Taken by Lane L.V. (top young adult novels txt) 📕

I want many joyful years together as we watch our children and grandchildren grow.

So, I don’t fuss as I stand in the shadow of the huge Orc female, nor do I flinch when she places her sharp, clawed fingers under my chin to tilt my face for her inspection. She is gentle with me, and I’m grateful for that. “My beautiful pet,” she says, smiling like I should be happy with her determination.

Maybe I should be?

“We will get you cleaned, my sweet new pet.” She wrinkles her nose as she releases my chin and leans up.

She calls to a servant, chatting happily about the clothing she will dress me in as I’m escorted from the deck. As we reach the galley entrance, I take a lingering look back at the three Alphas. Caden, Brook, and Raglan. Somewhere far away, I know Hawthorn will be searching, and I cling to that hope.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Brook

MY GUT IS in knots as I watch Priya walk away, knowing that we are helpless. I want to trust in the Goddess, but she is cruel as often as she is kind. My mother, a gentle Beta, believed devoutly in the Mother of All Things. Even after the Orcs came and slaughtered our father, her faith never wavered. My faith is wavering, in the Goddess and in myself as an Alpha charged with the solemn duty of protecting my Omega and mate.

As I look at these civilized Orcs, I’m reminded of what happened to our home.

They are not civilized, for underneath the fine clothes, they are beasts.

My eyes fix on the male Orc, Gan, as he approaches us with measured steps. But my focus is on Caden. I rarely worry about Caden. He is the first among us and a source of impossible strength of purpose since the day our father passed. The impotence of our situation will bear the harshest burden upon him.

There will be no more oblivion to be enjoyed with our sweet Omega. That is over, and bleakness has arrived. I do not want to trust Raglan. I know nothing about the shifter scum who has betrayed the King other than Hawthorn’s mention of him. But I suffer a strange compulsion that I should trust him . . . that our lives and Priya’s might depend upon us doing exactly that.

Priya already trusts Raglan.

Caden does not, but I think he will need to if we are to get through this.

I swallow, remembering Priya’s meekness as the female took her away. Our little mate does not have a meek bone in her body. She is fire and rebellion; she is a Goddess sent test and a brat. That last, sorrowful look she cast over her shoulder will haunt me until we can be reunited again.

The male Orc is before us now, pacing as he inspects us in the way one might inspect a prize bull.

“Why don’t you take these cuffs off?” Raglan says. “And I’ll give you the entertainment you’re looking for, Gan.”

The great Orc snorts out a rumbly laugh, wide nostrils flaring and black eyes on Raglan. The only time I’ve seen an Orc this close is when they are dead, or we are fighting. It isn’t easy to curb instincts. But Derick is one of many outlaws present holding a crossbow ready to shoot should we succumb to our basal urges and attack.

Not that we have a chance of taking down a full Orc without a single weapon upon us.

“We don’t have enough bolts, Raglan,” the Orc rumbles. “Alas, there is no point in your future where the shackles will be removed. Happen your carcass will be tossed out to rot with them still in place.”

The Orc’s eyes travel our line before settling upon me. “You will do,” he says.

Priya

The cabin is surprisingly well-appointed. Small, curving windows with squared panes let weak light spill over the room. Crimson and gold-trimmed drapes are drawn open to reveal a great bedding nook. Lanterns hang from the ceiling, swaying slowly under the ship’s movement, but none are presently lit. I had not thought through such nuances, but this is clearly a boat crafted with Orc’s in mind, for the table, chairs, and other furnishings are all of a similar robust size.

A pretty Beta maid waits within, hastening to greet her mistress with a bow. I blink a few times as I notice a small child curled up on a silk cushion on the floor.

“Have a bath prepared,” the lady Orc commands.

The child unfurls from her bed and silently pads over to the Orc. I don’t know what creature she is, but she is tiny, not taller than my waist, with small, pointed ears. Not an Orc, for her features are far too delicate. There is a slim collar at her throat.

“This is Zeta,” Edil tells me. “She is mute. A shifter of some kind, we believe, although she has yet to shift.” She smiles fondly as she bends to pet the child’s hair. “We don’t let her out without a leash. She does not understand boundaries well, being so young. It would not do for her to try and jump from the ship. It’s hard to know how much she understands given she is mute.”

The child darts away a moment later, taking a cross-legged seat upon the floor where she watches the proceedings.

A bath is drawn. I’m stripped of my filthy clothes, put in the bath, and scrubbed without mercy.

The water turns grey and murky, and I’m coaxed to stand as fresh water is used to douse me. After, there is much fussing as pretty swathes of silk are drawn from a chest and pressed or draped upon me until my new mistress is satisfied with a choice of pale lilac silk. With the aid of broach and silken rope, a dress of sorts is fashioned for me by the maid.

It is scandalous and barely better than being naked. The rope crisscrossing breast