Orc Of Mine - Book One - A Breeding Monster Fantasy Romance

Chapter Thirty-two

I looked down and saw traces of splattered blood, staining my sleeves. "Ah... yes. I will. Uhm... There's actually something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you tell Orvar the truth?" I whispered, knowing that orcs had better hearing than humans did.

"The truth?" Beatrice asked.

"You know what I mean..."

She softly smiled. "You want to know why I didn't tell him the reason for the woman's visit? Oh, Gyda... I think you know the answer to your own question."

"I think I do..." She didn't want to lose their partnership. "But it doesn't feel right to keep it a secret."

"It's not a lie, I just...didn't mention it. Besides, you heard the woman was most angry about my relationship with the other women." Beatrice answered while putting the kettle on the stove. "I just don't want the orcs to stop coming here... It's nobody's business if I trade with them, and they shouldn't interfere. I'm not bothering anybody by talking to the orcs." She sighed. "Honestly, I'm just so damn tired of following all these rules. And I don't want anybody else to decide things for me. But..." She stepped in front of me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "I'm not asking you to lie to him. You don't have to lie for me. Okay?"

I pursed my lips and nodded.

"Now, go clean your dress and after that, come and drink tea with us."

"Okay."

***

Orvar silently stared at my hands as I was busy scrubbing away the stains on my sleeve. We stood on the porch. Just us, as Amira and Jarla went back inside.

"Thank goodness I wore my dark brown dress today, instead of my yellow or white one, hm?" I asked, trying to break the silence a bit.

"Yes," Orvar softly replied, before taking the cloth out of my hands. "I'll do it for you."

"Thanks." I let him take over and looked at him while he scrubbed.

His long-nailed fingers were all clean again. Cleansed from the blood.

I'd always known that orcs could be dangerous, but I never really realized he could so easily kill someone. All it took was a heartbeat and he'd killed another living being. He'd even left her unrecognizable with that one swing of his claws. They'd ripped off her skin and flesh, and clawed out her eyes.

But I still did not fear him. Not at all. Because to me, he was sweet and gentle and respectful. And he was worried about me. He cared for me.

After a few minutes of rubbing, he threw the cloth back into the bucket of warm water and inspected my dress.

"Done?" I asked.

"M-hm." Orvar nodded.

I grabbed his hands. "Hey, I'm really okay," I said, stepping close, and resting my head against his bare chest.

Physically, I was okay. My abdomen still felt sore, but it wasn't in pain. It was more of an uncomfortable feeling that reminded me of a muscle ache.

Mentally, however... I wasn't sure how I felt in that department.

Suppertime would arrive in an hour and I knew I had to go back to town soon—a prospect I wasn't looking forward to. At all. I didn't want to be alone tonight. Knowing I wouldn't be able to talk to anybody about what had happened today sucked.

Orvar let go of one of my hands and caressed his hand over my head. "I'm happy about that."

"Then why are you so quiet?" I asked.

He inhaled a deep breath and sighed out through his nose. "Because I'm still so enraged. If I hadn't come today, you might be dead. That's so- so..." He grunted. "It just gives me a fucking awful feeling."

"But I'm still here."

"We almost didn't come here today. You know why?"

I shook my head.

"Because I didn't want to insert myself into your Saturdays with Amira. I mean, I wanted to, of course, if it was up to me, I'd see you every day. But I knew you wanted to spend time with her too. It's only because of Jarla that we came 'cause he kept bugging me. If it was up to me, you might be dead..."

"It's useless to think about what-ifs."

"I know." Orvar groaned. "My blood just still fucking boils, and I want to slam my fists into a rock or something."

"Don't do that." I looked up at him. "You'll hurt your hand."

"Good."

I scoffed, then nuzzled against his chest. I knew he probably held back because of me. "Why did you come, in the first place?"

"Betsy delivered and she had this whole list of crap she wanted from Beatrice. Nothing to save lives, though. They're doing fine."

I pushed myself away from him and looked up. "She gave birth?" I cried out, enthusiastic about the news.

"M-hm."

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"A boy. What—"

"An orc son," Orvar answered before I could ask.

I smiled. "That's what they wanted..."

"Yeah... They're very happy together. Ston is seeing them whenever he can. That dumb fuck has burned our food three times already."

I chuckled and laid my head back against his chest.

I was happy for Betsy and Ston, I really was, but there was also this jealous feeling within. I hated that I felt that way.

"What is the baby's name?" I asked.

"Happ."

"Happ? I've never heard that before."

"It means good fortune or whatever. Betsy insisted the bairn would be called Happ."

After Orvar had answered my many questions about little baby Happ's appearance, he said, "Let's go back inside."

"Yes. I don't have much time anymore." I sighed.

Gods, I truly didn't want to go home.

***

Inside, we all sat down at the dining table, where Jarla informed the others about the happy news. He said Betsy had screamed so loud, it was audible through the entire mountain, and that little baby Happ had Ston's black hair, Betsy's bright eyes, and the cutest dimples on his chin and cheeks.

"I bet he's so adorable." Beatrice smiled widely and immediately grimaced. "Oh, smiling hurts my lip. Shit."

"Be careful with the stitches, woman," Jarla said.

"Yes, Mom," Amira agreed.

"I will try not to smile. I'm very happy for Betsy and Ston, though. They deserve it."

"After last time, yeah, they do," Jarla agreed. "Oh, have you seen the ring I took from the shrew's dead body?"

When Beatrice shook her head, the giant orc stood up to grab the ring from the kitchen counter and gave it to her.

"Hm." Beatrice inspected the ring.

"What is it, Mom?" Amira asked, snatching the ring from her mother's hands.

"I find the engraving a little unusual, that's all."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"It's a skull," Amira answered.

"Can I see it too?"

"Sure." Amira offered me the golden piece of jewelry.

I examined it. It was a human skull, but it was not just any human skull. It had the letters R.F.R. carved on its forehead.

And I just knew I had seen it before. But where?

.