Page 11 of Vexing the Grumpy Orc

Definitely both.

CHAPTER FOUR

GALAN

Cold mountain water swirled around my boots, but it did nothing to cool the restless heat under my skin. My gaze drifted to the purple mushrooms dotting the bank, their caps glowing faintly in the afternoon shadows. The same shade as the ones she’d arranged in that ritual circle. The ones that had pulsed with power when?—

My fingers tightened on the fishing rod, knuckles whitening as if I could strangle the memory away. Fuck. Even fungus reminded me of her now. Of smooth skin under my hands. The way she’d arched against me, demanding more. Her nails raking down my back as I?—

No. I cast the line harder than necessary, sending the hook sailing past the deeper pools where trout usually lurked. Focus on catching dinner for Father. Not on witches who smelled like winter air anddefiance. Not on how she’d felt wrapped around me, so tight and hot and?—

Gods damn it.

Shame coursed through me. Witch magic. That was the only explanation, despite her claims of channeling ‘truth’. Filthy, corrupting—and I’d let her seduce me with her spells. Let her take what should have been saved for a proper orc mate.

Father would explode if he knew. Bad enough I’d failed to drive her off clan lands. But to rut with her like some mindless beast...

Twigs snapped behind me. I tensed, already reaching for the knife at my belt before recognizing the familiar heavy tread. Osen emerged from the brush, his expression grim.

I turned my back on my chief and cousin, focusing on the fishing line cutting through dark water. “What did he do this time?”

A weary sigh answered me. We both knew there was only one reason the clan chief would track me down personally. One stubborn, delusional reason living in a cave and spinning tales of nonexistent allies.

“Your father chased off another park ranger.” Osen came to a stop on the bank, arms crossed. “He was caught destroying their equipment, and accused them of spying.”

Fucking hell. Fury flashed through me. Again? This made the fifth official complaint from humans, and the third time he’d gotten destructive. As much as Iunderstood his frustration—humans did love poking their noses into private clan business—the rangers kept random hikers from straying too close to our borders.

The clan did not need another dead human on its hands.

“He’s getting worse.” My knuckles whitened on the pole. “The isolation?—”

“Is his own doing.” Osen’s voice cut through my excuses. “He chose exile over accepting my leadership.”

He was right, damn him. But it didn’t make the truth sit any easier.

The hook snagged on a submerged branch. I yanked it free with more force than necessary. “And what do you want me to do? He barely tolerates my visits as it is.”

“Talk some sense into him.” Osen kicked a pebble into the water. “Make him understand?—”

“That his exile was justified?” I whipped around with a snarl. “That his own son betrayed him for a chief who lets witches into our territory? You’re his chief?—”

“I’m not. He made that clear when he tried to drive an ax through my skull and murder my mate.” My cousin’s voice turned frigid. “The Silvermist mayor is threatening the clan’s access to the lower trails. Miranda’s already working overtime setting wards against some unknown magic she sensed near our borders, and I don’t have the patience to deal with your father’s paranoid rages on top of everything else. Just make sure he stays in his damn cave until we sort this out.”

My grip tightened on the rod. Hannah. Her ritual. The shadow caps dotting the bank suddenly felt like accusatory eyes.

“The wards won’t be lethal,” Osen continued, “but we don’t need him stumbling into them and starting another incident. Handle it.”

“Don’t.” The word tumbled out before I could stop it.

Osen’s reflection went still. “Don’t what?”

Fuck.

“Don’t set any wards.” I reeled in slowly, buying time to choose the words I forced past gritted teeth. “There’s a witch. She needs the shadow caps. For some ritual.”

Osen dragged a hand down his face. “You know this how?”

Because I caught her trespassing. Because something drove us together in ways I still couldn’t explain. Because I fucked her in the dirt while filthy magic surged around us, and woke up every day since with the feel of her still on my cock.

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