Page 17 of The Orc's Rage

It was a surprisingly keen invention for people she considered so brutish, but it would certainly prevent Cedar from having to wander off into the snow.

Only a moment later, someone knocked on the post, and Kargorr opened the tent flap. To Cedar’s surprise, a human woman stood outside, her head bowed, a neatly folded pile of clothes in her arms. Kargorr grunted in acknowledgement, took the clothes, and let the flap fall closed again.

Cedar watched as he examined the garments, hoping that she might finally have pants. There was a coat, a tunic, and thankfully... a pair of pants.

“Eat first,” Kargorr told her, gesturing at the food that was still steaming.

Cedar didn’t have to be told twice. After last night and this morning, she was absolutely ravenous. Kargorr ate bits and pieces off the tray as she devoured her meal. It was delicious, full of fat and flavor and even plenty of salt. She was much too hungry to give much thought to his dark eyes as he watched her.

Finally, when she was finished, Cedar got up and tried on the clothes. He had already seen her, all of her, many times over now, so she merely ignored his gaze as she changed. The leather was remarkably soft under her hands, pliable and smooth, the stitches incredibly even. Cedar herself couldn’t sew that well, and she marveled at it before slipping the tunic on over her head.

“I have much to attend to today,” Lord Kargorr said, rising at last. “Stay here. There will be two guards on duty.” The orc narrowed his eyes at her. “If you try to leave, they’ll be the first to tell me.”

Briefly Cedar wondered how long he’d be gone, and what she would have to do in the meantime. She thought she might at least have some movement available to her, that perhaps she could have run of the camp. But no, he was planning to keep her prisoner in his tent, for who knew how long.

She almost objected to being left and confined there, but she remembered her plan.Obedient. Subdued. That was how she would get free of this place—by playing a part and playing it well.

So Cedar sat down on the bed to show she didn’t plan on going anywhere. With a sharp nod of approval, Lord Kargorr turned around and walked out into the snow, leaving her alone.

Alone. She really was alone now, more than she’d ever been living under Lissa.

Still exhausted after the way Kargorr had taken her this morning and last night, and still wearing her soft new clothes, Cedar climbed back into the furs and fell asleep.

Kargorr

He had much to do preparing theparogfor a move. The mammoths would need to be lured back in, and then all the fences and posts for the tents loaded up onto sledges for them to pull. He had already sent off nine of his warriors to fan out and locate the herd, then bring them back in. He hoped they would return in two days’ time, so as not to delay their departure.

But his thoughts would still wind back to what was waiting for him in his tent. Cedar’s small, supple body was like the most delicious meal, a food that he longed to get his mouth around again. He ought to get back to her soon, to continue rutting her and securing the bond between them.

He didn’t like the idea of seeing her pale pink backside torn open by the lash of a whip, but if she tried to escape while he was away, he would have no choice but to punish her—he’d have to make an example of her, or hisparogwould not respect him. Kargorr would make it in her best interest not to attempt it.

Or was it that his body had simply awoken, and now it wanted to sate years of built-up carnal need? Certainly he felt that just as much. His cock twitched at the thought of the human’s sweet cunt, the sight of her underneath him, the way her legs had squeezed so passionately around his hips.

There was an animal inside her, too, and he wondered if he could fashion a key to unlock it.

He barked orders as he patrolled the perimeter of the camp, overseeing the preparation. Theparoghad not moved in two years, and they had grown lazy and started putting down roots. All of those would need to be torn up, and it would be a difficult process when they had accumulated so much.

Kargorr paused when he reached the livestock pens where Cedar’s pigs were kept. When he stopped to survey them, the stablemaster emerged from the hut that had been erected nearby.

“We lost one piglet overnight,” he said as he approached, then stopped a respectful distance away. “The others are thriving, but I don’t know how we’ll take them on our journey.”

So he understood that this pig was important. Good. Kargorr watched the piglets fumble over themselves to get to their mother. Cedar had been desperate to save them, a sign that she had a softer side, a side that could be appealed to.

“We will bring them,” Kargorr said. He surveyed the piglets, and an idea came to him. “They’ll have their own sledge if need be.”

The caretaker only just held in his surprise. He nodded in understanding. “Of course, Lord Kargorr. I’ll make sure they get to their destination safely.”

“Good.” Kargorr passed the pens, mulling over his idea as he approached the stables. He hadn’t seen Liga in some time, and surely his cat would be testy with him if he didn’t come bearing gifts. Speaking of bonds he needed to forge and maintain, if he wanted Liga to be pliable enough for their upcoming trip, he should attend to her.

There was no one around as he entered the icehouse, where meat was slung across the ice, venison and beef and even other pigs they’d found and butchered during their raid. He flicked his knife out of his belt and sliced off a good chunk of some prime red meat, and then another piece, thinking of how long it had been since he’d called on his cat.

Bearing both slabs of meat, he left the icehouse and headed out onto the snow-covered plain beyond the camp. He saw the telltale humps of white just beyond the perimeter and held up the raw beef.

“Come, Liga!” he called out, letting the air pick up the scent of the meat. Then he waited.

Out in the snow, one of the lumps moved. It rose up, higher and higher, until it had reached its full height. If he were any human man, Liga could simply snap him up in one or two big mouthfuls. But a cat was much less likely to attempt such a feat against thegrrosek. There was a grudging respect for one another, as interdependent species often have. Theparogkept them fed, and the cats carried their riders from place to place.

Liga was female, but one of the biggest in their clan, just like her mother had been. She curled her shoulders as she stretched, showing off her huge, lithe body. When her mouth opened in a yawn, it revealed her massive fangs, which jutted down from her upper jaw long past her bottom one, even with her mouth askew and her pink tongue bared.

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