Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Keric
Garlen Irontree fills most of the frame, wearing a shirt in the human style, massive even through a screen.
He’s mated now to Ellie Willis, Anna’s best friend.
Beside him are Jonus, Dane, and Aldar. Members of my family line who’ve relocated to Truckee, California to establish Garlen as the world’s first orc professor teaching at a human school.
These are the orcs who helped me to protect Anna initially. Jonus helped me get her safely out of that bus station and onto the private airplane for the flight across country. Good males, every one of them.
“Anna,” Garlen greets her. “You made it safely. Good.”
Jonus grins. “How’s Maine treating you?”
Anna manages a small smile. “It’s beautiful. Different from California.”
They give her quick updates, letting her know that Ellie and Zoe are safe and secure in the house.
Extra security is in place. The school Principal has been notified of her absence and there is a long-term substitute teacher already hired to take her place at the Academy for however long she needs to be gone.
Even the Bloodtree clan, formerly known as Crimson Tusk, is helping with patrols.
Anna looks surprised but pleased. She’s starting to see the scope of this help she’s getting is not just from me, and not just in this commune, but it’s from our network of orcs across the country coordinating to keep her safe.
Rogan calls the meeting to order. “Anna has agreed to tell us everything about the conspiracy, the evidence, and the danger she is in, because she understands we need to know all the details to protect her properly.”
“Yes,” I agree. “Anna told me all the details already and has brought her evidence. But today we can all here it at the same time, and listen to her story in her own words, which will make this move quicker and easier.”
There are many grunts and nods of agreement.
Rogan looks at Anna with gentle eyes. “Take your time. We’re listening.”
All eyes turn to my female, both in the room and on the screen.
She takes a deep breath and begins, “Three years ago, I was a literature professor at a prestigious university in Southern California. Victorian literature was my specialty. I worked closely with Dr. Jonas Webb, the head of our Special Collections department—our rare books archive.” Her voice is steady, professional, like she’s giving a lecture, but I can hear the tremor underneath.
“Jonas showed me a Bronte manuscript one day. He wanted my opinion because something felt off about it. The paper and ink were different from when I’d examined it previously.
” She pauses. “I confirmed his suspicions. It was a forgery. A very good one, but still a fake.”
I watch the room as she continues. Everyone is focused, intent on her words.
“Jonas started investigating and found more forgeries, learning that valuable manuscripts had been replaced with fakes. The originals, priceless pieces of literary history, were stolen and sold to private collectors.” Her hands clench around the water glass.
“But it was bigger than just theft. The sales were connected to the university’s endowment fund.
Donors were getting tax deductions for contributions they never actually made.
It was a money laundering scheme involving millions of dollars and the worst part was that university administrators were taking kickbacks.
This left us no one on campus to trust.” The room is silent except for her voice.
“We found three people at the center of this conspiracy. Senator Bree Vance, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Larry Aldridge, a real estate billionaire who’s chairman of the university’s board.
And David Klein, a tech CEO, also on the board.
Jonas wanted to go to the FBI. I agreed that this was the best route.
We spent months secretly compiling the evidence, gathering financial records, emails, proof of the forgeries, sales receipts showing where the originals went.
Everything we’d need to expose the whole conspiracy.
” She swallows hard. “We had an appointment scheduled for a Friday. We were going to turn everything over together.”
Her voice wavers and I find her hand under the table, squeezing gently. “On Wednesday night, two days before that appointment, campus police called me.” Tears slide down her cheeks now. “Jonas was dead. They found him in his office. Hanging. They ruled it suicide immediately.”
The words land like stones in the quiet room.
“But Jonas wasn’t suicidal. He was excited, energized, ready to fight.
He had a wife—Sarah—and twin daughters, Emma and Sophie.
They’re ten now. He had a sabbatical planned in Greece for that summer and talked about it constantly.
” Her voice breaks. “He would never abandon his family. He would never kill himself.”
“Someone murdered him,” I say quietly.
Anna nods. “Someone knew about that FBI appointment. They had to. The timing was too perfect. They killed him two days before we could turn over the evidence, and they made it look like suicide.”
“Inside information,” Dane says from the screen, his expression dark.
“Either the FBI is compromised, or someone at the university tipped them off, or our phones were tapped. I don’t know which.” Anna wipes at her eyes. “But someone knew. And they killed Jonas to stop him.”
Rage builds in my chest—hot and fierce and barely contained. These humans murdered an innocent man. A father. A scholar. Made his family think he abandoned them. His daughters will grow up believing their father chose death over them. And now they’re hunting Anna.
My female.
My Bride.
Not while I draw breath.
“I’m certain it was my warning. If I’d still gone to that appointment alone, I’d be dead too,” Anna continues.
“I was certain of it. I couldn’t trust the FBI anymore.
Senator Vance has oversight over federal law enforcement budgets.
What if she has someone on her payroll? What if I turned over the evidence and it just disappeared?
What if I ended up like Jonas—another convenient suicide? ”
“So you ran,” Rogan says gently.
“That night. I drained my bank accounts, grabbed what I could, created a fake ID, and disappeared.” She’s trembling now.
“For three years, I’ve been running. Different cities, different names.
Fake IDs, burner phones, cash only. Never staying anywhere more than a few months.
No friends, no relationships, no stability.
Always looking over my shoulder. Always waiting for them to find me. ”
The loneliness in her voice cuts through me.
“I was completely alone,” she whispers. “Every holiday. Every birthday. Watching other people live normal lives while I hid in shadows. It was awful.”
“But you found Truckee,” Jonus prompts.
Anna nods. “For the first time in three years, I felt safe. It was a quiet mountain town. I got a teaching job I genuinely loved. I got soft and allowed myself the luxury of being there for the opening of a new school, getting close with my students again and making real friends.” A small smile crosses her face before fading.
“I started to believe maybe I could actually have a life. Maybe I’d escaped. ”
“And then the photos arrived,” I say, knowing where this is going.
“On my doorstep.” Her voice cracks completely.
“Surveillance photos showing they’d been watching me for weeks, maybe months.
Pictures of me at school, at the grocery store, with Ellie and Zoe at the park.
” She looks at me. “One of us at the wedding. And this was when I realized I’d stayed much too long and exposed my new friends to my danger. ”
She exhales and continues, “There was a note. Typed, impersonal. ‘You have 24 hours. Give us what we want or everyone you care about dies.’” I’d been so careful, so paranoid and it wasn’t enough. They found me anyway. And now everyone I care about is in danger because of me.”
“No,” I cut in, my voice firm. “You have nothing to apologize for. These people are criminals. Murderers. You survived. That took courage and intelligence. You kept the evidence safe for three years. Now we help you finish this.”
Anna looks at me—grateful, exhausted, relieved. Then she reaches into her pocket and pulls out three small flash drives. She sets them on the table with a soft click.
“This is everything. Copies of all the evidence. Financial records, emails, proof of the forgeries, sales receipts. Everything Jonas and I compiled. Everything needed to take them down.”
The room stares at those tiny drives. So small they could fit in a pocket, but they could destroy empires. Send a US Senator to prison. Expose possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud.
People have already killed for this.
Will kill again.
Rogan stands and moves around the table. He places a gentle hand on Anna’s shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for, female. You’re under our protection now. You and everyone you care about.” He looks around the room, at the screen. “Agreed?”
Unanimous nods from everyone.
Pride swells in my chest.
Kelt leans forward. “First question: how sophisticated was the surveillance?”
“Very professional,” I respond. “High-quality photos. Long-range lenses. They must have been watching for weeks.”
“Do they know you’re in Maine?” he asks Anna.
“I don’t think so. I destroyed my phone before I boarded the plane. Paid cash for everything on my way to the bus.”
Kelt nods. “Good. That buys us time.”
From the screen, Jonus speaks up. “We still can’t go to the FBI. Too risky with Vance’s connections, but we can go to the press. Multiple major outlets simultaneously. New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Reuters. All at once with a coordinated release that will make it too big to suppress.”
“I know a lawyer,” Dane adds. “Whistleblower specialist. She’s defended journalists, helped expose corruption before. This human can coordinate the release and protect Anna legally. Make sure everything is airtight.”
“We need to prepare for retaliation,” Aldar says, always tactical. “When this goes public, they’ll be desperate. Anna needs to be completely untraceable until arrests are made.”
“She’s safe here,” Kelt responds. “The commune is isolated, protected. But we’ll increase security measures. Double patrols, monitoring all access points. No one in or out without clearance.”
Rogan looks at Dane. “How long to set this up properly?”
“Two to three weeks minimum.”
Anna looks surprised. “That fast?”
“We move quickly when family is threatened,” Rogan says simply.
Dane outlines the timeline. Week one: contact the lawyer and research journalists. Week two: coordinate strategy and set up secure file transfers. Week three: final preparation and simultaneous release. After that, we monitor coverage and prepare for Anna to potentially testify.
Assignments are given. From Truckee: Jonus contacts the lawyer, Dane researches journalists, Aldar works on evaluating the evidence you provided and secure uploads, Garlen maintains security for Ellie and Zoe.
In Maine: Kelt increases commune security, Urdan doubles patrols, Rothgar provides backup measures, and I keep Anna safe.
“Check-in meeting in one week via video call,” Rogan summarizes. “Everyone reports progress. Any problems, we address immediately. Everyone clear?”
Unanimous agreement.
Rogan looks at Anna. “While we handle logistics, you rest. Recover. Get to know the commune, meet the other Brides. Let us worry about the details. Your job is to stay safe and prepare yourself mentally. We’ll handle everything else.”
Tears slide down Anna’s face again, but these are relief tears. “Thank you. All of you. I don’t know how to repay—”
“You’re Keric’s possible Bride,” Rogan interrupts gently. “That makes you family already. We protect family. Always.”
“Are you sure…” she asks hesitantly “are you sure the Senator and the others won’t be able to find me here?”
I squeeze her hand under the table. “We can never be one hundred percent certain, but it will be extremely difficult,” I respond.
“You see how remote we are and the protection around the perimeter. This commune has federal protection status. Satellite companies are required by law to obscure our location, and the forest cover does the rest. You can’t find us on Google Maps, and trespassing carries federal charges.
We’re as off-grid as you can get in modern America. ”
From the screen, Garlen speaks. “Anna, you did the right thing, going with Keric to the commune and you did the right thing when you ran three years ago. You kept yourself alive, kept the evidence safe. Now let us help you finish this.”
“We’re going to take these bastards down,” Jonus adds. “They killed an innocent human with a family who were devastated at his loss. They don’t get to walk away from that. I’ll make sure the journalists in this country do their best to help take this triad down.”
My female gives my cousin a watery smile.
Dane’s practical voice cuts through. “We’ll update you all in one week. Secure video call, same time. Everyone stay safe until then.”
Aldar leans closer to the camera. “Anna, stay at the commune. Don’t leave and don’t contact anyone from your old life beyond Ellie and the rest of us. We can’t protect you if you’re not where we can see you.”
“I understand,” my female says. “I won’t leave.”
Garlen looks directly at her through the screen. “We’ve got this. You’re safe now. Trust us.”
“I do,” Anna whispers. “I trust you.”
And I can hear the ring of truth in her voice. After three years of trusting no one, she’s finally letting herself believe.
The screen goes dark.
I look down at Anna beside me and she meets my gaze with warm in her eyes. Exhausted but relieved.