The Orcs Pregnant Mate

Two

Mako

The small female drops her hand from my arm as soon as the door is closed behind us. My arm burns from her touch and I long for her to touch me again. I almost grab her hand but the scent of fear stops me. My mate is looking at the bed, fear rolling off of her.

The sounds of the other mated couples come through the thin walls and from the way my mate stands stiffly, I know she can hear them. I shift my weight slightly and her eyes snap to me, cold blue pools full of fear. She tries to step away from me, away from the bed, but the room is small and there is no place for her to go.

I move and see my mate flinch, like I was going to attack her. Does my mate think I would force myself on her?

My stomach rolls at the thought and I force myself to swallow the bile that has risen in my throat. Making slow movements, I reach for the chair and sit down, motioning for her to sit on the bed. She doesn't move, her muscles tight as if getting ready to fight. I give her my best reassuring smile, "I am Mako. Please sit, I promise I will not hurt you."

"I'd rather not just yet," she says softly.

Fear still rolls off of her but not as strongly as before. "You have nothing to fear from me," I tell her.

She breaths deeply before answering, "I know. I just.. don't do well in closed spaces."

I frown slightly, thinking of my home. Like all orcs, we live in an underground compound. We prefer the dark and the cold, feeling more at home in small spaces then the open ones. While our home was built into a mountain and some rooms had windows to the outside, mine did not. My heart sinks as I realize that my mate would not be comfortable in my home. "Then I shall build you a home on the mountain, where you can see the sky all the time," I tell her. It would be colder in the winter to be outside the mountain, and further from my duties, but the comfort of my mate was more important.

She looks slightly confused, "why would you go to that trouble? Don't you already have a home?"

I nod, "I do, but you would not like it. It is in a mountain, so dark that you would not be able to see the tip of your nose. We have lights for the other humans who live there, but we orcs do not need them."

I see her shudder slightly, "that would not be a good place for me to be." She pauses for a moment before asking, "where is your home? I know it's far away but nobody really knows."

I cock my head at her slightly, "there is a reason for that. If everyone knew, some might envy what we have and try to take it. So our home location is a closely guarded secret."

"Even from your mate?" She asks, using the word for the first time.

My heart beats faster as the word dances on my lips, "even from my mate. You will learn the way on our journey."

She sighs slightly, "is it really thirty days of traveling?"

I try and remember the days it took us to get here before finally nodding, "it took us nearly that long to get here, but snow was on the air as we left so it might take longer."

She sits heavily on the bed, her hands rubbing her arms as if she can already feel the cold. "I don't like the cold, or the snow."

I laugh softly and her eyes meet mine, no longer filled with fear but with slight amusement. "Then you have picked the wrong mate," I tease. "We have white skin and are called Icebear Clan for a reason. We thrive in the snow and the cold and the ice. But," I tell her, "I will keep my mate warm, in and out of the furs."

The moment the words leave my lips I regret them. Her amusement turns to a guarded expression, "and if I didn't want to... join you in the furs?"

"Then you would probably freeze to death," I tell her slowly, knowing that that wasn't her real question. "But I would make you your own nest of the softest furs, and put heated bladders of water in it to keep you warm. I'd make sure that the fire is always fed so that our house is never cold. I would make you the warmest clothes to wear so that your skin would never know the sting of the frost." I look at her solemnly, "you would have your nest, and I would have mine. I would not enter yours until you asked me to."

"You would do all that and expect nothing in return?" She asks softly.

I nod, "it is my duty to care for and protect my mate. I would do whatever you ask of me. I will never hurt you or give you reason to fear me. I will love you and provide for you even if you do not want me."

"Why?"

"Because you are my mate," I tell her truthfully. "I did not expect to find one tonight, but I am glad that I did."

"You're not.. disappointed that I'm a woman?" She asks cautiously.

I laugh, "no! I would be disappointed if you were male but I would trust the fates knew what they were doing." My laughter dies as a thought hits me, "are you disappointed in me?"

Her head tilts slightly as she looks me over, her eyes taking in everything. "No," she finally says. "I've never given much thought about if I prefer males or females but... I am glad you are not male. I do not think I could have handled being thrown over a shoulder and mated so vigorously," she jokes as a particularly loud moan comes from the other side of the wall.

While her words are light, her eyes are guarded. "You do not like to be touched," I state.

She looks shocked, "how did you know that?"

"When the males would come and smell you, I could see your muscles straining to stay in place," I explain.

"None of them touched me though."

I nod, "we do not touch anyone outside of our family unless invited or an emergency."

"Humans could learn a lot from that," she mumbles so softly even my ears almost didn't pick it up.

"Yes they could," I agree.

She gets a thoughtful look, "so does that mean as my mate, you can touch me whenever you want and I you?"

"Only if you wish me to," I tell her gently. I want more than anything to pull her to me and feel her in my arms, but my mate must invite me to. "But yes, you have my permission to touch me whenever you wish."

She bites the inside of her cheek before granting me the same, "you may touch me, but only when I can see you do it."

I smile at her, "thank you, my mate."

"Raine."

I cock my head and listen, "there is no rain," I tell her, slightly confused at the sudden change of topic.

But then I suddenly did not care, because the most magical thing happened- she laughed. A real, full body laugh that brought tears to her eyes and made her cheeks glow. I watched her laugh until she finally got out, "my name." She gasped slightly as her laughter faded, "my name is Raine."

"Raine," I repeat, savoring the word.

She holds out her hand, "it's nice to meet you, Mako." My name in her lips sends a fire through me and I can't help the smile that dominates my face. Reaching out to her, I take her hand gently and she shakes it.

Our hands linger together for a long moment as we stare at each other, blue meeting silver, and I take in as much of her as I can. Her blond hair looks so soft and before I know it I'm reaching out to touch it. Her hand in mine tightens but she doesn't move as I touch her hair. I dig my fingers into the fluffy curls, making sure my nails don't scratch her and marvel at how it feels so smooth. My own is corse and heavy, the opposite of hers.

Her head is small enough that it fits perfectly in my hand, and I work my fingers against it. She makes a small noise and I'm surprised to find that her eyes are closed, her hand resting in mine. She looks peaceful in that moment, and there's no more fear coming off of her. I smile, glad that I could comfort my mate.

Suddenly a yawn escapes her and I curse myself. Of course she's tired, it's well into the night and even the moans of the others have died down. I pull my hand away and her eyes open, "you should sleep," I tell her. "We have an early day tomorrow."

Her eyes are tired as she asks, "you won't leave without me will you?"

"I would never leave you."

She smiles slightly and pulls her hand from mine. She crawls back on the bed and buries her head in the pillows, not bothering to cover up. Soon she's snoring softly and I stand up quietly, taking the half of the blanket that she's not laying on and carefully folding it over on her, making sure not to touch her. Then I sit back in the chair and watch my mate sleep.