Page 43 of Summoning the Orc

I turned the heat off, almost singeing my fingers when pulling the toast out of the toaster before plating everything and giving the bigger portion to him. He accepted it with a level of reverence that I found charming. He watched me as I took the plates to the island before pulling me in front of him, feeding me first.

With every bite I took, his brow furrowed with concentration as he found the perfect portion of bacon, egg and toast that I enjoyed. He insisted that I eat more, his gaze dropping to my stomach until I felt heat sweep into my cheeks.

I was certain that it wasn’t a good time for me to conceive, but after last night and the conversation with Pen that morning, I needed to figure out if I was going to be okay with getting pregnant soon. As Rok nuzzled against my hair, his big palms dropping to cradle my stomach, though, the pang in my chest told me I was closer than I knew.

“I have to go to work,” I told him and the annoyed growl that left him almost made me laugh. “They should be done with the clean-up, but I want to make sure they don’t have any trail to find you. I should’ve checked yesterday, but I was too freaked out.” I cradled his face in my palms and he ducked his head so I could reach him. “I can’t lose you.”

His gaze softened, and he beamed at me, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. “It’s the same for me, my mate. I can’t live without you,” he whispered.

I hummed, contended, but then I glanced at my watch and my eyes widened. “Oh no. I’ll be late if I don’t get ready now. Stay here and don’t distract me with your sexy body,” I squeaked, hurrying out of the room and watching him grin after me, flexing his muscular chest while I ogled him.

I onlyjustmade it in time for work, guilt swamping me since it was my third day of mydream job, but I couldn’t find it in me to regret the time I’d spent with my mate that morning. I skidded to a stop in front of the entrance to my section, and all their eyes turned to look at me.

It still looked like a crime scene, with people swarming around it, but at least it was less crowded. I spotted Jun, his eyes narrowed on me and his nose lowered to ensure that he was giving me his best glower, but I raised my hand in a friendly wave.

His scowl was huge as he turned away to focus on the female hewas speaking to. She looked human, but I could tell based on the long black dress with golden embroidery that she was a witch. I’d tried to join a coven when I was younger, begging Pen to join with me, but it hadn’t taken more than one meeting for me to be kicked out as a “powerless, puny human.”

After that, I’d been wary of them, even though many of them were outgoing and friendly, welcoming to outsiders for all rituals except the most secret ones that only the coven members were invited to.

I walked over to Jun and the witch with my chin held high, a smile plastered on my face. “Good morning,” I told them both and received a nod from Jun and a questioning once-over from the witch.

Her dark eyes gleamed at me as she reached out her hand. Her nails were painted a brilliant blue and the bronze glow of her skin made me wish I was more outdoorsy than I was.

Maybe Rok can help me with that.

The thought made a grin spread across my face and her eyebrow quirked as she echoed my expression.

“I’m Tasia. It’s really nice to meet you. Becca, am I right?”

I nodded, shaking her hand before releasing it. “I wasn’t able to talk to you yesterday, but I was hoping we could have a chat today. You’re the one who summoned the orc, right?”

My grin stiffened into a grimace on my face and I squeaked out what I hoped was a good affectation ofuh huh.

“Then I’ll have to do a magic swab on you, if that’s okay,” she told me, gesturing toward the table in front of my desk. I stiffened under her watchful gaze, but made my way over to where books and kits along with little black bags were spread out on the surface. The strong scent of herbs washed over me and I spotted a couple of crystals that I didn’t know the names of as well.

“This is fascinating,” I told Tasia as she came up behind me.“I’ve always been interested in witchcraft, but I wasn’t born with the gift.”

“You don’t have to be born with it,” she said with a shrug as she pulled a couple of the herb-bags toward her along with a large, crystal mortar and pestle. “A coven might have one or two witches who are born into the craft, but we accept everyone whose energy and intentions match our own,” she added with a smile to me. “We have a couple spots open if you wanted to check us out.”

“Really?” I asked, wondering if I could possibly get closer to this coven and find out what they knew about Rok’s location. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

She shrugged her shoulders, tucking a red-dyed curl behind her ear as she wrinkled her button-nose. “That’s the old generation and maybe some smaller covens that still stick to those prejudiced ways. Our coven isn’t like that. The earners—” she cut herself off, flicking her dark brown eyes up to mine, “—the witches who can use their gifts to make money, that is. We get called out to jobs like this one, but if it wasn’t for my daughter, I’d just do protection spells and energy circles all day.” She shook her head, giving a little laugh as she added herbs to the mortar.

I watched as she ground them into a dust, turning to face me with a handful and a nod. “Okay, now stay still.”

I froze as she circled me, sprinkling the dust onto the ground while she chanted words I didn’t understand. When she was standing in front of me again, she held her palms up in front of me.

“Take my hands,” she said, her voice low and soothing.

I hesitated for a long moment, studying her hands, wishing I had a way to get out of whatever was happening, but she stood there, as patient as a saint, just waiting. I lowered my shaking hands into hers and as soon as they touched, a light glowemanated from the circle around me.

Oh no.

She began chanting again, her tight curls moving slightly with a wind that I couldn’t feel. When it stopped, her head tilted at me and her eyes narrowed.

Shit, shit, shit!

“He’s your mate,” she said in a low voice, releasing a deep sigh. “And you’re hiding him.”

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