Simon (Promised Mates of Monktona Wood #3)

2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Lucy

The enormous horses galloped–yes, galloped–along the smooth pathways to our destination. The road was well maintained, especially the main roads between kingdoms. It was the perfect sand, dirt, and ground rock ratio. They really thought of everything. Especially when they don’t use concrete.

When we first arrived in Bergarian, I poked and stared at the dirt for too long for everyone’s comfort. They must have questioned my sanity. The shifters stared in shock when I took teaspoons of samples in a glass jar so I could study it later.

“How does the trip fare, so far?” I was abruptly startled by the captivating presence of Elmira, the breathtaking female warrior with luscious chestnut hair. Her arms, adorned with lean muscles, rippled beneath the snug, sleeveless tunic she donned, which emphasized her sculpted physique. With a graceful flick of the reins, the horses let off a squeal of excitement and jumped forward again.

I was grateful that Elmira was up here, in the front of the wagon, with me leading the horses. I felt more at ease with her here than one of the men.

“It’s wonderful,” I said as I stared out over the road. To the left of us, we passed by the Vermillion Kingdom. It was completely destroyed during a terrible war a decade ago, but you couldn’t even tell now.

Towering trees that looked ancient, though I knew they were actually very young, stretched towards the sky, dominating the landscape. They cast a shadow of mystery to the place. A sense of foreboding hung in the air, as the dense canopy blocked out most of the light from the light sources, inside the forest that hid the kingdom within. Perched atop a hill, just like in a fairytale, was a palace shrouded in darkness, emanating an eerie presence. It was rumored it was built the same as the previous palace, with only minor changes.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the ominous silhouette of the palace atop the hill. Legends and myths surrounded the ruins of the Vermillion Kingdom, and stories of curses and restless spirits haunted its grounds. The air seemed to grow colder as we passed by, the horses snorting nervously as if they sensed the lingering darkness.

Elmira must have noticed my unease, as she cast me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Lucy. The Vermillion Kingdom may look dark, but we are at peace. The temporary rulers, until the prince comes of age, are very close friends with Queen Clara. Nothing will harm us.”

The other shifters running alongside the wagon took off into the woods, snarling and barking at each other’s heels. They came back out moments later, rolling into the tall, deep green grasses with red tip blades, and jumped in front of the horses. The horses let out a whine, stomping their feet harder into the dirt, and jerked the wagon along faster.

I wanted to ask more questions about Vermillion, but my attention was brought back to the horses. More time for Bergarian history later.

My ADHD just can’t, right now.

“Why are the horses so big?” I gripped my seat, my short hair flying backward and my body leaning against the polished wood.

“Didn’t you know? Everything in Bergarian is bigger. Just like they say about Texas on Earth. Bigger is better, am I right?” Elmira winked at me, and we sped along. “This world is just naturally stronger. You can call it evolution, as you believe with your scientific mumbo jumbo, but I think it was out of necessity that the gods gave us these things. We were built different ourselves, so why would they give us weaker animals to work with?” She shrugged.

That was true. These horses had been at it for nearly a day and they showed no signs of being tired. Neither had the shifters that pranced and ran alongside us. This was just a walk to them, while I was tired from sitting on this wagon full of supplies.

The closest I had come to working out was carting a bunch of books in my arms from one table to another.

“Yeah,” I said shakily. Perhaps I was too confident coming on this expedition alone. I was really out of my element, but I was just so excited to come out here. This was every researcher’s dream, and it was mine for the taking.

I gripped hold of the wagon again when we hit a hole in the road, and I let out a squeal. A wolf with dark gray fur and a white chest darted toward me. It was Dutton. I made sure to know what his wolf looked like before we started our journey. He got closer to the wagon and sounded off a playful bark, warning me to push myself up.

Yes, the books I could handle, as well as the research and having my two feet on the ground, but not the extra adventurous thrill ride that came with it.

Was I that boring?

Elmira grabbed my elbow and pulled me closer to her. She gave me a confident smirk and wrapped her arm around mine to keep me in place.

“You’ve got this, Lucy. I’ve been around many humans that have come through the portal and have trouble adjusting. Children don’t have any problem, their minds are full of curiosity. You actually remind me of them.”

“I do?” I questioned as I noticed a fast moving cloud, or at least I thought it was a cloud that went over us, causing a shadow. Once I looked up, I realized I was mistaken.

I gasped. It was a dragon!

I squealed and stood from my seat. Elmira grabbed the back of my dress to hold me steady, along with the horse’s reins. “It’s a dragon! Did you see that?!”

Elmira laughed, and my heart raced when I realized I just confirmed what she meant.

Ah, yes. I guess I exuded child-like excitement.

Anyone would be excited to see that, though. It was a freaking dragon!

I sat back down, and she continued to laugh. I put my hands on my lap and tried to contain myself, but the further away we got from the Cerulean Moon Kingdom, the more things I saw and wanted to explore.

A month living in the palace, visiting the local pack houses, playing around in the marketplace wasn’t enough time to get acclimated. Especially before I was thrown into an area like the Monktona Woods that hadn’t been explored at all.

Of course, the orcs have explored some of it, but they weren’t great at writing. The shifters accompanying me are strong and very capable, but they had their reservations about going into the Wood alone. Orcs had alpha-like personalities, as if they are on high amounts of steroids like King Kane—Kane, I reminded myself. Kane and Clara don’t like to be referred to by their titles often, and since they said they were more like family to my father and me, we were to address them as such.

Kane was nothing but raw power. He was a beast. His nickname suited him. The Beast. When he transformed into his animalistic body, he was a gigantic wolf-beast creature that stood up on two legs. It was by far the most horrifying thing I’d ever seen, and thankfully, he didn’t see me gasp in horror when I watched from my guest room window as he sparred with his warriors.

He sparred and taught them. He wasn’t a king who sat around the palace doing political things. Kane was very much a person and had a sweet personality that many do not see. He was loving and caring to his wife—mate?—and their daughter.

Now that we are traveling to a land with orcs, with more personalities like Kane, the possessive, grunty sort, I could only wonder what conflicts might arise. These alpha orcs had trouble being around each other, and we would have two traveling with us. How will that affect them and the shifters who were reluctant to be traveling into the Wood?

All these guys are just full of testosterone.

I nervously tugged at the delicate fabric of my dress, feeling the smooth texture between my fingers. Simultaneously, I gently scratched my neck, relieving an itch that had been bothering me.

Great, now I’m gonna get a rash.

Now that we were getting closer, I was rethinking everything.

“Hey!” Elmira grabbed my hand and pulled it away from my neck. “You keep doing that and the vampires will come out of the forest.”

I gasped and slapped my neck with my hand.

My actions threw Elmira into a fit of giggles. “Honey, I’m kidding you. They don’t eat humans. Well, not anymore.”

I felt the color drain from my face.

“Okay,” she drawled. “I think you’re overstimulated. How about you hop in the back of the wagon and shut your eyes, hmm? Get away from the males?”

I frowned. “My father told you about that?”

She sighed and had me lean closer. “Your father said you weren’t used to being around a lot of males. Said it was his fault. This trip is to help you. Every male here except for Dutton is mated to one of the females here. Dutton is just a flirt, but he means you no harm. I promise my life on it.” She patted my knee and took both reins again.

There were five males, five females, so that must have meant that one female was not mated. Mated pairs stuck together; they couldn’t be apart for long. “Are you not mated?”

Elmira’s smile widened, her canine fangs dropping into a mischievous grin. “No, I’m not.”

When we arrived at the wall that the entrance of the Monktona Wood lay beyond, it was a sight I didn’t think I could ever imagine on my own. It was such a massive difference from the forests we had come across so far, that my brain couldn’t process.

Thick, large leaves resembling dinner plates, possessing a waxy texture that not only appeared green, but exuded a mesmerizing blue hue, creating a captivating twinkle in the fading light. As my gaze delved deeper into the woods, a surge of excitement ran through me.

Darkness has already enveloped the surroundings. The air was dense with the scent of foliage, as bushes, underbrush, and towering trees, surpassing even the redwood forests from Earth, dominated the landscape.

I sat on the wagon in awe. The shifters were changing back into their human forms as a precaution, while Elmira clicked her tongue for the gigantic horses to move forward. They did hesitantly, with jagged trots and jerking heads. Their movements were not as graceful or smooth as during the first part of our journey.

They sensed this place was different, too. I was glad it wasn’t just me.

“Stay close, Lucy. None of us have been here. The king and queen said to be vigilant. As long as we stay in this clearing, right on the other side of the wall, we should be fine. I’d rather wait for our guides to arrive before we venture any further.”

I nodded while we entered through the wide opening of the broken wall. It was ancient, maybe even thousands of years old—no one could know for sure. No one had dared to cross it or fly over it before, because they thought their ancestors had a good reason to keep whatever was in the woods there. So, it had lain forgotten.

Discovering the orcs was a consequence of the war. The enemy tried to hide in the orcs’ lands, and the orcs were not happy about it. The war in Bergarian ultimately concluded with the orcs joining the fight and bringing a hard-won peace to all kingdoms after years of conflict. The wall was mostly in ruins now, crumbled remnants of stone and magic that set apart two worlds. The orcs were free.

This land contained a lot of history, and fortunately, the kingdoms maintained impressive records of their past wars. I’d spent the past several nights of our journey sleeping under the stars and using the firelight to dig deeper into it, reading all I could about it.

“Stay here. I’m going to unhitch the horses and get them to the troughs.” Elmira left no room for argument when she gave me a condescending glare and hopped off the wagon. I would not argue. I felt like an ant around her and everyone here.

The rest of the shifters came up behind the wagon, now clothed, thankfully, and pulled sleeping pads, food, and tents from the wagon. While we were safe to sleep under the stars while we traveled here, we were warned to sleep inside the tents in the Wood. We weren’t sure what animals or insects we would cross, and it would be best while we were awake to be on the lookout and sleep well into the night.

“Coast is clear,” Elmira said when she tied the horses to the post. “Come on, Lucy, stretch your legs.”

I went to the side of the wagon, being careful not to trip. I was still getting used to wearing the moveable, breathable, and comfortable corset dress that most of the non-shifter women wore, which I felt at odds with. Once I reached the edge, Dutton was there with his hand held out.

“Come on, I don’t bite...” he chuckled, “... hard.”

Elmira let out an enormous sigh and crossed her arms. “Stop fucking around Dutton!” She glared at him and flipped him off. Elmira stomped over and put out her hand for me, then led me off the wagon. “Can’t find good help these days. It’s a damn shame. Come on, I’ll grab your tent.” She shot one more warning glare at Dutton, who smiled back and held his hands up in mock surrender.

“I’m gonna gut him from navel to nose,” Elmira said under her breath.

I looked back and forth between the two. Was I sensing something there? He was staring at her even though she had already turned. She had a swing in her hips and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

Mating rituals were not my forte, but that was something I was going to have to watch. Are they mates or just sexual partners?

I covered my mouth and laughed, as we walked away and saw the campsite being set up. Tents for each couple, except for Dutton and Elmira, who were stealing glances at each other. Mine was nearly finished and just in time because darkness was falling.

When I put the finishing touches on my bed, we heard stomping coming through the woods. Then, a deep barrel of laughs came from the other end of the clearing. The horses tightened up on their reins, neighing and pulling, trying to get away from their posts. Two of the males went over to settle them, while I stood from my tent and held on to one of the poles for comfort.

A large, orc male was pushed into the clearing first, stumbling to one knee. He was large, like I expected, with a long braid down to his waist with both sides shaved. A loin cloth was the only thing covering his private areas, and straps of leather covered either side of his chest. He roared in anger and stood up quickly, facing the woods, only for another orc to stride out confidently. He was leaner than the first, with short hair, with no braid- reminded me of an ordinary, popular haircut the shifters had- and a wide smile on his face.

Definitely more approachable than the first.

“Greetings!” The one smiling raised his hand to wave at us. “I am Sugha, son of Eman, and this is Durz, son of Forge.”

Durz stood, the dirt flying up around his bare feet. He patted himself down and strode forward. “Yes, I am Durz. Where is the human female, so I may smell her?”

Mary freaking Poppins!