Page 15 of Mountain Orc Daddy

He leans down and kisses me. My cheek. My hand. Then finally, my lips.

“Goodnight, Blair,” he says before leaving.

10

UZUL

“Thank you for helping us pack, Uzul. Although you really shouldn’t have troubled yourself with it,” Mara says.

“This is no problem. I am glad to help.”

I load up their bags in the large box Blair has mentioned to be a vehicle. The end of the weekend is here. I’m assisting the Morgans get ready to depart. To my dismay, that also means I won’t see Blair anymore.

The words spoken between us. The sweet kisses we shared. They all feel like they’re just a dream. However, I know it has to end at some point.

Blair folds her clothes into a smaller bag. She looks up as I pass by her. There’s a sadness in her lovely smile.

It hurts to see, but at the same time I’m happy. It means that she’s as upset as I am that our time together has ended. I foolishly had thoughts about bringing her back to the tribe. It’s also selfish of me to do so.

“What will you do now since you know about the Veil?” Remus asks.

I look at him curiously. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Jade speaks up. “Well, you don’t have to hide anymore, you know? Aren’t you interested in growing your tribe? That could be exchanging resources with outsiders.”

“I’ve not thought of it. You must remember we kept to ourselves for a long time. I wouldn’t want to make rash decisions and put my tribe at risk.”

Blair has told me many wonderful and exciting things about her home. I don’t doubt for a second that she exaggerates or is even lying. Despite that, as a Chief, I need to take precautions in everything. Just as I’m still doing with the Morgans.

But I should admit my shields are up unless I’m with Blair. I don’t feel exposed or unsafe by her side. Just by the way she looks at me now, there’s a sense of comfort.

We glance at one another. Her gaze reminds me of a doe. Innocent and adorable. It makes me want to go against my morals as Chief.

“What do you think, Blair?” I ask her.

She’s taken aback. I know she’s still not used to being asked her opinion which is quite silly. I trust her judgment on what could benefit the future of the Broken Maw. Being the quiet one brought forth her skills in paying attention to her surroundings.

She thinks for a moment while looking at her feet. I’m tempted to raise her head. I’m afraid, though, that her parents will see it as disrespectful.

Finally, she responds. “I honestly don’t think you should expose your tribe to the outside world so quickly. Not all of them will have the same reaction to outsiders as you did. There’s a chance that the outsiders will take their doubt as an insult and that could bring a lot of trouble. But if you really, truly, want to expand, you should start slow. Like you can—”

Phineas interrupts her. “Yes, start off slow. Introduce them to topics and objects from the outside. Mara and I’ll be glad to conduct these sessions with your tribe. We could make a lesson of it…”

I ignore the rest of what Blair’s father says. It’s incredibly rude to cut off a person when they speak. I didn’t even get to hear the last bit of Blair’s opinion. I’m inclined to teach Phineas a lesson myself.

Be that as it may, I’d like to avoid any dispute. I’ll let it slide this once only. I also don’t want to risk Blair’s parents forbidding her from seeing me. If I ever get such privilege.

I let Phineas finish talking. Then, I turn my attention back to Blair. My lovely doe plays with her hands.

“Blair? Please, finish what you were saying. I’d still like to hear your opinion.”

Her face lights up. She hesitates for a second to continue her words. I nod to encourage her to finish.

“Well, I was going to say that maybe you could be the one to ‘expose’ yourself to the outside. When you get a good idea of what it’s like, then you can slowly show your tribe. You can mention the idea to them first so they won’t be as surprised either. I mean I think they had a great start yesterday when you showed us your base…”

Her words trail off. She’s thinking she’s rambling again. Which is preposterous since I like her idea more than Phineas’. I’m not just saying that for my attraction to her.

Mara approaches me. “Uzul, why don’t you come back with us?”

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