Page 11 of Claimed By The Orc

He tilted his head. “Huh?”

“My name. It’s Mahk. No r.”

Suddenly, all the anger I’d expected from Tanner earlier rose to the surface. He smacked my shoulder, pretty hard for a human too. “What the fuck, man? Are you saying I’ve been saying your name wrong all this time and you didn’t correct me?”

Butterflies filled my stomach as I lifted a shoulder in response. “I don’t mind you calling me Mark. You can call me anything you want.”

Tanner scowled and climbed to his feet. “Don’t give people that kind of power. It doesn’t matter if it sounds weird to everyone else. You deserve to be called your own name.” Then Tanner laughed, the sound a little crazed. “What the fuck? Why is that what I’m most worried about?” It sounded like he was talking to himself, so I didn’t respond. I stayed where I was, my clothes being ruined by the damp ground, and waited as Tanner got his thoughts together.

There was a lot of mumbling, something about medication and therapy and a lack of sleep, but it wasn’t making much sense to me. I racked my brain, trying to think of how to make it better, but I couldn’t come up with anything.

Finally, Tanner turned to me. “I changed my mind.” Oh no. No. What did he change his mind about? Was he going to make me leave after all. “I want to see it. The body. The orc.”

I stood carefully, making sure I kept my distance from Tanner. “Are you sure? I can show you my true form if you want.” I didn’t want him to get too close to Koth, like even in death he’d taint my Tanner.

Tanner nodded but then shook his head. “No. I mean yes. Yes, I want to see your true form. I think I need to. But I want to see him first. When you show me your true self, I want it to be somewhere better than this. He’s just a stranger. ”

I didn’t understand the logic, but I didn’t have it in me to deny my mate anything, so I walked closer to him and held out my hand, relieved when he took it with only a little hesitance.

Together, we stared down at the body through the tarp. He seemed to be watching it intensely, and I tried to look at it from Tanner’s perspective, wondering what he saw.

“Is this what you look like?”

I shrugged. “More or less. My eyes are purple. I have the same white streak in my hair that I do as a human. He’s taller and wider than I was.”

“That’s, that’s cool. And the fangs?”

I frowned, trying to make out what he was saying. “Our tusks? Yes, I have them.”

“Cool. Cool. That’s fine.”

I felt like Tanner was panicking, but he still didn’t let go of my hand.

“And you said he tried to kill your brother’s mate? A human?”

“Yes. Both my brothers have mates who are human. They came through the same barrier I did actually.”

That seemed to give Tanner pause. “Wait. You said something about Sumner Cave?”

I nodded. “Yes. That is where the barrier is.” Was.

“Shit. Oh fuck. Those stories are true? About people going missing in Sumner Cave?”

“I suppose. Though, the barrier only opens if your mate is on the other side.”

Tanner turned to me, a strange look on his face I could not decipher. “And that’s the only thing happening? Nothing else is making people go missing?”

I pursed my lips, not quite understanding. ”No? I am sure some humans go missing because of wild animals or injuries, but the only way into Belzod is through the barrier’s magic.”

That didn’t seem to be the answer Tanner wanted. “Okay, um, how do I say this without sounding like an asshole?”

“You can say anything, Tanner. I will not be upset.”

“Fuck. Yeah, okay. You aren’t responsible for any of the missing humans, are you? Like, you didn’t kill any of them?”

Oh! That was what he was worried about? That made sense since I’d told him my profession only minutes ago. “Of course not. I have never killed a human, and I will not unless they threaten you or my family. Or, I suppose, your siblings or mother, since that would still hurt you, but since that hasn’t happened yet, I have not killed any humans.”

Tanner looked a little pale. Maybe he should sit down again? Did he need to eat? I hadn’t been there to make sure he’d eaten his evening meal and I read that humans could sometimes go faint when they didn’t eat regularly.

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