How to Claim a Human Mate (Monstery Yours #6)

by S. J. Sanders

  I stare at him, a niggle of worry fluttering in me. “Is it that dangerous?” I ask quietly.

  “No more than any other place, I suspect,” he replies easily with a shrug. “Not every being in Ov’Gorg is friendly, but an attack is rare.” His smile hardens, his eyes turning flinty. “And there are few who would be so foolish as to dare to intrude onto the territory of an orc, much less my home.”

  There is a threat of violence in his voice, but he oozes so much protectiveness as he stares down at me that it makes me feel as if I’ve just been wrapped in a warm quilt and hugged close. Especially when his eyes warm again and I practically bask in it as he wraps my coat around me and buttons it up. Every touch is carried out with a gentle tenderness that I wouldn’t have expected if I hadn’t felt him lovingly caress every inch of my body earlier.

  I smile, watching his large fingers on the buttons. I feel like I’m being completely pampered. When did that last happen? Certainly nothing to this degree. I can’t remember anyone buttoning my coat since I became an adult.

  I close my hand around his as he fastens the last button and give it a squeeze. His eyes light up at the gesture, and his hand rises to stroke his knuckles over my cheek. The delicate touch of his callused hand sends a ripple of pleasure through me, but it is his kiss, when he drops his head and claims my lips, that sends me reeling. The sensation of his thick lips against mine and the gentle pressure from his tusks stoke my desire higher, even as my heart warms with the love filling it.

  When he finally breaks away, we are both breathing hard, and the bulge in his pants has returned with a vengeance.

  “We will resume this later,” he growls.

  He turns away from me and I feel a pang of regret, but I understand. It is probably a good thing that he stopped things. The temptation is too great to just spend our day together whiling away in bed. We will never get anything done if we can’t control ourselves. The look he sends me over his shoulder is full of heat and promise as he steps outside. Pulling on my gloves and hat, I wrap a scarf loosely around my neck and follow after him.

  Bodi is waiting for me when I step outside.

  “Wait for me here while I fetch Haith,” he murmurs. “I’m suddenly very eager to get this over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back and return to more… inspiring things.” He gives me a panty-dropping grin before striding back behind the cottage, leaving me alone.

  Craning my neck, I casually look around as I wander over to a nearby tree and lean against it. The trees here are massive and clearly very old. I wonder just how long this orchard has been in his family. Clearly it was planted quite a long time ago unless trees grow differently in Ov’Gorg. I’m pretty certain that the trunk I’m leaning against is wide enough that I would have no hope of getting my arms around it. Even the branches spreading wide overhead are at very least as thick as my body, some even more so.

  Branches rattle and creak as a breeze blows, and I’m suddenly grateful for bundling up. If we’re going to be spending the day riding, I would wwwwdefinitely get chilled quickly. Bodi’s voice drifts over to me, and I look over, my lips bowing as I see him striding toward me with one large hand resting on the delfass’s back. He meets my eyes and smiles as he nears. I push away from the tree as he approaches when I hear a loud, splintering crack that makes my head shoot up. A bellow fills my ears and then I’m yanked off of my feet as Bodi snatches me up into his arms and, with strength rippling through him, leaps as far as he can to the side as a large limb breaks free and crashes down.

  The breath is knocked out of me as our bodies hit the ground, and a sharp sting lashes my face. Large hands turn me against a broad chest, and Bodi murmurs softly to me, his hands petting me reassuringly. I blink my eyes and manage to draw in a shuddering breath, my fingers gripping his vest. His lovely face is filled with concern as he stares down at me, and he winces as he trails his fingers in the air above where my face hurts.

  “What happened?” I wheeze.

  He tips his head and frowns up at the trees.

  “A branch fell,” he growls. A tremor racks him, and his arms tighten around me. “The windstorm we had three days ago must have weakened it. Fuck,” he growls the curse as if he had been born human, making my lips twitch despite the anxiety still racing through me from the close call. “If I had been any further from you…” His eyes squeeze shut, and he silently snarls.

  I pat his arm gently. My side hurts a bit from where we hit the ground, despite his best effort to take the brunt of the fall, and my face stings like a bitch, but, when I pull off a glove and investigate, I don’t find more than a couple of drops of blood.

  Slowly, he eases us into a seated position, his arms tightly enclosed around me so that I’m still pressed close to his chest, and I’m able to get a look at the damage. My eyes widen. He wasn’t kidding about it being a close call! An enormous branch lies dangerously close to us, with several broken twigs littered around where I was lying.

  “Shit,” I whisper.

  Bodi growls, lifting me up into his arms. “We will delay our outing until later. Let’s get you inside.”

  Haith’s eyes follow us, his large body sinking down to sprawl in front of the cottage as I’m carried back inside.

  Placing me gently into the chair, Bodi carefully removes my coat, scarf and hat, shaking the debris from them before taking my gloves and putting everything away. I shiver a bit as I watch him, more from shock than anything. I’m not the only one. Bodi’s shoulders are tense as he bends down and stirs up the fire once more before retreating into the cooking area. As much as I want to watch what he’s doing, I feel completely drained. Besides, the heat feels good as it slowly crawls through me. I barely notice when he returns several minutes later with a bowl of warm water and cloth.

  I sigh with the first brush of warm water against my face, and then hiss when the cloth trails over my scratches. He whispers a soft apology under his breath as he winces, but he continues to bathe the scratches with light, patient strokes until he’s satisfied that they’re clean. Only then does he set the bowl and cloth aside and wrap a quilt over me, gathering me up into his arms and plucking me up from the chair so that he can sit, cuddling me close on his lap.

  Grateful, I sink into his warm embrace, happy that the side of my face that’s not injured is pressed against his tunic-covered chest so that it doesn’t hurt. I rub my cheek as I settle comfortably, my body relaxing completely against his as his huge hand strokes over the blanket, down my back.

  “I’ll get out there and prune those trees,” he grumbles. “Put it off too damn long. I’m sorry, lanara.” His voice chokes and I stroke a hand against his chest.

  “It’s okay. Just a scratch and a few bruises. We are fine.” I tip my head back to look up into his face. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what does lanara mean, anyway?”

  He smiles down at me. “It is in the old tongue. It refers to the sweet feelings that lies in one’s heart.”

  My eyebrows arch. “All that, huh?”

  He chuckles, cuddling me closer. “For the most part. Now rest and let me hold you. This is a better way to pass our day anyway. I suppose that the gods sent their message. We will get to our little tour when you’re not aching. It wouldn’t be a pleasant way to ride.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I mumble against his chest. I lightly poke the thigh muscle. “Since we are staying in, how about picking up one of your books over there and reading to me?”

  He smiles and reaches over the side table to pick up a particularly hefty leatherbound book and opens it at the beginning. His wonderfully rumbling voice surrounds me as he begins to read.

  He doesn’t even realize that, given a choice of how to spend a romantic afternoon, I would choose this over any fancy vacation or dinner. This is more meaningful than any gesture, and I’m certain I fall even more in love with him as he passes hour after hour reading aloud and holding me close.

  Chapter 22

  Bodi

  I linge
r in the main room as Garval removes his outer vest and lowers himself into a chair. I should be leaving now that he is here, I know that, but I’m anxious about leaving my mate while I’m attending to my duties at the keep. Especially with the scare we had yesterday. The fact that my female came so close to death rouses every protective instinct within me.

  My mate. Every part of me warms, most especially my old warrior’s heart, at those two simple words. I want to pull Lynn into my lap and nuzzle her short-cropped, sweet-smelling hair as we travel, and it is a difficult desire to resist. Especially not after she embraced me today and our bodies lined up for one perfect moment. I am greedy to feel her arms around me again, already trying to think of other ways that I might enjoy it again. There is no touch like the one from one’s mate. Now I understand why Orgath obsessively holds his own mate so close to him. I wish for that.

  I know deep in my gut with all certainty that Lynn is it. There is no doubt in my mind that she is that one elusive female that I thought I would never find—my bloodbound. At first, I was so glad to feel that spark of connection that I was determined to have her whether she was my bloodbonded mate or not. But now that I feel the first promising wisps of the bond waiting to be forged, it’s all I can do to rein in my eagerness enough to properly carry out the bonding ritual. I may inadvertently get some things wrong every now and then, but I refuse to mess that up.

  A loud sigh interrupts my musings, and Garval directs an irritated look at me. “Don’t you have something you’re supposed to be doing? Or do you plan to just moon about here? If so, I will leave so that I can go occupy my time elsewhere.”

  “No,” I growl. “I’m leaving. Just… watch out for her. Maybe keep her indoors until I have time to prune the trees. I don’t want another mishap with them.”

  My brother raises his eyebrows. “With the trees?”

  “One fell and nearly killed her yesterday. I should have had the trees closest to the property pruned for after the harvest,” I mutter. “Especially after that storm came through.”

  An amused snort escapes my brother. “That little gust? You think that damaged the tree? Our apple trees are bred to withstand far more than that! I have never heard of a branch just falling. These trees are notoriously strong growers and a pain in the ass to remove limbs from, if you remember correctly. I certainly have enough memories assisting Father out here when we were orclings.”

  My mouth turns down in a puzzled frown. My brother is not wrong, but that doesn’t make it at all improbable either. I release a soft grunt as I pull my vest on and secure the buttons. “There is still time to get it done, regardless. I will stop and speak to the head of our usual crew who takes care of it and have him send some males out.”

  Garval inclines his head in agreement and settles back, his eyes sliding closed, dismissing me. I’m tempted to wake him and remind him that he can’t watch my mate from behind his eyelids, but I hold back. I do not blame him for wanting a little bit more rest. The hour is still ungodly early. I wouldn’t be up yet myself if I didn’t have to. I would much rather be curled up in bed beside my sweet female, breathing in her sweet scent.

  Right now, if she had her café ready, she could have accompanied me and I would have seen her to her work before leaving her safely within those walls, within the reach of the keep.

  Cursing under my breath, I stalk out, shutting the door firmly behind me, heading out for Haith’s stable. I’m not surprised to find out that the delfass is no more inclined to depart without Lynn than I am. He turns his head, glancing repeatedly at the cottage as if waiting, his ears flattening when I give him the signal to continue walking from where I’m mounted on his back. A low growl rumbles from his chest, but he leaves the cottage behind us, his muscles tense with reluctance, making for a rougher ride than his usual limber pace.

  The trip to the keep seems to take an inordinately long amount of time, the stress of separation from my unclaimed mate wearing my perfect control thin. It may also be because Haith is moving at half-speed up the rocky hillside despite my commands. He’s almost to the point of outright ignoring me as he keeps glancing back. This is doing nothing to improve my own unsettled feelings. It has such a strong effect on me that by the time we arrive at the village my jaw is clenched tight.

  It only gets worse when we pass through the square. While it is still too early for the morning market, there are a number of orcs out preparing for the day’s business. Remembering that I needed to speak to the pruning crew, I direct Haith over to a number of market stalls near the outer rear edge where males, and some females, hire out their skills. There are even a few trade groups such as carpenters and masons, and those who tend to the orchards in the fall and the planting during appropriate seasons. Haith bristles at our approach, his tail lashing angrily. He’s in quite a mood today so I dismount and approach the weather-hardened male who leads the outfit. An older male with a leaner frame that helps him move up and down the trees, his amber eyes sharpen with interest as I make my way toward him.

  “Ironclaw,” he greets me in a raspy voice. “I expected to see you earlier. Are you finally requiring assistance at your orchard?”

  I nod and explain what I need done as I keep an eye on Haith to make sure he behaves. Normally, the delfass would stretch out, content to laze in the early morning sunlight while I conduct business, but instead he stands there with his tail tucked against his legs and his head dropped low. He swings his head from side to side, his nostrils flaring as he snarls.

  Disturbed by his behavior, I conclude my business, handing the male the usual required fee. He barks out an order loud enough to hurt my ears due to my close proximity, but I don’t show any discomfort as the crew moves in. I don’t recognize most of the males, since the crew seems to change every season, though they seem to be as random as they come, varying in sizes. My fingers twitch at my side, the mingling scents of the males making me peculiarly anxious. Enough that I’m eager to get out of there, as is Haith until I direct him toward the keep and the delfass begins to behave in a manner that reminds me of his juvenile years when I trained him as a mount.

  He’s a damn stubborn creature. He is also acting like an infuriating idiot, too, as I attempt to put him in a stall. Every time I try to shut the door, he’s turning around and attempting to push his way back out again until I am snarling and cursing at him while he growls back at me.

  What has gotten into him? He’s never such an uncooperative brute! Since stopping in the market, he’s behaving worse than ever.

  “Haith, quit!” I hiss as I give him another firm shove.

  By some miracle, I manage to get it closed and wince as the stable seems to amplify his every snarl and roar. As I walk into the keep, still faintly hearing the distant sound of Haith’s complaints, I decide that I don’t envy what the stable hands are going to have to deal with today. Not that I imagine many of the guards are going to enjoy my own company. My irritation has been roused to uncommon levels. I know it is due to having my mate so close and not completing the bond.

  While fully establishing a mating bond can happen the first time a mated pair joins, it is rare because the male and female have to fully give themselves to each other for it to happen. Getting the couple into that frame of mind is what the ceremony is for, and unlike Orgath, my mother would never forgive me if I skipped over having the ceremony witnessed by all of our kin—if not the entire clan. Since I don’t want to be murdered by that impossible female, I will just suffer instead.

  My condition must be apparent though because the eyes of the guards follow me with concern. Even Orgath does a second take when I come into his study, his brow furrowing.

  “You look like shit,” he observes with a displeased growl. “I thought you would have taken advantage of the time I permitted for you to be away and secured your mating bond.”

  I shrug and pick up the daily roster, scanning the list of males under my charge for the morning. My concentration is shot.

  “It’s not tha
t simple. You recall how offended everyone was when you took Sammi for your mate without the appropriate feast where all of your kin could be present. You were forgiven because you were living apart from us at that time. I have no such excuse. Never wanted to be an exile more,” I grumble. I sigh and raise a hand to rub my temple. “It will be taken care of. Garval took my tokens to our mother for the mating collar to be crafted. Until then, I just wait.”

  “But it will be soon,” Orgath insisted. “You’re not much good to me like this.”

  “Soon,” I agree. “I think my mother is planning to have the feast on the same night following the Lantern Labyrinth.”

  My cousin nods, impressed. “That would be a fortuitous blessing for you and your mate.”

  I nod. “Until then, I need to know if we’ve heard anything more of the Bright Bloods.”

  Orgath shakes his head, his arms crossing over his chest in irritation. “As quickly as we heard of it, they’ve all disappeared according to reports I’ve recently received. Afraid, I’d wager,” he snorts. “Nothing has arisen to cause concern, however. We can continue with the Lantern Labyrinth without worry, I think.”

  “Good,” I murmur.

  Nothing will disrupt my mating. Gods help any Bright Blood who tries.

  Chapter 23

  Lynn

  Having a big, burly warrior for a babysitter isn’t all that bad. I had mixed feelings when Bodi told me that his brother was going to come and watch over me while he was overseeing things at the keep. I was worried about getting stuck with a moody male who just glowered at me all day, resenting having to be here. In contrast to my expectations, Garval is a surprise. The moment I stumbled out of the bedroom in search of coffee, he kindly waited for me to fuel up before introducing himself and actually sat at the table with me, engaging in conversation while I more leisurely sipped my second cup.