Page 105 of Valpar

I rubbed my lips together. A bond was more powerful than any magic?

“We haven’t mated, yet though. He hasn’t bitten me. He wanted to make it special, romantic.” My face heated, and I rubbed the area on my neck. It was sore, black and blue, even where he liked to suck and nibble. He had seen other creatures in Bergarian with bites. It seemed the norm for people to bite their mates, but they had fangs. Orcs had big teeth with their under bite and it would be difficult to leave a mark that way.

And it looked like it would hurt like the dickens.

“No, he hasn’t,” my Fairy Godmother hummed in thought. “But he doesn’t have to claim you for a bond to break a spell or a curse, Calliope. Once you both met, the bond wove you both together, tighter and tighter like a giant hug.” She squeezed my arm, and the whisp jumped off my godmother’s shoulder and tickled my nose.

“We have been inseparable. He’s all over me.”

She nodded. “And I’m sure he’s having trouble not claiming you, too, hasn’t he?”

I nodded and kept my eyes on the path. We passed the treehouse and continued through the trees.

“Yeah, but he hasn’t said anything, especially, after I told him I didn’t want to know about my past.”

My godmother breathed a long dramatic sigh and put her hand to her forehead. “Who knew the grumpy, irritable orc, of the three, would have such a sweet spot and keep his selfishness to himself?”

Huh?

“Sweetheart, your uncle told him that once he claimed you there was a chance your memories would come back. Valpar has held off, because he wants you to make the choice on your own about knowing your past.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. If he told me he couldn’t claim me until I knew of my past, that would have been an ultimatum. It would have made me angry that I had to chooseand force myself to remember my memories. It would have made me angry because he had a power over me.

On the other hand, I was a little miffed he didn’t tell me…but why should I be? He was trying to protect me. I didn’t think there was any right decision in this; I didn’t think there was a right answer, because I didn’t think I would have been able to make the decision if the roles were reversed.

No wonder he was so grumpy in the beginning, hitting trees and being so distant for those few days.

And there I was, teasing him by playing with my lady parts on the bed.

I slapped my forehead.Wow, what a mate I was.

He had been going against everything he was for my sake. He wasn’t being the rough orc that I was demanding because he didn’t want to hurt me, not just physically but mentally. He didn’t want to see me break. Whatever my past was, it must be… life-altering.

I’d been so busy with these flashbacks; I hadn’t thought of him. I was being a terrible mate to him, not thinking about his feelings, too. He must be so sad that I hadn’t asked him to claim me, yet, as well.

Fairy Godmother stopped in her tracks and pulled her arm away from me. She settled her hands on my shoulders and looked me square in the eye. “You stop that right now, little fairy.” My eyes widened. “You stop overthinking. Valpar is taking care of you. He understands how big this is. He knows your past, he knows where you come from and he would wait years to claim you, until you said it was alright.”

My lungs filled with air and I let it out slowly.

She dropped her hands and let them lie at her side. “The reason I am here is to do an intervention. I’m here to help the orcs along with their bondings and the claiming of their mates.”

“And I’m messing everything up?” My lip quivered, and I held my hands together. The whisp who had been traveling with us waved in front of my face and kissed my cheek.

“Gods, no, sweet thing. No, not at all. I am here for another reason entirely. This visit is about you. My intervention is about you.”

“But I’m not on drugs. I don’t drink that fae wine.” I sniffed and wiped away a lone tear.

“Stay with me, Calliope. We are almost there.” She patted my head. “No, I’m here to say you have a choice. One, you can let these memories creep up on you. You will continue to get these flashbacks because the bond is slowly breaking the spell.”

I nodded for her to continue.

“Two; you can bond with Valpar, and your memories will return.”

I rubbed an arm under my nose. “Right after? All at once?”

Fairy Godmother huffed and sighed. “Yes, right after. Bonds are powerful and are quick to break spells.”

Two options which sucked. Let the memories slowly come back, so Valpar and I have to suffer not bonding with each other, while letting my mind slowly regain the memories, or I bond with Valpar and he gets to deal with a crying mess afterward.

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