Chapter 10: Ten

Finn

Turns out there was an orgy, but it wasn't until midnight and was called The Hunt.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaim as we walk through the woods on a torch lined path towards the sounds of beating drums.

Kruk shakes his head, "I swear it!"

"And you thought that bringing me to an orc party where they hunt down willing victims in the woods to then fuck, would be a good first date?" I half tease.

Kruk stops walking, "we can do something else," he offers, his voice unsure. "The Hunt is optional," he adds. "We do not have to participate. I.. hadn't actually thought about that part of it."

"Sure you didn't," I laugh. "You've already got me out here and I'll be damned if I go home without seeing what an orc party looks like." I grin at him, "I'll race you!"

••••••••••••••••••

"I still can't believe you didn't let me win," I grumble as I sip my pint. "That would be the chivalrous thing to do."

Kruk laughs, "but it is not the orc thing to do. Victory must be earned."

"So does a second date if you keep this up," I threaten.

He snorts, "you'll be mine by the time this night is over."

"Cocky ass," I scold, turning to face the crowd.

There's at least fifty orcs and dozens of humans mingling. Some are obviously mates, the orcs standing behind them protectively or the humans sitting in their laps. The amount of lovey looks was enough to make me sick but at the same time..

I glanced at Kruk.

I'm not sure what I was hoping to see, but him deep throating a turkey leg wasn't it.

Sighing, I turn my attention back to the crowd. More specifically, to a woman who was arm wrestling an orc and winning. Her long silvery hair hangs in waves down her back, her lips turned up in a victorious smirk.

"Who's that?" I ask Kruk, my eyes on the woman.

"That's Calla," he answers through a mouthful of meat. "A she-elf who mated a high lord orc. Rumor has it they were the best monster hunters in the all the lands until they decided to settle down. They live a few hours south of here with their children."

"She's too hot to be a housewife," I muse. Calla turns and looks at me, a mischievous grin on her lips, "can she hear me?"

Kruk laughs, "oh yes."

I watch in silent horror as Calla winks and blows me a kiss before turning back to her next opponent. "Well that was embarrassing," I mutter. "So, what does this hunt entail?"

"Well," he starts slowly. "The mates or volunteers get a five minute head start and then we orcs hunt them. If we find one who is unmated then we can fuck them if they are willing, but the mated ones are only allowed to be touched by their mates unless they offer to share."

"How would you possibly find me in there?" I ask, looking at the dark woods.

"Your scent," he answers happily. "I would follow your honey and rain scent."

"Honey and rain?" I scoff. "Damn could I smell any more like a girl?"

"I like it," he tells me, leaning in and sniffing my head. "It smells like home."

"Where is home?" I ask him, changing the subject.

He gets a sad look, "my home was destroyed in a war. Ozog and I, we are the only ones left of our clan. We travel, trying to find a new home, and until recently, our mates."

I put a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, little mate," he says softly. "But I have a new home now. One with you."

"Kruk.."

"Kruk!" An orc yells as he comes running over to us. "Come quick! Tilnuk is fighting!"

"Who's that?" I ask him as he jumps up from his chair.

"Tilnuk is a young orc who travels with us sometimes," Kruk tells me. "He is a good friend and a good male, although he is hotheaded. I must go help him if I can."

"Yeah," I tell him. "Go help him."

"Thank you, my mate," he says, placing a kiss on my head and running off with the other orc.

I'm alone for thirty seconds before Kruk's seat is taken.

"Hi," Calla says as she slides into his seat. "I'm Calla."

"Finn," I reply, barely managing to keep my voice from wavering. After she'd heard me talking about her, I hadn't expected her to come over.

"Why so nervous Finn?" She asks, her fingers walking on my leg.

I clear my throat, "I'm not."

"Uh huh," she hums. Her hand moves from my leg to my hair, playing with a loose strand, "you have nice hair."

"Thank you."

She fake pouts, "aren't you going to compliment me? I thought that was good manners."

"Oh! Umm you have very nice... eyes," I finally manage to get out, my eyes firmly glued to hers and trying not to look down at her barely covers tits.

"Really?" She laughs. "My eyes are what you noticed? Pretty sure it wasn't my eyes you were looking at earlier." She leans closer, her breath tickling my ear, "what else were you looking at?"

"Calla!" A deep voice booms. "Leave the male alone!"

Calla groans and leans back in her chair, her hand disappearing from my hair, "I was just playing with him, Brunk."

I look up at the large orc with a broken tusk, "hi."

Calla looks over at me, "don't worry about Brunk, he's just antsy for the hunt to start. Especially since I've not fucked him for a month. But between you and me, it's his own fault. When your mate asks you to bring in the washing because there's a storm coming, and you assume that they do, but it's not until your underwear are flying by on the wind that you realize they didn't, well.." she trails off and shrugs. "So where's your mate? I didn't think he'd leave your side all night."

"He's.. around here somewhere," I answer. "Stopping a fight or something."

"Probably threatening the other orcs not to go after his mate during the hunt," Calla tells me.

"I'm not his mate," I tell her. And while it was technically true, it was starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth when I said it.

"So you're not marked?" She asks.

"Marked?"

She pulls her shirt off of her shoulder to reveal a healed bite mark, "it's how orcs claim their mates. Once marked, no other creature can claim you as theirs."

"Looks painful," I muse.

"It was," she agrees. "Mainly because this one was a little overzealous." Calla leans towards me and fake whispers, "I think it was payback for breaking his tusk when we were kids." She pulls a leather cord from between her tits and there's part of a pointed tusk on it, "I don't think he's ever truly forgiven me."

I look at the piece of tusk and then to Brunk and then to the other orcs, suddenly realizing that non of them have golden tips like Kruk. "Why do orcs get golden tips on their tusks?" I ask them.

Calla looks to Brunk, "that's all you babe."

Brunk sighs, "when an orc is in battle, sometimes our tusks break. And depending on how they break, sometimes we are allowed to get them replaced with gold."

"What do you mean, how they break?" I ask him, enthralled by this but if orc lore.

"Tusks are very strong," he starts. "They do not break easily. Some say that they only break when an orc has shamed himself and it's the gods punishing us and making it so everyone knows our sins. But for those who have been in battle, we know differently. Things happen. Choices must be made. Sometimes those choices break tusks."

Calla sighs, "that answered absolutely nothing."

"Ask your not mate," Brunk tells me. "He is coming back."

I turn to see Kruk walking back with a young male orc whose nose is bleeding. It looked like Kruk was scolding him but he had a proud look on his face.

"He will be a fine father one day," Brunk says almost to himself.

"Yeah," I couldn't help but agree. I'd only seen him with this young orc for a brief moment, but I could already see the gentle way he was with him. The way his dark eyes crinkled when he looked at him.

It made me sad that if he stayed with me he'd never have kids.

"My mate!" Kruk says loudly when they get to me. "Tilnuk, meet my mate, Finn."

Tilnuk nods politely at me and I give him a smile, "hi, it's nice to meet you."

"Tilnuk doesn't speak," Kruk tells me. "His tongue was lost during an unfortunate incident involving a snapping turtle."

"Oh I have got to hear that!" Calla says excitedly. "Do you know hand speak Tilnuk?" The young orc nods and starts to move his hands rapidly, making Calla laugh. "That's almost as good as the time I killed a Wilderbeast single handedly." Just then, a loud drumming starts and Calla squeals, "it's time! Finn, are you coming?"

I look at Kruk, "I don't know if he could find me."

His dark eyes narrow, "is that a challenge?"

I grin, "well like you said, victory must be earned, and so do I."