Awkward Date With A Wicked Orc (Sweet Monster Treats)

6. Urdan

Chapter 6

Urdan

I am losing my mind.

I haven’t seen Lila in five months. I touched her, had her lips on mine and my fingers in her wet channel. I felt her release in my arms. I told her all the things I want to do to her while I fuck her blind on my bed.

And then I learned that she has offspring she hid from me.

I left to tend to my father because his life was in jeopardy.

My cell phone broke the moment I arrived. I meant, many times, to leave and purchase a new one in the next town over, but my father required constant attention. At first, I was concerned that he would pass away in the night. He refused, “to go to a damn human hospital. They don’t know how to take care of orcs.” My father only uses the ancient rituals from Rika, the orc healer. It’s true that these remedies are powerful and work well on orcs. But I often wonder if he could, instead, be entirely cured by human medicine.

“We need a modern orc hospital that specializes in orc medicine,” I told Thorn.

“True. Maybe you can make that happen.”

“What do I know about that?” I growled. “I’m not a doctor, I’m a deputy sheriff who can’t even start his new job. I’m lucky that Bowen is my boss and understands why I can’t leave.”

Two nights after I arrived, Rika started the ritual. It was long and involved. I had to be by my father’s side, holding his hand, or at least near enough so my scent entered his lungs. I had to be there for the healing ritual between me, the orc healer and my father. I had always thought I didn't really believe any of that ancient orc healing stuff. Why weren't we using the regular medicines and treatments like they use it the human hospitals? But I was told in order for an orc to receive proper treatment, they need ancient medicines created from special orc plants that are grown by hand in the healer’s garden. And not only that, but my father needs the skin on skin contact from a son an orc has raised with love. I don't consider this magic, but I think it’s something the ancients understood as the best treatment for orcs. The healing cycle was not complete without my presence.

My father was lucky. Not all orcs at his age have sons. Not all orcs have sons who were raised and live so close that it didn't take long to return home. What if I had moved to another country? There was only a window of opportunity where the healing had to start for it to be effective.

Not all communes have a healer with the same level of expertise as ours. Maybe I'm biased. I’ve known Rika my entire life and he comes from a long line of healers dating back to ancient times. Rika has three sons and all of them are being trained as healers.

Lila didn’t contact me the whole time. I didn’t receive a personal message or call from her before my phone broke. But I finally got a new phone and there were never any messages sent from Lila. It’s true that I’m not on any social media and didn’t give her my email or the direct phone number to the commune, but all she has to do is ask. She could ask Bowen.

Lila could drive here to the commune and visit me.

I’m disappointed that she hasn’t tried to visit and meet with my father. I still have to remain at the commune because my father is still weak and his lungs are not fully recovered.

Months pass and still not a single message from the female I thought was going to be my mate. My future bride. The female who would birth my future orc sons and want to remain by my side to raise them in love together.

Was I wrong?

Bowen calls often to find out the status of his Uncle. He talks to my father on the phone and talks to me again, and occasionally discusses his wife Sadie and keeps me updated on issues in Silver Lake, but does not bring up Lila and neither do I. I assume she does not want to hear from me.

The one consolation is that her bakery, One Big Bite, has sent monthly care packages. They are a huge hit with my father and most of the other orcs in the vicinity. They descend on them like locusts. I only find them later, torn open and already eaten, a tattered mess of crumbs, shredded basket and bits of paper. Sadly, there never seems to be a card or letter.

I do still feel that Lila is my mate, but what if my body is choosing wrong? Lila was highly attracted to me and seemed ready to take on a relationship. But I could be mistaken. Maybe she has changed her mind. This often happens to orcs. We feel that rush of desire and mate with the female that our body tells us is the one, only for that female to leave us high and dry. Females are notorious for wanting the rush of pleasure with an orc mating, then are horrified to find themselves pregnant with an orc son they are disgusted with. In fact, that’s what happened with my own mother, whom I’ve never met.

Finally, my father fully recovers.

For five long months I remained with Edmurk Overthrow in his small but cozy home, the same home where I was raised, in the commune. I moved back into my old childhood bedroom but often slept in a chair in his room. I stayed at my father's side until he grew healthier and healthier until finally, the treatment was over and he was back to normal, as healthy and as strong as ever.

The idea of Lila's offspring entered my mind often while I was in the commune watching my dad. We had lots of time to talk. I told him everything about Lila, and how she wasn't contacting me. He didn't seem to be too concerned, but I am. I asked his opinion about how he'd feel about having two human grandchildren, one male and one female. He sounded delighted.

This is good and in fact surprised me. I didn't expect him to say that. My father had been so anti human the whole time I was growing up. “Times have changed,” he said. “I’ve done my best to change along with them. It's never good to remain the same, holding on to old ideas from thirty years ago. Humans are trying to bring us together and orcs must meet them halfway. Then we can grow close, which helps the both of us. Instead of us fighting each other, if we continue to come together, we're stronger.”

“Against other nations?” I questioned.

“Well, yes, because there could be other nations that don’t have orcs because it’s too hot for us and that leaves them without powerful orcs at their side. So there's that. And also,” he leans forward and points up at the sky. “You know, one day, aliens could come down, and humans will be happy to have orcs at their side to fight.”

I laugh. My dad has always believed in Ancient Aliens. It's kind of funny.

One morning Edmurk woke up and looked at me and announced, “You need to leave. I love you son, but I need my home back to myself again.”

I laughed and told the healer what he’d said. Rika confirmed. “Yes, Edmurk is well. You can leave.”

“Go back to your job with the humans,” my father said. “And tell that female of yours to continue to send packages from that bakery.”

“Those were from Sadie, Bowen’s bride,” I corrected.

He shook his head. “I thought the cards had a different name.”

“What cards?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t really get a chance to read much before everything was shredded by those damn orcs. Tell them to start sending a double shipment. Maybe that way I’ll get more.”

I’m now back in Silver Lake, to continue my job.

But I’m determined to stay away from Lila Powell because it’s the dark of winter and I cannot remain sane in her presence. I left in July and now return in January. The streets are covered in snow and the lake is already frozen. She may or may not want me, either way I need to keep my distance.

I return and find out two things immediately: Lila is still single and she is not dating another human. This could mean that she is waiting for me, but I'm unsure.

At first, I request to be sent a field more, but that doesn't help. Then I request to be given an assignment that is in the business district. I make sure I'm distant enough, so she does not know that I am nearby. I want her to be safe, even from me.

Bowen lets me know that Jude Jones has been walking in the business district, canvassing the location of Lila’s bakery.

Jude knows that if he does anything that breaks his probation, he's back in prison. He always keeps his legal distance, as if he had a restraining order. He wasn't technically doing anything illegal, but he did always make Lila and Bowen's wife feel uncomfortable with his mere presence on the streets nearby. He never came into the bakery, but he was always across the street, just far enough away, where he could be seen.

Bowen assured me that he’s been watching and keeping our females safe. He is grateful for my return, because now he has more backup to help keep both these females safe from this tricky human male. I'm an orc who has bonded with Lila and I'll go that extra mile. I promise that even though it’s the dark of winter, I will make sure that all my dealings with Lila include full consent. I won’t behave inappropriately or do anything to embarrass him our species in general. We shook on it.

I have to keep my distance, but I do follow Jude Jones. I know all his movements. I know who he hangs out with. I know what he's doing before he does it. This is a vacation town where literally the only possible criminal in our midst is Jude Jones, because he returned recently. The crimes he originally committed weren't even in our town. He is here because he grew up here and has moved back to live with his mother. I keep an eye out on him.

You'd think the winter has slowed town the tourist traffic in our town, but it's almost busier than ever, because the downtown area is well known as being a charming Christmas market in the winter. And then they morph into a charming Valentine market.

The K-8 school in our town is within my patrol.

I go by the school because I want to double check that Jude wasn't trying to get to Lila through her children. So, I need to check on them too. Not that Bowen hadn't been doing that already. This is his niece and nephew. He didn't want to give this patrol to a human, because he knows how far I will go to protect Lila, Sadie and the children. I don’t just consider this a job. I would violently give my life for theirs’s, in an instant.

The human children and their teachers like seeing me and beg for me to get out of the patrol car and come in and meet with them. I show up often during first break. Both of Lila’s children attend this school and introduce themselves to me, which makes it easier for me to keep them safe now that I know the location of their school, the hours and their teachers. I sometimes fall into easy conversation with them, because I explain that not only am I the new Deputy but their Uncle Bowen is also my cousin.

“But don’t tell your mom that we’ve become friends,” I tell them. “I want to surprise her later that I’ve returned and we know each other already.” I feel odd saying this to them, convincing them to keep something from their mother, but since I am protecting their mother with my words I allow this bit of subterfuge.

“Mom loves surprises.”

“I went on that one date with your mother, which I enjoyed, and then I had to leave because my father was sick and I had to help him recover. But it took so long for me to return, it's now the dark of winter, which is a dangerous time for orcs.”

“Dangerous?” Lacy gasps.

“Yes,” I laugh. “All that that means is that I want to be able to go out on a date with your mom again and behave as civilly and respectful as I did the first time that I met her. I'm afraid during winter I'll act…” and I point at my tusks, which are bigger than they used to be. “I'm afraid I'll act too primitive for her, and I'll scare her away.”

“Oooh.”

“Can you help me out?” I tell them. “Help me to not tell her that I'm here just yet, and how we've become friends, because I want to wait until the spring to let her know that I'm here and ask her out on a date again.”

“Yes, we can do that.”

I always got along well with the orc children in the commune, including my young cousins. I'd never gotten to know human children until, literally now, and they're not that much different.

Weeks go by and it's now February, and close to Valentine's Day. I have to admit, I'm sad that I don't get to share this time with Lila, if she wants me.

I would think that she'd heard by now that I'm back. I told her kids not to say anything, but obviously, this is a small town. She knows I'm back. She must be asking Sadie. I have no idea what Sadie is saying to her. And Lila hasn't tried to approach me, not that she really can. I can sense her presence from a distance, therefore I keep myself scarce. There's really no opportunity for her to approach me. I make sure we're never in the same place at the same time.

But I continue to watch Jude. And I feel that Jude is beginning to watch me in return.