Page 3 of Unruly Hearts
I snort. She's not like any of the females I've encountered before. She certainly doesn't have the brutish strength of an orc, and yet she is fierce in defending her food. I rub my head.
The humans I met before were so fragile and easy to break. Even the bouncers at the casinos I visited. Somehow, I don't think Serenity would be weak like them.
I drop down on the bench and it tilts, lifting one end into the air. I adjust until I am balanced in the middle. This furniture isn’t made for orcs.
Everything is strange here: the harsh unnatural lights, the white floors and walls, the benches, even the food looks different than what I'm used to.
Although, those things she called cinnamon rolls are delicious. I could eat them all. I eye the boxes. Surely she wouldn’t notice if I took a few more?
No one else knows, but I, too, have spent some time among the humans. But those places are dim and crowded and full of games, not this bright and clean. I wonder if they play poker here? I pull the chip from my pocket and turn it over in my hand. Or maybe blackjack? Those are the games I like at the casino.
A few minutes later, Talon arrives with Serenity, his brow furrowed in concern. My brother is always too serious for his own good. I slide the plastic chip back into my pocket.
He leans down to inspect my foot and the scratches there. A smile tugs at my lips because they’re hardly worth bothering over. I destroyed the bear trap that tried to hold me, crushing the metal. It won’t be hurting anything else, animal or human or orc.
But then Serenity's anxious gaze makes me pause. She's setting up some supplies to clean and bandage the wounds, and she smells so good—like the forest after a hard rain. Again my instincts stir, and I shove them down. She’s human. There’s no way she can handle my monstrous side.
"Agis," Talon says, his voice holding a bit of humor. He knows I’m not really injured. "What have you gotten yourself into now?"
Serenity takes off her coat, and lays it across the bench. Then she kneels down in front of me and starts cleaning my wounds.
"Just a little scrape,” I say, but my eyes are on Serenity’s bright yellow hair. It looks like the first golden rays of the sun in the morning. I want to lean forward and touch it.
I shake myself.
What am I doing?
I try to turn my gaze to Talon. “Good to see you, brother.”
“Been too long,” Talon says and grasps my arm in the traditional orc greeting.
“I’m going to apply some antiseptic,” Serenity says, and looks up, meeting my eyes. “Might sting a bit.”
I smirk. I am an orc. Nothing short of losing an arm ‘stings.’
“What brings you here?” Talon asks.
“I came to check on my little brother,” I murmur, lost in the golden strands of Serenity’s hair again. “How are you?”
He laughs heartily and smacks my shoulder. “I’m fine. Better than fine,” he says. “You’ll have to come and meet my mate, Jenna.”
“You found a true mate?” I ask and my jaw drops. “Here, among the humans?”
Talon nods. “And she’s pregnant.”
Serenity spins around and gapes at Talon. “She’s pregnant?”
He laughs. “We just found out ourselves.”
I find myself speechless.
Our family had started to think that we would be the last of the orcs, as our tribe dwindled, and there were fewer and fewer true mates among us.
But my brother found the answer among the humans?
Can we mate with them?
My gaze slides back over to Serenity. She is bandaging up my foot as if I’d cut it off all together, not just got a few scratches.