Page 43 of Guarded By the Orc

She pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her glorious breasts. “Nothing’s going to attack you, and even if somethingdoes, I can protect you.”

“That defeats the entire point of us being here,” I growled, scuffing my boot in the dirt in front of me.

“The point of you being here,” she laughed, moving closer to reach up and cup my cheeks in her soft hands, “Is for you to protect me ifthe warlockscome here. Not from Papa Bois.”

“Is that the Guardian’s name?” I asked, moving closer to her so that I was within touching range. There was something feral inside me that needed to be in contact with her at all times. My hands moved of their own volition, wrapping around her waist, but she moved too, snuggling herself against me.

“Yep. And if we meet him, you need to mind your manners. He gets upset if you’re rude. Let me do all the talking and whatever you do, donotstare at his feet,” she explained, running her hands over my shirt, smoothing the cotton over my chest and making me shudder.

“What’s wrong with his feet?” Enka squawked from behind me, and she rolled her eyes, glaring over my shoulder.

“There’s nothingwrongwith them. They’re hooves. He just doesn’t like anyone looking at them. That’s all,” she tsked, and the males behind me breathed a sigh of relief.

We could deal with hooves. “No staring,” I said, chucking her under her chin. “Got it. But if he attacks you, I’m going to shoot him.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, waving her finger in front of my face. “You wouldn’t be able to touch him. He’s too fast. And all you’ll do is get me in trouble. Focus on the warlocks.Nothingelse. Promise me,” she demanded. Her tone was firm and after a few moments of pouting, I nodded my agreement. She leaned back to glare at the other three males behind me and they gave their grudging assent as well.

“Then here we go,” she said, taking a deep breath before turning toward the misty forest and stepping forward.

As a group, we walked toward the trees. I kept my female in mysights, glancing around for only a moment before I realized that she was only a few feet in front of me but barely visible. I hurried forward, taking her hand in mine and she glanced back at me with a smile.

There was something eerie about the mist that surrounded us and I wondered if it was a way for us to get lost. Still, my Zara knew where she was going, walking with purpose.

The three males kept themselves in a straight line behind me, eyes scanning the surrounding trees for any hint of movement. It wasn’t long before we were deep enough in the forest, and for the mist to be thick enough, for me to become disoriented.

“Slow down,” I murmured to Zara as she kept walking. “We have to stick together.”

She did, peeking back at the males whose brows were furrowed as they looked around with wariness in their eyes.

“This is one of the tests,” she whispered, keeping her voice low and soft. “We have a purpose for being here. Focus on that.”

“Our purpose is to protect you,” I told her, ensuring that my voice was just as quiet as hers.

“Exactly,” she murmured, looking at the others and nodded. “Protection. That’s it. Remember that and keep walking behind me.”

With slow nods, we followed her instructions. The mist was getting thicker and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. It was like a soup that was entering my lungs and suffocating me. I ran my palm over Zara’s back, but she smiled back at me, letting me know that she either wasn’t affected or she was used to it.

Focus on why you’re here.

Thoughts of protecting her filled my mind and at once, the mist eased. Suspicious, I looked around, but I kept the thoughts of keeping my Gul-ar safe at the forefront. It eased even further, and I looked back at the males behind us, noting that they wereless affected now as well.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we entered a clearing. Zara paused, her grip on my fingers tightening and I frowned, before looking up and seeing a bear lumbering into the clearing as well.

My hand moved to my gun, preparing to shoot it, but she gripped my hand, stilling it and shaking her head. “Don’t even think about it,” she whispered.

I frowned, but watched as the black bear continued along its path, two small balls of fur rolling out of the forest behind it, snorting and chasing her. My eyes were wide as I watched in awe as the mother bear turned to eye us curiously before continuing on her path.

When she got to the other end of the clearing, she turned to look at us, sitting and staring with a level of focus that I found odd as the little ones continued on, growling and pouncing on each other. When her cubs were no longer visible, she huffed out a breath before moving after them.

Zara released a breath before she whispered, “Nothing in this forest is going to hurt us. Just remember that.”

I nodded, allowing her to lead again. We passed through the clearing, entering the treeline on the other side. I tensed as a snake slid along beside us, but I followed her lead, keeping an eye out for anything human-like instead.

If Veron’s warlocks were anywhere near us, I would be able to smell them long before they attacked. I listened for any noises, passing by a huge cobweb brimming with spiders the size of my fist. I shuddered, but continued on. The males behind me were doing better than I was, not even fazed by the wildlife.

Years of becoming used to living indoors—while good for our financial status, as well as helping us adapt to the norms of the society we were now living in—were not good for my acclimation to outdoor dangers.

I started as I spotted eyes shining back at me in the darkness ofthe woods.

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