Page 27 of The Orc's Captive Bride
The corridor stretched endlessly, each torch casting shadows that seemed to mock him. His breathing was still ragged, and hisheart pounded like he’d been in battle instead of kissing a small human woman who should mean nothing to him.
Should.
Another growl from his Beast, but he ignored it.
He’d felt a flicker of something similar once before. He’d been fourteen or perhaps fifteen and one of the kitchen servants who brought meals to their barracks had smiled at him—not with fear or calculation, but with genuine warmth—and he’d been… tempted.
Lasseran found out, of course, and the girl had disappeared. The High King had told him she’d been sent to one of his other estates and he’d prayed that was true, even though the cold smile on Lasseran’s face had suggested otherwise.
He’d understood the lesson. He didn’t get to choose. Anything he wanted would be taken away. Better to never want at all.
But he wanted Thea with an intensity that was warm and terrible and impossible to deny.
Mate,his Beast snarled.
The savage orcs who inhabited Norhaven used that word for the bond that tied two souls together. He had dismissed it as primitive superstition. He was civilized, beyond such base instincts.
Yet his Beast persisted.Mate. Ours. Go back.
She’s human.
Ours.
She’s Lasseran’s.
OURS.
He slammed his fist into the wall. Stone cracked, and pain flared across his knuckles—sharp and clarifying. His Beast finally quieted.
He was a monster, a weapon. The humans in Kel’Vara feared him, and they were right to. He’d killed for Lasseran and brought terror and submission in his wake. It was what he’d been bred to be. Not for soft touches and curious grey eyes that looked at him without flinching. Certainly not for a kiss that made him forget every oath he’d sworn.
She deserved better than a monster’s attention.
Their paths probably wouldn’t cross again. Lasseran would give him new orders, and send him far from Kel’Vara and the woman he’d locked in those luxurious rooms. The High King had what he wanted, and Khorrek’s usefulness in this particular matter was finished.
The thought should have brought relief. Instead, it felt like loss.
His Beast snarled again, furious and betrayed, and he pushed harder against it, forcing it down until it was just a whisper in the back of his mind.
You don’t get to decide. You never did.
He’d reached the central tower without realizing it, his feet carrying him down familiar paths while his mind warred with itself. Guards stood at attention outside Lasseran’s audience chamber, their expressions carefully neutral as they saw him approach.
They feared him too. Good.
He straightened and pushed the kiss into a box and locked it away. He was a warrior, Lasseran’s right hand in matters that required strength and intimidation.
He would report, receive his next orders, and move forward. He would forget her.Impossible,his Beast whispered, but he ignored it.
The guards opened the doors.
The audience chamber was empty except for Lasseran, standing at the tall windows that overlooked the city. Twilight painted the sky in shades of purple and gold, silhouetting the High King’s elegant frame. He was utterly still, like a snake deciding whether to strike.
“Khorrek.” Lasseran didn’t turn. “I trust your journey was successful.”
“Yes, High King.” He crossed his fist over his chest in salute. “The woman is secured in the rooms you prepared.”
“Unharmed?”
