Black Bear Clan

I never thought I’d say this, but being kidnapped by a band of pillaging bandits wasn’t the low point of my life. No, that came when a massive, scarred orc king decided I was his mate and refused to let me leave his cave.

At my father’s dying wish, I crossed the realm, looking for his best friend...and ended up in an orc camp. It turns out the man I’d heard so much about is actually an orc, a warrior with more scars than I can count and a surly disposition. And after reading the letter my father sent him, he declares himself my guardian—and me his ward.

I escaped a life of crime to save my daughter…but my plan for making it to a safer town has gone awry. The driver of the wagon we snuck on isn’t human at all, and now we’re stuck in a traveling caravan of massive orc merchants.

My people have accused me of being a witch… If they weren’t so afraid of me, I’d be dead already, drowned in the icy river flowing from the orc lands. Terrified I’d turn them all to toads, they tied me to a tree in the deep, frozen forest and left me for the wolves. But the forest is home to larger beasts than wolves. Brutal orcs prowl these mountains, and when one finds me here, alone, I accept my life is over. Only I’m wrong. The strong, cautious male doesn’t slit my throat on sight. Instead, he rescues me, and for a moment, I think I’m saved.

The city’s best matchmaker has all but despaired over me and my brother is threatening to throw me on the street if I don’t find a husband soon. But the revulsion I feel every time anyone touches me has made it impossible for me to find a good match. All men want a willing wife in their bed, not a wretch who cringes away from the slightest brush of skin against skin. The man who finally chooses me is not a man at all. He’s an orc with long black hair, green skin, and more muscles than anyone could possibly need. He says I’m his mate.

Perhaps scratching the face of a rich lord was an excessive reaction to his attempt to win my hand in marriage. But how could I have known he’d get an infection and lose his eye? When the entire duke’s court turns against me, my uncle offers me a way out: serve as his emissary to the lands of King Gorvor, disappear from the public eye for a while, and return after people forget all about me.