Page 40 of Fated to the Orc

Varkul knew right away. Orc senses are keen like that. He stood tall before his people and declared I was carrying his child the moment we returned.

My mate’s footsteps are heavy as he approaches, each one sinking slightly into the mossy earth behind me. I don’t have to turn around to know it’s him. I can feel him in my bones.

Varkul wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder, his warmth pressing into my back. His hands find my belly.

“You’re thinking again,” he says, his voice a low rumble.

“I’m always thinking.”

“Why? You have all you need right here.”

He kisses the side of my neck, his tusks brushing against my skin. I smile, leaning into him. Before us is a beautiful valley that we now call home. Orc tents are dotted around the land.

His words arealmosttrue.

“I was thinking about Earth,” I say softly. “About my sister.”

Varkul has never met Madelyn, but he knows how much she means to me. He knows that missing her is the only thing that keeps me from being truly, completely happy.

“Do you think she’d like me?” He asks.

“Eventually,” I laugh. “She’s very protective of me.”

We’re quiet for a moment. The jungle rustles. Insects chirp. Distant drums echo from the village down below.

Some of Varkul’s clan have accepted me in their midsts with open arms. Some… didn’t. I can see it in the way they watch me. I’m an outsider. A threat.

I’m doing my best to learn the orc ways. I have an okay grasp of the orc language, but many of their customs and traditions I don’t yet understand. But, I’m learning.

“She’s strong, your sister?” Varkul asks.

“The strongest.”

My mate nods, resting his hand on mine. “Then she’ll survive. And when the time is right, we’ll find her.”

That seems impossible. She’s lightyears away, on a different planet. The orcs live off the land. They haven’t mastered flight, let alone interstellar travel.

And yet, in my bones, I feel it to be true. I’ll find Madelyn, one way or another. Even if have to hijack a spaceship and pilot it myself — I’ll find Madelyn.

I close my eyes.

“I just want her to know,” I say. I press his hand down tighter on my stomach, “About you. About us. About the family we’re building.”

It’s the only ache that won’t fade. Madelyn doesn’t even know that I’m still alive, and there’s no way for me to contact her.

Instead, I write letters to her I can’t send, burn them over a fire, and pray the universe does the rest.

“She will,” Varkul says softly. “One day. But for now, you are here, with me, and no one will take you from me ever again.”

I turn around and look up at my orc protector. His golden eyes are bright, fierce, and filled with something I never expected to find in my life — and definitely not on a jungle in an alien world.

They are filled with love.

True love.

“I’m yours,” I say.

He lowers his head and kisses me, slowly and deeply. “And I am yours,” he says.

---