ANTICIPATION MAKES MY PALM SWEAT inside Bazur’s hand.
The humans have returned with the soldiers and I am going to see if one of them is my brother. There’s excitement mixed with trepidation. I’m trying not to let myself get too carried away. Bazur and I slowly approach the crowd that’s gathered to welcome them home.
I note with a small smile how sore I am between my legs as we walk through town. Bazur and I can barely keep our hands off of each other. It’s been almost a week since our first time, and the hunger we feel for each other has only gotten more intense.
When he leaves to train the soldiers and I go off to help Myren, we hardly make the walk back to our home without ripping each other’s clothes off. Each time we come together, the power of our connection grows stronger. It’s all consuming and filled with so much love.
Love. My depth of feeling for Bazur should scare me, but it doesn’t. It means what we have is real and permanent. He’s seen me, all of me and he wants every broken piece.
Just like I want all of his.
“That’s him, in the blue wool coat,” Bazur whispers in my ear. My chest feels tight as I survey the crowd for the item in question. My eyes land a threadbare blue coat and I stumble forward. My brother was eight when I last saw him, but I know that I’ll recognize him after all this time. This man is tall like my father was. My boots crunch through the snow as I get closer.
The hair is dark like my mother’s, like my own natural color. The man in the blue coat turns. This is it, could it really be him? My mouth opens to call his name, my father’s name—
I glimpse his face. With a sinking feeling I know he’s not my brother. His eyes are a pale green with a mole above his brow my brother never had. His eyes catch mine and I try to hide my disappointment with a polite smile. Quickly, I turn and walk back to where Bazur is standing.
He raises his brows in question but I simply shake my head and return to his side.
His arms wrap around me as he kisses my forehead. “Don’t lose hope. We’ll find him.”
I nod, soaking up his warmth. Clasping my hand in his, we make the short walk back to our house. The weather is getting colder. Several times Bazur has had to catch me as my feet slide on newly formed ice.
“What are your plans today?” he asks, I shrug.
“I don’t know. Myren doesn’t need me so I think I’ll just try and find something to keep me busy at home. My riverheart seeds should be ready, I’ll bring them in from the porch before the frost comes.”
“I have to debrief with the soldiers who just came back, but I shouldn’t be too long. Then I’ll keep you company.” I blush at his offer. Keeping me company involves both of us naked in bed, sweating and panting. That actually sounds like a perfect way to spend my afternoon. It will make the perfect set up for what I have planned this evening.
“Tonight, I’m going to cook for you,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze. His eyes widen and his steps fumble. “Mornga asked me if I had done it last week after she smelled me.”
It’s a ritual between mates, one that will cement another part of our bond.
We stop out front of our house and Bazur’s grin is infectious. He leans down and presses his lips to mine. There’s so much passion in our kiss that by the time he pulls back I’m breathless. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he has time to get inside of me before his debrief when a shrill whistle sounds behind us. Zarod is smirking, tusks glinting mischievously in the morning light.
“Bazy, in public? Who knew you were such an exhibitionist?”
“An exh-what?” Bazur asks, pulling me close to his chest. Even in Zarod’s presence, the most vocal male about being mated, Bazur needs to show that I am his.
“What does that make you for watching us?” I quip.
“Aroused.” I choke on a laugh while Bazur growls at him. “What? Bazy, somehow you’re even more growly than before. I’d always thought it was sexual frustration but given the scent coming off Kaethe—”
“Okay,” I interrupt, a vein in Bazur’s neck is twitching which is never a good sign. I press up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “I’m going inside, try not to kill each other.”
Bazur catches me around the waist before I can get too far away and kisses me again.
“You two are worse than me and Mornga.” Bazur lets out another growl from deep within his chest. “See! So much more growly now.”
“I like him growly,” I admit, before turning to make my way up the house.
“Oh I bet you d—okay, okay relax, Bazy!” Zarod’s laughter follows me into the house. Leaving the front door open, I move to collect some of my gardening supplies. I’ll start the fire as I catalog my seeds so the house is nice and warm when Bazur returns.
This task will also let me distract myself from my disappointment earlier. I’m upset that the young farmer wasn’t my brother but the usual hopelessness that would’ve plagued me isn’t there. Bazur is helping me, he’s already reached out to other clans. One of them has to know something.
From inside the house I can hear Zarod and Bazur chatting in the orcish. Targoc’s voice joins theirs as I collect my clay bowl to harvest my seeds. I double check to make sure I have enough clean jars to store them in since this is my last chance to grow them before the soil freezes.
Another voice joins the males out front, one I don’t recognize. Probably one of the soldiers who’s been out scouting these other territories. His voice stands out from the others due to his hint of an accent. How strange.
I take my clay bowl with me as I head out to my flower bed on the front porch. My seedlings have sprouted nicely, their bright blue seeds glimmering in the morning sun. Looking up from the porch my eyes immediately land on Bazur as he talks with the other soldiers. Right now, he’s every bit the general. A powerful male with absolute authority.
A shiver runs down my spine, heating my pussy.
I’m about to turn back to my seeds when my eyes land on something. In the small cluster of soldiers one stands out as different from the rest. Not just because he doesn’t have black hair though that’s a big part. My hands gripping the bowl start to shake.
His hair is dark blonde in color, I assumed with time it would’ve gotten darker, but our father’s always remained golden. From my perch, I can see the soft rays of sun illuminating his face. My father’s face. I knew him as a skinny eight year old but this man is tall with a muscular build. Those dark brown eyes glow in the sun and are just like our mother’s, just like mine.
This soldier…it’s him. My brother.
The clay bowl slips from my hands and hits the porch with a thunderous crash. My heart is beating rapidly in my chest, my knees are beginning to shake. I’d almost think it was my imagination if his head didn’t snap up with the other’s upon hearing the bowl shatter. His eyes widen and he turns as white as the snow.
“Kaethe, are you alright?” Bazur calls out but my eyes stay locked on my brother’s. As if in daze I stumble a step forward.
“Karth?” I choke out. The soldier—my brother—Karth swallows.
Zarod’s eyes dart between us. “Who’s Karth?”
I ignore him and take another step forward. My brother blinks rapidly and shakes himself.
“Thea?”
That name, no one’s called me that name since I was a girl. It’s him, it’s really him. A sob wrenches from my chest and I’m flying down the steps, into the snow below. He moves like lightning and then we’re in front of each other. Hesitating for only a moment until my arms encircle his neck and I bury my face against him. Karth’s arms band around my back as he lifts me off the ground, burying his head against me as well.
Tears spill from my eyes. My brother is alive and in my arms. He’s safe, he’s safe, he’s safe. We both survived and now we’re together again here, beating all the odds.
“You’re alive,” I sob.
“You’re alive,” he echoes. His voice is deep and raspy, nothing like the child he was.
I pull back slightly and he drops me back to the ground. We stare at each other for a moment both not knowing where to start.
“I’ve been looking for you, all this time I never gave up hope that you survived.”
“I’ve been searching for you too. I went back to our village countless times and tried to find where you’d gone,” he explains. “I got close and found out some of the survivors relocated upstream. By the time I got there, the older couple you lived with had already passed and no one could tell me where you’d gone.”
“I was in Myrkorvin,” I breathe. “I’m an alchemist. I went to the academy there and I work directly for King Arkain.”
Karth whistles and shakes his head. “You were always smart. I remember that. How’d you manage to get yourself here?”
“King Arkain,” I admit. “We heard a rumor of a man living amongst the orcs who had been taken in as a child. I’m friends with his queen and she persuaded him to let me come here and investigate. I was meant to stay at Dread’s Keep but Bazur found me and well…”
I look over to Bazur, his eyes are wide as he takes in me and Karth. Targoc and Zarod watch us too in disbelief.
“Bazur is both of our rescuers then,” Karth chuckles, turning his head towards my male and nodding. “After we had gotten separated, I fled into the woods. I was bleeding and close to death. Bazur found me and brought me here.”
Snow crunches next to us as Bazur approaches slowly. My smile is massive as I take him in. He saved my brother. He’s the reason he lived and was kept safe for all of these years. Bazur’s honey eyes lock with mine, Karth pulls back from me and glances between us.
“So the dark elf king sent you here as a royal emissary? That doesn’t explain why you’re living in Bazur’s house.” He narrows his dark eyes at me. “Or why you smell like him, Kaethe.”
Bazur waits for me to decide how to explain this. The choice is simple. There’s no room for any more lies. I take a few steps towards Bazur and grab his hand, locking our fingers together.
“Karth, Bazur is my mate.”
The male at my side inhales sharply. It’s the first time I’ve called him that outloud. I’m ready to embrace us in every way. He is mine and I am his and I want everyone to know.
Karth looks at us in shock, his eyes moving between our two faces. Before long he breaks out into a wide grin and chuckles.
“Well, would you fucking look at that.”
I giggle and squeeze Bazur’s hand, curling into his side.
“Is someone going to explain what the fuck is going on?” Zarod asks. Bazur growls at him and I smile even harder. Yes, in time, I’ll explain everything to everyone. Right now, I need some alone time with my brother.
