Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Anna
Iwake up slowly, disoriented and warm.
Where am I? Why am I naked and why does my body feel so... pleasantly used? And why is there something heavy draped across my waist?
Reality filters in piece by piece. I’m in a cave. Lying on a pile of discarded and torn clothes. And the heavy thing across my waist is a muscular green arm attached to a very large, very naked orc.
Keric.
The events of the past... however many hours crash back over me. The attack. The scent bomb. Being carried through the forest. And then...
Oh.
Oh.
Heat floods my cheeks as I remember exactly what we did on this pile of clothes. What he did to me. What I did to him. Multiple times.
A satisfied smile spreads across my face.
I’m deliciously sore between my thighs. He was so big, even after his body returned to normal, Keric was still the largest guy I’ve ever been with.
Not that I have a ton of experience, but enough to know that Keric Irontree is.
.. generously proportioned. But this is a good sore.
The kind that makes me want to squeeze my thighs together and remember every moment.
I didn’t even know it was possible to orgasm three times during sex.
In the past, I was lucky if I came once with a partner.
Usually, the really good orgasms in my life were the ones I gave myself, alone in my bed with my vibrator and imagination.
Men I’d been with before were either too fast, too selfish, or too clueless to figure out what I needed.
I’d learned to fake it convincingly and then finish myself off later.
But Keric... Keric said he’d studied? And then he made it his mission to learn my body and wring every ounce of pleasure from it. And he looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.
I glance down at my body in the dim light of the cave.
Same soft belly I’ve always had. Same thick thighs with their dimples of cellulite.
Same rolls at my sides and in my back when I bend certain ways.
All the things I’ve been self-conscious about since I was a teenager, when I was always the biggest girl in class.
Keric doesn’t see any of that and he thinks I’m sexy just the way I am.
He called me perfect and said he wanted my thick thighs wrapped around his head.
He grabbed my ass like it was the greatest treasure he’d ever found.
For the first time in my life, I felt genuinely sexy during sex.
Not like I was trying to hide my body or position myself at flattering angles.
The memory of gripping his horns while I rode his face butterflies to take flight in my belly. The way he groaned against me, the vibration making everything more intense. And later, the scrape of his tusks against my inner thighs as he kissed his way up my body...
I could get used to this.
Keric shifts behind me, pulling me closer against his chest. He’s still asleep, his breathing deep and even, but even unconscious he’s holding me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
I snuggle back against him, content to stay here forever.
The cave is cold, but his body radiates heat like a furnace. I’m perfectly warm wrapped up in him.
My eyes are drifting closed again when I hear it.
Voices. Male voices. Echoing from somewhere deeper in the cave system and they’re getting closer.
Keric stirs instantly, going from asleep to alert in a heartbeat. A growl rumbles in his chest. “Someone’s coming,” he murmurs against my hair.
Before we can move or do anything, figures appear at the entrance to our little alcove. Three orcs. I recognize them from the commune—Kelt, Urdan, and Whelan. They’re all huge, all intimidating, and they’re all carrying heavy iron chains. The kind meant for restraining a feral orc.
“There he is,” Urdan shouts.
My stomach drops straight through the floor.
I’m completely naked, lying on a pile of clothes with Keric’s seed still sticky between my thighs. And three orcs are staring right at us. “Oh my god,” I squeak, grabbing for anything to cover myself.
Keric is already moving, putting his massive body between me and his cousins. He’s naked too, but he clearly doesn’t care. His only concern is shielding me from their view.
“Don’t look at her,” he snarls, and there’s an edge to his voice that sounds almost feral again.
“Anna, are you okay?” Kelt tries to peer around Keric, his voice urgent with concern. “Are you hurt?”
“Get dressed,” Keric tells me over his shoulder, his voice softer. “I’ll handle this.”
I scramble for my clothes, yanking on my underwear, jeans and sweater as fast as humanly possible. My hands are shaking. My face is burning. This is literally my worst nightmare.
The three orcs circle Keric, chains ready. They’re not attacking, but they’re clearly prepared to restrain him if he makes a wrong move.
“Keric, we need you to stay calm,” Urdan says carefully, like he’s talking to a wild animal.
“We followed your trail from the cabin,” Whelan adds, his voice grim. “We found the bodies. We know what happened with the scent bomb.”
When I’m finally decent I step out from behind Keric. He’s still standing there like a wall, completely unbothered by his own nudity, focused entirely on keeping his cousins at bay.
“We’re here to help,” Kelt says, but he’s not looking at Keric anymore. He’s looking at me. And there’s something in his expression that makes my stomach turn.
Pity. He’s looking at me with pity.
Oh no. They think...
“Anna.” Kelt’s voice has gone soft and gentle. “Are you hurt? Did he... we’re so sorry we didn’t get here sooner. We tried to track you as fast as we could, but…”
Oh no. They think Keric raped me. They think he went feral, kidnapped me and violated me against my will, and they’re here to rescue me from the monster. “What? No!” I step forward, still tugging my sweater into place. “That’s not what happened!”
But Whelan is scanning my body with sharp eyes, cataloging every mark.
His expression darkens when he sees the scratches on my arms from the forest run.
It gets even darker when my sweater rides up and he spots the small bruises on my hips—finger-shaped bruises from where Keric gripped me while I rode him.
“Keric,” Whelan growls, and now he sounds angry. Dangerous. “What did you do to her?”
“Those aren’t from—that’s not what you think.” My face is so hot I’m surprised I haven’t burst into flames. “Those are from... we were... it was consensual!”
“It’s okay, Anna.” Kelt is using that soothing voice again, the one that makes me want to scream. “You don’t have to protect him. What he did wasn’t his fault. The scent bomb affects orc brain chemistry in ways that—”
“He didn’t rape me,” I exclaim.
My voice echoes off the cave walls. All three orcs freeze.
The silence is deafening.
“Those marks,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady even though I want to die of embarrassment, “are from consensual sex. Very enthusiastic, very mutual, very much wanted by both parties.”
The orcs exchange confused glances.
“But he was feral,” Urdan says slowly. “We saw what he did to those mercenaries. He tore them apart with his bare hands. There’s no way he could have controlled himself enough to—”
“He stopped.” My voice is firm now. I’m done being embarrassed. I’m done letting them think the worst of the male who gave me the most incredible experience of my life. “Even feral, even out of his mind, Keric stopped and asked for my consent. He gave me a choice.”
“That’s... not possible,” Kelt says, but he sounds uncertain now.
“It happened.” I look at each of them in turn. “Keric was literally shaking with the effort of holding himself back. And he told me to tell him to stop. He said he would find a way, even though it was clearly killing him. He needed me to say the words, needed to know I was choosing him.”
The orcs lower the chains slightly, still wary but listening.
“The scent bomb triggered his protective instincts,” I continue. “He got me out of that cabin and brought me somewhere safe. And yes, he was feral at first. But I calmed him down. I touched him and talked to him and brought him back, the same way Ellie did with Garlen in that parking lot.”
“You calmed a feral Irontree,” Whelan says slowly. “After a direct scent bomb hit to the face.”
“Is that unusual?”
“It’s almost impossible.” Kelt is staring at me with something like wonder. “The fact that he could even ask for consent in that state... I’ve never heard of that happening.”
“Well, it happened.” I move to stand beside Keric, who has been silent this whole time, letting me tell our story. “And I said yes. I chose him. I chose to be his Bride.”
Keric finally moves, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me against his side. At some point during my speech, he managed to get his torn pants back on. Small mercies.
“She’s telling the truth,” he says quietly. “I would never hurt her. Even feral, even out of my mind, I could never hurt her.”
But Urdan still looks skeptical. “You’re sure you’re not just saying this to protect him? Trauma can make people rationalize—”
“Thank you for checking on me and trying to make sure I’m okay, but I’m telling you I’m not traumatized.”
Then I see it. Urdan’s nostrils flare. Whelan’s too. Even Kelt’s.
They’re scenting me.
Oh god. They can smell everything. The sex. Keric’s seed. And—if orc noses are as sensitive as I’ve been told—my current state of arousal, which has been climbing steadily since I woke up wrapped in Keric’s arms.
“She’s not lying,” Kelt says quietly, and he has the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “I can scent it. Her arousal for him is... present.”
“Very present,” Whelan agrees.
I want the cave floor to open up and swallow me whole. Bad enough that they walked in on us naked. Now they’re literally smelling how turned on I am by their cousin. This is fine. I’m just going to die of mortification right here in this cave.
But then Keric’s arm tightens around me, and something about his solid presence makes the embarrassment fade. Who cares what they can smell? I’m not ashamed of wanting him. I’m not ashamed of what we did. It was basically one of the best moments of my life.
“She’s my Bride,” Keric says simply. “She chose me. And I will spend the rest of my life being worthy of that choice.”
I turn to look up at the massive, fierce, tender orc who asked for my consent even when he was out of his mind with need. “I didn’t just choose you because you asked for consent,” I tell him. “I chose you because you’re kind and protective and sneak meat to my cat when you think I’m not looking.”
His lips twitch.
“I chose you because you’re the best man—the best male—I’ve ever known.”
His eyes are going soft now, vulnerable in a way I’ve only seen a few times.
“I chose you because I love you, Keric.”
The words hang in the air between us. We haven’t said this yet. Not once. Not during sex, not after, not in any of the quiet moments we’ve shared over the past two weeks.
Keric goes completely still. “You... you do? You love me?”
“Of course I do.That’s why we made love and I’m ready to have your orc sons. It’s because I love you so much it hurts.”
For a long moment, he just stares at me. His dark eyes are shining with something that looks suspiciously like tears. Then he makes a rough sound and crushes me against his chest. His arms wrap around me so tight I can barely breathe, but I don’t care. I hold him just as tight.
“I love you too,” he rasps against my hair. “My Anna. I love you so much.”
We stay like that for what feels like forever, wrapped up in each other, the rest of the world forgotten.
Until someone clears their throat.
“So...” Kelt’s voice is awkward. “I guess we don’t need these chains.”
Keric doesn’t let go of me, but I feel him shake his head. “No. You don’t.”
“We should probably get back to the commune,” Urdan says. “Everyone’s worried. And there’s a lot to deal with. The attack. The evidence release. The aftermath.”
Reality crashes back in. The cabin. The mercenaries. The conspiracy. And— “My cat.” I pull back from Keric just enough to look at the other orcs. “Is Dinah okay? She was in the carrier in the closet when we left.”
“She’s fine,” Whelan assures me with a small smile. “Drew found her right where you left her. She’s being spoiled rotten by the Brides as we speak. Last I heard, Miranda was feeding her some kind of fancy tuna.”
Relief floods through me so hard my knees almost buckle. Dinah is safe. My baby kitty is safe. “And the evidence?” I ask. “Did it go public?”
“Jonus handled everything,” Kelt confirms. “It went live a few hours ago while we were tracking you two. The whole world knows now. Senator Vance, the university conspiracy, all of it. It’s everywhere.”
I sag against Keric. It’s over. The running, the hiding, the constant fear—it’s finally over. Yes, there will be me having to talk to lots of law enforcement and showing up on the stand at eventual trials, but that part I don’t mind. It’s what I’ve always wanted and I’m ready for it.
“The mercenaries?” Keric asks, his voice hard.
“Being handled,” Urdan says. “The ones you two... dealt with... are being collected. And authorities have been notified about who sent them. There will be consequences.”
Keric nods, seemingly satisfied.
“Come on,” Kelt says gently. “Let’s get you both home. We’re already working on fixing doors and windows for you. You can clean up, rest, and we’ll figure out the next steps together.”
Keric looks down at me. “Ready?”
I think about everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours.
The attack. The terror. The cave. The sex.
The love confession I never planned to make but don’t regret for a second.
I’m exhausted, sore and probably a complete mess.
But I’m also happier than I’ve ever been.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling up at the orc I love. “Let’s go home.”