Page 8 of Bewitching the Orc Chief

Nothing. Her chest rose and fell steadily, but she was completely unresponsive. I shook her gently, then with more force when she didn’t react.

“Miranda, wake up.” My voice came out sharper, edged with worry.

I sat up, cradling her limp form. Her head lolled against my chest, but her breathing remained deep and even. Too even. This wasn’t natural sleep.

Silvermist’s clinic was closest, but Dr. Harrison’s face flashed through my mind—his cold eyes at the council meeting, the way he’d gleefully accused the clan of murder. The memory of my father’s body on the pyre not long after made my jaw clench.

No. I couldn’t risk taking her there.

Which left Alris. My stomach turned at the thought of the shaman’s hands on her, those calculating eyes examining her. But he was the clan’s healer, and something was very wrong.

“Hold on,” I murmured, pressing my lips to her forehead. “I’ve got you.”

I gathered Miranda in my arms, wrapping her in the blanket. Her skin was warm, her pulse steady, but she remained lost to whatever force held her under. Whatever was wrong, whatever had caused this unnatural sleep, I would fix it. I had to.

Because I’d only just found her. And I’d be damned if I let anything take her from me now.

CHAPTER THREE

MIRANDA

Arough tongue dragged across my nose. I swatted blindly, grumbling as I burrowed deeper into the blanket. My head felt stuffed with cotton, limbs heavy with well-fucked bliss. Sleep could keep me a little longer.

“Not now, Gus,” I groaned.

Another lick and an insistent meow finally forced my eyes open. The sight of stone walls bolted me upright, clutching furs to my chest.

This wasn’t my bedroom. Hell, this wasn’t even myhouse.

“Where the hell am I?” I hissed at Gus, who simply blinked at me, tail swishing lazily. The bastard looked far too comfortable sprawled across unfamiliar pelts.

I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath.Think, Miranda. What would Lisabet do?

The thought of my former mentor sent a pang through my chest. She’d tell me to assess the situation. Gather information. Plan three steps ahead. Then bring unholy fire down on their heads.

Right. Okay. First things first: where the fuck was I?

The room was bigger than mine, but cozy. Thick furs covered a massive bed that could easily fit three people. Intricatelycarved wooden furniture lined the walls, each piece a work of art. A fire crackled merrily in a stone hearth, chasing away the chill that seeped through the rock.

“Grimstone,” I breathed. Had to be. The rough-hewn stone walls matched what I knew of the insular village Osen now led. Who else would have taken me from my bed and—I peeled back the blanket, frowning—dressed me in a tunic? Which meant…

The heavy wooden door creaked open, and there he was. All six-something feet of chiseled green muscle wrapped in flannel and jeans. Memories of last night—goddess, was it only last night?—flashed through my mind. Lips trailing down my neck, tusks dragging across my skin. His massive hands pinning my wrists as he?—

I shoved those thoughts aside. Now was not the time to get distracted by how good he looked or how badly I wanted to climb him like a tree. Again.

“Thank the ancestors! You’re awake.” His shoulders sagged with visible relief, and he crossed the room in three long strides. “I was worried last night when you wouldn’t stir, no matter what I tried. I thought... I thought something was wrong.”

Thank you, dark baptism,I thought bitterly. The demon-forged pact granted me knowledge and power, but it also untethered my soul. And what newly freed entity would willingly stay locked away in a sleeping body when an endless sea of dreams begged to be explored?

Thus, a witch’s need for a familiar to guard her while she slept like the dead.

“Then this beast showed up while you rested. Must have followed us all the way from town.” Osen flicked a guilty look at me. “I swear to you, he was inside when we left.”

My familiar—the little traitor—began to purr loudly as Osen scratched behind his ears. I shot Gus a betrayed look. So much for being my protector.

I inhaled deeply, gearing up for an apparently ally-less war. “So, you decided kidnapping was the logical next step?”

Osen’s head tilted to the side, reminding me of a puzzled puppy. If puppies were built like tanks and could snap me in half without breaking a sweat.

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