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“What about your brother? Is he older? Is he not taking care of you?” I pressed. I hated that so many men had done herwrong. No wonder she was on an app looking for us. We were safe. We could never hurt her, or that’s what she was betting on.
“Yes, he’s older than me. My parents left him everything in an effort not to have a family feud over assets. And when they did, they created a monster. He sold everything: the business, the storefront I lived in an apartment over, my car that belonged to the business. Our parents’ home as well. He never even paid the employees or me our final paychecks. I have nothing and nowhere to go.”
Now I was furious. Menace’s hands were balled into fists just under the table. That line in Saber’s forehead, the sign he would be heading to his treehouse for a self-imposed time-out, was pulsing. How dare a family member treat another like that. But it was worse that her brother did that to her. For us, once a parent was gone, it was the eldest’s job to take care of the rest until they found their rage.
Her brother was a shame to his own kind. Not even the coldest orc would act in such a manner. But we were the monsters. Most monsters in the world walked around under the mask of pretty faces. But we were shunned for looking different. Humans were clearly confused about who the beasts were.
“Yes, you do,” Menace started, scooting closer to the phone. “You absolutely do. Come here to us. You don’t know us well, yet, but we would never harm you. Here, you would be a queen. There would never be an unfulfilled need. We could live in happiness. Not love or a fairy tale but peace and companionship. We would never betray you or cheat on you or leave you with nothing. Come to us, Ilya. We will send you a ticket today.”
Good thing we didn’t require a discussion. Menace was right. She belonged here with us.
Chapter Eleven
Ilya
Their voices held nothing but truth. And they looked me right in the eye the whole time. Via a camera lens, but a steady gaze was the sign of honesty. My mother taught me that. If it had come from my father who, in the end and maybe without bad intentions, betrayed me almost as bad as my brother had, I’d be questioning it now.
The orcs were so straightforward in their speech. No promises of hearts and flowers, just what we could offer one another in a fair agreement. I had learned online that orcs had to have human females to bear their children—or at least most of the time. The “experts” were a little mixed on whether it had to be every time. But if there were female orcs, they were rare as hen’s teeth.
I sat down on the couch and replayed the video chat. The app had a feature that let me do that, and since I was making the biggest decision of my life, I wanted to be sure I’d heard what I thought I had. Also to see them speaking the words. They certainly had different features and probably different lots of things than human men, but they were appealing in a way I couldn’t describe. I’d gone from worrying about being able to be intimate with them to asking if sex ended when we were done having more kids.
Totally unlike me.
A flirt I’d never been, but with these three, something had me doing it like a champ. If I had to put a finger on it, I’d say it was because they gave off an air of reassurance that soothed my bruised soul. Nothing like having only one relative left in the world and having him stab you in the heart to make you appreciate a little kindness.
I’d be giving up the possibility of true love and romance, but they were offering everything in their power to give me—and couldn’t that be good enough? Going in with my eyes wide open, I’d never risk my heart. Sure, I was surprisingly attracted to them and we could be what? Co-parents with benefits? Living in our little house in the mountains with a passel of children running around, pets and toys and good company.
So much more than most people got out of life.
I was stuffing the few things I’d unpacked back in my bag when Cindy emerged yawning from her bedroom. “You don’t have to do that. Make yourself comfortable while you’re here.”
“I have, and thank you so much for the safe haven, but it’s time for me to hit the road.”
“What road?” Her eyes widened, and she suddenly seemed wide awake. “Where are you going?”
“I followed your advice and signed up for the Mail-Order Matings app.” I offered her a bright smile. “My new mates are sending me a plane ticket.” My phone chirped. “Oh, that must be it.”
Cindy dropped into a chair. “I feel like I missed a lot. You’ve only been here one night, right? And I told you about the app shortly before I went to bed?”
“Yes, exactly.” I bobbed my head. “And I followed your suggestion and signed up.”
“Ilya, I am going to need some coffee for this. Give me a minute, and when I get back, I want a minute-by-minute explanation of what happened because I’m not sure... Did I eat anything from the taco truck before bed? That always gives me strange dreams.”
“No, I don’t believe so. And you’re awake.”
“Okay. Coffee. Do. Not. Leave.”
While she brewed her cup and doctored it with her favorite caramel creamer, I opened the notification. The ticket was forlater today. They weren’t kidding about wanting me to go to them right away. Yet, I didn’t feel rushed. I felt wanted.
Something I hadn’t felt since my parents’ death. Sure, Cindy was good to have me here, but it was temporary, since she had her own mates to get to.
“All right.” She returned with the biggest mug from the cabinet, steaming and scented with caramel. “Start at the beginning and do not leave out a single detail.”
“Well, after you went to bed, I downloaded the app and filled out the profile questions.”
Cindy took a long draught and sighed. “More awake every minute. Right, the profile. Wasn’t that crazy? So many questions. I never knew there were so many things in a relationship I could have an opinion or preference in.”
“Me, either. I’m still not sure what some of those things were, but if I didn’t know the word, I said no.”
