The Orcs Pregnant Mate

Five

Raine

I wake before Mako the next morning.

She's still laying on her back, arms at her sides while I'm curled onto her chest. How she slept like that all night is beyond me. I smile slightly at the thought of last night, how her lips had hungrily chased mine. For someone who had never kissed anyone, she was surprisingly good at it.

I bite my lip as I slowly lean in and kiss her softly, trailing my lips across her cheek and gently over her lips. I know she's awake when her breathing stops, and I press my lips more firmly into hers.

I can feel her arms raise up slightly like she wants to touch me, and I grab them, putting them around me. She holds me gently, like I might break as her lips chase mine.

As we kiss, I can feel the heat pooling in my core and suddenly I want her hands to touch me in other places, I want her lips over my body. I wonder what they would feel like as they move down my body. The thought rips me from the moment and I jerk away from her, falling to the side and scooting away.

"Are you alright?" Mako asks me, concern lacing her voice. "Did I hurt you?"

I shake my head, "no, it wasn't you. I just.. can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't do more than kiss, Mako. Not now, maybe not ever," I tell her softly. I want to, lord knows I do, maybe more than I should.

But I can't. Not if I want any chance of leaving her to find my sister.

Mako nods slowly, "we can do whatever you want Raine. As little or as much, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy that you're here."

"You are?" I ask her.

"Yes," she says with a smile. "It's a wonderful feeling to have a mate. Like my soul is complete and my heart is full. Just you being here makes me happy, and I will do whatever it takes to make you happy."

My stomach rumbles and I joke, "I think breakfast would make my stomach happy."

Mako chuckles as she gets up to leave the wagon, jumping down lightly and offering her hands to help me out. I don't let go of one them as we walk to the fire where the others are already eating.

Mako pushes me towards a seat and goes to get our food, filling my plate with almost as much as hers. "Mako this is too much," I tell her quietly as I look at the other humans plates. I had, by far, the fullest plate of any of the humans.

She merely looks at me softly, "then I will eat what you don't, but I will not let my mate be hungry."

I sigh and give her a small smile before picking up a piece of the meat that was on my plate. The outside was charred, but the inside was surprisingly tender and juicy, tasting of spices that I've only ever smelled in the markets. The vegetables were roasted in the same spices and the hunk of dark bread soaked up the juices, giving it an even better flavor.

After I'd inhaled as much a so could, I gave what little was left to Mako who ate it just as she said she would. When we were done she takes both our plates to the bucket of water by the fire and cleans them before coming back to me, "we should get the wagon ready to go."

For the next hour I watch from the wagon bench as Mako hooks up her Icebears to the wagon and helps to break camp. A cold breeze swirls through the camp and I see most of the human women being helped into the back of their wagons instead of sitting up front.

When Mako finally joins me, I'm shivering from the cold and dive into her side immediately. She holds me close as her warmth soaks into me. The Icebears bellow as the wagons start to move along the bumpy road and before long my breakfast is trying to force its way back up. With each bump I groan into Mako's side until she stops the wagon.

"What are you doing?" I ask her, barley managing to keep from throwing up.

"Putting you in the back so that you can rest," she says. "I'm going to pick you up now," she warns before her arms are wrapped around me. I'm in my bed before I know it, the blankets tucked securely around me. "Rest, little mate," Mako whispers to me.

I'm asleep before she leaves the wagon, but my dreams were anything but restful.

Visions of my twin sister and I back in the breeders den with Khol, our owner, beating my sister until even I don't recognize her.

Of us running away and Khol finding us.

Of the last time I saw my sister, hiding in the back of a wagon as Khol beat me in the street.

Of the many faces that came to visit me in the years since my sister escaped. Some were nice, while most were evil.

But mostly I dreamed of my sister, of my twin River. Before our mother died and before our father sold us for alcohol money. Back in the meadow behind our house, picking flowers for the supper table or chasing butterflies.

We used to play in the creek that ran around our fathers property, digging for worms or catching the minnows for him to take fishing. Our mother always scolded us for getting our dresses dirty, but she did it with a smile.

I haven't dreamed of her in years, or of my old home. River was my home until I got her out.

I'd give anything to see her again before I die.

Because even through my hazy sleep, I can feel Mako trying to get me to drink. Trying to wake me up, but I can't. My body feels heavy and hot, even though I'm freezing. I can feel how worried she is, and I try to tell her it'll be ok.

"It'll be ok, River," I say, but I'm not sure if I managed to say it out loud. "River.." I trail off as I fall back into my visions, wondering if I'll wake up again.