Page 31 of Claimed By the Wild Orc
I would kill for her. Die for her.
But more than that, I wouldlivefor her.
I would make her safe. Make her smile. Give her everything she never dared ask for. And if the world tried to take her from me…
No. It wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t let it.
I stood at the mouth of the cave, basking in the peace of it all.
Then I scented it.
Steel. Smoke. Male sweat. Horses.
Humans.
The wind shifted, and with it, the scent grew sharper. Boots on underbrush. A low voice muttering orders. Armor creaking.
I didn’t wait.
I moved, silent and fast, slipping through the trees like a shadow. Hvalgar blood ran deep, and though I bore no clan-mark now, the instincts remained. I was silent death when I needed to be.
Crouched behind a thicket, I saw them.
Soldiers.
A dozen or more. Well-armed and mounted, chainmail glinting in the sun. The blue and black crest on their breastplates marked them without question—they were Baron Keldar’s men. Knights of the keep. The very same bastards who worked Mira to the bone and tossed her scraps as payment.
Their eyes swept the trees as they spoke in low tones. They were tracking something.
Trackingher.
I slipped back through the woods, faster now, teeth clenched.
When I burst into the cave, Mira was already sitting up, the blanket pulled to her chest.
She looked at my face and went still. “What is it?”
“Humans,” I growled. “A patrol. Close. They’re after you.”
She was on her feet before I finished the sentence, pulling on her tunic, scrambling for her boots. “Then we have to go. If we leave now?—”
“They’re on horseback. They’ll outpace us, and if they catch you, they’ll take you back in chains,” I snapped. “Like an animal.”
She froze. Her breath hitched. And I hated how her shoulders curled in, the way her hands trembled even as she tried to hide it.
“I won’t let them touch you,” I said.
Her chin lifted, eyes blazing. “I know. You’ll kill them. I can see it in your eyes. But…” A shadow flickered across her beautiful features. “They’remykind. My people.”
“They’re not your people anymore.” I stepped closer, voice quiet but firm. “They’ll punish you for running. For being with me. For surviving.”
She didn’t argue.
She didn’t run.
She simply gave me a short, sharp nod of understanding, and it was enough.
