Page 52 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

But he’s been standing as lookout the whole time Taylor works on me, and even keen fae eyesight can only penetrate so far into the shadows of the forest.

My moon bound cuts off a rectangle of magic-infused waterproof bandage and presses it over the wound, holding it down until it sticks to my skin. Then her beautiful brown eyes meet mine. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“You’ve done plenty.” I sit up, capture her hand again, and bring it to my lips.

Taylor’s bow-shaped mouth falls open in surprise.

“You were amazing,” I say, the words coming easily. They’re what I’ve always wanted to hear spoken to myself, after all. “You mastered your power and fought well. You saved me. I’m proud of you.”

Her lips tremble, then break into a huge smile right before she throws her arms around me hard enough to almost knock me back to the ground. Not that I’d mind. I hold my bride to me, reveling in her sweet smell, until Storm gives a pointed snort that breaks us apart.

“How about you two?” Taylor waves the pot of herbal salve at the other two fae. “Need any doctoring?”

“I’m fine,” Mist says. “I don’t want any of that in my fur.”

“I will heal on my own,” Storm says, even though he has numerous axe slashes and even one set of gouges from a mace. “Let’s go.”

I understand. Like him, I have several smaller wounds, but they can wait. Orcs are built tough.

This time when I push upright, I’m able to get my good leg under me and come all the way to standing.

Taylor brings the saddle and the other bag over, and I reattach everything to Storm, then lift her onto his back. Even with my good leg bearing my full weight on the stirrup, I bite down a grunt of pain as I swing my injured leg over.

We move across the clearing, Storm and Mist limping, nursing their own injuries.

But we’ll heal.

Victory soars through me, warming my blood. I pull my bride flush to my chest, reveling in the feel of her. Taylor tapped into her warrior power and saved my life today.

The Moon Goddess truly blessed me with such an amazing bride.

I love Taylor more than ever, and I vow to woo her.

This time I will not fail.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Taylor

“You were amazing,” Krivoth’s deep voice says over and over in my mind as we ride across the clearing. “I’m proud of you.”

The warmth of his words mixes with my own confused joy. This battle wasn’t a simple “level up” in a game—this wassurvival. It’s ironic. Like a lot of gamers, I’d always talked about how amazing it would be to do all the fun things in real life, but real life’s messier than a game. That wasrealdanger back there, the kind without any do-overs. So surely that makes it okay that I defended myself?

I killed someone. Someone who’d casually planned to kill and eat me, but still a thinking being. A person.

I’ve ridden the high of victory after thousands of games, thrilled to defeat my enemies.

And seeing that ogre loom over Krivoth, ready to strike…

I don’t regret what I did. How wrong is it that the very reality of the danger we’d been in makes this victory feel even sweeter? What does it make me that I’m glad we won, no matter the cost?

Krivoth’s arms tighten around me, and I relish the knowledge that we’re alive.He’salive. I almost lost him.

God, the thought makes me want to jump out of my skin. I don’t know what I’d do without him. And I don’t just mean in a survival kind of way.

I care about him… more than I’ve ever cared about any guy in my life. It makes me antsy. Even without the magical marriage label, this thing between us feels super real, and I’ve never done real before.

I shift in the saddle, needing to do something with all of these pent-up feelings.

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