Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Keric
Igrip the steering wheel harder than necessary as I drive toward the security office.
My mind isn’t on the road. It’s back at the cabin, replaying the moment I almost kissed Anna. The way she looked up at me with those dark eyes behind her glasses. The catch in her breath. The scent of her arousal that nearly broke every shred of my control.
I had to get out of there.
The teal sweater. The curve of her lips. The way she’d leaned into my touch when I cupped her face. If I’d stayed another minute, I would have tasted those lips and if I’d done that, I wouldn’t have been able to stop.
She’s not ready. She hasn’t decided if she wants a permanent relationship with me. And I refuse to trap her into something real because I can’t control my own desperate need.
The utility vehicle bumps along the gravel path and I force myself to focus.
This is just a routine check-in with Kelt.
Patrol updates, perimeter reports. Nothing urgent.
I probably could be doing this over the phone, but it’s a good chance to clear my head before I return to the exquisite torture of living with my unclaimed Bride.
Anna said she was going to call Ellie. Good. She needs her friend, needs connection beyond just me. I picture her curled on the couch with Dinah in her lap, laughing at something Ellie says, her whole face lighting up the way it does when she’s happy.
The image makes my chest ache.
I want to be the one who makes her laugh like that. The reason she lights up. I want everything with my female, and the waiting is slowly driving me insane.
The security office comes into view and I park my vehicle outside. Deep breath. Focus on the meeting, then I can return to her.
Inside, Kelt stands over a table covered with maps and printouts. He looks up when I enter and his expression tells me immediately that this isn’t routine.
My body goes still. “What’s wrong?”
“We learned something new.”
The words land like stones. I move closer, scanning the documents on the table. Communications intercepts, satellite imagery and personnel files with faces I don’t recognize.
“Someone leaked Anna’s location,” Kelt says, his voice grim. “They know she’s at an orc commune in Maine. They don’t have our exact coordinates yet, but they know she’s here.”
All thoughts of the almost-kiss are gone, replaced with a cold focus. “How?”
“I intercepted communication between Aldridge’s security team and a private military contractor.
” Kelt taps one of the files. “I don’t know how they know this, but they know and they’ve hired mercenaries.
” He shows me the communication. “They don’t plan on taking her alive, their objective is termination.
Four or five professionals have been hired.
These humans are ex-military. Well-funded, well-equipped. ”
I pick up one of the personnel files. Hard eyes stare back at me from the photograph. “When are the coming?”
“They were mobilized three days ago. Their current position is unknown, but they’re moving toward Maine.”
“Weapons?”
Kelt’s jaw tightens. “They’re equipped with scent bombs.”
The words hit like a physical blow. “Garlen went feral at Black Oak Academy because of a scent bomb. His mind fractured, driven by nothing but primal instinct. It took four of us to chain him. Scent bombs are designed to trigger that state deliberately—to turn orc protectors into mindless threats that can’t distinguish friend from enemy. ”
“I know.”
“How are they getting scent bombs?” I demand. “Humans don’t know how to manufacture them. They never have. That technology is orc-made.”
Kelt’s expression darkens. “That’s what concerns me most. Either someone sold the formula, or...”
“Crimson Tusk. They manufactured the bomb used against Garlen. They’re the only faction with both the capability and the motive.”
“Orcs arming humans against other orcs.” Kelt shakes his head slowly. “If that’s true, this goes beyond the threat to Anna. This is a betrayal of our entire kind.”
The implications settle over me like ice water.
“Crimson Tusk hates integration enough to arm human mercenaries with weapons designed to turn us feral? To use our own protective instincts against us. It seems impossible because I thought we’d built a good peace with them recently, but if they did this, then I was very wrong about that.
” I pick up my cell phone and start tapping on the screen.
“I have to alert my Irontree cousins in California about this new development.”
Kelt nods and reaches for his radio. “And I’m going to bring in Rogan and Urdan.”
Within minutes, both orcs arrive. Rogan enters first, his scarred face unreadable. Urdan follows close behind. They take in the documents spread across the table without speaking.
“Scent bombs,” Rogan says flatly after Kelt briefs them. “Being used by humans.”
“Yes.”
“How would they deploy them?” Urdan asks.
Kelt pulls out a tactical diagram. “Based on the equipment they’ve requisitioned, likely aerosol canisters.
Thrown or launched. The bomb that hit Garlen was a timed device, but these mercenaries are trained for rapid assault.
They’d want something faster. Break the perimeter, throw the canisters, wait for us to turn on each other while they extract the target. ”
“They won’t care if we kill Anna in the chaos,” I say quietly. “In fact, that might be the point. She dies, the evidence dies with her, and they blame it on feral orcs.”
Rogan’s jaw tightens. “Convenient.”
“What’s our counter?” Urdan demands.
Kelt hesitates. That hesitation tells me everything.
“There isn’t one,” I say. “Not really. The only thing that pulled Garlen back was Ellie. Her presence. Her calm scent. Their bond.”
“Anna isn’t bonded to you,” Rogan points out.
“No.” The word burns. “She isn’t.”
Silence stretches between us.
“Masks,” Urdan suggests. “Filtration—”
“Won’t work.” Kelt shakes his head. “Military grade scent bombs are designed to penetrate standard filtration. The particles are too fine. By the time you realize you’ve been exposed, it’s already in your system.”
“Then we keep them from breaching the perimeter at all,” Rogan says.
“That’s the goal. But if they do breach...” Kelt looks at me. “Every orc on patrol needs to understand what happens next. The moment someone goes feral, the others need to restrain him immediately. Chains. Containment. No hesitation.”
“And if more than one of us is hit?”
No one answers.
“Isolation protocols,” I say finally. “If scent bombs are deployed, any orc who hasn’t been exposed needs to get clear. Don’t try to help. Don’t engage. Get distance and call for backup from the main commune.”
“That leaves Anna unprotected,” Urdan points out.
“No.” My voice comes out harder than intended. “It doesn’t. Because I won’t leave her. No matter what.”
Rogan studies me for a long moment. “And if you’re the one who goes feral?”
I meet his eyes. “Then Anna knows what a feral orc looks like. She knows to stay calm, stay still, speak softly. She watched Ellie do it with Garlen.”
“That worked because Ellie was his mate,” Kelt says quietly. “He recognized her even through the madness.”
The implication hangs in the air. Would I recognize Anna? Would my feral brain know the difference between protecting her and hunting her?
“We need to warn the entire commune,” Rogan says, breaking the silence. “Every orc needs to know what’s coming. What to do if they see canisters. What to do if a brother goes feral.”
“Agreed.” Kelt begins gathering the documents. “I’ll coordinate with the elders. Keric—” He meets my eyes. “She needs to know. All of it.”
“I know.”
“And she needs to know what to do if you can’t reach her in time. Emergency protocols. Escape routes. How to hide, how to run, how to survive until this is over.”
I nod once. My chest feels tight.
“The evidence goes public in ten days,” Kelt continues. “The lawyer, Rebecca Stein, confirms the case is strong. Ten days, and this is over. They know that too. Which means they’re running out of time.”
“That makes them desperate,” Urdan says.
“Yes.” Kelt’s expression is grim. “The plan appears to be breach the perimeter, deploy scent bombs to neutralize defenders, extract Anna.” He meets my eyes.
“They’re not amateurs, Keric. These are professionals who’ve done these types of operations before.
Not with scent bombs and orcs, but similar enough to be very deadly. ”
I think of Anna back at the cabin. Right now she’s probably laughing with Ellie on the phone, completely unaware that people are coming to take her. To silence her. To make sure Jonas Webb’s murder was for nothing.
My hands curl into fists. “What’s our defensive position?” I ask.
“Strong but not invincible. We’ve doubled patrols, added surveillance at all access points.
Motion sensors are active. But a determined team with the right equipment.
..” Kelt shakes his head. “We need to prepare for the possibility they breach our perimeter.” His expression is serious.
“Anna needs to be able to protect herself if we can’t reach her in time. ”
I’m already moving toward the door. “I’ll handle it.”
“Keric.”
I pause and look back. Kelt’s scarred face is unreadable, but his voice carries weight. “We’ll do everything we can. But that female is your responsibility. Make sure she’s ready.”
I nod once and leave.
The drive back to the cabin feels endless. Every second I’m away from her is a second she’s unprotected.
Not for long.