Page 18 of Mountain Orc Daddy

“But—”

Mom exasperates. “Really now, Jade, stop making a fuss. You and your brother will have to deal with it just for a day. We have a guest joining us and I’d like for him to be comfortable.”

She turns to me. "Understand, Blair? You sit in the middle row.”

I nod slowly. I’m not used to this sort of interaction. Usually my mother tries to get me to compromise with my siblings. This is probably the first time she’s asked them to do it.

It freaks me out a little bit, not gonna lie. Somehow, it gives me more reason to believe that she knows something about Uzul and I.If she did see us kiss, then please, may someone strike me down so I can die instantly,I think to myself.

Jade’s complaining more than Remus about the new seat arrangement. She begrudgingly moves her bag to the back seat. Sheepishly, I move my backpack to the middle row.

Uzul finally comes back. He doesn’t have any type of luggage with him. Not even a change of clothes. He did bring, however, a belt stocked with weapons.

Our eyes almost pop out of their sockets. His waist looks like a stove rack from an industrial kitchen. He’s ready to go to battle more so to just “mesh” with the city.

“Is there a problem?” he asks.

“Uh, Uzul, I thought you needed to make a few arrangements?” my father asks.

“I did. I needed to arrange my right hand man to look after the tribe.”

“Did you bring other clothes?” Remus says.

“I’m assuming you all mean my belt.”

We all nod.

“This is just to defend myself.”

I think I may have been sheltered as well. What kind of creature’s brave enough to go after a man that looks like Uzul? I’m still mentally preparing myself for the moment other humans take a good look at him. I’m 100% sure someone will either scream or call the police.

My mom tries to gently explain. “Uzul, it’s fine for you to be ready for trouble. Where we’re going, there won’t be a need for so many weapons.”

“How can one be sure about that?”

“How about this? I’ll give you one of my specialty bags to hide all your weapons. You can wear it like a coin pouch. When you need to defend yourself, you’ll just take a weapon out of that bag.”

Uzul thinks about it for a moment. He is clearly intrigued that my mom can do something like that. I used to have one when I was little and take it to school. I’d get in trouble for sneaking an entire sandwich when it was nap time.

“That seems feasible. I accept.”

Everyone breathes out. However, the situation with his clothes will have to wait until we get home. He can be wearing skins out and about. He’ll need to have things tailored to his enormous size.

An Uzul wearing a tight button up shirt with jeans? Exquisite. I’m curious to see his forearms when he rolls up his sleeves.

He turns towards the SUV, taken aback. He crouches down to look inside it. His eyes are wide and his mouth hangs slightly open. I’m confused since he already saw the car.

“Is something wrong?” dad asks.

“I didn’t know this is what it looks like. I thought you rode these like a horse.”

“But you saw the trunk?”

“Yes, the storage compartment for your belongings.”

I smile to myself. His way of taking in new things is adorable. His eyes are bright and analytical. His large hand softly touches the seats.

He rounds the car, staring at every detail of it. He inspects the tires, careful not to move anything. When he gets to the steering wheel, and it moves, he backs away.

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