Page 47 of Wrangling the Orc Cowboy

“Thank you, Gracie,” I choked out.

“I hope you'll show me around one of these days.”

“You'd like to see more?”

“Everything, Tark, and you know why?”

I shook my head, then realized she couldn't see the gesture. “I don't know why.”

“Because all of this is a part of you.”

Chapter 15

Gracie

Before we left Tark's home behind, Sharga left his shoulder, soaring over to the red barn in a zigzag pattern, somehow making a bullseye as he approached, flying in through an open window on the second floor of the barn.

“That’s his home. He didn’t want to stay inside the house with me,” Tark said.

“What about Podar?”

“He’s a lounge kitty. Loves being warm and taking up most of my bed at night. I don’t think I could make him stay in the barn even if I wasn’t happy for his company. He’s a part of my inside life, and Sharga rules the outside.”

“Does he go outside at all?”

“Sometimes. When he’s feeling frisky. I make sure he’s back in by nightfall.” His sharp gaze scanned the area. “Predators come out then. He’s strong. Bobcats can fight off a lot of things, even creatures bigger than themselves, but he only has three legs, and the missing one is a front limb. The loss of it makes it harder for him to fight. I’d battle for him, but I can’t be with him all the time.”

Was he lonely with his raggedy band of creatures and no one else? I wasn’t going to ask, though I sensed the feeling lingering around him as he urged Castree past the ranch house.

Beyond, the world expanded in a way that made my heart race. Six massive sorhoxes dotted the pasture on our right, their emerald-green bodies sending long shadows across the grass. Some grazed, while others sprawled in the sun as if they were the kings of this surface world. They were like living hillsides, every bit as formidable as Castree. But Castree was incredibly gentle, like she was a big pussycat lounging in the sun.

“Everything out here is big,” I said softly, not wanting to break the beauty of this place and this moment with a loud voice. “Bigger than I’ve ever seen back in the city. Look at them.” Flicking my hand that way, I half turned to Tark. His body radiated warmth behind me, and honestly, it felt wonderful to be this close to him. “They’re incredible.”

“They're just sorhoxes.”

He said it so dryly that I laughed. “To me, they're amazing. Gorgeous. Cute.”

“So many words with many meanings,” he whispered.

Did he think I wouldn't hear? “Did you speak our language when you came here?”

“We learned it before coming to the surface. We all speak orcish there, of course.”

“Naturally. What does it sound like?”

“Makzug ka thrakat.”

“What does that mean?”

His arm tightened around me. “That you, Gracie, are special.”

“That's sweet of you to say.”

I felt more than saw his nod.

When Castree moved past the other beasts, only a few turned their heads to look our way. We left the pasture behind, the trailopening up ahead of us, dotted with wildflowers and framed by tall grasses swaying in the breeze.

He urged Castree into a gallop, and I squealed, a thrill rushing through me as the beast surged forward with massive power. The world around us blurred, the wind whipping through my hair. I could almost feel the heartbeat of the land beneath us. It was stunning. The sensation of flying, tethered only to Tark and Castree, made something flare inside me, a pulsing feeling unlike anything I’d felt before.

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