Page 6 of The Orc's Bride

“You will. I will court you and you will want to become my mate.” He chuckled at her angry look. “But if not, you can become a servant in the capital.”

No need to tell her that would never happen. He would make her his.

Her eyes narrowed a fraction, suspiciously. She didn’t trust him. And why would she? He could snap her neck with one hand. He could take everything he wanted from her. Why would she trust him to keep his word?

Urgan weighed his options. He could let her mistrust him. But he was planning for her to become his mate not only in name. She would be his loyal confidante. As such, she deserved his respect, and he needed her trust.

“I swear on my axe,” he said, raising the bloodied weapon.

This oath wasn’t the most solemn one, but it was a good, solid oath. If she had really learned from the Tradesman, she would recognize its value.

And she did. Her eyebrows arched in disbelief. Her fear had receded somewhat, and now she was more curious than frightened. And excited. Her heart was beating fast and fierce, and her pale cheeks colored pink.

For some reason, she was becoming very enthusiastic about his offer.

His instincts told him that reason wasn’t her eagerness for marriage.

Urgan bared his teeth at her again, now less in amusement, more as a show of strength. He sensed she was excited about being in the capital. She wasn’t interested in his offer. Was she only planning to use him?

Whatever her reasons for using this opportunity, it wouldn’t do to let her regard him as a tool in her hands. He wouldn’t be used.

Urgan rose, his huge, powerful body unfurling in one fluid motion. He towered over her, the top of her head barely reaching his sternum, her torso like a twig in comparison with his thick limbs. It was a show of dominance.

Her reaction was instant and gratifying. Terror shimmered in her eyes and her lips trembled, no longer defiant but soft and slightly wet. Invitingly parted.

And under the terror, there was the unmistakable musk of female arousal. It was so faint he would have missed it – if he weren’t aroused himself.

Urgan grinned and put one finger under her chin, pushing her head up so she had to look into his face.

“What will it be, Una?” he asked, all his teeth bared in a display of command. “Will you come with me?”

Chapter 4

Una

Icouldn’t believe my luck. I’d go to the capital! I would even be given work in an orc household, with access to other servants, and maybe even to the Imperator’s court! This was more than I could ever ask for.

Being there, in the thick of things, I could help build a resistance movement among the humans. I could kill the most important orcs in the capital, throw it all into mayhem. After all, they ate and slept. Even a weak human could kill an orc in his sleep. Or poison him. It’s not like the orcs were smart enough to suspect anything…

Maybe… Just maybe… I could overthrow the Imperator!

And save the human race from servitude to the orcs.

I had never dared to dream this big. I hoped to maybe, one day, kill the Tokoma chieftain during a feast. Make our lives in the village more bearable for a while as orcs fought among themselves for who would be the next chieftain.

But even this had been out of my reach, as Tokoma higher-ups had never feasted in the village. Too lazy to come up from their own town.

I had had a plan brewing to get hired as a servant in the chieftain’s house, and kill him this way…

But this was a thing of the past. Now we belonged to the Imperator. He would send his overseers to control us, to collect taxes and tithes. Even if I somehow got rid of them, the Imperator would just send others, and then punish us for causing trouble.

Now, the only way to end our servitude was to overthrow the Imperator. And I couldn’t do this from my village.

But if I were in the capital… Maybe, just maybe, I could really fight for our freedom.

Of course, I needed to take this chance.

The only problem was the orc who was offering it to me. Now, his silver eyes were boring into me, and I stood, transfixed, barely keeping myself from bolting. He terrified me, more than any orc had ever had.

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