Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Lillian
Mate.
Mate.
Mate?
Honestly, I’m not certain how many times I climaxed at the hot springs.
I think I fell asleep—or passed out from exhaustion—with Kragorn’s fingers in me and his tongue eking yet another orgasm from me.
I woke in his bed as the sun was setting, and the savory smell of bread wafting through the cottage.
“Dkaar,” he murmured, and I opened my eyes to see him, fully dressed, leaning over me. When I blinked up at him, he grinned.
“I’m sorry for waking ye.”
“Nay, I—” I gasped, jolting upright in the bed. When I realized I was naked—had he carried me here from the springs without clothing?—I gasped again and yanked the covers up to my chest.
“I should not have slept! I need to cook for you—”
“Hush,” he commanded, silencing me with a deep kiss.
Confused, dazed, I sank into the kiss, and allowed myself to press back against the pillows.
He pulled away, still grinning.
“Ye will allow me to care for ye for once. ‘Tis what Mates do.”
Before I could do more than gape at that casual announcement, he thrust a mug of water toward me.
“Here, drink. Ye’re dehydrated.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but I took the mug in both hands and drank, the water cold and crisp. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until it flowed across my tongue, and then I began to gulp.
Kragorn nodded in satisfaction. “Good lass.”
His approval warmed me even as the water chilled my insides. He turned away, slinging my father’s cloak around his shoulders as he strode toward the door.
“I called a council meeting tonight. There is pottage near the hearth and fresh bread on the table.” He winked at me. “Rest up, Mate, ye’ll need yer energy for later.”
Mate.
My hands trembled as I lowered the mug after he left, and I stared at the door with wide eyes. I hadn’t imagined any of that? Kragorn decided I was his Mate…me? I was the least of women, and he wanted me?
I thought he’d taken me to punish my father. I thought my only value was in protecting his village – assuming my presence was enough to keep my father at bay.
I thought he’d take delight in using my body, humiliating me as he remembered what he’d suffered at my father’s hands.
But he’d been kind. He’d given me much pleasure and slaked his own outside my body. To protect me? I knew how babies came to be. Did he not care – or want – to risk me carrying his babe? For my sake or his?
Nevertheless, he’d praised me, asked for and considered my opinions. Smiled at me. Winked at me. Teased me.
I could not help myself. I could do naught but my best to make him proud.
I put the mug away then hurried to dress. I hesitated as I pulled on one of the many gowns I’d been given in the past sennight by the women in the village.
The women!
The women who had come to Kragorn’s cottage in the last fortnight, my new friends.
They’d been so warm, so kind. Even that first night when I’d all-but-carried Kragorn through the stones, they’d swept me up and accepted me as one of their own.
Maya the healer, and Isadora, and Verna—they were all recently Mated, aye?
Maya’s sister Avaleen had been Mated since last summer and had recently given her Mate—who was Kragorn’s cousin, as I recall—a fine daughter, Ella, upon whom he doted.
They had welcomed me and offered their friendship along with their skirts and scarves, and I knew I could turn to them when I needed advice.
Like right now.
I gave the pottage a good stir, moved it from the heat so it wouldn’t burn, then settled an extra shawl around my head and shoulders. ‘Twas not my first time venturing out into the village, nay, but…this errand seemed far different from buying food from the market or bartering with the baker.
I needed advice. I needed help.
Having a vague idea where Isadora, the clan’s new soap maker, lived with her Mate, I pointed my limping steps in that direction.
The sun had set, and I could hear the commotion from the Council Hall in the center of the village.
Would Isadora have gone to the meeting? I knew Nan would be there, but I wanted to speak with one of the newly Mated women…
My knock was hesitant, praying I’d found the correct house as my heart thudded wildly in my chest. When the door swung open to reveal a surprised Isadora, I nearly burst into tears in relief.
“Lillian? Is aught amiss?”
“Nay,” I choked, pulling my shawl tighter as I glanced over my shoulder, worried I might be seen. “I was just hoping…”
The blonde woman grasped my elbow to pull me inside. “Verna, another cup of tea! What’s wrong, Lillian?”
I stood in the center of her cozy home—a home similar to the one I might have, were I brave enough—shaking in confusion and surprise and worry.
Verna, the red-headed Mate to the Bloodfire Keeper, who kept a home here in the village and one near the stones, bustled about with a tea pot as Isadora’s hands rose to take my shawl.
“Lillian?” she prodded. “How can we help? Did Kragorn hurt you?”
“Of course he did not hurt her,” Verna scoffed. “He loves her!”
Did he? I loved him, and he said all manner of wonderful things like dkaar and called me love. Were they just words he’d say to anyone he cared for? Or were they only meant for me?
I shuddered, remember what he’d vowed as his cock had slid along my sensitive folds. Ye belong to me, and I belong to ye.
Was that what Mating meant?
“Lillian.” Isadora’s voice turned stern as she took my shoulders. “Did Kragorn—”
“He says I am his Mate,” I whispered shakily, my eyes squeezed shut.
“Finally!” Verna cried.
Isadora’s tone was more hesitant. “Do you not want to be his Mate?”
“I do not know!” I wailed then burst into tears.
Clucking her tongue, Isadora gathered me in her arms and led me to a chair with a comfortable cushion. She settled me down, her arm still around my shoulder, and Verna thrust a mug of hot tea into my hands.
And I found the strength to raise my gaze. Being here, surrounded by them, it felt…they felt like sisters. The way I’d been with my sisters, before they’d gone off to find their futures. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized what a big hole they’d left in my life.
A hole I’d tried to fill with service to my father, who had never seemed to acknowledge it.
Isadora’s hand ran up and down my arm comfortingly.
“Tell us, Lillian. What did he say? How do you feel about it?”
I lifted the mug so I could inhale the steam.
“He says I am his Mate.”
Verna settled across from us, leaning her elbows on her knees. “And you are his Mate.”
Was I? I sipped my tea, the warmth doing naught to calm the jumble of emotions in my stomach.
“Lillian?” Isadora squeezed. “Tell us?”
Sighing, I closed my eyes and told them everything—the months I spent terrified of the beast in the dungeon, the days I cared for him, the things he said then as I learned he was no monster, the way he escaped Tarbert Keep with myself and my father as captives—
“Except, he did not take you to be his captive,” Verna broke in, sitting back and nodding in satisfaction. “He was drawn to you, even then.”
“I…did not realize. I thought I was to be his prisoner, punishment for the way my father treated him. Or a hostage to try to keep the village safe.” I took another sip of the cooling tea and realized I did feel better.
“He told me I was his, and I assumed that meant . . ..”
Grinning, Isadora gave me another squeeze, then stood to cross to the hearth.
“I told you how Torvolk bought me? I thought he meant for me to be some sort of…sexual prize. But it turned out he just has a noble heart and wanted to save me.”
“That did not stop her from trying to seduce the poor male,” Verna said with a lewd wink. “Which, I have to assume, is what happened to you, Lillian?”
I choked on my tea.
Having heard Verna’s past—how she’d been forced to whore for years, how her new Mate had saved her—I wasn’t completely surprised by her bluntness, but it was difficult to get used to.
“I did not—I thought . . ..”
“Do not tease her,” Isadora scolded, returning with a platter of sweet cakes and offering me one. “It is clear Kragorn seduced her, right Lillian?”
I shoved a cake into my mouth, dropped my gaze, and mutely nodded, it being the only way I could admit to such a thing. My cheeks were flaming, as ‘twas.
By the time I swallowed, they were still both waiting an answer, so I hunched my shoulders, stared down at my tea, and confessed.
“I have been sleeping beside him since our arrival, caring for him. I thought it naught more than that—my new role was to take care of him, rather than my father. But when Nan declared him healed…” I lifted my mug. “He took me to the hot springs.”
I gulped the tea as Verna slapped her thigh and laughed in delight. Even Isadora smiled.
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
Such a simple question, with an easy answer.
“Aye,” I told her. “Several times.”
Verna laughed harder. “I knew it!”
But our blonde friend suddenly sat forward. “Wait, Kragorn is the chief. That means…”
Verna’s laughter abruptly halted.
“He did not claim you, did he?”
I winced, then sighed. “I wanted him to. I was ready.”
Verna’s sigh echoed my own, and she reached forward to pat my knee.
“My Mate is the Bloodfire Keeper, which means he keeps our clan’s memory and histories. He has told me that a chief’s Mating is witnessed by the clan. That way, the clan knows their future is secure, and the next chief has been conceived.”
Conceived? I dropped my hand to my stomach, my eyes going wide.
“A bairn?” I whispered.
Isadora settled next to me again. “The orcs call them kitlings, but aye. ‘Tis not always assured a chief’s Mate falls pregnant right away, but Nan will likely consult with the stars to ensure the best outcome—”
“Nay,” Verna interrupted. “Two coppers says that Kragorn will arrange for the ceremony right away. I doubt he will be able to last much longer.”