Page 32 of Orc's Claim
I cannot exist without this female. With her deep smile and the sparkle in her eyes, Lily wafted past my defenses the moment I saw her all those months back, leaving me vulnerable. To her.
Which is why my heart tightens when she turns away.
She hasn’t forgiven me.
How can she? I’ve never made amends to her, begged her forgiveness, proved I’d never be so callous with my words again.
My feet leave the ground abruptly as Verig yanks me toward him, then shoves me forward, into the common area of Pen’Kesh. “You are as vekking useless as a newborn youngling today. Stay away from the human sector, Ryko. You will be given a female soon enough. You’ve been moved to the top of the list.”
My eyes snap to him, seeking an explanation.
“We’ve all seen the restlessness in you these past several weeks. Your attention wanders, you pick fights among the warriors over trivial matters, and you…” The ridges on Verig’s brow rise. “It’s almost as if you’ve been seeking punishment so Atox or I would place you on escort detail to Pen’Kesh.”
I won’t deny it. That, and I’ve been miserable without Lily. Worrying about her.
“Once you start fucking a female and sate your needs with her, your focus will return. The female chosen for you…” He looks over the groups of human females in the square. “Is not here today. The female chosen for you has sun-colored hair.”
Mated to a female that is not Lily. My stomach roils.
“No, he cannot?—”
Verig silences me with a glare. “He is our grak. He can do whatever he wishes. And you will follow orders, Warrior.”
There’s no room in his tone, his words, or his expression to argue. Even if there were, he’s right. Our grak’s word is law.
“Atox has found a bantaran to write the treaty between him and the humans.”
“I do not want to be assigned a female,” I grind out, my jaws clenched so tight my tusks begin to scrape my upper lip. “I will choose my own female.”
“No, you won’t.”
My mind spins in a cloud of chaos grappling at all I know of the humans and our grak, seeking a way to stop this. My grak can give me a female, one for which I must take responsibility, but he cannot force me to take her into my furs. As long as I don’t perform risha, I can find a way to be with Lily.
With his hand on my shoulder, Verig leads me farther from the humans. “You will take the female chosen for you and be grateful. Once risha is performed, you will be bound to her. At least you won’t know the loneliness of empty furs for the rest of your life. Like me.”
How much time do I have? Days? Hours? Not only must Iprove myself to Lily, I must devise a plan for us to be together, in a way our grak will sanction.
Risha. Nothing can break the bonds formed during the sacred ceremony.
If I can formally mate Lily, then our grak can’t deny her a place among our people. I must get to her, convince her?—
I scrub my face. How am I to convince her to mate me when I’m little more than kuvak dung to her? And for risha to work, there must be witnesses. No warrior will witness for me, as that would defy our grak’s orders to stay clear of the human females.
Vekk!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LILY
“Councilman Roberts assured me the orcs will back off and stay away from us,” Owen announces before our mid-day break.
“Just like that?” Paloma asks as we settle back at our tables. “Why?”
With a slow, drawn-out gait that draws everyone’s attention, Owen storms over to her, where he casts an angry shadow on both our tables. “None of your damn business.”
“Of course it isn’t,” I mutter softly.
He steps over to me. “The only thing you have to worry about is keeping me happy.”
