Page 138 of The Orc's Captive Bride
He considered that, turning the emotion over in his mind. “I am. Is that strange?”
“Not for a mate.” Egon’s scarred mouth twitched. Almost a smile. “Normal, actually. Welcome to having feelings.”
“I’ve had feelings before.”
“Rage doesn’t count. Neither does blood lust or trained obedience,” Egon said dryly. “I’m talking about the other emotions, the complicated ones.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that so he remained silent.
They continued the patrol, checking sight lines and assessing vulnerabilities.
“I could have been one of you,” Egon said suddenly, and he frowned at him.
“What do you mean?”
“My mother was one of Lasseran’s “gifts” but she managed to get away before anyone noticed she was pregnant. Otherwise I would have been exactly where you were. One of Lasseran’s weapons.”
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Envious, perhaps.
“What happened to her?”
“She died and I ended up on the streets.”
“And in the fight pits.” He’d seen the other male fight—seen him give mercy even when the crowd bayed for blood. Lasseran had insisted mercy was weakness, but it was the memory of that mercy which had caused him to let Egon go.
“Eventually,” Egon agreed.
“You don’t sound bitter.”
“Oh, I was. For years. Angry at the world.”
“What changed?”
“Finding my brothers helped. But then I found Lyric again and she made me see that our pasts don’t define our future. That we can choose who we want to be.”
He turned that over in his mind.
Choose who I want to be.
Such a strange, radical concept. He’d spent his entire life being told what to be, what to do, and even what to think. The idea that he could choose felt dangerous.
But I’ve already chosen. The moment I protected Thea from Lasseran and we fled Kel’Vara.
“You’re still getting used to it,” Egon observed. “The freedom.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“To someone who’s been there? Yes.” Egon resumed walking. “It takes time. Learning to trust yourself—and learning that your Beast is more than just a weapon.”
“More?”
“The mate bond helps. Your Beast wants to protect her and make her happy.”
Khorrek thought about that. About the way his Beast had stirred the moment he’d met Thea. The fierce protectiveness that had only grown stronger. He’d thought it was just a biological imperative, but it was more than that. Deeper.
“When the bond settled for me,” Egon continued, “it was like… balance. For the first time in my life, my Beast was calm. Satisfied. It had a purpose beyond destruction.”
“Protection.”
