Page 17 of Simon

“I need to go back.” He stood up, growled under his breath, and grabbed bushes from ten feet away to put them in front of the trunk of the tree.

I crawled toward him. I could feel the blood draining from my face when I grabbed his wrist, but I needed to know.

“Elmira… is she your mate?” I barely got it out when his demeanor softened, and his lip curled into a smile.

“That she is.” Dutton continued to pack shrubs around me and pushed my head back into the log.

I shook my head. “Then why haven’t you mated with her? Don’t you want her?”

Dutton scoffed and kneeled at the base of the trunk. “I suppose you wouldn’t get it. You’re human and just arrived in this realm, but just because she’s my mate doesn’t mean she will automatically accept the bond.” He stared off into the distance from where we came. “We are destined to be together, but the journey to get there is part of the fun. Besides,”—he winked—“I enjoy riling her up, pulling out the bond. Stretching the bond longer intensifies the pleasure, until one day she will jump my bones and fuck me into oblivion.”

My face regained its color as the blood that had drained from it was replenished, turning my face crimson.

“I see.” I ducked back inside the log to contemplate what he just said when I heard a roar.

“Stay in the log until I come back.” He pulled a sack from his pocket and untied the twine. He sprinkled the powder around the trunk and where his feet had been. The yellowcress was the only thing keeping me safe right now.

I leaned back into the damp wood. The moss and various plants that grew inside were being trampled by me, but I didn’t have it in my heart to care. I was hiding for my life and felt silly for doing it.

The orcs and the shifters were fighting for me, and I was hiding like a tiny child. I wiped my hand down my face, feeling the guilt weighing heavy on my chest. They knew this could be a dangerous excursion, but it didn’t make me feel any better. We hadn’t been out here for a full week and were already facing problems.

What if someone died? If one person died who was mated, their partner would follow because two souls bound cannot live without each other. That was hard for me to grasp because I hadn’t seen it before, but if someone died because of this ogre, I would see it firsthand.

Mates could live for a long while here, too. Everything lives a long time, even eternity if they didn’t get killed with a weapon or another person in a spar. I couldn't believe that people here didn’t age past thirty as well.

There are a few humans who live here. We will grow old and die, unless we find a mate. Like my father, or me. I giggled at that thought. My father, nearly eighty years old, finding a mate. They say coming to this realm is no mistake, that every human that arrives is destined, fated for something greater.

I had yet to believe that, but then again, the dream from last night was still stuck in my head. If that orgasm was my destiny, I’d die a smiling woman.

I let out a puff of breath.

Why was I thinking about that when an ogre was attacking the camp?

A branch snapped from outside, and my heart stopped. The notebook that I had carried like a security blanket crinkled under my weight. I stopped breathing, thinking that it would help whatever was outside to walk away.

The yellowcress would keep my scent hidden, but moving, talking, and breathing? They could listen and find me without question.

The small taps of movement came closer, and my eyes widened when I saw a shadow at the entrance of the log. I closed my eyes, curled my legs up toward me, and wrapped my arms around them. I hoped that by acting as if I wasn’t there, they would think I wasn’t there. Because I had nowhere else to go. The other end of the log was crushed, leaving my entry as my only exit.

Branches moved, and the greenery slipped away. I could see it in my mind, even though my eyes were closed. The breeze came inside, moving away the musty scent of the log.

Maybe it was Dutton?

No, Dutton would have made an announcement. He was too cocky. He wouldn’t scare me. At least, try not to scare me.

A warm breath fell on the scratches I got from being hurled through the Wood, and a growl came from the creature, which sounded so familiar. It was the same growl from my dreams.

My eyes opened, staring down into my lap, and I knew I had to look.

I raised my head, turning it slowly, ready to meet the creature that had its nose sniffing my arm. So far, they hadn’t hurt me, but I wasn’t about to rush my movements and make a grave mistake.

As a rough tongue cautiously brushed against a scratch, a tingling sensation spread through my body, eliciting an intenseshiver of pleasure. From the periphery of my vision, I caught sight of a pair of horns gracefully bending down, their tips gently grazing my skin, accompanied by the sound of delicate licking.

Was it a goat? A ram?

The curls on top of its head were blocking my view.

“Um, hello?” I spoke shakily, and then I saw the most golden eyes I had ever seen. The pupils weren’t human, reminding me of an animal. His pupils were like a goat’s, which were rectangular in shape. The nose was also more animal like, with slits going upward and with fur on. Their lips were similar to a human’s, but the top lip had a split just as a ram or a goat, with whiskers and soft hair.

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