Page 158 of Valpar

Epilogue

Valpar

“Look at you, aren’tyou just the cutest little thing, ever?” My miresa cooed at Thorn’s orcling and my hands balled into tight fists. If my jaw clenched any tighter, I just might break one of my back teeth and have to gum my food for the rest of my days.

My female took her finger and tickled the bottom of Kiah’s foot. The orcling, with its wide, toothy grin, extended a small, clawed hand towards her. Its fingers were fat and chubby, and it had no control over its body. The orcling’s eyes sparkledwith excitement as it eagerly reached out, hoping to grasp my female’s hand to hold her. The gesture seemed innocent and filled with curiosity. It meant he was a healthy orcling who was eager to explore, but I did not need him to explore what is mine.

“I think he is in love with your hair. I don’t think he’s seen the color pink before.” Ellie, Thorn’s female, laughed while she held her son.

There were plenty of colors in the Wood, but my female’s hair was the most beautiful. Even the other orcs admired it, from a far of course. I intended to keep it that way. We did not attend the ceremony where Thorn and Ellie announced the name of their son, because I did not want her hair to take away from their moment.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Really, I did not want to share my female with anyone else. There had been no other pairings yet and it had been nearly six months. The other orcs were becoming restless, some even traveling into Bergarian alone and doing their own searches.

Those who stayed, I did not trust them being around my female.

Instead, I took my miresa to see Theresa and Birch for a visit, and she got to see her new little brother, whom they named Bramble. I supposed it went with his father’s name. Those fae can be strange.

Ellie cradled the orcling in her arms while the females sat on a log outside of Thorn’s cabin. The thing was almost too big for her to hold lovingly to her chest. Not that the blob wanted to stay there, anyway. He was growing fast, as most orclings did. I wouldn’t be surprised if it started crawling by tomorrow.

I also did not like that my female was around all these tiny beings recently. It might give her ideas of having one of her own. I am a jealous orc, and I was still not ready to share her. Herbody still captivated me, and I enjoyed her too much to give all that up so an orcling could suck at her tits.

Those were my tits!

“You know Starla, too?” My miresa brought me out of my thoughts.

Ellie nodded her head frantically. “Yes, she’s a bar owner and a witch. She is the one that led me to honey buns here.”

My brother, Thorn, rolled his piercing yellow eyes and let out an exasperated grunt. He crossed his thickly muscled arms over his broad chest, his biceps bulging as if to warn me off of his female.

I let off a grunt of my own.

The lines on his face deepened as he displayed his frustration. I felt the same sentiment toward this Starla.

That witch was trouble.

But wait a minute, did I hear correctly?

Honey buns?I snorted and covered my mouth from the laughter. Thorn glared at me, daring me to say something.

My miresa’s smile grew. “That’s crazy. Starla is a bar owner, too? She led me to Valpar. She acted like she was my fairy godmother and told me to go to the ball, and that is where I fell into Valpar’s lap.” She scratched her cheek and shook her head. “I don’t think she meant for me to fall over the railing to get to him, but it all worked out.”

I ran my hand down my face and groaned.

“Did you not smell your female close to you?” Thorn scoffed. “Did not feel her presence?”

“Says the orc who caught his female in a trap, with poison. You had to massage your female so she would even like you. Good thing it worked out, huh,honey buns?”

I could feel the tension crackling in the air as Thorn’s growl reverberated through the air between us. His towering figure loomed over me, intimidating to most, but I refused to backdown from my brother. With a determined glare, I squared my shoulders and puffed out my chest.

I knew that I possessed a certain level of skill that gave me the advantage in this confrontation. Years of training and honing my abilities had prepared me for moments like these. Thorn may have had the physical advantage with his height and strength, but I was confident that my experience and quick thinking would tip the scales in my favor. With every fiber of my being, I braced myself for the clash that was about to unfold, ready to show Thorn that I was not to be underestimated.

Bells ringing broke my concentration. It was a pixie, and I snarled, darting toward my miresa and wrapped my arms around her. The pixie sat on Ellie’s shoulder and the tiny pixie cocked her head to the side.

Ellie gazed at me strangely and then to the pixie sitting on her shoulder. “This is Dewdrop. Is there a problem? Do you not like pixies?”

“No. I don’t.” I snapped. “The last pixie I dealt with tried to kill Calliope.”

Ellie’s eyes widened, and Thorn stood behind his female.

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