Chapter 27
Chapter twenty-seven
Vidorak
She was still asleep when Vidorak returned to the bedchamber. He set down a tray of tea and food on the table and got back into the fur-covered bed. The way she curled around him in sleep satisfied something within him.
Having consummated their mate bond, he thought the savage possessiveness would simmer down.
Instead, it had intensified, and he craved to know everything about her.
He wanted her mind, her passions, her sweet smiles and her wicked ones.
Thinking back to what she’d told him about her hallucinations, he realized he even wanted the dark parts of her, if only to help her fight them.
A selfish part of him desired to hide her away for only himself, but he knew that wasn’t who he had mated.
They were not just Calypso and just Vidorak, able to steal away and fully explore the nuances of what was happening between them in peace.
No, he was Vidorak, chieftain of the mountain orcs, and she was Calypso, the mad witch.
His fingers moved over her arm, tracing the dark tattoos of her black magic. Having seen her unclothed a few times, he realized the markings were changing. The black band with dots that was once on her upper arm now spiraled up toward her collarbone.
What began as light, curious touches roused more lustful thoughts, and his cock stiffened. Especially since Calypso stirred awake and conducted her own lazy exploration.
“We have more to discuss.” She pressed kisses along the side of his chest.
“If you continue doing that, we won’t be talking,” he grunted. “You should eat.”
She made an unhappy noise but peered at the tray where bread, cheese, meat, and tea were waiting for her.
“The tea is to control fertility,” he explained. “We never discussed pregnancy.”
She looked at him curiously. “Vidorak, I am a witch. I began controlling my fertility long ago.” Then she reached for a piece of cheese and asked, “Are children something you desire?”
Having a mate and children was not an idea he’d entertained while Urim was chieftain. A family meant having someone who could be taken at any moment, leaving their loved ones husks of their former selves.
He watched her eat and pictured her round and heavy with his orcling. It stirred a longing in his chest so great that it scared him.
“I enjoy picturing you as a mother.” He spoke the thought out loud before being able to stop it. “For years, my focus was on ending my uncle’s tyranny. Having a mate and orclings wasn’t a consideration.”
She stared at him with silent understanding before speaking. “I am not known for being maternal. I think you just like the idea of breeding me.”
Then, she took a piece of meat from her plate and brought it to his lips. He ate the bite, capturing her wrist before she could pull away, and kissed her palm.
“Perhaps you are correct.”
A heated look passed between them before she sobered up and returned to eating. “Do you want to discuss what I saw in the dreamlands?”
Truthfully, he did not.
He wanted to bask in the naked beauty of his mate, not bring up tragedies of the past. But this would continue to sit between him and there was no avoiding it.
“Tell me.”
She recounted everything she saw in the dreamlands in a calm and observant way, repeating the conversation between his uncle and father word for word.
“Dreams are not pure memories. That might not be exactly how things occurred, although I think it's likely close.”
Vidorak would agree with that assessment. It was painful to discuss, but everything fell into place. It had always puzzled him how Von Ahlen could’ve bested his father.
But it was never about being bested. It was about betrayal. Brother killing brother just for more power.
“He killed my father to lead the clan,” Vidorak summed up. “And with all that power, he brought nothing good.”
She put the plate of food aside and then crawled into his lap. She kissed the corner of his lips and then pushed his chest until his back hit the furs. “It is not his clan anymore. It is yours.”
That reality felt unbelievable. His uncle loomed so large in his mind that beating him had felt improbable. He hadn’t truly considered what he would do if he won. How was he going to untangle the mess Urim had created?
Rather than dwell on those questions, he chose to concentrate on the mate in his arms. He pulled her down for another kiss, nipping at her to open her mouth. She obliged for a minute, melting into him, before pushing away.
“No more kissing until you tell me if there is anything else to know about the mate bond.”
He thought about it. “Over time, some mates can sense each other’s emotions even across great distances.”
“I don’t need the bond to tell me what you are feeling.” To prove her point, she moved her pussy along his hard length. “Since I'm not an orc, perhaps it won't have the same effect on me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he mumbled, fingers tracing over a red marking on the left side of her chest that resembled the kind orcs were born with. All her skin markings were black, and this one was definitely new.
She looked down at where he was touching. “Well, that is interesting. It seems the mate bond does affect me.”
His hand left the new red tattoo and traveled down her belly to her cunt, sliding a finger between her wet folds.
“I don’t need the bond to tell me that,” he repeated her prior statement.
She inhaled softly and then gave him a smirk while leaning down to lick his tusk.
“That has nothing to do with the bond. I craved you even before.” She stopped right before her lips touched his, suddenly realizing something.
“Could my ability to see in the dark become as good as an orc's? That would be useful.”
“Time will tell.” He tugged her down, crashing her mouth to his.
Her hands moved greedily over his chest, and her hips ground against him. He felt male satisfaction at her hurried desire for him.
He gripped her hips and pulled her up his chest until her dripping cunt was over his face and sat her down on her new seat.
His need to lick and taste her was driven even stronger by the mate bond.
Bringing his mate to orgasm helped increase chances of fertility, and even though they were not trying to get pregnant, the urge was irresistible.
And the mewling noises she made were just as irresistible.
He devoured her, leisurely enjoying every second, until her noises became more desperate. Then he gave her consistent stimulation that caused her body to go taut before reaching her peak. Seeing such a powerful woman come undone was a heady experience.
As she caught her breath, he continued to lick through every tremor. With a dreamy look, she kissed down his body until she settled at his hips. She took his cock in hand and stroked him.
There was a knock at the door.
“You’re the chieftain. Tell him to go away,” Calypso said.
Nazghor’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “There are things that even the chieftain can’t make go away. If you don’t come out, I will be forced to enter.”
Calypso didn’t seem bothered by this and continued to stroke him. “Onlookers don’t bother me.”
While orcs were not prudish, the thought of someone seeing Calypso’s naked body filled him with jealousy.
Regretfully, he moved her off of him. “Nazghor is not joking when he says he will enter. If he sees you naked, I’ll be forced to remove his eyes from his head. That’ll put a strain on our friendship.”
She chuckled and got up to dress. Vidorak also rose, handing her a new clean dress to wear, but it was made for an orcess, so it pooled at her feet slightly. He watched her put the amulet around her neck and hide it under the dress.
“Since you know I won't betray you, what does the amulet do?”
“Make me a great conqueror, haven’t you heard the legends?” She evaded his question.
He took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Do not tell me nonsense after last night. The legend is nothing more than a fool’s dream.”
While his witch may be rash and bold and passionate, she was not a fool. Not for a second did he believe she risked so much just for greed, like his uncle, and he disliked that she still wanted to hide from him.
Irritation colored her pale skin. “Just because we are apparently new mates doesn’t mean I need to divulge everything with you.”
“We have a deal of truth.”
The pained surprise that flashed across her face tore at him. “Are we still doing that?”
“Answer my question, Calypso,” he demanded.
Her body burned with anger, but she didn’t renege on their deal. “The amulet is nothing more than a rock until I activate it. Once I do, it will grant me the strength of a dragon. Then not even the royal army could stop me from storming Sanograd.”
“And you will use this power to kill Hugh Davinger?” he concluded, the realization of her goals sinking in. He understood her need for vengeance, but what would become of her at the end of it? Suddenly, he felt unable to breathe at the thought of her putting herself at risk.
“Yes, I will kill Hugh Davinger,” she snapped. “What else would I do?”
“You could protect your coven.”
Her entire body tensed at his sharp criticism, and for a second he wondered if she would attack him.
These thoughts had been on his mind throughout their travels.
He already considered her powerful even without the dragon’s magic and felt she could accomplish so much more than single-minded revenge.
Regardless of her claims, what she’d done at Taybe and in rescuing the other witches signaled that deep down she also desired more.
“There will be no more covens, Vidorak. This realm has condemned us. All I need is for Davinger to die,” she snarled, her eyes staring daggers at him. “I’ve answered your questions. Now let me go.”
His hand went to her throat, ignoring the lick of flames as he leaned down. “For you, there’s a lot I would tolerate. But I will not allow you to believe you are damned.”
He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. Thankfully, she didn’t come after him or fight him. He was brimming with so much anger that the idea of finding those magic-blocking shackles and chaining her up again sounded appealing.
“What did you do?” Nazghor asked with a hint of amusement. “You don’t look as relaxed as I’d expect after you disappeared with your mate.”
Vidorak’s jaw clenched, in no mood for Nazghor’s teasing. “Go back to my witch. I don’t want her to leave your sight.”
“Anyplace off limits?”
Vidorak thought about this but shook his head. “No. Just keep her safe.”
There was a lot of fallout that would need to be sorted with his taking over as chieftain. While he knew his mate was strong, he wouldn’t let her go around undefended. And the mountain tunnels would be difficult to traverse without a guide.
Regret replaced his anger by the time he finished the trek to the gathering hall. He knew his mate was driven by the pain in her past and didn’t take well to being controlled. But his mind had gone numb at the thought of her being hurt, which made him speak too forcefully.
The past didn’t have to dictate the future, and she didn’t need to bear her burdens alone. He would tell her that when they spoke again. While she may not see it now, they were stronger together.