Page 16 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

I snort. “Like you rule Alarria?”

“I don’t wish to rule Alarria. What is there to rule?” She swipes a paw through the air. “The Wild Fae are spread out. We have no true cities.”

“There’s Elmswood Keep,” I grumble in protest. King Aldronn’s castle is a grand stone edifice and the largest building in Alarria. It’s where I’ll live once I prove myself and become one of his guard.

“It’s big.” Mist tips her head. “But it’s filled with orcs and unicorns. Why would I want to rule you?” Another ratcheting laugh.

Mist pads over to Storm and sniffs delicately before giving his nose a lick. “Deathsleep,” she hisses. “How I hate the vile concoction.”

“We’re gonna do something about it!” Taylor rolls up to her feet, energy filling her entire being. “Krivoth’s on a quest to find an herb that will cure it, and I’m going, too.”

“How can this be true?” The cat spins to stare at me. “The cat sith know of no such herb!”

“Neither did the orcs,” I say. “But we’ve formed a new alliance with dragons.”

“Then I will help you on this quest.”

“That’s great!” Taylor smiles wide.

No, that’s annoying, I mutter to myself.

Mist turns her glittering green eyes upon my bride. “Now, human, what is it you wish to do?”

“I’m Taylor, this is Krivoth, and that’s Storm.” She points to each of us in turn. “We were attacked by an ogre, and he might still be following us, so I need to learn how to use my power.”

When she explains she can move things with her mind but needs practice, the feline leaps for a tree, her long claws—and her cat magic—sending her swarming up the trunk. “I will do as I did before and throw pine cones. You will practice.”

The first few fly through the air, with my bride throwing up her hands in a dramatic fashion… and doing nothing to stop them. She frowns harder and harder, and the expression looks horribly wrong on her.

“Hold for a moment,” I call up to Mist. Then I walk over to Taylor. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get it to work!” She stares at her palms. “I need a magic word or something! It’s never this hard in movies.”

I ignore that last strange word—I have a feeling there will be a lot of them—and focus on what she said before. “Do you think your magic requires a spoken spell?”

“I don’t know.” Her beautiful brown eyes search my face. “Does yours?”

“No, it’s something I feel. It’s inside me, a part of me.” My fingers brush my chest. “You’re making big gestures, but what are you feeling?”

“Frustrated.” She puffs out a breath of air that stirs her bangs.

“Come.” I gather her into my arms and press her to my chest. “Close your eyes and see if you can feel what I do.” I thought this would be simple—I use my magic every day—but holding my bride so close stirs my senses and sets my heart racing. My arms tighten, pulling her ever closer as her sweet scent teases my nose. Her legs wrap around my waist, and I want to groan and slide her lower until she glides over my hardening cock. I long to bury my face in her hair, to nuzzle her neck and find the spot that makes her squirm with want. My—

“Are you actually doing anything?” Mist’s amused voice comes from above. Why do I have the feeling the feline fae can see my every thought?

“Yes,” I growl. “Something that requiresquiet.”

The cat huffs.

But she has a point. I promised to help Taylor, and her power can only aid my quest if she knows how to use it. Meeting her eyes—which are lovely and flecked with gold this close—I say, “Ready?”

She nods, closes those beautiful brown eyes, and presses a hand to the middle of my chest, right over my heart, which leaps at her touch.

Thank the goddess, long practice means I can reach my magic as easily as I said, because my bride offers more temptation than any man can face and remain clearheaded.

“I am Wild Fae,” I whisper. “The source of my magic springs from the ground and roots in the very heart of me, as natural as breathing. I need only want it, and it exists.”

With a more direct thought than I’ve used in years, I call my magic into being and step forward. My foot touches the needle-covered ground but makes no sound. Another silent step, and my body bends and twists, slipping easily between branches. Even carrying Taylor does little to dampen my abilities.

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