Page 104 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

CHAPTER FIFTY

Naomi

Hannah comes barreling through the door only a few moments later, and I flip the sign and lock it behind her. Then I bustle over to the little coffee area I set up near the couches and chairs. I top up Mom and Dad’s mugs and microwave a cup of hot water for Wranth, dunking a peppermint tea bag into it. Then I make coffee for me and my bestie, adding creamer and our favorite flavored syrups, which we pretend makes regular coffee taste like our town has a Starbucks.

Once we’re all settled in the seating area, I tell them everything. Or almost everything. They don’t need to know about the sex or the fact that Wranth and I enjoy a good primal chase. It takes a while, even though I asked them to hold all their questions until I finished.

When I finally fall silent, my parents and Hannah stare at me and Wranth with stunned expressions.

Hannah speaks first, pointing at Wranth. “So… not a cosplayer.”

“No,” he says. “An orc.”

“And you’re… married to my daughter… by a goddess?” Mom asks.

Dad leans forward. “I’m not trying to be culturally insensitive, but that’s not exactly how we do things around here.”

“Dad, I love you, but I’m a big girl.” I point at my father. “Let me handle the marriage part of things, okay?”

“But there wasn’t a wedding!” Mom says, hurt flashing over her face. “I didn’t get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle.”

“I’m sorry.” I jump up and go over to hug her.

“We’ll have a ceremony,” Wranth says. “This I promise you.”

“Thank you.” I smile over at him, then say to Mom. “See? You didn’t miss a thing. We’ll have the wedding with you there.”

“How? He’s green. You might have fooled everyone by saying what happened yesterday was a movie, but a wedding…” She shakes her head.

“We’ll have the ceremony in Alarria,” Wranth says. He looks at me. “We’ll figure it out.”

“He’s right.” I nod. “With the doors open and my ability to teleport, I can take you there, no problem.”

I go back over to sit beside Wranth. “So about this movie thing. Did the videos from yesterday go viral?”

“Sure did.” Dad holds up his phone. “It’s all over the internet. Everyone wants to know when the movie’s coming out. They think the special effects were great.”

“Yeah,canwe talk about all that stuff from yesterday?” Hannah asks. “The magic. All of that stuff was real?”

“Very real. Naomi has powerful magic.”

“Do some,” Hannah says. “I want to see some magic.”

“Okay.” I stand. “Back in a bit.”

In a blink, I’m in the bedroom of the small apartment over my parents’ garage. I dig my old camping pack out of the closet and start tossing things in: jeans, long-sleeved T-shirts, underwear, satin sleep bonnets, and a couple of satin pillowcases for the nights when I’m knotted together with my husband and can’t get up to wrap my hair. I grin—I have a feeling there are going to be alotof those.

I ignore the shoes. Even my fave sneakers can’t compare to the bespoke orc boots that fit me like a dream. Then I hurry into the bathroom and add a leave-in conditioner, a wide-tooth comb, and a couple of T-shirt towels for my hair. My hands hover over my makeup bag for a second, but I leave it. Wranth finds me beautiful exactly as I am. Besides, I can come back again whenever I want.

After grabbing a couple of favorite photos and novels from the bookcase in the living room, I stand for a moment, pack on my back. The thrill of all my old dreams echoes through me. I’m off for the adventure of a lifetime, but it’s better than I ever imagined, because this one’s filled with Wranth’s love.

I teleport back to the bookstore, laughing with delight at the shocked looks on my parents’ and Hannah’s faces. “I told you I could do this.”

“Yeah, well, that’s a hell of a lot different than seeing it,” my friend says.

I grin, remembering how the soul stealer said Hannah’s also a witch. But she’s had enough shocks for one day, so I’ll tell her about it later.

That leaves me one more thing I need to take care of on this first trip. I drop my pack and settle beside my husband, facing my parents. “Mom, Dad, there’s a lot going on in Faerie, but Idon’t want you to think I’ve abandoned you. I know you need me to run the bookstore, and—”

---