Page 39 of Claimed By the Orc Emperor

“Then yes, let’s go to the portal. It would be nice to see it and not run headlong into nothingness.”

I hide a laugh as I remember our first meeting—Rainn trying to escape and running into a solid portal. I did not like that he was hurt, but it was humorous to see him try to escape.

Hand in hand, we walk down the lane. We stop a few times when we happen upon orcs that greet us, Rainn chatting with them as if they are old friends. I stand back, watching how everyone seems to glow when talking to my mate. There is something so pure about him, so genuine that others cannot help but see.

The closer we get to the portal, the more my heart races. When Rainn was last here, he could not see it, so I am sure he had no hope of crossing through. But now, he can find it effortlessly and go home. He could leave me. He says he wants to stay, but will that always be the case? Or will I wake up in the night to find my mate gone?

We crest the hill and I hear Rainn gasp as the portal comes into view. “It’s so weird that I can see it now,” he says, as the vortex before us waxes and wanes. “Does it always look like that?”

“Yes.” I know my tone is clipped, but I do not want to lose my mate. It would have been wrong not to show him the portal, but I wish I did not have to.

Rainn laughs and pulls me forward. “This place is literally the best.” We stand before the portal and Rainn pushes his hand through, watching it disappear through the swirling vortex. “This is so strange, but so fucking cool,” he says with another laugh.

“Will you leave now?” I ask, voicing my fears. I hate how pleading I sound, but it cannot be helped. I would not survive Rainn leaving me. I would rather cut out my own heart now than be without him.

Rainn looks up at me curiously. “No. Why would you think that?”

“Well, you have expressed you missed your best friend, so I assumed you?—”

He wraps his arms around me, squeezing me as tightly as his smaller arms will allow. “Idomiss Kai. I miss him a lot. But I don’t want to leave yet. Maybe in a few months or something I’ll go back and tell him I’m okay, but that’s something you and I can talk about. Right now, I don’t want to leave.” He pulls back and meets my eyes, uncertainty shining back at me. “Do you…do you want me to leave?”

“No!” I shout, making Rainn flinch from the volume. I take a deep breath to calm myself, framing his face. “No, sweet Rainn. I do not ever want you to leave. I want you to be happy, so if you want to go, I would not stop you. But be advised, I would not like it and would follow you.” I pause, looking up at the sky in thought. “Mostly because I am curious to see your monster sex toy collection.”

Rainn barks a laugh. “Well, I’m ruined for anything other than the real thing now.” He chuckles a little more, but sobers quickly. “I wouldn’t want to go without you. Don’t worry, baby. You’re stuck with me.”

“There is no place I would rather be,” I tell him honestly, hugging him tightly as I bend to place a kiss on his lips.

Epilogue

Rainn

Two weeks later…

I flutter around the dining room, making sure everything is in place for Nash and his mate to visit for dinner.

A week ago, Axum received a letter from his brother with news of the rogue orcs but he wanted to give more details to Axum in person. He said he would bring his mate, and since we were both humans, we’d have someone to talk to while they talked business.

I like being around my mate, but it would be nice to hang out with a human I can talk to about normal human shit.

My mate.God, that sounds so weird, but it’s also fitting. If I were in Destiny, I would never call my other half my ‘mate’, but here, it’s normal.

I never thought I’d evenhavea mate. While I never shied away from relationships, I never thought I’d want to be with someone long-term. Now, I can’t see my life without Axum in it.

As he said he would the day he claimed me, he’s made my life so easy and so filled with love that I fear I’ll choke on it. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We’ve fallen into a rhythm, Axum and I. We move easily around each other, Axum working as emperor and me as one of his scribes.

I got my job purely by accident. I was writing down an outline for a book—one I’ll probably never write—and Axum came into the meeting room where I was waiting for him. He peeked over my shoulder and marveled at my handwriting. I told him that I’d taken calligraphy lessons in the past—I had to explain to him what calligraphy was—so I could perfect my author signature and he really loved it. He’d started teaching me how to read and write orcish, and he said with my handwriting, it would be perfect for when he needed to send important missives.

I also commented on how his handwriting was nearly illegible when he was teaching me to read orcish, making him laugh and tell me I really needed to be his scribe to ensure no one was subjected to his terrible penmanship.

I jumped on working for Axum, since I could be around him all the time, and I was paid a salary. It was way less than the other scribes earned—Axum did not like me haggling down for coins, but with him as the emperor, I didn’t need much.

The amount of shit I bought from the market every time I got paid was insane.

But I liked spending money at the market. It’s nice to support the subjects of Daz Vrorkrad, as well as stopping to gossip at nearly every booth. The orcs and other supernatural creatures that live here are some of the nicest, friendliest people I’ve ever met.

Axum comes into the dining room, smiling at me as he makes his way to my side of the table. “Everything is perfect, sweet Rainn,” he says, kissing my claiming bite.

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