Page 33 of Fated to the Orc

Not when my pregnant mate is involved.

I know, deep in my bones, that I have just sired a child in her womb. My primal instincts tell me this, and they are never wrong.

Evelyn places her hands on my chest — the wounds have fully healed, but the scars are still there.

“I watched them shoot you before, Varkul. I can’t let it happen again,” she says. “This was a mistake.”

“It was not,” I growl, my frustration growing.

She is mymate. My one and only. That means something to me. It means she is my everything. And nothing, absolutelynothingwill stop me from protecting her.

She untangles from me and hurries to get her clothes back on. I watch her, confused. I thought we connected deeply, but was I… mistaken?

No. It couldn’t be… unless…

Unless the bonds between humans and orcs aren’t as stable or as strong… but what I felt, what I feel right now with her is… it is telling me that she is my mate.

“I’m supposed to sedate you, but I won’t,” Evelyn says. “But please don’t get yourself killed, okay? Just do what they ask, and I’ll… I’ll think of something.”

Evelyn’s voice is hurried, clipped. I have never seen her this panicked before. I try to reach for her, to comfort her, but she hurries away from me, tears running down her face as she exits the room.

I stand there, naked, confused, angered.

What thegromphjust happened?

Evelyn

AmI the world’s biggest idiot or what?

Seriously.What the hell was I thinking?!

Iwasn’tthinking. That was the problem.

I just gave Dr. Kelly exactly what he wanted. Orc-human mating?Done. Unprotected sex?Check. Possibly impregnated by a biological asset in the middle of a top-secret military installation?Big fat check.

And where did this happen? Oh, just themed-bay. Probably the most monitored room in this entire damn facility. I’m sure there were a dozen hidden cameras there, and if not, then half the building still would’ve heard me screaming my lungs out as Varkul pounded me into next year.

Fantastic work, Dr. Carter. Really groundbreaking stuff.

Now I’m in my tiny shower, in my tiny quarters, standing under a scalding stream of water, trying, and failing, to rise the shame off my skin.

Shame isn’t all that I feel.

What I feel most of all is…him.

The way his hands moved over my body, like he was memorizing it. The way he looked at me, like I was the most precious thing in the world. The way my body responded to his touch — aching for it, and alive in a way I’ve never known before.

I keep reliving those moments, over and over again.

Steam fogs up my mirror, but I can just make out my silhouette. I look at that woman, and wonder if she just made the worst mistake of her life…or if this was the best thing that ever happened to her?

I place my hands flat on my stomach.

Am I pregnant?

I could be.

I might be.

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