Page 22 of Charming the Orc's Mate

Poppy’s eyes twinkled. “My lips are sealed. Now shoo! I’m just here for you, and I’ve got to man my station again soon.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I gave a mock salute, my mind already drifting to Carissa as I ambled down Main Street.

It had been days since I’d followed her deeper into the stacks, days of stolen moments and heated glances. Every second not devoted to work found me at Spines & Spirits, ‘helping’ with inventory or deliveries. Really, I was addicted to the way Carissa’s eyes lit up when I walked through the door, to the quiet moments when she’d lean into me while poring over paperwork.

To the way she trembled beneath my hands when I pulled her into dark corners for a taste.

Fuck, I was in deep.

Still, Tate’s pressure campaign continued to boil. Every day brought new “emergencies” for Carissa to handle. Surprise inspections. Suddenly due invoices. I’d even caught the snake lurking outside Spines & Spirits more than once, watching the place like a vulture eyeing its next meal.

But Carissa was tougher than he knew. And today, we’d show that asshole what happened when you messed with my mate.

“There you are!” Luna’s voice snapped me from my thoughts. She and Stella flanked me as I crossed the street, matching my stride easily. “We were starting to think you’d chickened out.”

“As if I’d miss this.” The distant sounds of music and chatter reached my ears, but the source remained hidden behind the row of shops. My chest swelled with pride. We’d pulled it off. “How’s it looking?”

Stella grinned, canines glinting in the afternoon sun. “Last few stragglers are being herded in now. Honestly, some people have no sense of community spirit.”

“Yeah,” Luna chimed in, “don’t they know there’s free food?”

“You two sound way too excited about hunting down our neighbors.” I shot them a sideways glance. “Should I be worried?”

“Please.” Luna rolled her eyes. “We’re professionals.”

“Exactly,” Stella chimed in. “We only bitepayingcustomers.”

“So, when were you planning to tell your chief you’re defecting?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at Osen’s voice. My brother leaned against a lamp post as we rounded the corner, arms crossed and expression unreadable.

The twins melted away, leaving me to face my brother alone.

Heat crawled up the back of my neck. I hadn’t even told Carissa my plans yet. Hadn’t quite admitted them to myself. Buttrust Osen to see right through me. “I’m not—” The denial died in my throat as he raised an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

He snorted and landed a brotherly punch to my shoulder. “Please. You’ve been in town more than the village lately. Taking on extra commissions. Scheduling everything around Silvermist deliveries. Ring any bells?” His grin widened. “Plus, you roped my mate into this whole scheme. Of course I know.”

“I’m not defecting,” I muttered. “I’m just... exploring options.”

Osen’s expression remained neutral. Waiting.

I stopped and turned to him, squaring my shoulders as I launched into the speech I’d been rehearsing. “Look, I’ve been thinking. The clan’s woodworking could be so much more. You hear the customers at Mist and Market—they’re always asking about regular store hours, a place to browse that loads faster than ten pixels per year.” I took a deep breath. “I want to open a storefront. Here. In Silvermist.”

Osen folded his arms over his chest and listened intently as I laid out the plans I’d picked over long into the night. A proper showroom for our larger pieces. A workshop where customers could watch carving demonstrations. Maybe even classes, get the humans and other supernaturals interested in orc craftsmanship.

I faltered as I reached the end of my spiel. Osen’s silence stretched between us, and I found myself filling it. “I want to make this work,” I admitted, the words coming slower now. “I want to make this work withher.”

Something softened in my brother’s face. “What about the apprenticeship in Vancouver?”

I scrubbed a hand over the back of my head and winced. Of course he knew about that, too. Clan chiefs talked, even new ones like Osen. I’d been an idiot to think simply never mentioning the idea again would make it disappear.

“What, and miss your mate taking wrecking balls to the place? Not a chance.”

I tried to make light of it, to ease the weight settling on both our shoulders. But we both recognized the gravity of that long-ago decision. The fork in the road I’d chosen, sacrificing my own ambitions to support my brother. To support the clan.

“Torain.” Osen’s voice was quiet. “You didn’t have to stay for me.”

“I know. But you were taking over the clan, and I couldn’t just—” I rolled my shoulders, but the pressure just wouldn’t shake. “I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”

---