves and high collars. They looked warm. Miranda shivered. There was chill deep in her bones but not from the incoming winter.

Maythra stepped forward and tugged Miranda’s cloak closed. “Come then. I can see you’ve been through a trial.”

Miranda nodded, following mutely. Her chest was too tight to form words.

They led her toward a truly massive tree. So big that Miranda could hardly fathom it was real. Its trunk was as thick as a convenience store, and it stretched up so high that Miranda couldn’t see the top before it disappeared into the darkness.

The overwhelming scent of sage and lavender grew thick as they drew near the doorway. Three steps led to a little porch and bright light flooded out the windows flanking it.

Maythra knocked solidly.

“Why are you knocking?” Miranda asked. “Isn’t this Go?—”

The door swung open flooding the stoop with laughter and light.

The woman who answered the door was likely in her late twenties with blonde hair and sharp features. Her smile was easy when she looked at Maythra but froze solid when her eyes found Miranda.

Miranda froze too.

This clearly wasn’t Govek’s house.

“Hello, Beleda. Is Viravia well enough for a new visitor?” Maythra asked, trying to look passed the blonde woman.

“You were supposed to take me to?—”

“New visitor?” The voice within was so sweet and high Miranda wondered how it could be real.

The woman who came into view behind the blonde was stunning. She had long dark hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin that accentuated plump red lips.

Her smile was bright when she saw Savrah but it was struck from her face when she made eye contact with Miranda. “Who is?—”

“Govek has returned,” Maythra said steadily. “With a woman, but none from Estwill.”

Their eyes engulfed their faces. Miranda felt like a zoo animal.

“C-come in, come in. By Fades,” the beautiful woman said, and Miranda was jostled inside before she could fight it. The warmth of the house pulled her in almost as hard as the woman behind her pushed.

Maybe she could stay for a couple minutes.

The woman called her attention back with a smile, but Miranda couldn’t pull her gaze from the woman’s lower body. She was heavily pregnant. Judging by things she was likely due any day.

Was . . . it an orc baby?

It had to be, right? Govek had said no human men lived in the clan. Only women. Miranda’s thoughts ping-ponged around in her brain, emotions like yearning and excitement competing for space. Her hands clenched as she resisted the urge to pepper the woman with questions. How many children were in the Rove Wood Clan? Was pregnancy different with an orc baby? Would any of the parents need a babysitter?

Did she deserve to watch children after she couldn’t even save her babies on Earth? Bile burned the back of her throat and her enthusiasm waned.

“Welcome, please have a seat over here. I’m Viravia.” The gorgeous woman gestured toward a table and Miranda pried her gaze away only to freeze all over again.

The butchery was one thing, but this home was something else entirely. It was hard to put a time period on the dwelling. Some things looked modern, like the cushioned chairs and couch flanking the fireplace and the ornate rugs on the floor. But others looked far less so. Namely the lack of appliances visible in the kitchen space.

If you could call it a kitchen. There were two cabinets carved out of the tree and a single countertop. A cast iron oven, so small that the kettle sitting on top almost dwarfed it, sat in a nook near the back. The large window to the left had a bowl cut out of a pedestal beneath it that Miranda assumed was a sink, but she couldn’t see a tap.

Govek had told her they had magic that worked the same way as indoor plumbing but now, seeing this, she wasn’t sure she believed him. Or maybe Viravia’s home just didn’t have the magic that Govek’s did?

Her gaze found the stairwell next. It wrapped around the outermost part of the trunk and worked with the natural rings of the tree. There was another large window halfway to the second floor and a branch had grown up from the railing, arching toward the sunlight, tiny orange leaves covered its branches.

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