Page 4 of Bidding on the Orc Outcast

“I’m fine. Working.”

He patted his satchel and remained standing, towering over her small body, but she didn’t look even remotely intimidated. She claimed her diminutive size came from a fairy somewhere in her family tree, but her lack of inches made her no less formidable than a full-sized orc.

“Don’t be silly. Your plants aren’t going anywhere. Opportunities, on the other hand, can slip right by while you’re hiding in these woods.”

“I’m not hiding.” The familiar defensiveness crept into his voice.

“I’m glad to hear it. Then you won’t mind participating in the Valentine’s Day bachelor auction. It’s to raise money for the animal shelter.”

A bachelor auction? Standing on a stage for people to gawk at and whisper about? She must have lost her mind.

“Absolutely not.”

Her eyes widened again.

“Don’t you care about those poor animals?”

“You know I do, but I’m not going.”

“It’s just for one evening. Unless you’re scared?”

“Manipulation doesn’t work on me anymore.” But even as he said it, he suspected he’d end up doing whatever she wanted. He always did.

Not this time.

He cast a longing look at the surrounding forest. It should be dense enough to hide him, at least for a little while. Flora had an uncanny ability to track him down. But if it would buy him some time…

His fingers tightened on the leather strap of his satchel, but his godmother only laughed and patted the step next to her again.

“Oh, stop plotting useless escape routes, boy, and sit down. My neck hurts from looking up at you.”

The wooden step creaked under his weight as he sighed and lowered himself down beside her, careful to leave space between them.

“What’s this really about?”

“You’re so suspicious,” she complained, smoothing the downy yellow feathers covering her tracksuit.

“That’s because I know that look.”

“What look?”

“The one that means trouble. For me.”

The mischievous look disappeared as she reached over and patted his knee.

“I worry about you out here alone.”

His jaw tightened again. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. You’ve isolated yourself from everything and everyone. And don’t tell me you prefer it that way. No one prefers loneliness.”

He flinched, the words striking a little too close to home. He’d come to terms with his life, even found a certain satisfaction in it, but he couldn’t deny that it was a lonely one. When the only sounds he heard for weeks on end were the chattering of the birds and the wind whispering through the leaves. But he knew better than to admit it.

“I don’t need your meddling in my life, Flora.”

“Of course not,” she agreed and he almost relaxed, but then her hand tightened on his knee. “All I want is for you to enter the bachelor auction.”

“Why? No one is going to bid on me.”

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