Page 32 of Wagered to the Orc
And tell them I was safe and happy here.
Wait.
Could I be happy here? With Korvak? I was safe, yes, and I was coming to appreciate the way he took care of me. But was that because he was the first male to treat me as if I was worth safety and security? The first male to treat me with kindness and a loving touch?
I had to wait my whole life to be thought worthy of such pleasure, and it came from a male my family would have calledmonster.
But Korvak wasn’t a monster; he was special. He hadn’t taken what I had offered. He had been angered by my story of what had happened to me inthe past. He had accepted me—a disruption—into his life just to protect me from his cousin.
My fingers rose to my jaw, to the bruise which had long faded, the soreness gone. When his cousin had hit me for vomiting in terror, I had thought my life was over. I feared I would curl up there in the dirt and allow a male to beat me to death.
But Korvak saved me.
Was that why I felt this way about him?
When we reached the village, would Sorcha and her new Mate return me to Tarbert keep?
Did I want to go?
I moved toward the open window in a thoughtful sort of daze, studying the mountainside—home to the elusive glowworms—and the babbling stream. This place…’twas peaceful. And more than that…
My gaze sought out Korvak who had been putting Mags the mare through her paces in the meadow. But…he was not there.
Placing my hands on the sill, I leaned out the window, stretching my neck from one side to the other, searching for him.
I saw the horses first.
Four of them.
Mags and Kelty, our animals…and two others, belonging to the two figures who were now sitting atop them, speaking with Korvak. He had his hands on his hips, his head tipped back to speak to them.
I couldn’t hear what was being said, but that didn’t stop the panic from shooting from me. Who were they? What did they want?
My breathing was suddenly too fast, my pulse pounding in my ears. I stumbled away from the window, my hand blindly groping for the open door. Who were they?
I tucked myself behind the door and peered out, trying to see if Korvak was arguing with the newcomers. Oh God, what if they were from Tarbert? What if they were friends of John?
What if they were here to take me back?
Oh God, no.
Korvak
I waved the travelers on their way, happy I could give them the directions they needed to the croft they sought. They were a Mated pair, and the female was large with kit. I wondered if she was having twin males, notuncommon in our world.
But the sight made me…sad, somehow. I’d never hoped for kits, but seeing how protective the male was of his Mate, how solicitous…it made me yearn for something I would never have.
Unless…unless I could convince Effie to stay? Why would she, though?
I was turning back to the cottage, my stomach churning and my heart aching, when I became aware of the pounding of footsteps. I lifted my gaze in time to catch Effie as she hurtled herself against me.
“What is it?” I immediately growled, my senses on high alert, glancing about for the threat. “What is wrong, Effie? Tell me so I can fix it.”
“Are they gone?” she mumbled against my chest, her small hands gripping my plaid. “Who were they?”
I glanced over my shoulder, not pausing in my striding toward home. “Aye, they’re gone, love, they’re gone. They were nae threat.” I pulled her away just enough to peek down at her. “Was that yer worry? That they would hurt ye?”
She didn’t answer for a moment, then shook her head. “I suppose I should have been worried they would hurtyou, but aye, I was being selfish.”
