Chapter 26
Thavros
Iwoke with her in my arms, her soft breath brushing against my chest like a blessing. For the first time since she came alive in my study, she hadn't cried out in her sleep. No tremors. No thrashing. Just peace, and the quiet press of her body against mine like she'd always belonged there.
I didn’t move, didn’t dare. The weight of her arm across my stomach, her leg tangled with mine, grounded me in a way I hadn’t known I needed.
My mate. As I watched her sleep, I began to allow the feeling of that certainty to sink in.
If I had been honest with myself, it had been there all along, possibly even before she came to life, but that didn't make sense.
But the way my body responded to her that first time, even though she was a creature made of stone, I had felt this stirring I couldn't explain.
And once she had started to come to life a little more every night until she allowed me to make her come for the first time, I should have known them.
But it wasn't until the night I found her crying and bleeding on the dungeon floor that I knew I was already soul-bound to this woman.
But then last night, when she had acknowledged it too, my entire world shifted. She was at the center of everything. The Gods had somehow blessed me with this perfect creature, and I would belong to her just the same.
When her lashes fluttered, I kissed her forehead and whispered, “Sleep well, sweet mate?”
She nodded into my chest, her voice still husky with sleep. “Better than I can remember,” she said with a stretch. "My mate," she said, and her hand came up to cup my jaw.
A sound of pure contentment rumbled deep inside of me. “I love it when you say that,” I said as I took her small hand and pressed a kiss to it.
Her golden eyes sparkled as a smile stretched across her face. I wanted to wake up like this every morning. I wanted to complete the bond and be bound to this goddess before me today and every day.
“I had a lot of fun with you last night,” she said as she traced her finger along my chest.
“It was a wonderful New Year’s feast,” I said, knowing that’s not what she was talking about.
“I mean, it was indeed a great feast, but I was referring to what happened in here afterward, my mate,” she said with a devilish grin.
I flipped her, pinning her to the bed. “That was more than fun, that was everything,” I say as I lazily pepper her neck with kisses. “I cannot wait to be bound to you,” I said as I sat back in bed, pulling her close. She let out a long, contented sigh as she lay her head against my chest.
"Does this mean you want to accept the mate bond?" I asked
She looked up at me with timid eyes before nodding. "Very much, I want that ... but I still want to know more about it."
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything." She looked up at me with those wide eyes, thirsty for knowledge. This is part of what made the fates know we were perfectly matched.
"Well, there is the physical side, which we touched on a little last night."
"Yeah, we did," she said as she traced her finger down my chest.
My cocked twitched under the covers, and a low rumble sounded inside of me. "I won't be able to tell you about orc mating bonds if you keep that up. I'll bury myself in you again and practice the physical connection instead," I said, kissing the top of her head.
She turned and pressed a kiss to my chest. "I'll be good. I want to know."
I closed my hand over hers and laced our fingers together.
"For Orcs, mating is something sacred and celebrated.
Yes, it is a perfect match given to us by the fates.
That soul level devotion and completion.
But with the Orcs of the Cridhe Clan, we allow for choice.
We cannot complete the bond until there has been a handfasting ceremony in front of others.
A public claim and declaration. After that ceremony, we go into the mating caves to complete the bond. "
This causes her to look up at me with an eyebrow cocked and a smirk on her face. It is all I can do not to claim her mouth and devour her, but I continue.
"There we will stay for as long as we need to complete the bond."
"Surely it doesn't take too long?"
"The initial mating, no. But after, there is a rut that can last for days. It is an all-encompassing need to be together and do nothing but have my knot buried deep in your perfect cunt," I said as I gently moved my hand down and cupped her ample backside, just because I could.
"When that is over, being parted from your mate can be painful and panic-inducing. That is why mated pairs are usually in there for weeks, sometimes even months. During this time, the clan cares for them and bestows gifts upon them. It is a sacred and special time."
Her fingers curled into my side as I spoke.
I tried to keep it clinical, factual. But the longer I talked, the more I imagined what it would be like to bind myself to her fully.
To claim her, protect her, cherish her. To worship her with my body until every scar left by the Westerly Clan was rewritten with pleasure.
"Sacred and celebrated fucking, I can get on board," she said.
Then it was as if she read my mind. She leaned in for a claiming kiss as she let her hand slide down my chest before it wrapped around my cock.
"I see the lecture part of this lesson is concluded," I said.
"Time for a little hands-on learning," she said as she began to stroke my cock.
I gave over to my mate, reminding her just how good this could be.
Later, over breakfast in my chambers, I couldn’t keep it in. She sat in one of my oversized chairs, legs tucked up, holding a steaming mug with both hands. The morning light made her hair glow.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said, clearing my throat. “About what I told you this morning, about the bond.”
She looked up at me, cautious but open. “You mean… the handfasting?”
I nodded and set down my mug. “I want that with you. If you’ll have it, it’s not just tradition—it’s a vow. A choice. I know everything still feels uncertain, but…” I reached across the table and took her hand. “I would be honored to stand with you, Seraphina. As my chosen. My future. My mate.”
Without a moment's hesitation, she said, "Yes. I want that more than anything."
I kissed her hand, not because I had to, but because it felt like the only thing that made sense. She was royalty in that moment—mine to protect, mine to love.
Later that day, I found Khuldruk in the armory, where he always went when he needed to think with his hands. The clang of steel echoed as he sharpened one of the ceremonial axes, even though it hadn’t seen use in decades.
“I need a word,” I said.
He glanced up. “You always do when I’ve just started to focus.”
I ignored the jab and leaned against the stone wall. “I asked her to handfast.”
The whetstone paused mid-stroke. Then, with maddening calm, he said, “And?”
“She said yes.”
That earned me a grin and a slap on the back that nearly knocked the air from my lungs. “About damn time. You’ve been circling each other like skittish deer.”
I couldn’t help my smile. “I want this to be real. Not just for me—for all of us.”
Khuldruk nodded. “Then let’s make it a celebration. The clan needs this. When I was bonded with Callie, we were in such a hurry to save our magic that we didn't do it properly. I think this one needs to be done in such a way to celebrate the return of the old magic.”
"Yes, brother. I couldn't agree more."
We found Callie and Seraphina in one of the side courtyards. Callie was animatedly describing the spring rituals she used to attend in the human realm, while Seraphina listened, wide-eyed and laughing.
As they approached, Thavros watched as Callie's head tilted as if scenting something. Immediately, her eyes from Khuldruk and her face lit up even more, and she stood and almost ran to him. Khuldruk pulled her close and kissed her forehead.
It was the draw of the mate bond. He wanted that, and the fact that while Seraphina didn't run to him, she still came to him with the same certainty warmed his heart.
"Thavros and Seraphina are to be handfast," Khuldruk said.
When we told them the news, Callie shrieked. Seraphina blushed a deep red, but her smile was radiant.
"I'm so excited!" Callie said, clapping her hands. "We must get a new gown made. Oh, and the hall, it will still be January, let's try to make it look like a winter wonderland.”
"That will be a nice contrast to the fire dancers that are usually part of a handfasting ceremony," Khuldruk said.
"Fire dancers!" they both said. While Callie's face held excitement, the overwhelm on Seraphina's was not lost on him, but her smile was genuine.
Within seconds, the two of them had locked arms and started rambling about flowers and dresses and where exactly a handfasting should take place inside a mountain fortress.
Khuldruk leaned over. “We’ve lost them.”
“I don’t mind,” I said, watching Seraphina’s eyes light up. “Not one bit.”
The mountain changed almost immediately.
It started as whispers—quiet congratulations from passing warriors, nods of approval from elders, soft smiles from healers and artisans.
Then came the offers. Someone had a cousin who made ceremonial garb.
A baker offered to craft the handfasting loaf shaped like entwined hands.
And Callie, saints preserve her, was organizing it all with Seraphina at her side like a whirlwind of joy and soft chaos.
I hadn’t seen the halls this alive in years. Not since before the skirmishes. Not since before the crystal went dark. But even the crystal seemed to glow brighter these days.
I’d always been the quiet one, the serious one.
The one buried in scrolls and strategy. But now?
Now I spend more time talking about color schemes and ceremonial dances than reviewing battle plans.
I caught myself smiling for no reason. I started leaving the war room early. Hell, some days I didn’t go at all.
Instead, I started working on something else, something just for her. My quarters had always been functional, but now, I found myself adding warmth. Carvings. Soft things. I even went into the market to commission a pair of carved chairs for two.
I was preparing a home.
One night, when we returned to our chambers, the entire mountain seemed to exhale around us.
The hearth crackled softly. The laughter from the lower halls had faded to echoes.
Seraphina changed into one of the new soft gowns Callie had found for her, and I couldn’t stop staring.
Not because of her curves, though those were a constant torment, but because she looked so at peace.
She curled into me, warm and safe, her face tucked into the crook of my neck like she’d belonged there all along. I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she murmured something sleepy I didn’t quite catch.
I stayed awake long after her breath evened out.
If this was the life the Gods had given me, I would honor it with everything I was.
Even if that nagging voice in the back of my mind told me this was too good, that we still had yet to figure out why she had truly been sent here. I was choosing to silence that voice and lean into the love between us. Nothing else mattered but that.