Serus snickers behind me.
I shoot my oldest brother a murderous look but turn beseeching eyes on my mother.
“Mother, please. I cannot go with Serus. I need to return to Ov’Ge. I have found my mate.”
“Cavek,” Father begins but Mother leaps from her throne, interrupting him.
“Virol, hush. Didn’t you hear him? He has found a mate. We cannot possibly send him to fight werewolves.”
“Madi, my love. You were not listening when he said that his mate is in Ov’Ge. She is human. I am sure she will make a fine addition to our family, but our first responsibility is to protect our people and our young. She will be perfectly safe waiting in Ov’Ge.”
I try to keep my expression neutral rather than glare at my father as he returns his attention to me.
“Cavek, aid Serus in pushing back the northern Warue Tribe and you have my permission to return to Ov’Ge to fetch your mate.”
I grind my teeth but know that this is the best offer I’m going to get. Mother pouts but does not argue with Father’s decision. With a short nod that toes the line of being respectful, I turn and stalk out of the throne room. I do not acknowledge my brother following after me until Serus comes up beside me and slaps me on the back.
“Cheer up, Cavek. We will go kick some wolf tail and will be back in time for the morning meal. You will be mated and have your own female nagging at your dirty boots on her clean floors before you know it.”
I roll my eyes. Serus’s mate is a sweet female. I know good and well that he tracks mud over her floors just to get a rise out of her and to give some heat to their love life. Not that it was a detail I particularly needed him to share with me. I do not wish to envision my brother naked with his mate.
Without a word, I return to my room and lash myself into my leather armor. I forego the heavy metal breastplate my brothers prefer, since the extra bulk makes it difficult for me to draw my bow at a moment’s notice. The chest and belly area are covered with gold-trimmed green scales gifted to me by a dragon I aided in my youth, making it, in my opinion, far superior. I know my brother is impatient to be underway, so I strap on my knives and quiver before snatching up my bow and hurrying out the door.
MY BROTHER UNDERESTIMATED the determination of the Warue Tribe. That’s the first thing that occurs to me when I wake many hours later, my body pained from the rigorous battle, in a dark cell. The second thing I’m aware of is that I’ve been stripped bare, without even a scrap of cloth to give me any comfort or preserve my pride. I hear the scamper of a rodent and blink my eyes as I try to adjust to the low lighting. It takes a few minutes, but eventually I can make out my surroundings.
The walls seem earthen, although reinforced by stone and metal. The cell itself is lined with iron, effective for holding a troll since it mitigates our magic. The only way out seems to be through brute strength alone, and I doubt even that will be successful.
I narrow my eyes and follow the lines of the bars keeping me caged in, looking for any possible weak spots. If I could find a patch of exposed earth, it would take little effort for me to dig it free from where it’s anchored. But the wolves were smart enough to foresee that method of escape.
The door bursts open with a bang, drawing my attention to a large furred body passing through it. The werewolf is black as night with a long, thick tail trailing behind him. I know immediately that this is the alpha, the strongest of the tribe. He’d been leading the attack before I was attacked from behind and knocked unconscious.
Trophies from his conquests, most of them fangs of various shapes and sizes, adorn a thick braid of hair hanging behind one ear and around his neck. The lips of his muzzle part to reveal his own massive, sharp teeth.
“Cavek, son of Virol, such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I hope that the cell is comfortable,” he says with a snort.
The pair of males behind him bark out coarse laughter as their alpha picks up a curved knife.
“This is how things will go,” he continues, admiring his blade all the while. “You tell us what we want to know, and we will let you go... eventually. You don’t? Well, you get a lot of pain and enjoy an extended stay in our accommodations.”
I grit my teeth. “What exactly do you want to know?”
“Ah, not so fast. First, a little pain to encourage the truth to flow.”
I manage to endure the first cuts stoically, but breath hisses out of me as they multiply. I want desperately to black out and stop the pain as I feel a bit of flesh peeled off me. My eyelids droop and I’m close to losing consciousness, but a bucket of cold water is thrown on me.
The alpha sits back and grins at me.
“Now that I have your attention, you will reveal the location of the hidden entrance to the Middling Way Kingdom.”
I grin at him, swallowing my exhaustion and agony with great effort.
“Fuck you.”
The alpha’s ears flatten for a moment but then he begins to chuckle unpleasantly.
“Fuck me? No, not quite,” he says with a growl as he gestures to one of his wolves out of my line of vision. I feel a hand grip the back of my neck and hot breath fans my shoulder.
I brace myself for the worst. When the pain comes, it lasts through the night, and I roar until my throat is hoarse before they finally relent and throw me in a cell. The last thing I hear before I succumb to the blessed darkness is laughter.
“Mercol is done with this one. He says to keep him here until he thinks of a better use for him. Poor bastard. Trolls are stubborn beasts. He should have given up what he knew. Now he’ll probably die down here.”
I draw my legs up, my body protesting the tearing pain in my haunches and the searing pain of the torn flesh on my torso as I curl into myself. My mind, grasping for comfort and relief, conjures with images of Kate. Sweet Kate. I can almost taste her, and I shiver alone in the damp cell, longing to be with her.
Sometime later, a chunk of meat is thrown unceremoniously onto the floor beside me. I gag at the spoiled odor coming off it. Pushing aside my disgust, I reach for it, but I cannot suppress my nausea as I bring it to my face. I gag again but manage to tear off a bite of meat, trying not to taste it as I swallow it down. My stomach curdles but I will survive.
I will survive this and return to my Kate.
KATE
I frown and look at the little plastic stick on the bathroom counter in front of me. One time, just one time in years I don’t use a condom and two months later, I’m a basket case as I wait for confirmation of what I suspect. I haven’t been feeling well lately and a bit of hasty math had me running out to the drug store.
I let out a breath as two blue lines become visible. I’m pregnant, and this time by an actual troll, not just a guy who gets his kicks dressing up as one. I nervously lick my lips. Termination is out of the question for me. That would probably be the easiest solution, especially this early on. Having a troll’s baby will undeniably bring a whole slew of new problems on top of the stress of caring for another child.
Still, my heart rebels against it. I couldn’t terminate Boukie, and I can’t do it this time either.
All the same, I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. I lean over the counter and cradle my head in my hands as I battle a fresh wave of morning sickness mixed with a good old-fashioned dose of anxiety.
I’m barely making ends meet as it is. How am I going to care for a baby who’ll likely come with an entire set of unknown special needs? I breathe through the panic.
I can do this. We’ll manage and he or she will be loved. That’s the most important thing. I’m scared shitless, but we’ll be okay.
Thump, thump.
Someone knocks on the bathroom door and my entire body stiffens.
“Kate, dear, are you okay in there?” Lucy asks.
“Yeah, I’m all right. Just one sec. I’m coming out.”
“Okay, sweetie. I have dinner on the table. Come eat something before you take Boukie home.”
I smile. “Thanks, Mom.”
“No need to be thanking me. Just hurry before it gets cold.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I throw the pregnancy test into the trash can and wash my hands. I need to tell Cavek. I’m sure if I ask Luke, he’ll be glad to give Sammi a letter to pass along to Cavek. But I don’t know what good that will do.
Boukie still insists he’s going to come back for us despite my gentle discouragement of her fantasy. I don’t want to acknowledge the sharp pain that lodges in my chest every time she mentions his imminent return. After two months with no word from him, it seems pretty clear he isn’t coming back.
I sigh out loud as I open the door and head toward the dining room. If I’m going to ask Luke to take a letter to Sammi, I’m going to have to tell Lucy. She’ll never forgive me if she’s the last to find out about the baby.
Pulling out a chair, I sit across from Luke as Lucy passes down a plate with a large helping of shepherd’s pie. My heart warms at the good memories triggered by the warm, homey smells of the food. This is one of my favorite childhood meals. I blink back tears as I take a bite.
“Kate, is something wrong?” David inquires gently.
I don’t want to burden them. They already do so much for me.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.
Lucy slowly blinks.
“Oh, well... a baby.” Then she smiles brilliantly. “Well, at least I’ll have one of my daughters around to spoil. Who’s the father? Anyone we know?”
“Ah, yes, you’ve met him. The father is Cavek.”
Her mouth drops open, but Luke has no problem opening his fat mouth.
“Seriously? First, Sammi gets knocked up by an orc, and now you by a troll. What’s with this crazy family?” he gripes.
“Imma gonna have a baby brother!” Boukie exclaims, fixating on what she considers the most important detail.
Lucy purses her lips. “Well... that’s unexpected, but we will manage. First things first: I insist that you give notice to your landlord and move into Sammi’s old room. Boukie can take the guest room. It makes more sense for you to be here with us where we can help you. Then we’ll need to find some private medical care for you. Maybe we can see if Orgath can have someone from their world sent to stay with us until you deliver. If word gets around you’re carrying a troll’s baby, it might not be a good thing.”
I nod slowly. What she says makes sense.
Lucy sets her hand on mine gently.
“Don’t you worry.”
I resolve to follow her advice and take one day at a time. One day becomes another and before I know it, months have passed and the only thing that’s changed is that my stomach is about the size of a beach ball. Lucy swears I’m carrying a boy since she carried both her sons straight out in the front. We don’t know for sure, since we don’t have access to ultrasounds, but the dwarfish midwife is a gods-send. She’s modified my diet to provide the best nutrition for a troll fetus and checks on the baby’s growth daily.
The only thing that pains me is that there’s no word from Cavek. All of my letters have gone unanswered. Sammi assures me that she sent them along to the Middling Way Kingdom, which both infuriates me and makes me sad that he won’t even acknowledge us. Instead of dwelling on it, I try to enjoy each letter I receive from Sammi expressing her support and love. I miss her so much.
I don’t allow myself to think of how much I miss that stupid troll.
Chapter 7
Cavek
I don’t know how long has passed. Many months, of that I am certain. From the dark cell, I cannot see the passage of seasons, but I track time by the daily ration of food they throw in at me. After the first several weeks, I began to feel like I was losing myself. Now I pace the cell like a caged beast. I even begin to look forward to my feeding time like a starving animal might.
My tormentors pay me a weekly visit whereupon they renew their punishment upon my body in attempt to extract what they want to know. All the while, I keep the image and memory of my female locked in the forefront of my mind to shut out everything afflicted upon me. I feel like I’ll never be free of the stink of the male chosen to be my tormentor. I would like to forget about him in-between our sessions, but he makes that impossible.
Much to my dismay, he’s also the one who is charged with feeding me. Krue leers at me from the other side of my cell as he holds up a particularly foul-looking piece of meat from his charcoal gray hand.
“Time to eat, troll. Come and get it. Not too sore from our playtime yesterday, are you?”
His grin widens as I approach the bars of my cell.
“I have to admit—I’m impressed. I never thought much of trolls. Certainly didn’t think you’d survive as long as you have without cracking. What’s your secret, I wonder?”
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. Krue is never this chatty.
“Do you have a female waiting for you at home? Is that it? It’s funny how many males will suffer to survive to return to their mates. Is that what drives you to survive?”
I say nothing, closing my expression completely. The wolf is not fooled and lets out a bark of laughter.
“That is what it is. I knew it. Maybe I need to go find your female. I bet I can show her a much better time. Give her a little taste of what you’ve enjoyed all these months? Maybe I’ll keep her. I need a female to breed my whelps. I can even do it in front of you when we finish our little sessions. I wonder if enough of your smell lingers on her that I can track her by that alone.” He inhales deeply.
My gut clenches with anger and I react instantly, throwing myself against the bars with a howl of rage. Krue laughs like a maniac.
“You will not even think of touching my mate!”
“How do you think you’ll stop me, all alone in your little cell?” he whispers as he leans forward. Much to my surprise, he suddenly freezes, his eyes widening.
“With aid of his kin,” a deep voice growls from behind the werewolf as Serus plows into his side, knocking the large werewolf off his feet.
The keys to my cell clatter to the floor and are kicked toward our brother Garol, who enters just behind him. He has me free from my cell within seconds. I choose that moment to run as my brothers bid me as they dart out the door. I can hear a howl going up in the distance. The tribe has been alerted to their presence.
There’s no time to delay.
I glance dispassionately down at Krue as he staggers to get up. He shakes his head as he lumbers to his feet, and his lips peel back from his fangs as he sees me lingering.
“I’m going to kill you!” he snarls seconds before he leaps at me.
Just as he’s about to collide with me, I crouch and shove a dagger upward as I roll away. His scream rends the air around me as the blade buries to the hilt into his crotch, blood spurting with force from the severed major vein. I am covered in the male’s blood as I rise to my feet.
A hand grips my arm roughly and I turn immediately ready to fight. I let out a breath and lower my hand as I see that it is only Serus. He’d returned when it became apparent that I was not right behind them.
“What is the matter with you?” he hisses. “We need to get out of here before the entire tribe’s pack of warriors are upon us. They are only going to be distracted for so long before someone gets the idea to check on you.”
He’s right. We need to get out of here.
“Kate,” I croak. It’s the only word I can seem to force out.
Serus squeezes my shoulder. “We will find a way to get you to your mate, brother. Come on,” he grunts as he flees into the shadows.
I follow in silence, my mind focused on only one thing: Kate.
KATE
I smile down at the tiny green hands of my son. He’s a month old and growing fast. The dull black claws on each fingertip and toe are getting long enough to scratch me, and I know it’s about time for another trim to shorten them to a manageable length and blunt the sharp edges.
I
never would have guessed that a troll’s claws would grow so fast.
“CJ,” Boukie sings as she holds a brightly colored bear above him, rattling it. “Mister Bear is saying hello to you. Hello, CJ,” she says in a gruff voice.
His dark purple eyes stare up at the bear hovering over his head, every so often turning toward his sister when she speaks, although it seems like a troll’s vision as an infant is not much better than that of a human.
Cavek Junior, a name given when I failed to think of anything else to call a trollbie, is the same soft green of spring buds. He’s a couple of shades darker than he was when he was born. He’d entered the world such a pale shade of green that at first, I had worried there was something wrong with him.
The midwife, upon hearing me voice my concern, assured me that trollbies tend to be light when they are born, but that he would get darker as he grew. Sure enough, two weeks later he was the color of new spring grass. Right now, his pastel coloring is a perfect complement to the little tuft of lavender hair that sits straight up from his brow like the small toys named after his species.
In short, he’s adorable.
“Mommy, do you think Cavek will be surprised when he sees CJ?” Boukie innocently asks.
“I’m sure he will be,” I murmur, playing along. When Cavek never replied to the letter I sent about my pregnancy, I didn’t bother to write to him again. I have no idea what he thinks about the baby. I do feel a little guilty for not writing after CJ was born. But the way I figure it, if he’d been interested, I would have heard back from him long before now. Still, it didn’t hurt to play along.
“CJ is the prettiest brother in the whole world,” Boukie coos, her fingers tickling the baby’s round tummy. She leans forward, kisses his fat cheek, and whispers, “Don’t worry, CJ. Your daddy is coming very soon. He’s gonna take us and we are gonna be a prince and princess. We’re gonna live in a big forest and be happy forever and ever.”
“Boukie—”
“It’s true, Mommy. Cavek promised. I dreamed of him. He’s coming. He was in the dark but now he’s coming for us. He won’t leave us here. We’re family. He’s gonna be my daddy.”
The Troll Bride Page 5