“No.”
“Why not?”
“Unmated females don’t live alone on the commune. It’s not safe, and it’s not our custom.”
“But—”
“You’re under my protection as my mate. That means you stay with me.”
“You said that before, that I’m your mate.” My heart hammers. “Keric, I have feelings for you. I do. Before all of this happened, when we were sitting together at the wedding, I gave you my number because I was hoping you’d ask me out and we could get to know each other better. But I’m not ready for... being mates means forever, right? I have to admit I’m not ready to be thinking of all of that right now. I’m in danger. This isn’t a vacation, this is a DIY witness protection and I?—”
“Anna.” He steps closer, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating off him. “Breathe.”
I do. Barely.
“The bedroom is yours,” he repeats. “I’ll take the couch. You’ll have privacy, space, time. But leaving my protection? That’s not an option I can give you.”
“So I’m trapped here.”
His brow furrows. “You’re nottrappedhere. You chose to come to this commune with me and you know it’s safe here. Technically you can leave at anytime, but I admit I’d follow you, discreetly from a distance because no matter what, I would still be making sure that you were safe.”
I shrug because what he’s saying doesn’t bother me in the least. “Okay,” I whisper.
His eyes widen slightly. “Okay?”
“For now. Until... until we figure this out.”
Relief floods his features. “Thank you.”
I look around the cabin again. My new, temporary home.
“I’ll make us some coffee,” Keric says, moving toward the kitchen.
I sink onto the couch, my legs suddenly shaky. Everything is catching up with me. The photos, the bus station, the flight,meeting Rogan and Drew and being here in this cabin with Keric.
His mate.
I watch him move around the kitchen. He pulls out a bag of whole beans, grinds them and then puts them into a metal coffee strainer. He’s surprisingly competent with the expensive-looking coffee maker. Not what I expected from the “scary Irontree.”
“You like your coffee?” I comment.
He chuckles. “Yes, I do. It’s good to be home, using what I like best. I ended up getting coffee most days from a coffee shop I enjoyed in Truckee. How do you like your coffee?”
I tell him that I like sugar and creamer. In minutes he’s returned with two hot mugs.
He sits next to me on the couch.
I wrap my hands around the warm mug and finally ask the question that’s been burning in my brain since the bus station. “At the bus station, you said I was your mate. What does that mean, exactly?”
“For orcs, mate recognition is instinctive. When I pulled you back at the school, when Garlen lost control, I caught your scent. And I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That you’re mine. The one female meant for me.”
My eyes narrow. “Wait, does this mean that you’re going to need to be chained when you’re around me like Garlen did, concerning Ellie?”
“No,” he grins. “No. You don’t have to worry about that. It’s not winter and instead the spring.”
