Page 120 of The Orc Outcast's Miracle

“You really want to leave your mate to her own devices right now?”

Fuck no. He wanted to go back and blast sense into her. To hold her tight and demand she bend to his will. To force her hand. To hide her away where no other could ever find her.

And destroy everything they had built in the process. Destroy the trust he had gained.

But fuck, he could not lose her.

“Govek.” A hand gripped his shoulder and turned him around. Karthoc pushed him, slammed his back into a tree. “Fucking stop! You’re not in your right mind. You’re going to lose that woman if you don’t?—”

“I’m going to lose her if I stay!” Govek pushed Karthoc off, only to have Karthoc grab him again. “I’ll destroy our trust if I yell at her. Now let me fucking go.”

“No!” Karthoc bellowed. “I won’t let you go. You love that woman. She lights you up, Govek. And this dredging with Evythiken will happen whether you want it to or not!”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Govek raged. “I watched her fall out of the fucking sky. I know that this is what they want her to do, but why did they make me love her? Why did they make this such agony on her? On me? I hate them for what they are forcing on her, and I want to praise them to the ends of the mist for giving her to me. How can they expect me to just stand next to her and watch as she suffers through this? How can they ask for me to just let it happen?”

“You aren’t meant to stand by and watch, Govek.”

“What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”

“You support her.”

Karthoc’s words stopped him cold, made him tremble.

“You are her support, Govek. That much is very clear. And if she has any hope of coming out of this, she will need you by her side once again.”

Govek made a strangled sound when he tried to argue, so he just shut his mouth and raked his hands through his hair. His palms were bloodied and raw from his claws.

He couldn’t lose her.

He wouldn’t.

“It is a difficult trial, being imprinted. The longing to take command of everything is thick through it. The raging need to protect is like an inferno, but you must fight it, or you will lose her, Govek. Of that I can be certain.”

He may have lost her already.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be mates.” Fuck!

“You know, I’ve always envied you, Govek.”

Shocked, Govek straightened, eyes wide. The male was looking up at the trees, eyes softer than usual.

“You live here, in these blessed woods. With only the day’s hunt and the cold of night to haunt you.” Govek tensed and his cousin cut in. “I know that’s not the whole truth of it, but I liked to pretend that it was.”

Karthoc stopped and looked Govek dead in the eyes. Their depths soaked into his gut, brought Govek to attention, reminding him that this male lead legions and showed him exactly how he was able to accomplish it.

With pure truth and open determination.

“I saw how that bastard Ergoth was treating you years ago, but I was too caught up in war to delve further. I should have. I am truly sorry.”

Govek was stunned. He searched his cousin’s face for a glimpse of the hardness he saw so often behind the congenial mask of Ergoth’s apologies, looking for any similarities between the tones and expressions.

The only similarity he saw between Ergoth’s saccharine lies and Karthoc’s gruff regret were the words themselves.

Karthoc put a heavy hand on Govek’s shoulder. “I promise, Govek, I will never allow anything like this to happen again. I vow to look out for you from this moment on. The way I should always have done.”

Govek swallowed thickly. “You speak as if you are forty summers my senior rather than four.”

Karthoc snorted, tension breaking.

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