Page 98 of Orc's Possession
“There are innocents there. My family is still there. My sisters?—”
“My warriors will not harm females.”
“But they’ll take them, won’t they? Kidnap them.”
“We will only take what belongs to us. Five females.”
“They don’t belong to you, or anyone. You have to understand, Atox. We left Earth to be free of the Coalition. And now you’re threatening to enslave these women. If you have a grievance with Council for breaking the agreement, then punish them, not the women…Or me.”
Her words strike like a hot knife to my middle. I have been unleashing my frustration on her. She deserves better from me. I must find a way to show her I value her and who she is, including her insights, while shielding myself from her softer human ways.
“Do you feel punished, Paloma?”
She takes my hand and wraps it around her mid-section, as if she’s trying to tell me something. A reminder that she is mine? But will she remain mine if I destroy the human colony or even if some or all of the males there die?
“Your sisters and the other human females will not be harmed,” I reassure her. It is the best I can do while still protecting my people… protectingher. “If you convince the sister in the market to come with us, then my warriors will take one less female by force.”
She thrusts my hand away. “We’re not cattle.”
I’m desperate to wrap my arms around her, but that will not mend this growing rift between us. “It is the only way. We need females.”
Paloma falls silent for the remainder of the journey to Pen’Kesh. I give her time to reflect, to realize her loyalty is with me now, not her former colony.
When we reach Pen’Kesh, Sojek takes my gorja and I lead my female to the human quarter. Before we enter their sector, I guide her under the shade of a tree. She’s pale and doesn’t look well. The ride here was tense, and the air has a chill to it, souring both of our moods, but I cannot allow this rift between us to continue. She is my female, my graka. She must appear as one with me.
“You are orc now, Paloma.”
“I don’t know what I am,” she says, sounding lost.
I grip her face in my hands so she sees I mean what I say. “You are orc, and my mate. Graka.” I have not used the term before with her, but I’ve heard others call her by her title. She understands the title and our need for females.
“I won’t be a part of you kidnapping women.”
“Then give me another option.”
Her eyes widen, as if she didn’t expect me to ask her counsel. I’ve heard everything my female has said, and I agree with much of it, but my warriors grow restless. Without the hope of having females in their furs and the chance of younglings to train, they will go out and find females on their own. Like Ryko did. And relations between the five species on Kovos is not as stable as my female and others believe. The cendagi have created an imbalance that will lead to war in time. I need to secure women sooner rather than later.
“None of my warriors will force them to mate. I’ve already forbidden it. Any male who defies me will be dealt with. Harshly.”
“The women will be prisoners.”
“At first. But you will help them understand us. You’ve told me about how the males treat the females in New Earth. Are these women truly better under their rule?”
She thinks about it then shakes her head. “I might be able to convince Cami. Or my other sisters. But I doubt anyone else will listen to me.”
I kiss the top of her head. “This is not your responsibility, female.”
“How does this not affect you?”
It affects me, because it affects her. She doesn’t see that.
“My actions are just. My warriors secured their borders and repelled the vints from infiltrating these past two months. We were to be given five females at the end of those two months, with ten more at the end of the year. Now the humans state there will be no more females for us. Not the five we’ve earned, or the ten at the end of the year. They’re risking their own borders against the vints and cheating me. Their actions prove they don’t believe we’ll respond. Or they want us to. I’m not sure what they’re planning, Paloma, but creating and then breaking this contract was done with intention, not a result of circumstance.”
“You may be right. They are up to something. Before you tookme from New Earth, my father said I could returnifI brought back intel on your people. Quite frankly, I didn’t believe anything he said at that point. That offer might be part of what’s happening here.”
“What type of intel?”
“Anything about your numbers, positions, location. I haven’t really thought about it until now. I’m sorry, Atox. I’ve been overwhelmed adjusting here and then hearing that you planned to take more women… That brought up all the fear and trauma I incurred. I can’t stop thinking about the other women, mainly because no one else is. They never should have been part of any deal New Earth struck. And now you’re targeting them because you think it's your right.”
