Twenty-One

Mako

My heart freezes as I repeat his words, "your wife?"

Next to me, Raine trembles as she clings to my hand. Khol grins at us and nods, "yes. My wife. And apparently my child as well."

"They are not yours," I tell him as I stand up and move in front of Raine, blocking her from his view. "They are mine."

Khol laughs as he pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket, "according to this she's mine."

He holds it out to me and I take it from him, disgust growing in me as I realize what it is. "This is a sale record," I spit. "From when you bought her. That does not make her your wife." I ball the paper up and throw it at him.

"No, it doesn't," he agrees. "But it does prove who owns her. This paper," he says as he holds out another one. "This one proves that she is my wife. Now, if you'll be so kind as to hand her over we will get out of your hair."

"Never," I growl at him. While it wasn't a loud growl, every orc around turns to us some come to stand by my side. None question what was happening. They only saw me protecting my mate from a threat and were more than happy to help me. "Leave, now. Before I rip your head from your tiny body and toss you to my bear."

"Makiono!" My mothers voice rings out. "What is the meaning of this?"

Khol turns to my mother with a sneer, "I was just telling the princess that her, mate, isn't who she pretends to be."

My mother looks from him to me to Raine who is obviously terrified, "and who is she, then?"

He holds out both papers to my mother, "she is mine and so is the child she stole from me."

All eyes turn to us as my mother takes the papers and, despite the shock in her eyes, she sighs and hands them back, "it would appear that you tell the truth."

"No!" Raine yells from behind me, her voice surprisingly clear and strong. I hear her stand up as she says, "I'm not his! I'm Mako's!"

"My darling," my mother says softly. "I wish that were true. While Mako is yours under our laws, you are his under human law and there is nothing that we can do about it. I am truly sorry, my heart daughter."

"Now that that's settled," Khol says confidently as he folds up his papers and puts them back in his pocket. "Pack your things, darling. We're going home."

"Over. My. Dead. Body!" I yell at him.

His hand goes to his sword that's strapped to his hip, "that can be arranged. I'm well within my right as her husband and master to demand a duel for the kidnapping and, I assume violation, of my wife and property."

The humans that came with him all crowd closer, their hands on their own weapons as the orcs crowd closer to us. The tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating as we stared at each other.

"It would be your funeral," I hiss at him.

"Perhaps," he agrees. "Or perhaps not. But would you really risk it? Think about it- while you could kill me easily, all I'd need is one well placed blow and you'd follow soon after me, leaving our dear Raine all alone. And maybe the trauma of your death would send her into a complicated labor that could potentially kill both her and the child." He grins sickly, "and while I wouldn't have a problem with that, I think you would."

Raine's hands grip my shirt, almost as if she's trying to pull me away from Khol and towards her. I glance back at her, her eyes full of terror and.. acceptance?

"Mako," she whispers. "Don't. It's not worth it. I'm not worth it."

"Yes you are!" I tell her immediately as I turn around to face her fully. It feels unnatural to turn my back on an enemy, but somehow I knew that not even this man would attack with my back turned. Not if he valued his life at least.

"Mako," she says again as she shakes her head. "I've seen him in a duel. He doesn't fight fair. He doesn't follow the rules. If you fight him, you'll die."

"So will he," I argue. "And then you'll be free."

"Free to do what?" She scoffs. "To live here in shame? To raise my human child amongst a hive of orcs who would resent me for getting their princess killed?" She shakes her head again, "no. I won't risk your life." She glances around me at Khol and pulls the front of my shirt, making me bend down closer to her, "he won't hurt me," she whispers in my ear. "Not while I'm pregnant. So that gives you time to come up with a plan to get us back. Preferably without starting a war or getting killed."

Her arms wrap around my neck as she hugs me tightly. My own circle her waist gently, wanting more than anything to pick her up and run away. But as much as I hate it, she was right. That man wouldn't harm her as long as she was pregnant, and as my mother was always telling me, there were times to be smart and there were times to be brute.

And unfortunately this was a time to be smart.

"I love you," she whispers. "More than anything, I love you, my Mako, my mate, my wife."

Her words create a vise around my heart as I repeat them to her, "I love you, my Raine, my mate, my wife, my heart."

She sniffles and her voice wavers as she says, "remember your promise."

And with those three words, she rips herself from my arms and walks to Khol who grabs her arm roughly and walks her from the hall and my life.