Chapter 14 #2
“Protecting him, a male I respect and care for, from a human who hasn’t stopped crying since she learned what her Mate was doing for her. He’s been gone a week, and I’m not so dense I can’t see your response. Your tears…”
I guess he trailed off because I’d slowly turned to gape at him. “What?” he asked.
“Mate?” My voice was strangled. “Did you say Mate?”
Sylvik’s eyes went wide, and he abruptly sat up. “Oh hells, he didn’t tell you? I screwed up again?”
“Mate,” I whispered in a daze. “What? Seriously?”
“Riven,” Sylvik groaned, running his hand through his hair. “I don’t know if he wanted to be the one to tell you. He’s going to be livid if that’s the case. On the other hand, maybe he thought you’d figured it out?”
“Mate.” Holy shit, Abydos was my Mate? Not my boss, not the guy who was fucking me because he thought I was a good lay…but my Mate? Like Tark and Sami, or Harper and Giza, or any of the other dozen examples around Eastshore. “Oh my God…”
Is that what today was about? Had he brought me out here to tell me himself?
Whoa, don’t get ahead of yourself. You have only Sylvik’s word.
Yeah, and the male was looking panicky at the realization he’d said anything at all. “You really didn’t know?”
“I thought he was going to fire me.”
“Fire you? You’re his Mate.”
I shook my head dazedly. “He paid off my debt and said he didn’t want me to work for him anymore.”
Sylvik threw up his hands. “Because he wants to build a future with you! Not have you work for him! It’s romantic, Riven!”
Was it?
If Sylvik was mistaken, or this was all an elaborate practical joke or something, I’d be devastated all over again.
Mate.
To be told I had a chance at that same happiness and fulfillment my cousin had found, only to lose it again? I’d be devastated. Better to be cautious.
Still…
“Sylvik, what does dkaar mean?” Tarkhan had called my cousin that, and Abydos had used it to refer to me the last night we were together. “Sometimes Abydos uses that word.”
The male’s lips curled ruefully. “Beloved. Dkaar means beloved, and that’s how Abydos feels about you, Riven.”
Mate.
Abydos
I paced, my hands clenching and unclenching, my heart racing, and my Kteer growling at the inactivity. I was nervous as shit, and there was nothing to do but wait.
“How long?” I barked.
Garrak, who lounged against the window in this prefab building at the center of the pit mine, didn’t even bother to check his watch. “Two minutes less than the last time you asked, boss.”
I sent him a glare. “They should have been here by now.”
With a sigh, my friend straightened and moved toward me. “They landed twenty minutes ago. Maybe Sylvik’s giving her a tour.” He reached me. “Maybe she’s doing her hair to look pretty.”
Riven’s hair was short enough I don’t think I’d ever seen her brush it. “She always looks pretty,” I growled.
Garrak grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m so fucking happy for you, Abydos. You deserve this peace.”
Once, I might have objected, but now? I exhaled and flicked my tongue against my broken tusk. There was no pain now, but the taste of gold reminded me of my dkaar’s smile.
Solemnly, I met my friend’s gaze and nodded. “We all do.”
His fingers tightened on my shoulder briefly before he stepped back. “Thank you for making it possible.”
And that simple sentence reminded me what the stress of these last days had been for. I was terrified of what I had to do today, but gods willing, Riven would understand…and stand beside me.
What I did today, I did not just for her, but for the males who trusted me…and for the world we now lived in. The world we loved. But I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.
Riven. My head swiveled. She was here, I would know her scent anywhere.
The door opened. “Abydos?”
And the sun came out. My smile bloomed.
My Kteer rumbled as I rushed across the room to scoop her in my arms, to pull her close. She didn’t embrace me back, and when I saw how red her eyes were, I froze. I could smell her sorrow. Had she been…crying?
“Riven,” I whispered.
I watched her swallow, watched her pink tongue dart across her lower lip. Slowly, she extricated one hand from between us and lifted it to rest against the corner of my lips.
“You capped your tusk.”
Her words didn’t reveal her feelings on such a decision. I’d done it for her, because she told me I was worth it. “Do you like it?” I murmured around her fingertips.
To my surprise, tears sprang to her eyes. “Are you really my Mate?”
I glanced at Sylvik and away again, uncertain if I should be grateful he’d sprung the news so I didn’t have to…
But my Mate was in my arms, and I had to trust that she wouldn’t reject me.
“I am,” I finally said. “And you are my Mate.” I blew out a breath, suddenly worried about saying the wrong thing.
“Riven, you don’t have to accept me yet, I know our ways aren’t what you’re used to.
But we are Mates—my Kteer knows it, my heart knows it.
And I will wait as long as you need until you’re ready…
but I’m going to do everything in my power to convince you I’m worthy of being called yours.
” My arms tightened around her. “Gifts, treats, trips to fun places, you name it—”
She pressed her fingers against my lips to stop my embarrassing flood of words, and I trailed off.
“Does it hurt?”
Does it hurt? She was asking about my tusk at a time like this? When I’d announced my intentions? She moved her fingers, and my tongue flicked out against my capped tusk.
“No,” I admitted. “Not at all.”
Her smile was gentle. Soft. “You did that for me, didn’t you? This was the only gift I needed, Abydos. Not paying off my debt, not jewelry.” Her arms snaked around my middle, and she pressed her cheek to my chest. “I’m so glad you’re not torturing yourself anymore, Abydos.”
“Today I’m setting everything right,” I admitted.
“I’m proud of you.”
I realized I was holding my breath. Her acceptance was wonderful, but she hadn’t responded at all to the whole Mate thing. When she exhaled, I felt her melt against me.
“And I’m proud to be your Mate,” she finally said in a small voice.
My eyes fluttered shut on a prayer. “Gods below,” I croaked, and crushed her to me. She was smiling as I lowered my lips to hers, but she tasted of tears and desperation and fear.
This wasn’t over yet.
The sound of a throat clearing reminded me we weren’t alone. I turned Riven toward Garrak.
“Garrak, this is my Mate, Riven Starr. Dkaar, this ugly male is my trusted friend and the soon-to-be-jobless Director of Mine Operations for Vengeance.”
He was grinning as he limped over and held out his hand to Riven. “Ms. Starr, it’s truly an honor to meet you.”
At the last moment, I snatched Riven’s hand out of the path of his and plastered it against my chest. “You can be honored to meet her without touching her.”
Garrak threw his head back and laughed as Riven frowned up at me.
I wanted to explain that this was part of the Mating Heat. My Kteer would be unsettled and possessive until I claimed her fully. Soon.
But there was no time now. Sylvik stuck his head inside the room. “We’re ready for you out here, Abydos. Everything is set up, and the guys are all here. Even some of the protestors, but we’re keeping everyone separate.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath, then nodded to everyone. “Let’s go make some history.”
I followed Sylvik outside to the platform we used to use for the picnic tables. Today we were using it as a dais so I could speak to everyone. Gods of the ancestors, I was going to speak to a crowd? Me?
My stomach was in knots, my pulse pounding too hard, as I looked out at everyone.
There were the protestors at the back, waving signs and chanting slogans, and in the front were a small contingent of reporters grouped around cameras.
And in between stood my men, the males who had trusted me to protect them since that disastrous landslide eight years ago.
I wouldn’t let them down.
Garrak settled to my left, his hands behind his back, his expression supremely unruffled. Well, that was the thing about him—he had seven hells of a poker face. It’s why he won so often.
Sylvik fussed with the microphone, then stepped aside so I could move forward.
And at my side, Riven slid her small hand into mine. When I glanced down at her, she didn’t speak, but merely grinned proudly.
And the knowledge I was doing this for her—for us, for our future—gave me strength.
Taking a deep breath, I faced the crowd.
“My name is Abydos. The government gave me the last name Smith, but like many of my brothers, I don’t bother using it, because last names aren’t important to my people.
” I glanced around the faces of the miners, some of whom were nodding along.
“This is my first press conference, which seems surreal.” Two of the reporters exchanged glances, likely thinking of my reputation as a recluse.
“I will not be taking questions, because I can barely stand to be in the spotlight this long…but I will accept interviews, if you’d like to reach out. ”
When I closed my eyes, it was easier to say what needed to be said, to pretend I was alone in a room, or talking just to someone I cared about, like Riven.
“In recent weeks and months, Vengeance Mine has been the recipient of angry protests. My DMO asked if we should do something about them, but…” I opened my eyes and searched out the now-quiet sign-wielders in the back. “I didn’t give the order, because I realized deep down, I agreed with them.”
The murmuring began as I switched my attention to the reporters in the front.
“You see, my people have lived in harmony and balance with the land for generations. I was raised to revere it, and it was my explorations as a kitling that allowed me to know what to look for once I understood the human drive to abuse natural resources. That knowledge has made me a rich male, but my guilt hasn’t been easy to bear. ”
From the back, a call of, “Exploiter!” rang out before the woman was hushed.
I nodded in her direction. “Yes, exploit, that was the word I was looking for. I exploited the land, trying to prove a point to myself and to the humans. But it went against everything I believed about balance, and I would guess I’m not the only orc here today to have had these conflicting thoughts. ”
Quite a few of the males nodded or called out agreements.
“Yeah, boss!”
“The money’s good, though!”
“My father would be ashamed if he knew what I do.”
At my side, Garrak shifted and said quietly, “This is a career, but not a way to honor our ancestors.”
So I nodded solemnly. “It’s time we set things right.
Starting last Monday, the Vengeance Mine is in the process of closing down.
” The exclamations and objections began again among the reporters and protestors, so I raised my voice.
“I am offering positions at the East Coast refinery to any of my employees who are willing to move, and I have arranged housing on Eastshore Isle.”
The orcs burst into cheers and claps and laughter, and I couldn’t help but grin.
The stories of Eastshore had reached them all, thanks to Sylvik and Sakkara and even Garrak. I imagined the island would have quite the influx of orc males soon.
I hoped they’d all be as lucky as I had been. I hoped they would all find their peace, their happiness, and their Mates. I grinned down at Riven, who squeezed my hand.
But there was more to be said, so I lifted my free hand to quiet the cheering.
“This property will be donated to the people—humans, orcs, whomever—who want to experience nature. I’ve already hired a pair of biologists who will work to fix the ecosystems my hubris ruined, and I’ve opened channels with the state to turn this into a protected conservation area.
” I pinned the protestors with my gaze. “No one will ever again be able to develop this land once it has returned to nature.”
Now their cheers joined my men’s, and I felt something like joy buoying me. I was never going to love public speaking, but all this shit needed to be said. Best to finish it up.
“And starting tomorrow, Vengeance, Inc. will be officially rebranded. I started this company with a very particular purpose in mind, as you could guess.” Unconsciously, my fingertips rose to press against my ruined cheek and tusk.
“My scars and pain demanded retribution, and it’s taken me a decade to understand how much I harmed not just the land, not just my men, but myself. ”
With a proud nod, I pulled Riven to me, tucking her up against my side.
“It took a very special human to teach me how wrong I’d been.
And that’s why, starting tomorrow, all of my holdings will be renamed Radiance, Inc…
” I grinned down at her. “In honor of my Mate, Riven Starr, whose guiding light has led me out of the deepest darkness.”
Honestly, I’m not sure if too many people could hear the last part of that sentence over the outburst of pleased noise at the word Mate, but Riven did, and that’s all that mattered.
“Radiance?” she whispered.
“You’re my star,” I told her with a grin.
She rolled her eyes and smacked my chest with her free hand, but then turned it to a caress and leaned against me. I could feel the satisfaction rolling off her, and I swung my attention back to the gathered crowd.
“Starting tomorrow, Radiance will have a new mission: Balance and understanding as we move to make our world a better place. It’s taken a decade, but I’ve found peace, and I hope to bring it to my friends who have honorably worked with me all these years.
” I swept my gaze over them as I told them heartfeltly, “Thank you, my friends. I’ll see you soon. ”
With that, I stepped away from the microphone, pulling Riven with me.
The reporters pushed forward, asking questions I couldn’t answer, not in front of everyone, while the protestors cheered and clapped.
I was most pleased with the response from my men, who were talking excitedly and animatedly, hopefully about their futures.
This wasn’t a surprise; I’d spent the last week meeting with them and their shareholders, arranging everything.
But I hoped it would bring them the same peace my brothers had found. The peace I prayed for.
Garrak clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, boss. Thank you for watching out for them.”
“Thank you for protecting us all these years,” I told him solemnly, then turned my attention to Riven. “And thank you for showing me what’s really important.”
“What is really important, Abydos?”
“A home. A future. A community you can rely on. Peace.”
“Well then, Mate.” Her arms snaked around my waist as she grinned up at me. “Let’s go home.”