Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
OTIS.
It’s late when we arrive home.
No denying it’s been a long and traumatic day.
Our steps slow as we walk, and my little human lags behind me. Finally, despite her protests, I pick Clem up and carry her the rest of the way.
Her head lies heavy on my chest and she sighs. Her arms sneak around my neck, and I lay soft kisses on her scalp.
“I love you,” I murmur, and I hear her whisper back, “I love you too.”
Whatever happens, we have each other, and I will protect my mate to the last.
But for now, at least we are nearly home and safe.
When I get to the house, however, I stop abruptly, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
Clem raises her head from my shoulder and asks sleepily, “What’s up?”
“Someone’s in the house. There’s a light on.”
“Maybe you left it on.”
“I doubt it,” I mutter. Then to prove my point, a light goes on in another room.
Shit.
“You stay here, I’ll go check,” I hiss, placing her gently down. This is not what I need right now. My mind churns. Could there be spies in there? Human troops even. Are they ransacking the house, or worse, stealing my computer systems, my notebooks of coding? Fear strikes ice into my heart.
I advance stealthily, peer in a window. There’s no-one there.
I feel deep in my pocket and bring out the house key. Slowly I put it in the lock and it sticks which is does every third fucking times I use it, and now I’m going to have to twist the fucker and shove the door with my foot to enter.
Which will alert whoever is inside to my presence.
I heave in a deep breath, brace my shoulders and lift my foot to kick at the wooden slats… when the door swings open from the inside.
Instinctively I let out a huge roar, arms raised and hands balled into fists, ready to strike first.
“Otis, what the fuck!” A female voice cuts through my rage.
I stop abruptly and blink.
Stare. Blink again.
A pretty green face with wide red eyes and long sweeping lashes stares at me like I’m a complete lunatic, her tight dark green curls bouncing around her head.
“Amy?” My shoulders slump and I drop my arms to my sides.
Her lips quirk. “There’s no need to fisticuff me. This is still my home too, you know.”
“Sorry,” I mutter, my brows pinching into a frown. “I thought you were an intruder.” I peer past her into the interior. “Are you here alone?”
“No the twins are with me…”
As she speaks, two other orcs, taller, wider, but just as green as my sister, come strolling down the passage, grinning.
Nathaniel and Dwayne.
“Hello bro,” they say in unison. They’re identical to look at, except Dwayne has a little green mole above his right eye and Nathaniel has one on his chin.
I can’t believe my eyes.
“How… I mean, why now…?”
When Clem steps forward from behind me, oddly, my sister doesn’t seem surprised to see her.
“Hello Amy, it’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Ah, a face to match to the voice.” Amy smiles back. And then they fucking hug.
I look from one to the other, perplexed. “What the hell is going on here?” I growl.
Amy gives me a mock innocent look. “How d’you mean?”
“Tell me the truth,” I demand.
Clem dimples and looks at Amy, and the twins just scuff their boots on the flagstone floors and grin sheepishly.
Clem cocks her head at my sister. “Shall I tell him, or should you?”
“I will, it’s better that he’s pissed at me, not you.
” Amy laughs and then turns to me. “I’d like to say we all decided to come home off our own bat.
But the truth is, it was Clem who made it happen.
She rang and told me she was working for you and that you needed us here.
Honestly, she was so lovely, so non-judgmental, and y’know, she was right to call.
It’s terrible how we all just ran away after Dad died and left you to carry the load.
After we’d talked, I contacted the twins and here we are.
Just in time for Mom’s fiftieth. And Otis,” her mouth works and her lower lip wobbles, which makes her tusks wobble too, “I’m sorry we haven’t been here for Mom—for you— but I promise we’re going to make up for it now. ”
CLEM.
As I sit at the kitchen table decorating the picture frame for Sally’s birthday, having gone back to the market to replace the craft supplies I lost, I can’t help smiling at the action taking place around me.
Four orcs, stirring, tasting the butter cream, cracking eggs and adding it all into the big bowl. Getting into a flour fight. Green faces dusted in white. And all of them laughing.
So much laughter, as they prep Sally’s birthday cake.
Otis is in charge, of course, firing out directions. “Whip it until it’s light and airy, yes, yes, sieve the flour before adding it,” he instructs the twins, smiling his head off the while.
He biffs his brothers when they argue, and they cuff him back.
At times, all four siblings fall into their own dialect, and then they remember and translate for me.
“That’s rude of us, sorry.” Amy glances my way with an apologetic smile.
“I love that you are all talking in your own language. It’s beautiful.”
“I’ll teach you more words if you like,” Otis offers.
“Let’s start with happy birthday,” I suggest. “How do you say that?”
“Hegi Bethidara,” they all chorus.
“Hegi Bethidara,” I repeat. “Yeah, it sounds kind of similar.”
“We have words that we share, which come from roots in the English language. From back when orcs and humans intermingled harmoniously,” Nathaniel says.
“And we will again,” Otis adds. “Want to lick the spoon?” He waggles his eyebrows at me suggestively.
“Get a room,” Amy laughs.
“We have already.” Otis grins. I look at Otis; he’s turned a darker shade of green, and my cheeks are burning bright enough to light up the room without any help from lumen gas.
The twins roll their eyes. “Finally the old man finds lurvvvve,” Dwayne says.
“I’m not fucking old,” Otis growls. “But yeah, okay.” He comes and takes my hand. “Clem and I are together. It’s serious. In fact, we’re mates.”
“Are you getting married?” Nathaniel asks.
“Erm, yes, I hope so, I mean if she’ll have me,” Otis blusters.
I squeeze him tight, “I’ll have you any day of the week, green guy.”
Everybody laughs. “So where’s the ring?” Amy asks.
“We’ll go choose it after Mom’s birthday,” Otis says, “Won’t we, Clem.”
I nod enthusiastically.
The three orcs make appropriate noises. “Kiss the bride-to-be, then,” Amy says.
Otis and I happily oblige.
Half an hour, later the cake is rising, and we’re playing a game of cards while we wait for it to come out of the oven. I’m losing, of course—these orcs sure know how to play rummy—when there’s a knock at the door.
We all freeze and look at each other.
“I’ll go,” says Otis, rising to his feet, shoulders braced.
We wait, the other orcs frowning. But a moment later I hear the rumble of Otis’s voice, and then a very familiar human laugh joins in.
It’s Jax.
I drop my cards and fly out to greet my brother.
He looks radiant.
I run into his arms, and yep, I can tell he’s holding back his strength when he hugs me. I like that his tall, rangy frame now houses a big strong wolf who was prepared to come to the fore to save me.
“You’re awake!”
“Yeah, got the worst fucking headache, though.”
I gaze deep into his green eyes. “Thank you for saving me—for saving us both.”
“Egh, it was nothing,” he lies, but his eyes soften. “Even though it gave me the worst hangover you could ever imagine. Traggar gave me painkillers, so it’s passing now.”
“Come in and let me introduce you to my sibs,” Otis says, and I can tell he’s proud as he says those words.
“Don’t let me to interrupt your family get-together,” Jax says.
“You are family.” I loop his arm in mine and lead him down the passage. “Can I tell everybody what you are? Is it official yet?”
“Sure, why not. The news has spread around the Labyrinth already. Even Tippy knows.” He grimaces. “Don’t think she’s talking to me at present.”
“She will,” I murmur. “C’mon in, help me beat them at cards. They’re whipping my ass.”
“Sure,” Jax smirks.
Clutching his arm, I walk him into the kitchen and announce to the three orcs seated at the table, “Amy, Dwayne, Nathaniel, meet my brother, Jax, the werewolf.”
OTIS.
It’s late by the time Jax departs and Amy and the twins have bedded down in their respective rooms.
Clem and I are snuggling in bed, and though our minds are willing, our bodies are too tired to make love, so we hug and kiss instead, and it’s beautiful and intimate, knowing there will always be tomorrow…
“I’m still scared at the risk you took, Otis, coming above ground.”
“There was no way I wasn’t going to rescue you, Clem, you know that, right? As my mate, I would fight to the death to save you.”
“I know.”
“And we got away safely.”
“Just,” she says. “But clearly, the human authorities mean to infiltrate the Labyrinth now.”
“Don’t worry. Tony has now got level ten involved.”
“Which means?”
“Level ten houses the toughest monsters—lawless, mutated creatures. They sometimes escape into the spaces between the portals, but this time, we’ve intentionally let them loose in there.”
“So they’re roaming free?”
“Only between the portal elevators. That area is hermetically sealed off from other parts of the Labyrinth, but if the seal breaks they can access the elevators from time to time. They’ve eaten the odd peripheral who’s fallen into that space.
Their presence will make the humans think twice about coming down here. ”
“What even are these monsters?”
“Behemoths, and the odd demonic species. Not a nice bunch, and dangerous as fuck.”
“Will Jax be okay coming and going?”
“Jax has a werewolf aura that will protect him. They won’t go near him.”
“Phew. Let’s talk about something more pleasant. Like surprising your mom with all four of you.”
“And us. I’m going to tell her you are my mate tomorrow, Clem. And that we’re getting married”
“I’d love that,” she murmurs. We lie there in silence, both of us now thinking of a future that is full of hope, not fear. As her head gets heavier on my shoulder I stroke her hair until I know she’s asleep, and then I too allow myself to fall into a deep slumber.