Page 11 of Bred By the Orc
“Truly?” she finally whispered. “Effie—my cousin…She will be safe with your brother, Drakolt?”
And just like that, every response, reaction I’d just spent so long tamping down, sprung to life again. Including my cock, twitching desperately beneath my kilt. She’d said my name. She’d said my name, and ‘twas as sweet a sound as I’d ever heard.
From the way she leaned forward, away from me, I could tell she’d felt my body’s response to her and didn’t like it. In a fortnight, my clan would gather around to see me plow her, plant my seed in her. I couldn’t do that if she was afraid of my touch.
But for now, all I said was, “Aye, Sorcha, I swear it. Effie will be safe with Korvak.” I glanced around, allowing her the time to realize the rest of my men had melted away, leaving us alone in the littleclearing. “And yer friend will be safe with my other brother, Varkaan.”
For the first time, my Mate’s lips twitched. Not a smile, not evencloseto a smile. A mere acknowledgement of something she knew. “Roxanna is my sister. And I never doubted she would be safe. ‘Tis your brother I would worry about.”
My heart thudded almost painfully in my chest.
A fortnight until I would hold this female down and breed her in front of my clan, making her my Mate in their eyes. A fortnight of riding with a cockstand, her in my arms. A fortnight of admiring her scent, her bravery, her strength.
A fortnight to make hermine.
Gods help me.
Chapter 5
Sorcha
I had always thought myself strong.
The hours after my abduction—our abduction—proved me wrong.
Blessed Virgin,orcs! The monsters of my childhood stories! They’d stolen through the stones and, with the help of one of our wicked kinsmen, taken us back to their realm…far beyond saving. Father’s men would return empty-handed, and, if the legends were true, he would have to wait a full moon’s cycle to raise an army to save us.
Would he?
Roxanna and I were only daughters. He had a half-dozen more at home to make alliances, and our brothers would be even stronger. Would he risk awar to come through the stone circle pathway and rescue us?
Nay.
The realization emptied me more than the abduction itself. One moment my back was straight, my chin was high, and I was staring forward, determined not to rest back against the warm chest offering me support. I would not give my captor the satisfaction of my surrender.
One moment I was brave, and the next…
The next, my situation came crashing down on me. I whimpered and curled forward, feeling the harsh sting of tears behind my eyelids. I didn’t want to cry, not in front ofhim…but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
Roxanna and Effie were out there, as alone and defeated as I was. Even if I could escape, how could I get to them? How could I save them? The orc—Drakolt—had said I would see them again in fourteen days.
But a fortnight was a long time to be alone with a male like him. A male whose hardness nudged against my arse each time I shifted positions. Hewantedme.
How soon until he took me?
The thought of being held down, of being taken against my will by such a monster… Iclutched my stomach, willing myself not to vomit the evening meal I’d shared hours ago with Roxanna and Effie.
Because while rape held no appeal to me, this maledid. I could not understand it. He was anorc. But something inside me had responded to him in a way that surprised and terrified me.
Drakolt was huge, aye, but he had only touched me gently. His scent was clean, and although I couldn’t bear to turn around and face those tusks or the pointed ears which marked him asother, I could admit him handsome in a savage sort of way.
Was that why my pulse was hammering in fear and confusion and deep down, a sort of excitement I didn’t want to name?
“Sorcha.”
His voice was soft and deep, and I couldn’t deny it made me want to turn to him. The samesomethingthat had tugged at my chest during the attack, the samesomethingwhich had flared when I had placed my hand in his, terrified of that huge battleax strapped to his back…now it made mewantto lean back against him.
I should not want that.
