Page 73 of Bound to the Orc Hunter

My heart gives a little skip as the wall around it cracks open, and I can’t deny it any longer.

I love him.

CHAPTER FORTY

Branikk

While the cu sith get acquainted with the new arrivals, I pull Grace to the side.

My bride looks up at me, her beautiful blue eyes wide and a little dazed. Is it meeting the dragon? He’s not much of a dragon yet, for all his teenage growth. Just wait until Grace meets Drake’s mother, Sheevora, who’s as big as a cottage. Now there’s a dragon.

I tuck a lock of escaped hair behind her ear, its soft touch making me want to bury my fingers in the mass of it as always. I ask softly, “Is everything okay?”

She blinks a couple of times and swallows. “Yep.”

“I’m so glad you got to meet Ashley.” All of the human women are friendly, but the warlord’s sunny wife can winanyone over. Just look at what she did to Dravarr—I’d almost forgotten he could smile until she came into his life. “I know you must miss having human friends.”

My moon bound’s lips twist into something that’s a pale imitation of a smile—there’s no true joy in it. “Can’t miss what you haven’t got.”

“How can that be?” I frown. “You’re amazing.”

“The carnival’s always on the move, traveling around. You’re never in one place for more than a week. Even the other workers tend to come and go. It’s a temporary job for a lot of them, and it takes a while for me to warm up to people… or maybe it’s for people to warm up to me.” She gives a one-shoulder shrug. “Same difference.”

It hurts to see the ghost of loneliness haunt her eyes.

“Then the Moon Goddess knew what she was doing when she brought you to Alarria, where we’re all smart enough to know your worth.” When she tries to dip her head, I raise her chin and look into her eyes. “WhereI’msmart enough to know your worth. You are precious. You’ve been precious to me since the moment we met, and my admiration has only grown.”

Her mouth softens, and I pull her to me, unable to resist holding her, letting her feel viscerally that she’s no longer alone.

“We should have hunted by now,” Rune’s voice cuts through the clearing. “It’s growing late, and there are many mouths to feed.”

“We can make up for lost time.” I turn from my bride with one last caress of her cheek and stride over to where I left my bow and quiver, slinging both onto my back. I cock an eyebrow at Dravarr. “Want to come?”

“By the goddess, yes. I’m ready to do anything but cling to a dragon’s back.”

“I’ll have you know it’s a very good back,” Drake says.

“It’s a wonderful back.” Ashley gives the teen a pat on the neck. “And we’re so grateful you flew Dravarr here, aren’t we?” She shoots her husband a look and tips her head toward the dragon.

“We are.” His lips twitch. “We also flew over a small herd of elk not far from here.”

“They looked good.” Drake launches into the air. “I’ll hunt, too.”

Then we’re off, running through the forest, the cu sith ranging to either side as Dravarr leads the way. It’s been a long time since I last hunted with another orc and even longer since that orc was Dravarr. Although we completed our initial warrior training together as teens, our paths split after that, with me focusing on learning to make bows and arrows while he learned leadership and battle strategies. Even though I’m usually the outgoing and talkative one when in the village, Dravarr’s quietness fits with who I am here, in the forest.

It’s exhilarating, the strong thump of my heart matching the softer strike of my feet hitting the ground. Although Dravarr and I don’t have Krivoth’s stealth magic, all orcs are Wild Fae who can tap into oneness with the forest.

We leap over ferns and duck low-hanging branches, moving like the wind. A feral grin stretches my lips away from my tusks, and Dravarr wears a similar expression. Every sound seems magnified—the rustle of a bird settling into its nest, the small stir of a rabbit under a bush, safe because we hunt larger game. The breeze brings the scent of deer to my nose, and I run harder.

A glen opens ahead, several bucks and does grazing within. The dragon’s wings snap closed as he dives, hitting his mark and scattering the rest of the herd, sending a young buck bolting straight for us. My bow leaps into my hand, arrow already nocked, and I let fly, my magic needing to do little to make it find its mark.

Pack hunters working together, the cu sith bring down two elk of their own.

My eyes meet Dravarr’s over my kill, the gleam of the wild shining in their dark depths. I know I look the same. A primitive satisfaction fills me, one written into the very heart of who I am. We will eat well tonight.

My bride will eat well.

The pups surround Grace and Ashley when we return to the dens, little bodies wiggling with so much excitement it looks as if their tails might fly off. The witches sit on the soft moss of the clearing, hands constantly moving as they pet one pup after the other.

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