“Okay, baby,” I concede, scooping CJ into my arms as he begins to squall, no longer satisfied with sucking on his little fist. I set him at my breast and smile down at him as his velvety purple eyes watch me as he suckles.
I have to admit, despite everything, I do wish that Cavek could see what we created between us. I wonder if he would be as instantly in love with him as I was when I first saw him.
CAVEK
“Cavek, this is foolish. You should be resting and allowing yourself more time to recover. Besides, it has been nearly a year. Maybe it would be better if you settle with a nice female here instead of traveling all the way to Ov’Ge. You have no idea what has happened between then and now,” Father says, concern warring with disapproval on his face.
I understand his concern. Even weeks after finally returning home with my brothers, I am unwell. After two weeks of healing rest, it took three days of scrubbing my skin to even feel remotely clean again. But I do not feel whole. A vital part of me is missing that has been gone for nearly a year. I say as much and I am surprised to see a softening in my father’s countenance.
“I think it is utterly romantic,” Mother gushes. “After all this time, he is going after his female. You just don’t have a romantic bone in your old grumpy body, Vidol.”
“You love this grumpy old unromantic body just fine,” Father says with a grunt, making Mother giggle.
“It is a fine body,” she agrees. “Our son deserves his own mate to shower love and admiration on him as well, so quit interfering.”
“It is not that I am trying to interfere,” he protests. He is doing exactly that. “I just don’t want him to overtax himself and come to find out that he set his heart on disappointment.”
“And how do you know she isn’t waiting and pining for him?” Mother demands, setting her hands on her hips, her hair frizzing with the sudden surge of her temper.
“Ever since you took over the throne, you have been nothing but a grouch. You must remember what it was like when we were young, walking hand in hand around the lily ponds, making love under the pixie lights.”
“Sampling each other’s flesh throughout the night,” Father says, his eyes brightening.
“Mother, Father, please!” I protest. The only thing worse than involuntarily imagining my siblings naked with their mates is imagining my parents having a sex life. Common sense says that they still enjoy each other. The way my mother likes to scream makes it hard to ignore that fact, but I absolutely don’t need details.
“Very well, Cavek, if you insist. If Orgath allows you passage, you may retrieve your mate.”
I don’t even try to hold back my enthusiastic grin as I quickly bow and leave the throne room. I rush to my room and begin to pack a small bag in preparation to depart. I am in such a hurry to depart that I don’t even notice my brother enter the room until he is standing beside me. Serus grins as he watches me.
“In a hurry?”
I glance up at him, wondering suspiciously at what his game is.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” I say coolly.
“Going to Ov’Ge for your mate?”
“Yes.”
“Splendid. I will come with you.”
I falter and glance up at my brother. “Why would you do a thing like that?”
Serus shrugs. “Maybe I am bored.”
“You have never been bored a day in your life. You can always find some sort of mischief to get into.”
“True, but what better fun than to accompany my youngest brother to Ov’Ge? It should be quite entertaining watching you acquire your female.”
My brows draw down into a scowl.
“You doubt me?”
He cannot contain his grin. “I doubt that your female will come as easily as you think she will.”
“I never said I was going to ask.”
That gives him pause. Serus stares at me for a long minute before slapping his leg and laughing loudly.
“Well then, you will definitely need me to make sure you don’t get yourself or your female killed.”
“Females,” I correct.
“I beg your pardon?”
I sigh impatiently and narrow my eyes on my brother. “My mate has a small female child. Since she is my mate’s daughter, she is now my daughter. We retrieve them both.”
“Does Mother know you are providing her an instant grandchild?”
“No.”
Serus rubs his hands together with glee. “An exceptional bonus. I can help you steal your mate and offspring and be present when Mother sees what you bring home.”
“Don’t you have a mate to tend to?”
“As it happens, she is away visiting family. I am all yours.”
“Just great,” I mutter.
“Isn’t it?” he says jovially.
“Don’t take this personally, but you’re a pain in the ass. I hope Father rules for a very long time so that I don’t have to deal with your ass on the throne.”
To my surprise, Serus shudders. “Gods, let’s hope so! I don’t want it. What a perfectly miserable job. Of all of us, you are best suited to it. You seem to enjoy the misery of politics.”
A snort of amusement escapes me, but in the end, I allow him to accompany me.
IT TAKES US LESS THAN two days’ travel before we arrive at the orc chieftain’s dwelling. It is not as grand as the troll palaces, nor as refined as those of the elves, yet it is sturdy and unshakeable like the orcs themselves. It is just as I remember it. I smile fondly and return the greetings of those orcs who remember me and shout their greetings.
“You are popular,” Serus mutters.
“I am known. I helped their chieftain save his mate and overthrow the previous chieftain who was a bit of a bastard.”
“Does Father know all of this?”
“To a degree.”
“Minimal?”
“As much as possible,” I admit with a small grin.
“Cavek, is that you?” a feminine voice calls down from a long staircase. I look up and see Sammi peering at me over the banister holding a young orc in her arms. Her eyes are wide with shock, and even I feel a bit startled. I know much time has passed during my captivity, but until now I hadn’t truly considered just how much.
I missed so much.
I ignore my brother’s obvious amusement and smile up at her.
“Of course. How many trolls do you personally know who’d just stroll into an orc chieftain’s keep?”
Her laughter drifts down as she hurries down the stairs toward to me. “Not many, that is true. Oh, Cavek, where have you been!?”
“A bit of a misunderstanding with a werewolf tribe that had me forcibly detained for some time.” Her mouth opens in surprise but I am quick to set her at ease. “But as you can see, I am whole and among the living.”
“Were you given the letter that Kate sent for you?”
I frown down at her and exchange a look with my brother. He shrugs, just as clueless as I am.
“No, I did not. Kate sent me a letter?” My heart soars that she thought of me during the time we were apart.
Sammi clears her throat and glances around the room, hesitating before she speaks again.
“It really isn’t my place to say anything... but it seemed important that she speak to you.”
“That fits well with my plans. I am here to use the portal, with Orgath’s permission,” I add as the large male comes into view.
“Cavek,” he says in greeting. “You are wishing entry into Ov’Ge?”
I straighten and face the orc with a stern expression as I would any opponent.
“I do.”
“About fucking time,” he says under his breath.
I ignore my brother’s laughter. My day is already looking up.
Chapter 8
Cavek
My only company through the portal this time is Serus, so I have to rely on my memory alone to get to Sammi’s familial home. Orgath’s mate did her best to refresh my memory
after a years’ absence had muddled so many details. I only hope that I understood her directions well and do not become lost.
A lost troll wandering around Anchorage wouldn’t likely sit well with the local humans. Worse would be the months of laughter I would have to endure from my brother.
It would have been helpful if Sammi had come, as she had wanted, but Orgath refused out of concern for his mate’s safety. I can certainly understand his position. With the mounting hostilities that humans demonstrated the last time they were in Ov’Ge, I’m not sure I would be comfortable with having my family here either.
Some species get away with it easier than others because they blend in better or are fairer in form. Orcs and trolls are not among them.
I smile with relief as we draw up to the narrow path leading up to the door of the exact building I was looking for. A crash behind me makes me freeze until my brother’s low curses cut through the air. The smell of refuse that follows makes me laugh for the first time in months.
“What the fucking hell is this?” Serus asks.
“It must be trash night,” I observe. I recall Jake telling me of this weekly ritual. “You tripped over a refuse bin.”
“Humans put waste in bins? That is disgusting. Blessed gods, what is this white rolled up thing? It is putrid!” I turn to look back at him when he sputters and flings it away in disgust. “That thing was covered in shit! Gods of the abyss, I have it all over me.”
Assuming that he must be exaggerating or causing an unnecessary fuss, I turn around and approach him. I notice the foul stench seconds before I see the source. A foot away from Serus, an infant butt-covering lies open on the ground covered in the most repulsive green shit I have ever seen. Glancing at my brother, still muttering as he rises to his feet, confirms that his entire left thigh is covered in the mess.
“You never said that humans are this disgusting.”
“That belongs to a newly-born offspring, I would guess. Such things are by nature disgusting.”
“Now I smell as foul as a trollbie,” he grouses darkly.
“Just smell like it as far away from me as possible,” I mutter, earning a disgusted look from my sibling.
I frown at the house. I don’t recall there being anyone here who would have a baby. Perhaps Luke has mated and producing young? Not that it matters. I’m here to find out where my mate is and be on my way. Unless this is the wrong house... but I don’t think so. My nostrils flare and I detect the scents of Lucy, Luke, and David, all strong enough to indicate they’re at home. I don’t have a nose like a werewolf or some other creatures of Ov’Gorg, but it’s strong enough to detect familiar bodies.
I pause and my heart beats stronger as I catch the rich scent of my female and Boukie. And a third. A male, who is oddly at once both familiar but a complete stranger to my senses.
My family is here with another male.
Anger rushes through me that cannot be contained or reasoned with. Father had attempted to prepare me for this possibility, but I do not care. I will destroy any male who attempts to get between me and my mate.
“Cavek, what is it?” Serus shouts as I run toward the front door of the house.
I do not bother answering him. To do so serves no purpose. I’m consumed by the knowledge that another male is in my place. It is unbearable. An honorable male would cede to his rival, but months in a dank werewolf’s cell killed that part of me.
I refuse to give up the one thing that kept me going.
I can feel Serus behind me as I insert the flat of a blade between the door and its frame and effortlessly pry it open.
“These humans do not have much in the way of security,” Serus observes quietly as he slips inside following close behind me. I know without even looking that he is attempting to examine everything at once as we go through the house as I track my female’s scent.
I make my way soundlessly through the house until I arrive first at the room I shared with Ferli and Bodi. The scent of Boukie comes strongly from this room. I will retrieve my human offspring.
I ease the door open and creep inside. A smile spreads over my face when I catch sight of a small slender arm thrown over a pillow and a tiny foot hanging from the coverings on the bed. I gently peel back the covering, revealing Boukie’s flushed face buried against the pillow.
“This is your mate’s offspring? She is very small,” Serus whispers.
I spare him a nod, but my attention is on the little female. She’s grown so much in the time I have been gone that it makes my heart ache. Boukie stirs and open her eyes, blinking against her fatigue. Her eyes widen suddenly, and she shoots up in her bed.
“Cavek!” she shrieks, springing into my arms.
I quickly hush her, but I can’t hold back my happiness as I enfold her in my arms.
“You’re here! I told Mommy,” she whispers fiercely, making my heart swell with love. “You didn’t forget us.”
“I would never forget you,” I whisper, my heart in my throat.
I motion to my brother, who slowly approaches. Boukie’s eyes widen further, taking in his massive size.
“This is my brother, Serus. He’s come all this way to help me bring you home.”
Serus outstretches a hand and, after a moment, she trustingly sets her own hand in his grasp.
“Greetings, Boukie,” Serus whispers.
“Hi, Uncle Serus,” she returns.
The effect is devastating on my brother. His face softens and he bestows a broad smile upon her. As usual, Boukie is not even deterred by his large fangs. She reaches up and grasps his face between her hands in wonder before dragging his head down to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him.
“Serus is going to carry you, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“I am going to get your mommy now.”
“Don’t forget CJ,” she says, her voice rising slightly as I frantically wave her down.
I can’t help but fume as questions stir within me. Who is this CJ to my females? Was my daughter attached to this male already? Surely Boukie would not expect me to bring him with me.
“Where is CJ?” I ask, trying to keep the growl out of my voice.
“He sleeps with Mommy. We have to take him with us.”
Everything within me rebels at the mere suggestion. I thrust my mounting anger aside. I am certainly not taking this male with us. But I can kill this CJ later, I decide. My first priority is retrieving my mate.
Serus respectfully waits outside the door as I slip into her room. My heart stops as I spy her form sleeping alone curled up under the blanket, her mass of dark hair fanned out over the pillow. I don’t see the male anywhere. It’s possible I can remove her before he even notices she’s missing.
I pull back the blanket, exposing her delectable form covered with nothing more than an oversized tunic decorated with the outline of a giant bat across her breasts. I inhale deeply, feeling peace for the first time in so long.
I have dreamed of this moment.
Summoning the magic from within my belly, I lean forward and exhale over her. The pale pink smoke ignited within me issues out from my lungs and surrounds her, drawing into her body as she breathes it in. I relax, this part of my task complete. The breath of sleep will keep her slumbering for many hours.
My eyes wander down further and then stop. Everything within me freezes as I stare at a small form curled against my mate’s belly. The little one is clad in a long bit of cloth gathered beneath its feet, but the pale green skin and the tuft of lavender hair are that of a healthy trollbie.
I draw the tiny male’s scent deep into my lungs, savoring it, imprinting it upon my being. This is my son. The urge to weep sweeps over me like a sudden riptide. All the pain and suffering I went through, all that I missed—my female round with our young and the birth of my son—everything is worth this very moment.
“Cavek, what is taking so long?” Serus whispers loud enough to carry.
I don’t want to relinquis
h my son, but I need my hands free to transport Kate and it will be easier to do if she’s not awake. I retreat back through the door, wrapping my son in a blanket I pulled off the back of a strange chair that glides on its base. Serus cranes his head to see what I am holding bundled in my arms but suddenly growls and whips around with his sword ready at a sound coming up behind us. I still, prepared to defend my mate and offspring.
“Cavek, is that you?” a male’s voice echoes down the hallway.
I relax, recognition flooding me at the familiar scent and sound of his voice.
“Luke,” I greet the male as he comes around the corner, pushing my brother’s hand and weapon aside. “I have returned for my family.”
Luke squints up at me, brushing back the locks of his hair covering his eyes. After a few more nervous glances at my brother, he nods.
“I figured you might eventually. But I didn’t think it would take you so long,” he finishes with a disapproving frown.
“Are you questioning my brother’s honor?” Serus steps forward and snarls with menace.
My brother is a complete dick, but I can count on him to have my back in almost any situation.
“It’s okay, Serus,” I say. “It is a fair observation. I don’t blame the male for questioning me.” I turn my attention fully on Luke. “I intended to return within days but ended up caged by my enemies for a number of months until my brothers could free me.”
Luke pales.
“This place you’re taking them... is it safe?”
I cock my head and regard the human.
“Is any place truly safe? Can you guarantee we would be safe here? Would my son be safe maturing here?”
I can feel the weight of Serus’s gaze and feel him shift behind me. His confusion is nigh palpable.
Luke considers my point for minute then shakes his head with a wan smile.
“No, I suppose not.”
“Help me then. Help me get my family to the portal.”
“You aren’t going to wake Kate first?” Luke asks, a frown once more pulling at his lips.
The Troll Bride Page 6
