I don’t know how much longer I could have kept running from the Battle Frenzy orcs who were looking to kill me and my young nephew.

Finally, limbs quivering and breath in ragged gasps, I collapsed as they towered over us, ready to end our lives.

Until Jiwal saved us.

An orc from the Raging Storm clan, he killed the other orcs as easily as I would swat a fly. Then he took me and my nephew and brought us to his manor. His kind has decimated our way of life. They trade humans for labor and as mates. My sister is dead because of them. And I’m not about to let them kill my nephew.

But there is something different about this orc.

I feel safe with him. I crave nestling deep into his gigantic body and being wrapped in his big arms.

He is my savior and my home – something I’ve gone far too long without. I’d forgotten what it’s like to trust another being, but he’s reawakened that in me.

This orc makes my heart race. He’s noble and kind. My warrior. My protector.

But most importantly...

My Beloved.

Chapter 1

Jane

 Horan is getting heavier by the minute.

I don’t know how much longer I can keep running, but the orcs hot on our trail is fair motivation. My limbs are quivering and my breath comes in ragged gasps as I chase our freedom, with my young nephew in my arms.

He’s denser than most children, but that’s because of his half orc heritage. Everything else about him is fully human, including his average strength—for a three year old. There’s not a drop of his father’s blood that expressed itself in his features.

Which is why we’re running.

I shouldn’t have to save a child from his own father, but here we are, fleeing the Battle Frenzy clan for our very lives.

The border is getting closer, I can feel it.

Horan is so heavy, my muscles threaten to surrender. But he links his little arms around my neck and whimpers. It’s a sound that spurs me faster, even as the pounding hooves of the orcs’ mounts are closing in on us.

With him latched to my front, I slip through a narrow passage between two trees. I’m lean, compared to the bumbling orcs, which gives us the advantage of stealth.

To my great relief, they halt, vaulting curses at us through the branches.

They’ll find a way through, but at least it bought us more time. Once we reach the border, they have no reason to pursue. Their only command was to kill Horan, and they needn’t worry about a human woman and a child, alone in the wild.

We’ll be as good as dead to them.

That bastard, Hirel, did this to us.

He did this to my sister, but I’d never regret Horan. He was the sole blessing that came from their union. If only he’d taken on some of his father’s qualities, he might not have been shunned by the orcs of the Battle Frenzy clan.

They were going to kill a child.

My sister is dead because of them, because of Hirel and his deep seated greed. And he was willing to dispose of his own son after taking everything from her. I couldn’t stand by and let them steal him away.

I took a beating just trying to protect him.

It was the rumor that came, of another half orc child with human qualities and unusual strength. Instead of just ignoring Horan like he always did, Hirel began to pay attention to his son. The Chieftain’s focus is bad news, worse, because his patience is so thin. He forced my nephew into trials that could have killed Horan, and found him lacking.

‘He’s a child!’ I’d told him.

But he didn’t care. He expected to see his own qualities, and when the boy expressed none, he told his men to ‘get rid of him’. That was when I had to act. Despite the beating they’d given me, I’d eloped with Horan into the night, no question.

That was three nights ago.

Without food or water, my mouth is parched. I push through the darkness, underdressed for the constant cold and hard ground. Horan squirms with discomfort against me, and I stroke his back with as much calm as I can muster. “Hush, it’s okay, Horan.”

I don’t know how I can still talk.

My throat is ragged from the constant overexertion, and my body is failing. But I still manage to find the strength to reassure him. My only mission is to see him live another day, hopefully in peace somewhere, with other humans around him.

Better that he never knows of his orc heritage.

They only bring misfortune and pain to us. I’ve never seen otherwise. How could they execute a child? It is unimaginable, but we’re living proof of their cruelty. My injuries have long since stopped aching in exchange for the burning fatigue building in my limbs.

If we could find a safe place…

My body jerks forward when I hear their pursuit. Somehow, they managed to get through the thick forest. I throw myself over fallen logs and the thick underbrush, the sky getting darker with each passing minute.

That’s good and bad.

Good, because the dumb orcs don’t have the greatest vision in the evening, and bad because I don’t, either. At least they’ll give up and make camp. They love battle but they hate a chase, and that’s all I’ve been giving them for three days.

They have to be tired, right?

I have to bet on it, or my heart might give out right here. I leap over a log, only to land on another one that gives with the rot. I yelp as I roll forward, keeping Horan from the worst of the fall, and right myself in the same motion.

My heart is pounding in my ears, deafening me to their pursuit.

I can’t tell where they’re coming from, hoping beyond all hope that they’ll get lost somewhere along the way. But they’re orcs, and as stupid as they are, they’re also brutishly stubborn. They’ll do anything for a victory.

I lunge forward, and, though the foliage is thick, I see an opening, and the fading pink sunset beyond. Tears burn my eyes.

We’ve made it to the border.

Another hundred feet, and we’ll be free of them. Maybe the next clan will show us mercy, though I won’t hold my breath.

Orcs are all the same.

Horan’s little face burrows into the crook of my neck as I tear through the last dozen yards. Can he feel my excitement? My relief? Does he know how hard his auntie fought to keep him safe, when the whole clan was against him?

Anger fuels my last mad dash.

Afterwards… I’ll be spent and useless. My body will fail, my tendons will snap with the strain. And that’s okay. I’ll have done everything I can for him. I know my sister would have done the same for my child, if our roles had been reversed.

The Battle Frenzy clan’s territory is vast because they’re greedy and bloodthirsty. They’ve destroyed the other clans in the area, stolen their resources, taken their slaves, and made their home in the valley.

But I beat them.

I made it, and because of that, Horan will see another day. I consider what happens next for us. What will I do with a child on my hip, all alone in this hostile world the orcs have fashioned for us all?

I mourn his future, but at least he’ll have one.

My lungs burn with exhaustion. Maybe I shouldn’t think about that just yet. I need to guarantee it, first. I stumble forward and break through the clearing. But it’s not a clearing, it’s a muddy slope that cuts hard and fast down a hill.

I slip, losing my balance, and Horan.

He’s too small to recover from the heavy jounce, his little fingers reaching but missing me. “Auntiee!” he cries, the horror of losing him becoming too real. I feel the eyes of orcs on me as we tumble down the soaked terrain, smug and hateful.

They’re gloating over their victory.

I can’t fail in this. If they get their hands on him, they’ll execute him for nothing more than what he is. It’s up to me to keep him alive, and I can’t afford to fail.

I regain my footing and slide down the steep terrain, the path slippery and dangerous. There are rocks beyond, and if he hits them, he will die. I lunge off a jutting rock and reach, missing him by only a hair’s breadth. “Horan!!!”