Page 45 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

“I have?”

She nods, her eyes bright and sparkling.

“Oh yeah,” she says. “You outshone me back there.”

“What? No,” I shake my head. “I didn’t. I just… I had to?—”

“Protect your man?”

My cheeks become instant infernos, and I can’t keep my eyes on hers. I shrug, shaking my head.

“They were going to hurt him,” I murmur.

“And you stood up,” she says. “You were a total bad ass. I’m proud of you.”

My stomach flips and somehow my cheeks manage to burn even hotter. Not once in all our long friendship has Wren ever saidshe was proud of me. It’s weird but this means more to me than anytime my parents have said it or anyone else. I’ve always looked up to her and Ziva too. Always been a little bit jealous of how easy it all came to them, but more than that I admired and loved them. I wanted to be them.

“It was…nothing,” I whisper.

My throat is so tight I can barely get the words out. My chest swells with the sensations of pride and now my eyes are filling with tears. Wren places her free hand on top of mine creating a stack.

“It’s okay,” she says. “I understand.”

I smile and shake my head. My thoughts go to Khiara. He’s with Rosalind and the Al’fa being debriefed on what happened. I am sure he’s okay because I trust Rosalind, but that doesn't mean I’m not still worried for him.

The Zmaj… they saved the human race. There is no denying that, but the ones who did that were the surface ones. And they didn’t know anything about the Urr’ki. The long-standing feud between the Cavern Zmaj and the Urr’ki is incomprehensible. It makes no sense to me to hate someone merely because of the color of their skin or their species.

I’m biased. I love Khiara.

I do. I love him and there is no denying it. I’ll have to face whatever the fallout is, but at least Wren knows now. And she’s more than okay with it. I clear my throat then have to try again before I can speak.

“Thanks,” I say, looking into her eyes at last.

She smiles.

“Of course,” she says. “You did it. It was amazing.” I smile, blinking aside the tears and the worries. “But… I have to say…”

She trails the words off and I’m not sure where she’s going with this. I arch an eyebrow but all she does is grin broader.

“But?”

She shrugs, shaking her head, then looking down at her mate.

“What he did when he found you…” oh my god, the inferno covers my skin and it’s all I can do to not crawl under the table. If it wasn’t a solid slab of rock carved right out of the stone of the floor I probably would.

“Wren… god… please…”

“It was hot as fuck,” she finishes.

I stop spluttering and lock onto her with a laser focus.

“You… you think so?”

“Have I ever lied?” she says. “Correction, have I ever lied toyou?”

My smile toys with my lips, not quite ready to commit, yet at least.

“No?” I say, making it into a question.

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