“Anna.” Kelt’s voice has gone soft and gentle. “Are you hurt? Did he... we’re so sorry we didn’t get here sooner. We tried to track you as fast as we could, but…”
Oh no. They think Keric raped me. They think he went feral, kidnapped me and violated me against my will, and they’re here to rescue me from the monster. “What? No!” I step forward, still tugging my sweater into place. “That’s not what happened!”
But Whelan is scanning my body with sharp eyes, cataloging every mark. His expression darkens when he sees the scratches on my arms from the forest run. It gets even darker when my sweater rides up and he spots the small bruises on my hips—finger-shaped bruises from where Keric gripped me while I rode him.
“Keric,” Whelan growls, and now he sounds angry. Dangerous. “What did you do to her?”
“Those aren’t from—that’s not what you think.” My face is so hot I’m surprised I haven’t burst into flames. “Those are from... we were... it was consensual!”
“It’s okay, Anna.” Kelt is using that soothing voice again, the one that makes me want to scream. “You don’t have to protect him. What he did wasn’t his fault. The scent bomb affects orc brain chemistry in ways that?—”
“He didn’t rape me,” I exclaim.
My voice echoes off the cave walls. All three orcs freeze.
The silence is deafening.
“Those marks,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady even though I want to die of embarrassment, “are from consensual sex. Very enthusiastic, very mutual, very much wanted by both parties.”
The orcs exchange confused glances.
“But he was feral,” Urdan says slowly. “We saw what he did to those mercenaries. He tore them apart with his bare hands. There’s no way he could have controlled himself enough to?—”
“He stopped.” My voice is firm now. I’m done being embarrassed. I’m done letting them think the worst of the male who gave me the most incredible experience of my life. “Even feral, even out of his mind, Keric stopped and asked for my consent. He gave me a choice.”
“That’s... not possible,” Kelt says, but he sounds uncertain now.
“It happened.” I look at each of them in turn. “Keric was literally shaking with the effort of holding himself back. And he told me to tell him to stop. He said he would find a way, eventhough it was clearly killing him. He needed me to say the words, needed to know I was choosing him.”
The orcs lower the chains slightly, still wary but listening.
“The scent bomb triggered his protective instincts,” I continue. “He got me out of that cabin and brought me somewhere safe. And yes, he was feral at first. But I calmed him down. I touched him and talked to him and brought him back, the same way Ellie did with Garlen in that parking lot.”
“You calmed a feral Irontree,” Whelan says slowly. “After a direct scent bomb hit to the face.”
“Is that unusual?”
“It’s almost impossible.” Kelt is staring at me with something like wonder. “The fact that he could even ask for consent in that state... I’ve never heard of that happening.”
“Well, it happened.” I move to stand beside Keric, who has been silent this whole time, letting me tell our story. “And I said yes. I chose him. I chose to be his Bride.”
Keric finally moves, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me against his side. At some point during my speech, he managed to get his torn pants back on. Small mercies.
“She’s telling the truth,” he says quietly. “I would never hurt her. Even feral, even out of my mind, I could never hurt her.”
But Urdan still looks skeptical. “You’re sure you’re not just saying this to protect him? Trauma can make people rationalize?—”
“Thank you for checking on me and trying to make sure I’m okay, but I’m telling you I’m not traumatized.”
Then I see it. Urdan’s nostrils flare. Whelan’s too. Even Kelt’s.
They’re scenting me.
Oh god. They can smell everything. The sex. Keric’s seed. And—if orc noses are as sensitive as I’ve been told—my currentstate of arousal, which has been climbing steadily since I woke up wrapped in Keric’s arms.
“She’s not lying,” Kelt says quietly, and he has the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “I can scent it. Her arousal for him is... present.”
“Very present,” Whelan agrees.
