Page 24 of Fated to the Orc

Dr. Kelly beams with pride.

“You are exceptionally sharp today, Dr. Carter! That’s exactly why I hired you, and why you’ll be helping me bring this project to fruition. Yes, you are of course, correct. If I control orc babies, I control the orcs. It’s as simple as that. Just imagine: A whole word of those savage beasts at my fingertips! ThepowerI could wield!”

How did I from seeing an interesting job opening to working for a genocidal maniac who wants to control orc babies?!

I knew this job was too good to be true.

Damn it, Maddy!

Ugh, Maddy.That’s another lever Dr. Kelly has to control me. She’s dependent on my income to survive. With the signing bonus I received there’s enough money in the bank for her to survive for at least a year, but beyond that…

I’m so screwed.

“Ah, yes, so much important work to be done,” Dr. Kelly muses. “So, I suggest you get back to it, Dr. Carter. For the good ofallhumanity. That’ll be all for today.”

Evelyn

I burymyself in my work.

It’s the only thing I have left. The only thing Icando.

I play the part of the obedient scientist. I pretend everything is normal. I pretend I still believe in this project.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. The last thing I’lleverdo is give Dr. Kelly his army of orc babies. The thought alone makes me sick to my stomach.

I came to Xavros to save lives. That’s what they told me. I was going to help the orcs, solve their fertility crisis, and stop an entire species from going instincts. That is noble, important work.

That is work I still believe in.

Dr. Kelly doesn’t care about saving orcs. He only cares about owning them. Controlling them. Breeding them like cattle.

It’ll be a cold day in hell before I’ll help him achieve that.

For now, all I can do is sabotage my research. I’ve spent the last few days analyzing Varkul’s samples, carefully studying his genetic makeup. And the results? They’reincredible.

Orc DNA is astonishingly similar to human DNA. More than I ever could have imagined. If I was honest, I’d say cross-species fertility ishighlylikely.

I could present my findings to Dr. Kelly and give him exactly what he wants.

But I won’t.

Instead, I’ve written in my reports that the results are inconclusive. That orcs and humans are likely incompatible. That much more research needs to be done.Years and yearsof it.

It’s not much, but it’s something. I’m trying to buy myself some time until I figure something out.

I try to focus, but my mind drifts. Tohim.

My cheeks flush as heat spreads through me.

I spenthoursscrubbing Varkul’s scent off my skin. But even now, days later, if I breathe in too deeply I swear I can still smell him. That raw, masculine musk, rich and heady. It haunts me.

I still remember how he feels. That thick, throbbing length, pulsing in my hands. He was so big, so strong, sowarm.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

Get a grip, Eve.

I’m a scientist. A professional. Not some hormonal, desperate —

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