Page 53 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

The word feels truer than ever, after our loving yesterday. I simply need to woo her so fully it will remain so.

While I cook breakfast over a small fire, Naomi tells a story of a vain emperor fooled into going naked.

The kits love it, laughing so hard they roll on their backs, little legs kicking the air.

“It seems this biped nudity thing is really going to be an issue,” Shadow says. “How alarming. I lookfabulousnaked.”

“You can be naked in front of someone else, cat,” I growl, handing my bride a bowl of hot porridge.

He grins his too-wide grin. “Perhaps that’s exactly what I’ll do once the doors of Faerie open. I’ll find myself a human to play with.”

My lips pull back from my tusks. How dare he imply anything I do with Naomi is play? She is the most important thing in my life.

The kits get called to their own breakfast, so we eat in relative peace.

Normally, I’m a quick eater, shoveling in my food with good appetite. Yet this morning, I drag things out. As soon as breakfast is done, we need to try to teleport to Moon Blade Village. Yet as much as I want her safely in the village, where she can get one of the red crystals to prevent magical burnout, I selfishly also don’t want to end this time of having her to myself.

From the corner of my eyes, I watch her as she eats. She’s let her hair down, and the curls sway in the gentle breeze in a way that’s fascinating. Each time, she dips only the end of the spoon into the hot cereal, bringing tiny bites to her mouth. Perhaps I’m not the only one drawing out this interlude.

Yet, eventually, we finish, and I wash all the cooking implements with the cleaning cloth before packing everything away.

Moonlight emerges from the den. “This tether you speak of. Would you like help determining what it is?”

“Yes!” Naomi says quickly.

“Besides the shadow roads, I walk another path.” The older feline fae sits regally, her tail curled around her front paws. “I can walk the path of a person’s magic.”

“Wait.” I scowl at Shadow. “Cat sith have additional powers? Why didn’t anyone know that?”

“Oh, orc. I could fill a book with what you don’t know.” Shadow’s purring laugh fills the area. “Why ever would a cat give up all their secrets?”

I growl, one corner of my lips lifting in a snarl. As glad as I am for his assistance yesterday, his constant taunts try my patience.

“You should count yourself fortunate thatIhave given you my secret.” Moonlight’s tone goes regal and commanding, pulling all of our attention back to her. “Now, do you want my help or not?”

“Yes, please!” Naomi says, shooting me and Shadow a look to behave.

“Very well.” The elder’s green eyes grow impossibly larger as magic tingles through the air with the feel of lightning right before it strikes.

Midnight’s magic wraps around me stealthily, like the faintest brush of paw against the ground, a patient hunter on the stalk. It slides along my skin with the soft brush of fur. It’s almost hard to tell she’s even doing anything at first, because it feels so comfortable.

Her eyes start to glow, and I can’t look away. A ratcheting purr fills my ears, wonderfully soothing, even as the press of her power continues to grow.

Naomi leans forward, her expression fascinated. I love this about her. Magic is completely new to her, yet she embraces it with such passion and excitement.

Faster and faster, the magic spins, until it feels like the two of us sit in the cone of a tornado. A twang fills my chest with sensation, like the deep reverberation of a plucked string. Then a harder clang tugs on me, and Naomi tips toward me.

I move lightning fast, my arm whipping around her to catch her to my side.

The magic subsides, like a cat’s purr slowly fading into silence as it falls asleep. We sit for several seconds, still caught in the spell. Then I grunt and shake my head, working away the last of the haze.

“I sense two bonds between you.” Moonlight’s paw dances through the air, weaving between us. “One is strong and deep and permanent. It flows like a river, able to bend and adapt,and it’s all the more powerful for it.” The sinuous movement stops, and she jabs her paw straight in between us. “The other bond is rigid, like a bar of metal. It holds great strength, but its inflexibility means it can be broken. It feels more temporary.”

“The tether is the temporary one,” I say.

“How do you know?” Naomi asks.

I feel it within my very soul, yet I offer the more obvious reason. “Because the goddess binds moon bound mates for life.”

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