Page 30 of The Orc's Bride

Yes. But only after I’d made sure Urgan and his orcs had gone. They would look for me in the village, I would bet. Or would they follow my scent?

I bit my tongue to keep myself from cursing. Of course they’d follow my scent! What I needed was…

“River ahead!” called Kluga, who was riding at the front.

Chapter 11

Urgan

They stopped by the river. It was much wider than the streams they had encountered before, and the water flowed clean and shallow. Una had been right, too. The birds were singing. No ragghits were following them.

Urgan made the call to stay longer than necessary. They all needed a moment of respite.

His warriors had been marching and fighting for weeks, and now this ride through the Wilds, with ragghits on their heels, was exhausting their reserves of energy.

He ordered an hour-long break to clean themselves, rest, and let the horses drink and hunt.

Una was eager to hop off Brrthak’s back. She drank deeply from the river, splashing herself with water. Leaving her to her devices, Urgan busied himself filling their waterskins and cleaning his equipment. For once, he trusted Una not to get herself into trouble.

The river was shallow, so she wouldn’t drown. There were no enemies nearby. Surely, even a weak human would survive.

Also, for once, he was confident about her honesty. Having learned her behaviors, gestures, and smells, he knew she had been truthful during their last conversation.

That kiss which still lingered on his tongue had been honest, too.

Urgan would have a bride. He would avoid the Imperator’s ploy and Urzulah’s clutches.

And he would have Una for his mate. The sweet, fragile, scheming Una would be all his.

He would fill her lower belly with his seed over and over again. He would claim her in every way possible, drawing screams of pleasure from her lips. And he’d give all his attention to claiming her, for once letting go of war and fighting.

It would feel good to bury himself in her sleek depths and disappear from the world.

Urgan chuckled. To think that the great general would finally find a pastime more worthwhile than bloodshed! And that he’d find it between a human’s lips and legs, too.

Soon. They would have to perform the mating rituals before they reached the capital. So, tomorrow? Or maybe even today. He was certain she would surrender if he kissed her again. If he hadn’t broken that kiss before, she would have already been his.

His shaft tightened in anticipation, and Urgan snorted, amused. He, a mature orc and a general, was acting like a youngster who had just discovered the pleasures of the flesh.

Something prickled the back of his neck. A hint of alarm. Urgan looked around, taking in his orcs, busy tending to their weapons. The horses, trotting around the other bank of the river.

The lack of Una.

She was gone.

Urgan snarled, at once overcome with anger at himself and his protective instincts going into overdrive. Had she gone too far? Was she lost? Was she in danger?

If something happened to Una, it would be all his fault. Like a lust-crazed youngster, Urgan had lost his focus. He had let her out of his sight.

He cursed, expanding his senses, searching for the sound of her voice, for a hint of her smell.

There! Urgan heard the faintest dissonance in the sounds of the river. A repetitive, rhythmic splashing… Steps in the water. He rushed in the direction the sounds were coming from, his powerful legs pumping fast.

Why was she walking in the river…?

But Urgan already knew, the realization twisting his face into a hateful grimace. Una was trying to run away. She was smart enough to figure out how potent the orc sense of smell was, and she’d thought she knew how to avoid being detected.

Had she lied again? Had it all been just another scheme? Or did she get cold feet when she realized how serious he was?

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