Page 73 of Protective Pucking Orc

Dakvaar wordlessly drew me into a hug, pressing me against his chest with his gaze locked on Rosa.

“It’ll be okay,” he murmured. “The team knows. They’re all on the lookout for him, and I can protect you.”

I knew that—he’d kept me updated on their search. But I didn’t want anyone hurt. “He’s a dangerous guy,” I pointed out weakly.

A rumble came from his chest, where I knew his Kteer nestled, keeping him alive. “So am I, mi querido.”

I snorted and poked his side. “Since I’m a female, you should say mi querida. But no guy really says that. How about mi amor?”

“Your language is problematic.”

“Oh?” I pulled back enough to smirk up at him. “And English isn’t?”

He dropped a kiss on my forehead. “I’m glad to see you’re taking this so well, love.”

I shrugged. “I know you will move hell and high water to protect us, Dakvaar. With the rest of the team behind you, I know we are as safe as we can be. And…”

When I winced and trailed off, he squeezed me. “What?”

“Well…” I sighed, then shrugged. “I really do need to get back to the café if I want to keep my job. I’ve loved this time with Rosa, but I’m beginning to go a little stir-crazy. And she’s been asking me when she can go back to daycare—she misses her friend, little Tommy.” I scrunched up one side of my face apologetically. “Maybe…it’s time to confront Anthony? Get it over with?”

I couldn’t imagine what Dakvaar could say to him to get him to leave us alone, but I know he’d had conversations with Lila—who had a whole team of lawyers at her disposal—and Torrk about the possibilities.

With a sigh, I pressed my cheek against his chest again, and he dropped his chin to the top of my head.

“Thank you for your trust in me, Sofia,” he rumbled.

“I’ve always trusted you, dkaar,” I murmured. “Now I’m trusting your teammates and our friends to come up with a way to set a trap for Anthony to keep him away from us, so we can start the rest of our lives.”

“As Mates,” he whispered.

I smiled. “As Mates.”

Chapter Fifteen

Dakvaar

It was my turn to cook dinner—and how much did I love that Sofia was enough a part of my life that we now instinctively took turns cooking?—but as I began to get out the ingredients for one of Rosa’s favorite noodle dishes, my Mate came into the kitchen and shooed me out.

“I can see—feel? Whatever—that you’re too focused on this Anthony thing. Go call your guys, make a plan. I’ll feel better once you’re all on the same page.”

I felt my lips curl at how well this female understood me now. “You really don’t mind?”

“Of course not.” She was already heating the pan. “We’ll all feel better when you have a plan hashed out. I don’t like him hanging over my head any more than you do.”

The problem was that it was difficult to make plans without any sense of certainty.

Kardok had started a group text about this very topic, and I’ll admit that I was grateful to be able to escape to my library—surrounded by my favorite books and sketches—and focus on how to protect my family.

“Most obvious first step,” Bardon had written, “is to bring your females to practice each day. We can protect them better from the ice complex, where we all are. I’ll make sure one of us is off the ice at all times, just in case.”

Kardok’s reply was immediate: “If that fucker shows up with Lila in the building, I’ll crush him before he even has a chance to get to Sofia. Even if I AM wearing skates.”

Surprisingly, it was Torrk—whose normal group text contributions were gifs of food fights—who asked the most important question. “What happens if he comes for Rosa when you’re at home?”

I should have known the younger man’s adoration of my Mate’s daughter would override his tendency for glib.

“I can protect them here,” I typed. “Everything’s locked up tight at night. I can bring them to the rink tomorrow, but we might need a duffel full of toys to keep my kitling occupied.”