Vorgak the Cruel: A Paranormal Monster Romance (Orc Mates) Read online

  “I’m sorry. I guess I was trying to muster up the courage.”

  “Do you say sorry a lot?” the young woman asked, chuckling.

  Candace blushed.

  “I’m Sedga,” she continued. “Sedga the Fair.”

  “Fair?”

  Sedga shrugged. “Because I have light skin and light hair. Lighter than most. Don’t worry, I’m not that fair... As in... What do you call it? What’s the synonym?”

  “Just?” Candace offered. “Honorable?”

  “That one! Honorable. I like how it sounds.” She smacked her lips, as if tasting the word on her tongue. “I’ve done things in my life that could be described as anything but honorable.”

  “Oh, you talk too much,” the other female said, bored. “Come, girl. Let us show you your new home.”

  When the old woman disappeared back into the cave, Candace followed her quickly. Sedga walked behind her, as if to protect her. She liked that she felt safe already. In truth, anywhere in these mountains she would’ve felt safer than out there, among her people, where Chris could easily track her down.

  “I’m Candace,” she offered.

  “Are you sure?” Sedga asked. “Because Gorgan said you’re called Candy.”

  “Who’s Gorgan?”

  “The raider. He drove you here.”

  “Oh. No, my name is Candace, but I guess your captain didn’t understand and called me Candy. I mean, I don’t mind it. I’m fine either way.”

  “You shouldn’t be,” the old woman said in a serious tone.

  “Why not?”

  “Your name is your name. People and orcs should get it right.”

  Candace thought for a second, but the meaning of the woman’s words eluded her.

  “What’s your name, then?”

  “Dorga. Dorga the Grave.”

  Sedga laughed. “You don’t need to ask this one why they call her the Grave. I believe it’s obvious.”

  Candace couldn’t help but smile. So far, things were going great with the two.

  The long, dark tunnel opened into a wide, tall cavern that was lit by candles in corners and along the walls, and gas lamps here and there, perched atop rocks and inside crevices. There were about a dozen orcs there, talking, laughing, drinking and eating something that looked like little squares of dried meat. When the women entered the cavern and they all saw Candace, they fell silent.

  “This is where we gather to eat and share,” Dorga said.

  “Share what?” Again, Candace had the feeling that none of the orcs spoke perfect English. The ones who were now staring at her like she was the eighth wonder of the world had been speaking in their language.

  “Experiences. Information.”

  “Oh.”

  “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you want to eat in between, you come to me.”

  “Got it.”

  Sedga stepped beside Candace and nudged her lightly in the shoulder. “Dorga will make you all nice and fat, you’ll see.”

  “What?! Fat? Why fat?”

  Sedga frowned when she noticed the word had slightly offended Candace. “So Vorgak can mate you better when the time comes. Look at you! You’re as frail as a daisy.”

  “I am not.”

  Dorga huffed. “Stop fighting.”

  “We’re not fighting,” Sedga protested. “We’re bickering,” she added proudly, saying the word with extreme care and emphasis. She then winked at Candace. “Bickering. I learned this one yesterday.”

  “You’re learning English on your own?”

  “Yes. From books and such. I’d learn it more easily if we had technology down here. Like... electricity and the Internet. I could watch moving pictures. Oh, I would watch them all day long.”

  Candace laughed. She knew orcs didn’t have technology. They had magic, so most of them thought they didn’t need what the humans had. But apparently, there were some who’d been curious enough to investigate and see for themselves that electricity, at the very least, could be useful.

  “Maybe we can find a way,” she told Sedga.

  “Really? That would be awesome!”

  “Come along, you two... For the love of the Great, we don’t have all day. We have to start preparing dinner soon.”

  Both Candace and Sedga followed Dorga, who crossed the grand cavern and started down yet another dark tunnel. They passed various holes in the walls of the cave, some bigger, some smaller. Candace figured out that those that had pelts, blankets, and pillows on the ground were the orcs’ rooms, and those that were smaller and darker, with no candles along the walls, were supply rooms and storage rooms. Finally, they stopped, and Dorga pulled back a curtain made of mismatched strips of leather.

  “This is the hole you’ll share with your mate, our captain. I personally made this curtain for you. I know that you human females need your privacy, that you’re not used to being exposed when you sleep, change your clothes, or mate.”

  “You did this for me?” Candace was genuinely moved. “Thank you so much! I truly appreciate it.”

  “And look what I did for you,” Sedga stepped into the room and grabbed a bunch of clothes off the floor. “Dresses, trousers, and shirts from town. I went to buy them myself! You should’ve seen the look on the seller’s faces when I entered the store and started browsing.” She laughed wholeheartedly. “They thought I wanted to buy for myself, and when I asked them where the undergarments section was, they almost pissed themselves, that’s how scared they were.”

  Candace laughed too, and even Dorga cracked a smile.

  “I hope I got the right size. They all seem so small to me...”

  “They’re perfect.” Candace inspected the clothes. Frankly, she had a feeling they were a little too big for her, but she didn’t comment on it. She then looked at Sedga and Dorga, studying their clothes. They were wearing trousers and shirts made of leather, and Sedga had a bit of fur around her plunging collar. “I like what you’re wearing. I’d like to wear something similar one day, if it’s possible at all.”

  “Of course it’s possible! We’ll make some clothes for you. Together.”

  “Thank you.” Her heart was bursting with joy. She almost couldn’t believe that the female orcs had welcomed her so kindly. “It’s really warm in here,” she noticed. “We’re in the heart of the mountain. I would’ve expected it to be cold.”

  “I took care of that,” Dorga said. She walked to a huge rock that was in a corner of the room and tapped on it proudly. “I asked Alog the Mage to enchant it for you. Orcs don’t feel the cold like you frail flowers do. Extreme temperatures mean nothing to us. But I knew you’d be cold, so I fixed it before it happened.”

  “An enchanted stone...” Candace touched it and immediately pulled her hand back. It was burning hot. She didn’t understand how Dorga could run her hand over it without getting seriously burned.

  “Yes. Alog can enchant anything. He’s one of the most powerful mages in our empire.”

  “And your empire is...”

  “That of Sogar.”

  “Okay. I’ll remember it.”

  Sedga smiled sadly. “Why would you? We’re here, and everyone else is there. The empire... Sogar... His hordes. They don’t mean anything here, in your world.”

  “Shush, girl,” Dorga admonished her. “We’ll return home one day.”

  “I hope not.” Sedga brightened right up in an instant. “I’ll admit I miss my brothers and sisters, but I do like this world. And if we go back, I’ll have to get married and have babies. I’ve been promised to a raider I haven’t even met. So, I’m not looking forward to returning. I can get used to the world of humans, no problem.”

  “Don’t talk like that.” Now it was Dorga’s turn to sound sad. “I have family. Sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters... My mate died in battle, and now they lost their mother and grandmother, too. I must return, and I don’t care if it takes another four years. Or a dozen years. As long as I get to see them again.”

  Sedga was silent.

  “I’m so sorry,” Candace whispered, feeling like it was necessary.

  After a moment’s thought, Dorga cocked an eyebrow as she studied the human female with interest. “Sedga the Fair is right. You do say sorry a lot, Candy.”

  For some reason, that made Candace blush. She tried to change the subject.

  “I know why Sedga is called the Fair and you are called the Grave. If I may ask, why is Vorgak called the Cruel?”

  Both women were silent. In fact, they were more than silent. Sedga folded back the clothes, setting them neatly in a corner. Dorga busied herself with the candles, cleaning the wax where it had dripped too much. Then, they both walked out of the room, and Candace had to follow them. It was clear that they weren’t going to answer her question. That made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

  “It’s good that you’re here,” Sedga said discreetly. “Vorgak needs you, and everything will be better now that he has you.”

  Aside from feeling uncomfortable, she now also felt confused and a little frightened.

  Chapter Five

  At dinner, in the grand cavern, Candace sat next to Vorgak. The food consisted of game meat, barely cooked, and boiled vegetables. To her dismay, nothing was salted. She wondered whether the orcs even had salt and spices stored away somewhere. Maybe they didn’t know how to use them. Dorga had showed her the kitchen, which was outside, skillfully carved in the mountain. They cooked half inside the nook they’d created, and half outside, under the open sky. Candace thought it was romantic, and she could surely get used to living the rest of her life so close to nature. She’d never been a fancy person, she’d never really cared about material things, fast-fashion, or luxurious furniture. So far, she only missed her books.

  The orcs ate with their hands. The most they had were knives, which they used to cut the meat. They didn’t have napkins, but they had bowls of water spread all over the place, and square cloths that they used as towels. They liked to keep their hands clean, and Candace could certainly appreciate that. She had only been with Vorgak’s horde for a few hours, but she’d already noticed an interesting thing about the green-skinned beasts – they liked to be clean.

  She ate in silence, watching the orcs around her and listening to the rough language they spoke. She stopped trying to make sense of the words after a few minutes. It sounded like nothing she’d ever heard before, and since it didn’t seem to share any similarities with the languages spoken in the human world, Candace doubted she’d ever be able to learn it. But she was going to try, nonetheless. When Vorgak was done, she already had her hands washed and dried, and she was ready for her first night with him. He stood up, and she immediately followed him. He hadn’t spoken a word to her during dinner, and that had disappointed her a bit. But she’d heard him exchange a few words with Dorga and Sedga, so she assumed he’d asked them about her. She didn’t know what to do when she was around him. She didn’t even know if she was allowed to address him freely in public, so she kept her mouth shut and only studied his profile as he ate. She couldn’t read him. He seemed to be oblivious to her presence next to him, but she did her best to stay positive.

  Once in their room, he started removing his armor and his clothes. She stopped in her tracks, unable to step over the threshold. She had her hand on the leather curtain, and she was unsure of what she was supposed to do next. But this was the place where they were going to sleep together, share a floor covered in pelts, blankets, and a bunch of pillows, so she couldn’t possibly turn on her heels and make a run for it. What had she expected? She swallowed past the knot that had formed in her throat, and stepped inside, letting the curtain fall into place behind her. As she admired his wide back that was covered in a sort of tribal tattoo from his waist to the back of his neck, she slowly started removing her own blouse. She couldn’t take her eyes off his incredible body. Not many human women would’ve found Vorgak the Cruel good-looking, but Candace felt like she could touch this beast and allow him to touch her. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks, and all the muscles on his body were taut and well-defined. He had his back to her, but given that his legs were slightly parted, she could clearly see the round, heavy sack that gravity pulled toward the ground, and the impressive length that dangled between his strong thighs. She gulped as she removed her jeans next. Soon enough, Vorgak was completely naked, and she was only in her panties and bra.

  “Vorgak,” she whispered, barely finding her voice.

  He turned to her, and she repressed a gasp. Across his abdomen, there was a long, thick, angry scar that marred his green skin. Her eyes traveled down the front of his body, as the candlelight made shadows dance over the expanse of his muscles. Between his legs, she saw that the cock that had been soft a minute earlier, was now growing, filling with blood, becoming more and more erect by the second.

  He raked his dark eyes over her curves, and a small growl escaped his lips. However, he couldn’t touch her. Not yet. The massive log between his thighs wanted her. Desire bubbled in his core, and his hands itched to tear the piece of fabric that guarded her pussy to pieces and bury his entire length into her soft body. But he had to hold back. This human female had begged him to take her, had declared herself willing, but she didn’t know what she’d gotten herself into. She didn’t know who he was and what he could do. If he wasn’t careful, he could break her without meaning to, so it was better to keep his hands to himself.

  “You shouldn’t sleep like that,” he said. “You’ll be cold.” With that, he pulled the blankets aside and sat down, then covered his lower body with them.

  Candace couldn’t believe her ears, nor her eyes. It looked like he was getting ready to sleep. She took a step toward him, swaying her hips enticingly. It was true that she didn’t know what she was doing and whether she truly wanted and was ready to sleep with him tonight, but she was his bride now, and he was her mate. She needed to make sure that he would keep her, and that meant convincing him that she was his and his alone, body and soul.

  “I don’t plan on sleeping. And besides, you could keep me warm.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “The enchanted stone will keep you warm. I’ll let you lay next to it. I don’t need it.”

  “I... I know, but...” He seemed genuinely disinterested, and that made her adrenaline spike. “I was thinking... Now that we’re alone, and we’re going to share... err... a bunch of pelts... It’s only natural to...” As she spoke, she unhooked her bra, figuring that her actions might speak clearer than her words, which were clearly failing her.

  “Don’t,” he growled.

  It was too late, though. The bra was off, and her round, heavy breasts bounced out freely, the nipples as hard as pebbles. Vorgak felt himself grow fully erect. Pre-cum leaked out of the slit on the huge mushroom head of his cock, and he mentally scowled, displeased with the fact that he might stain the blanket. He liked to sleep in a clean, neat nest. Her tits were amazing, though, and he imagined how good it would feel to bury his big head between them and inhale the female’s sweet, unique scent. She was making it really hard for him.

  “Put that back on,” he ordered.

  “But I thought...” She took a step toward him, thinking that if she initiated sex, he wasn’t going to refuse her.

  “You thought wrong. Nothing will happen tonight, Candy. I will not touch you.”

  Pain exploded in her chest. “Why not? Don’t you like me?”

  “This conversation is over. Get dressed and lay down to sleep.”

  With that, he grabbed a pillow, placed it under his head, and turned his back to her. He closed his eyes, and Candace knew that it was over. He wasn’t interested. He didn’t want her. His cock had grown hard at the sight of her, she’d noticed that much, but still... he’d rejected her. Plus, those last words he’d said had sounded like an order, so all she could do was to pull a pair of pajamas out of her luggage, put them on, and go to sleep.

  As they both lay there, back-to-back, Candace heard him breathe quietly and evenly, which was a sign that he was already in the land of dreams. She fought back tears. The orc captain had rejected her advances, had rejected her body and the sex she’d wanted to offer him. Why had he taken her from the institute, then? Maybe he’d done it on impulse, and then he’d observed her on the way here and at dinner, and decided that she wasn’t what he wanted. That she wasn’t good enough. How long until he sent her back to the institute? And then, how long until the institute kicked her out because she was useless and no orc wanted to mate her? She could already feel Chris’s hands wrapping tightly around her neck, killing her slowly.

  She curled into a ball, sniffed gently, and forced herself to push those horrible thoughts away. She had to stay strong and try again tomorrow.

  * * *

  Vorgak woke up early in the morning. Candace felt him when he stood up and started getting dressed. She opened her eyes slowly, stretched, and yawned. Most of the candles had died during the night, and it was dark in the cave. She thought it was impressive that the orc captain knew what time it was instinctively.

  “Good morning,” she said shyly. He merely grunted. “Where are you going?”

  “Out.”

  “Out where? To do what?”

  He sighed. “I check on the krags every day, first thing. Must make sure they have food, and that Dorga and Sedga milked them.”

  She blinked in utter confusion. Krags? What even was a krag?

  “Can I come with you?”

  “If you insist.”

  She pursed her lips and decided to ignore his morose mood. She jumped to her feet, grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt from the pile Sedga had prepared for her, put on her mountain boots, and started looking for her hairbrush. But Vorgak was already marching down the corridor, and she realized she didn’t have time to make herself look even remotely decent, let alone pretty. With a sigh, she rushed after him. It was hard to match his pace, but she did her best. When they emerged outside, in the dim light of the dawn, she was already breathing heavily from the effort.