Uthar the Hunter, page 1
part #7 of Orc Mates Series
UTHAR THE HUNTER
ORC MATES SERIES
- paranormal monster romance -
Copyright © 2022 by Cara Wylde
Cover by Nomad Raccoon
All rights are reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
About the Author
Chapter One
Beth Moore kept packing even as her heart was breaking and tears streamed down her face. Her sister, Abby, was watching her from the doorway, arms crossed over her thin, hollow chest, tears dried after she’d switched from anger to resignation a half dozen times. Beth stuffed clothes into the big, old suitcase she hadn’t taken out from underneath the bed in years. She packed most of her summer dresses, then thought twice, took some of them out, and threw in a few pants and long sweaters. Her favorite strappy, flowy dresses wouldn’t be of much use to her in the mountains. Or wherever she’d end up. She closed the suitcase. Before she turned to her sister, she wiped the tears with the back of her hand and blinked a few times.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Betty.” Her sister’s voice sounded defeated. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me.”
Beth marched up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.
“I’m not leaving you! I’m trying to save you.”
Abby shook her head. Beth was taller than her, curvy, and healthy. She felt like a child next to her sister, and she hated it. They didn’t use to be that different. But that was before Abby got sick.
She placed her tiny hands on Beth’s wide waist and pulled her in. The tears were starting to come again. She sniffed and buried her face against her sister’s chest.
“The doctor said nine months. Best case scenario, twelve. And they won’t be easy months.”
Beth kissed the top of Abby’s head and smoothed down her frizzy hair. The frizzy hair of her wig, in fact.
“I want you here. I need you here, with me,” Abby pleaded. Though there was no more real insistence in her tone. She knew she’d lost the battle already. Beth had made her decision. “I want to spend the last days of my life with my sister. My only family.”
“The last days of your life are a long way ahead. Trust me. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Betty, I don’t...”
“Shh... it’s going to be okay. I’ll come back for you.”
“I don’t want you to come back for me. I want you to never leave.”
Beth sighed but didn’t say another word because Abby was crying again, and all she could do was hold her tight until she calmed down. She wiped more tears off her cheeks. There was nothing that she wanted more than to spend her every waking moment with her sister. But the cancer was back with a vengeance, and all the doctors they’d gone to had informed them, one by one, that there was nothing that modern medicine could do for Abby this time.
Modern medicine. More like... human medicine. Yes, that was the right word. Human. Beth happened to know of a different type of medicine that she was sure could save her sister’s life. It was called magic. Orc magic.
The problem was that orc magic was not available to humans. Since the orcs had landed in their dimension, years ago, since the war between the two species had ended with a peace treaty that was advantageous to both parties, the orcs had refused one thing and one thing alone – to share their magic. In recent years, there had been attempts to convince orcs to share at least a little bit of their knowledge, or to sell the potions they made, but the Orc Council had said no to all negotiations.
It made sense, Beth thought. Magic was the orcs’ greatest asset. Their most powerful weapon. Sharing even a bit of it with her species would’ve put them in danger. Not to mention that it would’ve possibly put the peace treaty in danger, because Beth was sure that if humans got their hands on magic, another war would start. Deadlier and more vicious. A war that might wipe out both species off the face of the earth.
Politics aside, Beth still needed the orcs’ magic. In the past few months, as she took her sister from one doctor to another, making her endure all kinds of tests and treatments, Beth had grown more and more convinced that the only thing that could save her sister and restore her health to the fullest was magic. But how would she get it? Where would she find an orc mage to help her?
There were hordes all over North America, living in the mountains and forests, in caves and abandoned towns. And each horde had a mage. Some had two, but those were rare.
Beth figured that the first step was to join a horde. And as a human female, there was only one way she could do that – by volunteering to become a tribute. Then an orc would choose her as his mate, and if she was lucky, that orc would be a horde captain. And then it would be up to her to make him fall in love with her so hard that he’d agree to do anything for her. Including to order his mage to save her sister’s life.
That was the plan. It was a good plan, and from where Beth stood, – with her bags packed, ready to go to an institute for orc brides, – it had no flaws.
“Betty, please...”
“Shh... It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.” She kissed Abby once more, then gently pulled away. Abby didn’t cling to her, and Beth was relieved. Saying goodbye was hard. Even if it was only “goodbye for now”.
Their childhood friend, Missy, poked her head from the other room. She was munching on her lip, unsure if it was okay to interrupt the emotional moment.
“Are you ready? Do you want me to drive you?”
Beth smiled. “No, that’s okay. I’ll take a taxi.”
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble at all.”
“I’m sure.”
Missy was going to stay with Abby. Take care of her while Beth was away. She was a thirty-year-old registered nurse, and the three of them had been friends forever. Beth wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving Abby with someone else.
She hauled her luggage into the hall and stopped to put on a scarf. She caught her reflection in the mirror and winced. She should’ve put some makeup on, but then again... With all the crying she’d been doing today, it would’ve turned her into a panda. Or a raccoon. Her fiery red hair fell down her shoulders in waves. She hadn’t had time to braid it. Her blue eyes sparkled with tears, and she was surprised she hadn’t yet lost a contact. She had her glasses in her suitcase.
“You look great,” Abby whispered, hugging her from behind.
Beth smiled at her in the mirror. “You, too.”
“Pff... Thanks for being nice and lying to me. Makes me feel so much better.”
Missy came to share the hug. “You both look great, and I look great, too!”
Beth laughed. “Truer words have never been spoken.”
Finally, they said their goodbyes, hugged and kissed some more, and Beth was out the door. As she waited for her taxi, she thought...
She ought to be grateful.
At least she had something to trade for her sister’s life. Herself.
* * *
One Month Later
Beth chose the institute for tributes that was closest to her home, even though her sister couldn’t visit, and she wasn’t allowed to go out, either. It still made her feel better than being too many miles away from the only family she had left. She talked and texted with Abby and Missy every day, telling them all about the institute, the teachers, and what she was learning about orcs and their culture.
A month passed quickly, and the first Doors Open Day came. Despite feeling nervous, and so anxious that she could throw up, Beth tried to keep her spirits up. She dressed to impress, in a satin blouse with a plunging neckline, and a flowy skirt that reached her ankles. She braided her long, red hair, and ditched her glasses once more in favor of her contact lenses. She went downstairs and joined the other girls who were hoping to be chosen by an orc. Or not. Some of them didn’t hope for anything. They were there because they had no other choice.
To some extent, Beth was there, too, because she had no other choice. She tried not
There were four orcs who’d come to look for brides, and the fact that there were a dozen girls they could choose from didn’t make Beth feel very comfortable. Looking at their tattoos, which were indicative of their ranks, two were captains, and two were raiders. She set her eyes on the captains and tried to catch their gaze. She tried to put a smile on her face, but it felt fake. When one of the raiders approached her, even that fake smile faltered and died on her pink-stained lips.
He looked her up and down. In return, she studied him with a cold gaze. He was big, as all orcs were, with dark eyes and black hair tired up in a short ponytail. Captains wore their hair long, and had tattoos on their back and arms. Raiders wore their hair shorter, and had tattoos around their necks, wrists, ankles, and middle. Beth didn’t want a raider. She wanted a captain. Because a captain would have the authority to order his mage to help her sister. A raider... Well, a raider had his captain’s ear, at most. Would that be good enough? She didn’t know. She didn’t want to risk her plan failing.
But how could she dissuade this raider if he wanted her?
“Turn around,” he said in a low, gruff voice.
“No.” And it took all her courage to say the word. She stepped back, hoping he wouldn’t see she was shaking like a leaf. He was so tall, towering over her, that she had to crane her neck to hold his dark gaze. But she couldn’t avert her eyes. She had to show him that she meant business. She needed a captain, not a raider.
He regarded her with something akin to astonishment for a second, then his lips curved into a smile. He had sharp, curved tusks that poked out of his mouth and embraced his upper lip.
“I like you. I choose you.”
Beth’s eyes widened. “What? N-no, you don’t like me.”
He shot her an amused glance, then turned around and marched up to the manager.
“N-no...” Beth whispered.
She didn’t know what to do. She stood frozen in place and watched as the manager, a grey-haired lady in her fifties, smiled brightly at the orc raider and handed him the file that contained all the information that was relevant about Beth. Like her name, age, background, and the fact that she was fertile. When she’d applied to become a tribute, she’d omitted to tell the manager and the doctor who consulted her that her sister had cancer. It was better for that bit of information to remain secret for a while.
Before she could snap out of it and think of a solution, the orc raider was back and ordering her to follow him. Her legs moved off their own accord. Someone, – one of the guards who worked at the institute, – had brought down her luggage. He carried it outside, and from there, the orc took over, and now all Beth could do was follow her own suitcase. She had all her things in there.
The orc had come in one of the massive cars his kind had built to replace the krags that weren’t quite suited for galloping on the American highways. He threw her suitcase in the back, and then offered her his hand to help her up.
Beth stared at it for a moment.
She could still make a run for it.
She looked back at the institute. There was a guard at the gate. Would he spring into action? Once a woman offered herself as tribute, there was no turning back. If she ran, the guard wouldn’t need to bother. The orc raider would catch her without breaking a sweat. If he wanted her, he wasn’t going to let her go that easily.
She looked up at him once more and swallowed hard. He had a pleasant face. Kind, she might describe it. Had he been a captain... Alas, there was no point in dwelling on it.
She accepted his help and hauled herself into the orc car, pulling her long skirt after her. He jumped in the front and started the engine.
Soon, Beth would know if she’d failed or not.
Chapter Two
The horde lived in an abandoned town in the desert. The good news was that Beth could make extensive use of her many dresses. The bad news was that she was now far from her sister. But there was another piece of good news – she had cellphone signal.
Humans had abandoned many towns during the war, and when orc hordes had taken over and laid claim to the land, they had never returned.
As the orc car drove down the main street, Beth stared from the backseat. There were orcs walking around, going about their business. Many seemed to be gathered in front of a diner. Or what used to be a diner. The houses looked lived in, but the few blocks of flats and buildings that had more than two floors seemed to have been left abandoned. There were orc cars parked in driveways, and she saw krags grazing on lawns. It was a picture pulled out of fantasy novel. If anyone had ever tried to describe to her what she was seeing now with her own eyes, Beth would’ve laughed and congratulated them on their rich imagination.
What surprised her pleasantly was that even though the orcs had changed a lot of things in this town, they had kept it clean and organized. There was not a house without a vegetable garden, and there were flowers and trees everywhere. The car passed an orchard, and at some point, Beth could’ve sworn she heard chickens.
They stopped, and the orc raider helped her down. She found herself in front of a large house. On the lawn, a cow grazed, and she blinked twice. She would’ve expected a krag – the massive animal with a lion’s mane that orcs rode in battle. But no, it was a cow.
“What the...?”
“When we came to this town, we found cattle, chickens, and a few goats. The humans had abandoned them. We kept them.”
“Wow!”
“We don’t eat them. They give us milk and eggs. For meat, we hunt in the mountains.”
He made a wide gesture, and Beth looked in the distance. The town was surrounded by mountains.
Two orcs passed on the street, and Beth studied them curiously. They studied her with what she thought was suspicion. They nodded at the raider, and he nodded back.
“What’s your name?” she asked, just realizing that she was about to enter his house and she didn’t know the first thing about him.
“Uthar. Uthar the Hunter.”
“I’m Beth.”
“Elizabeth.” He waved the file at her.
“Everyone calls me Beth.” She wanted to add that her sister called her Betty but bit her lip.
He started toward the house, and she followed him once more. Lately, it seemed that was the only thing she was good at.
The interior was cozy and minimalistic. She noticed Uthar had replaced all the furniture with massive wood pieces that seemed to have been made by orcs. Animal pelts covered the floors, and she felt it was only appropriate to remove her shoes. The living room had a couch and a low table, but there was no TV in sight. Of course. Orcs didn’t watch TV. There was the kitchen, which was too clean to have been used recently. He probably didn’t cook for himself. And then she remembered she’d learned at the institute that orcs liked to eat together. She was surprised to see that Uthar hadn’t changed the kitchen much. Maybe because he didn’t spend any time there, he’d decided to leave the kitchen appliances where they were and not bother himself with them.
He dragged her luggage at the foot of the stairs.
“I’ll show you the room we’ll share.”
Beth wasn’t ready for that. Her heart started beating faster, and she realized she had to stall until she could calm down. This whole thing wasn’t just new to her. It was confusing. Here she was, in a town that used to be abandoned, in the desert, miles upon miles away from her sister and the places she knew, in a stranger’s house. A stranger with dark green skin and tusks. And he wanted to show her the room and the bed they were going to share, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
What had she gotten herself into? What was she doing here?
She took a step back, shook her head, and focused on breathing in and out. Her hand flew to her chest. “Abby. Abby, Abby, Abby,” she repeated in her head. A mantra to keep her grounded. That was why she was here. For Abby.
He furrowed his brows at her reaction. “Elizabeth, I am going to show you...”
“Please don’t call me that. Beth. It’s Beth.” Her mother had called her Elizabeth. And her father, too. She didn’t want to think about them. She and Abby had lost them when they were way too young.
