31. Tark
Chapter 31
Tark
M y love, my mate, my Gracie nodded. “I trust you completely.”
Despite my blundering video. The comments. The mocking.
I could see in her eyes and on her face that she still loved me. And that made me feel so much. More than I could ever express.
Warmth unfurled in my chest. My mate was strong, stronger than she knew. But she didn’t have to fight this battle alone.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Wait for me? I'm going to have a little conversation with your parents.”
A frown creased her face, but it quickly smoothed, and she smiled. “Go get 'em, cowboy.”
That was me. Cowboy. An orc cowboy, but a Wild West hero nonetheless. I liked that.
I strode right up to her parents, my boots grinding against the dirt, my spurs jangling. Such an amazing sound. I was going to wear them all the time—maybe even to bed. Latching onto their arms, I dragged them around the vehicle where I could speak to them without them glaring at my mate.
Her father adjusted the cuffs on his jacket like he could smooth over what had happened and walk away. Her mother crossed her arms, lifting her chin in barely contained disdain.
“I don’t know what you think—” she started to say.
“You will leave her alone,” I said evenly. “Forever.”
Her mother gave a short, incredulous laugh. “You don’t get to order us around.”
“You’re holding her back.” Pleading came through in her father’s voice. “She belongs with us.”
“She belongs where she chooses to be.”
Her mother scoffed. “And you think that’s here, in this ridiculous town with you?”
I didn’t flinch, didn’t rise to their mockery. Instead, I reached into the pocket of my pants and pulled out three gold nuggets—each one large, uneven in shape, but gleaming in the fading sunlight. What humans didn't know was that these sweet little rocks lay around on the ground everywhere within the orc kingdom. Hence our king only allowing human mates to visit. We used to throw them at each other when I was young. Stack them in play to make castles.
Then we discovered how much humans treasured these playthings. This meant we all had more money than we knew what to do with.
Actually, I knew exactly what I hoped to do with some of mine.
Their laughter stopped as they gaped at the stones lying on my palm.
Her mother sucked in a breath. Her father’s jaw slid open before he caught himself. Their eyes flickered with greed.
“There is wealth deep in the mountain ranges far from here,” I said, using the story we'd all agreed to tell when we went to the bank and laid a nugget on the counter. “Only a few of us know where it is. But there are veins of it waiting for the right hands to dig.”
I flicked the nuggets lying on my palm, letting the light dance over them.
“This is my gift to you,” I said. “Not as payment for Gracie, because she's not property. Call this a final price for her happiness. Take this. Walk away. Don’t ever come back to Lonesome Creek.”
Silence stretched, their gazes bouncing between the gold and me.
Her father’s throat bobbed with a swallow. “Is there more?”
“If you want this, you take the deal. One exchange. No second chances. No negotiations or bargains.”
Her mother pursed her lips. Then she reached for her husband’s arm, tugging on it.
His hand shot forward, seizing the lumps from my palm. His expression didn’t change, didn’t betray even a flicker of shame at accepting.
Her mother nodded, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in her blouse. “Well, then. It appears we have an understanding.”
My eyes narrowed. “Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. If you break this deal, I won’t be generous next time.”
She huffed a breath, but something in my expression must have convinced her I would follow through on the threat. She grabbed her husband’s arm. “Let’s go.”
He tucked the nuggets into his pocket and strode toward the car.
“Bye, Gracie,” her mother called out, waving. “Have a nice life!”
“Assholes,” Sharga called out.
They flinched but didn’t turn.
I stepped over to their vehicle, bent low, and dug my hands underneath the back. With a single lift, I dragged it from the ditch, tugging it back onto even ground. I took a step away, dusting off my hands as they climbed inside.
The car's engine sputtered to life, and her father wasted no time guiding the beast back onto the road. At least the vehicle still worked. Her mother didn’t look at me again. She was already hunched forward, scrolling through her phone, probably calculating how much she could profit off her new treasure.
It didn’t matter. They were out of Gracie’s life.
I pivoted on my heel and strode back toward my mate with Sharga bobbing on my shoulder.
Gracie waited exactly where I'd left her, her expression unreadable as she watched the car disappear down the road.
When I stopped beside her, she tilted her face up to meet my gaze, searching me for something.
“They won’t come back,” I said.
A breath shuddered through her. “Just like that?”
I nodded. “They love controlling you, but they traded it away for gold.”
Something cracked in her expression, and for a terrifying moment, I thought she might cry. But instead, she laughed, a sharp, exhausted sound as if she couldn't quite believe what had happened.
“They’re really gone?” she asked.
“They are.”
I watched her breathe in slowly, then push the air out with a shuddering sigh. She rubbed her hands over her face, maybe wiping away decades of pressure. Then she looked back up at me and smiled—the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
She surged forward, throwing herself into my arms. Sharga flapped his wings where he clung to her shoulder but maintained his roost.
I caught her easily, cradling her against my chest.
She gripped my vest and pressed her face against my skin. “Thank you.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Always.”
It was over. Her past, her parents, the weight they’d chained to her.
She was free.
She was mine.
And for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel lonesome.