Chapter 18
Sarah
I told myself I was driving to the Orc village to deliver important legal news.
I told myself it was professional courtesy—that Ruka and the council deserved to hear about the federal sovereignty recognition directly from their attorney.
I told myself the manila folder on my passenger seat, stuffed with documents signed by a federal judge, was the only reason I'd made this trip.
I was lying.
I was lying to myself, and I knew it. I'd woken up this morning with an ache in my chest that had nothing to do with how hard I'd been working lately and everything to do with the fact that I hadn't seen Kael in seven days.
Seven days since we'd walked out of that courthouse together. Seven days since he'd held me in my office while I fell apart. Seven days since I'd felt his hands on me, heard his voice, breathed in his scent.
Seven days of following my own stupid rules.
What happens on the mountain stays on the mountain. This is just sex. No feelings. It's over when we return to normal life.
I'd been so certain when I'd made those rules. So convinced I could compartmentalize what we'd shared, keep it separate from my real life, protect myself from the inevitable heartbreak of wanting something I couldn't have.
I'd been an idiot.
Because the truth was, I missed him so badly it was making me physically ill. I couldn't sleep. Couldn't focus. Couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd looked at me like I was everything he'd ever wanted.
And I couldn't be mad at him for respecting the boundaries I'd set, even though part of me desperately wished he'd ignore them. Wished he'd show up at my door and tell me the rules were bullshit.
But Kael was honoring what I'd asked for. Giving me space. Letting me pretend what happened was just a blip and this was just a professional relationship between attorney and former client.
So here I was, driving to the village with a folder full of legal documents and a heart full of feelings I had no right to have.
I parked near the main gate, taking a moment to check my reflection in the rearview mirror. Professional. Composed. No hint of the emotional mess I'd been for the past week.
I could do this. I could deliver the news, congratulate them on their new status, and leave without making a fool of myself.
The moment I stepped through the gate, something in my chest loosened.
It was subtle at first—just the absence of the constant tension I'd been carrying.
But as I walked deeper into the village, past the gardens where Orcs and humans alike were tending to late-season vegetables, past the children playing some elaborate game involving a lot of shrieking and laughter, I felt it settle over me like a warm blanket.
Peace.
I nodded to a Orc female hanging laundry on a line strung between two cabins. She smiled back, called out a greeting like she knew me. Like I belonged here.
The scent of woodsmoke and pine filled my lungs, and underneath it, something else—something wild and earthy that I'd come to associate with the pack. With Kael. My heart clenched, but even that ache felt different here. Less sharp. More like longing than pain.
A group of teenagers passed me, their conversation animated, their laughter easy. One of them—a girl with dark braids—waved at me like we were old friends. I waved back automatically, surprised by how natural it felt.
This place. These people.
The fact that walking through this village felt more like coming home than returning to my apartment ever had.
The realization should have terrified me. Should have sent me running back to my car with some excuse about forgetting an important meeting.
Instead, I just kept walking, drinking in the sight of the community Kael and his clan had built. The life they'd created together, despite everything the world had thrown at them.
And for the first time, I let myself wonder: what if I didn't have to leave again?
I was halfway to the hall when I heard Tori's voice.
"Sarah!"
I turned to find her hurrying toward me, her face lit with genuine pleasure. She pulled me into a hug that smelled like grapes—she must have been working at the winery this morning.
"I'm so glad you're here," she said, pulling back to study my face.
"I have news," I said, holding up the folder. "Official news. Is Ruka around?"
"He's in the council building with Argon." Tori linked her arm through mine, steering me in that direction. "They've been working on setting up the new governmental structure all week. It's been chaos, but good chaos, you know?"
I did know. I'd been the one to draft most of the documentation, working late into the night to ensure everything was legally sound. It had been a welcome distraction from thinking about Kael. Well, I'd pretended it was.
The council building was larger than the others, with a wide porch and windows that let in natural light. Inside, I found Ruka and Argon bent over a table covered in maps and documents, deep in discussion.
They both looked up when we entered, and Ruka's face broke into a wide smile.
"Sarah," he said, coming around the table to clasp my hand. "This is a pleasant surprise."
"I have news," I said, setting the folder on the table. "A federal judge signed off on everything. As of this morning, you're officially recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States government."
The silence that followed was profound.
Then Ruka let out a whoop of joy that rattled the windows, and Argon was grinning so wide I thought his face might split.
"This is—" Ruka shook his head, looking dazed. "Sarah, this is everything. Do you understand? This means Dawson has no jurisdiction over us. None. We have our own government, our own laws, our own—"
"Your own police force," I finished, smiling despite the tightness in my chest. "Which brings me to the other piece of news. The federal government requires you to have a designated law enforcement officer to liaise with outside agencies. Ruka, as chieftain, you'll need to appoint someone."
Ruka and Argon exchanged a look.
"We've already discussed it," Argon said. "Kael will be the Orc Sheriff."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Kael?" I managed, proud of how steady my voice sounded.
"He's the logical choice," Ruka explained. "He's respected in the clan, he's proven himself capable of handling difficult situations, and he has experience dealing with human law enforcement." A slight smile. "Plus, he's already proven he can work with our attorney."
Heat flooded my face. "That's—yes. That makes sense."
"He's out back," Argon said, his expression knowing in a way that made me want to squirm. "Behind the council building. At the training grounds."
I should have said I needed to get back to town. Should have made my excuses and left before I did something stupid.
Instead, I heard myself say, "I should probably brief him on his new responsibilities."
Tori's smile was far too knowing. "Of course you should."
I left the folder with Ruka and walked out the back door of the council building, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
The clearing behind the building was large, surrounded by a split rail fence. And in the center of it, shirtless and glistening with sweat in the afternoon sun, was Kael.
He was sparring with another Orc I didn't recognize, their movements fluid and powerful as they circled each other. Kael's muscles flexed with each movement, his skin gleaming, his focus absolute.
I stopped at the edge of the clearing, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to do anything but stare.
God, he was beautiful.
I'd seen him shirtless before—had touched and kissed every inch of that skin, had traced the patterns of his scars with my fingers and tongue. But seeing him like this, in his element, powerful and confident and completely in control, did something to me that made my knees weak.
Heat pooled low in my belly. My skin felt too tight. My breath came faster.
And then Kael went completely still.
His head turned toward me, his amber eyes locking onto mine across the distance. I saw the exact moment he caught my scent, saw his nostrils flare and his pupils dilate.
He said something to his sparring partner—I couldn't hear what—and then he was moving toward me with that predatory grace that made my pulse race.
"Sarah." My name on his lips sounded like a prayer and a curse.
"I brought news," I said, proud of how steady I sounded despite the fact that my entire body was trembling. "About the sovereignty recognition. Ruka says you're the new Sheriff."
"Is that why you came?" He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I could smell him—sweat and pine and something uniquely Kael that made my mouth water. "To talk to me about my new job?"
"Yes," I replied much too quick for it to be true.
His eyes darkened. "Liar."
"Excuse me?"
"I can smell you, Sarah." He took a step closer, and I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. "I can smell exactly why you came here. And it has nothing to do with legal documents."
My face burned. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"No?" Another step. "Your scent is telling me a very different story. Want to know what it's saying?"
"Kael—"
"It's saying you missed me." His voice dropped to a rough whisper. "It's saying you've been thinking about me. About us."
"We agreed—" I started, but he cut me off.
"We agreed to your rules. What happens on the mountain stays on the mountain. Just sex. No feelings. Over when we return to normal life." Each word was clipped, controlled. "But here's the thing, Sarah. I don't think you want to follow those rules any more than I do."
"You don't know what I want," I said, breathless.
"Then tell me I'm wrong." He was close enough now that I felt the heat radiating off his skin. "Tell me you don't think about me. Tell me you don't want me. Tell me this past week hasn't been killing you the same way it's been killing me."
I opened my mouth to lie, to maintain the facade, to protect myself from the vulnerability of admitting the truth.
But I couldn't do it.
"Damn you," I whispered.