Kaius the Fierce by Cara Wylde

Chapter Three

When she’d arrived at the institute, she’d just missed a Doors Open Day. Which was fine, because she wouldn’t have been ready to attend it anyway. Jumping into it without some training and without knowing what to expect would’ve been madness. A month passed, and everyone was getting ready for the next Doors Open Day. What Grace had learned so far was that orc males were similar to human males in many ways, except they were more controlling and possessive. On the other hand, Grace had had her share of controlling men in her life. That was one of the reasons her relationships had never worked. That, and her dates’ expectations of her to cater to their every need when they had nothing much to offer. In this regard, Grace was nervous. She’d never been good at being submissive, and at some point in her relationships, she’d start demanding her man would at least help her around the house. And now, if an orc chose her and took her with him, he’d expect the same, right? Submissiveness, passivity... He’d want her to just shut up and do what she was told.

Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe she should go see Mrs. Kirby and explain that she’d changed her mind and wanted to go home. Someone was waiting for her. Someone she’d abandoned. Someone who never took her for granted.

“It’s going to be okay,” Fiona reassured her for the hundredth time while they were getting ready for the event.

“What if I can’t do it?”

“I have a feeling you’ll get a good one,” the blonde smiled.

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, I mean it. It’s about time your luck turned. Just stay positive, keep your eyes open, and listen to your intuition.”

“You’re making it sound like I have a choice in the matter. If one of the orcs who comes in today sees me and decides I’m to be his, I can’t say no.”

“It’s not like that. If you don’t want him and he sees you’re not entirely willing, he won’t force you. They don’t want trouble. They want willing brides.”

“If you say so...”

“Look,” she grabbed Grace by the shoulders and squeezed her lightly, “See if you like any of them, and then flirt a little.”

Grace’s eyes grew wide. “Flirt?! With an orc? No way... I can’t do that... I don’t have it in me...”

“You can. You do. It’s what my friend did. I told you about her. She now has a mate who adores her, and a family like she’s never had before.”

Grace munched on her bottom lip. Sometimes she wondered whether Fiona might be exaggerating things, making them sound better than they were. She had a feeling that her roommate was a little obsessed with orcs and was, thus, romanticizing them.

“Promise me you’ll try,” Fiona insisted.

“Okay.”

It didn’t mean she had to keep her promise. But she could keep an open mind.

Grace threw one last look in the mirror. She’d curled her long, red locks naturally, by tying them with ribbons and sleeping like that all night. She didn’t have a curling iron, and it wasn’t like the institute provided such fancy beauty tools. She’d put on eyeliner, mascara, and a bit of red lipstick on her lips. It was the cheap kind that would stick to the glass if she drank anything, so she’d made sure she wouldn’t be thirsty. Cheap makeup was all she owned. In the past few months, she hadn’t afforded to pay her rent, let alone buy one of those fancy MAC lipsticks. She groaned, and when Fiona cocked an eyebrow at her, she waved her off and offered her a weak smile.

“Why would anyone, man or orc, want a failure like me?”But she didn’t want Fiona to once again start going on and on about how she was awesome and worthy, so she didn’t say it out loud. As much as she appreciated the girl’s friendship, sometimes she was so positive that it pissed her off.

Only four orcs showed up, which meant a lot of the women at the institute were going to have to wait another month. There were two captains and two raiders, as Grace could tell by their tattoos. She bit the inside of her lip and tried to make herself small because three of the orcs had quickly advanced on the girls and were checking them out rather harshly. They were tall, bulky brutes, with green skin and long, dark hair. They were covered in the tattoos that marked their rank, and also in piercings and scars. They were dressed in clothes made of leather and fur, and wore massive boots that were clearly handmade. Even after four years among humans, orcs had trouble adopting their habits, technology, food, and obviously, fashion. They all spoke imperfect English.

The three orcs were moving from one girl to the next, making them turn around so they could see them better, and opening their mouths to study their teeth. That was awfully brutish in Grace’s book. She saw Fiona getting checked from head to toe, and the frown on the blonde’s face clearly said that wasn’t the treatment she had expected. Grace turned her attention toward the one orc captain who stood aside and simply looked at the tributes from a distance. She took a deep breath and decided this was the moment to do something, before the other three got to her.

“I’m doing this,”she silently encouraged herself. “I’m doing this because it’s my only way out of the hellish life I’ve had these past few years. I’m not even doing it for myself.” She thought of the one she’d left behind, the one she’d come back to get once she secured a future for the both of them. And she stepped forward.

The orc captain noticed her. She held his gaze as she strode towards him with measured steps. For one, she didn’t want to look desperate. And secondly, she wasn’t yet sure she truly wanted to do what she was doing. He made no move. He stood there, watching her with an impassive expression on his curiously handsome face. Grace had certainly never believed she’d find an orc handsome. But this one was. He seemed to be younger than the others, maybe even young to be a captain and rule over a horde. He was tall, with wide shoulders and strong arms and legs, and as he waited there, unmoving, he seemed like a mountain no one could budge if they tried. He had long, black hair that fell in dreads over his back and shoulders, loosely held together by a tie at the nape. His pointy ears were pierced, and so were his lips. Grace lingered on the two tusks that protruded from his mouth, gently hugging his upper lip. His eyes were dark, and his brows were thick and slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking deeply about something. Just like all orcs, his skin was rough and of a dark green color, lighter only where it was marred by scars and old wounds.

She stepped closer, and from the corner of her eye, saw that the other orc captain was coming straight for her. In two wide steps, he was next to her, and Grace bit the inside of her cheek and carefully slid right past him, trying to get away. He was bigger and definitely scarier than the orc she had in sight, and he’d seemed pushy with the other women. He wouldn’t have it, though. He wouldn’t be ignored. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. Grace yelped helplessly but didn’t fight him. His grip was tight and possessive.

“Not so fast,” he growled. “I haven’t gotten a look at you yet.”

“I...” She had to crane her neck to look him in the eyes. “I...” She shook her head, hoping he’d understand she wasn’t interested. She doubted she could say it out loud or make it more obvious without suffering some kind of consequences. Fiona had been wrong. Not all orcs were nice.

“I like your red hair,” he said.

“It’s not natural.” She hoped that would disappoint him and determine him to let her go.

“Oh. I like your eyes too, and those are natural.”

This was not going great. She tried to pull her hand free.

“Please release me...”

“Feisty.” But he let her go.

She hadn’t expected it, and the combination of her pulling away and him letting go without warning ended in her stumbling backwards and losing her balance. She felt strong hands on her waist, holding her up and pushing her back to her feet. The hands remained there, warm and reassuring. She craned her neck back and was met with the sight of the handsome orc captain. She let out a breath of relief, though she wasn’t sure why. She’d just gotten rid of one orc’s grip, and now she was in another’s.

“Get your hands off her. This one is mine,” the orc who’d seized her first said harshly.

“Says who?” the handsome orc retorted, not moving a muscle.

His opponent growled dangerously. “I saw her first.”

“You didn’t. She was coming towards me.”

“So now the tributes are allowed to choose?”

“Back off and live to see another day.”

His voice was so deep, so low and threatening, that it sent shivers up Grace’s spine. She shuddered softly, and his hands squeezed her waist tighter, as if to comfort her. Without meaning to, she slightly leaned back against his chest. He’d come to her rescue. The other captain had invaded her personal space and grabbed her by the arm when she clearly wasn’t interested in him, but this one... this one knew she’d had her eyes on him from the second she saw him.

“Is everything all right, gentlemen?” Mrs. Kirby dared to step between them, though it was easy to see she’d rather cut her pinky finger than try to stop two orcs who wanted a fight.

“Fine,” the handsome orc said.

The other captain narrowed his eyes at him and didn’t say anything for a full minute. He stared him down, waiting for him to apologize and give him the woman back, and when that didn’t happen, he seemed to be briefly considering taking the matter outside, since the common room of the institute was too small and crowded to settle a dispute.

“I’ll have the brunette,” he finally said, pointing at Carol. Then, he grinned at Grace, “I’ll have her dye her hair red for me,” and walked away.

Grace let out the breath she’d been holding. She was glad the beast had moved on, but she felt a little concerned for Carol. Mrs. Kirby nodded and went to check on the other tributes. Her job wasn’t easy, especially on Doors Open Days.

The orc captain released her, and Grace slowly turned to face him.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked in a low, grave voice.

“Y-yes. Thank you.”

“No need. I don’t like that one.”

She smiled. “Is there anyone that you like?”

He pursed his lips and didn’t answer.

“I’m Grace. What’s your name?”

“Kaius. Kaius the Fierce.”

She nodded. Not bad. She could live with it. But the problem was that now she didn’t know what else to say. Fiona had said to flirt. She’d never been great at flirting with human men, so how was she going to flirt with a green-skinned monster? Maybe the first step was to stop thinking of him as a monster.

“Do you want to come with me, Grace?”

She gasped and tried to hide it. So, it was that simple. She’d been worrying for nothing.

“Yes,” she said, slightly breathless. “Yes, I’d love that.”

And that was that. It was done.