“You miss your son.”
“Yes.” She swallows back a slight cry. “Very much.”
“Where is your mate now? Was he captured by an enemy? Is he dead?”
“Stop calling him my mate. I want nothing to do with him. Ethan and I came to Kovos to get away from him.”
“I don’t understand the male. I would have died to save my mate, and never would I leave a youngling to fend for itself.”
“Nash only cared about himself.”
The more I learn about humans, the less I like the species. But Tansey and Paloma care about the people around them, orc and human alike. And they are resilient, clever. I believe there is much we can learn from them.
“Nash wanted sex, not a baby taking all the attention away from him. When Ethan was three months old, Nash gave me a choice. Him or the baby.”
Tansey twirls her hair around her fingers until I capture her hand in mine and ease the lock from her hand. “The male did not deserve you or the youngling.”
“Nice words, but words don’t feed a child, or keep him warm, or let him know his mother is there to love and protect him.”
Her eyes narrow on me, as if I’m the one keeping her from her child.
Vekk, I am.
“When I chose Ethan, Nash kicked us out. We lived on the streets for months until an elderly couple took us in. Four years later, when I’d made a life for us, even had a job at a hospital, Nash found us. He said he wanted me back. Not his son, just me. His last girlfriend had left him. I guess he needed someone to fuck. I told him to get lost.”
This is a female who always walks with pride, except when she speaks of the male who used her. I place a finger beneath her chin and tilt her head up. “He cannot hurt you here.”
She steps back, a clear sign she’s not ready for me. “I was naive to believe Ethan and I would be safe on Kovos. I ignored everyone who said Earth was safer, even under coalition rule. Your people proved them right.”
I close the gap between us, standing so close that my breath stirs the hairs on her head. “You are safe here with me. Now, continue your story. I wish to hear it all.”
Her silence worries me, but I don’t believe I’ve pushed her beyond her limits. Finally, she nods and continues.
“Nash threatened me. Said I had a week to move in with him, without Ethan. I took Ethan and left the family we’d been staying with. They never charged me rent, so I had some money saved up. Enough to rent a place of our own. A small, crappy apartment with poor heating and not exactly in the best area, but it was ours. And more importantly, twenty miles away from Nash. I got a job cleaning for a wealthy family. They didn’t pay much, but they let me bring Ethan to work with me.”
“You provided for your child, as any female would,” I say with pride.
A smile grows on her face, then quickly disappears. “All that changed two months later. I’d just tucked Ethan into his bed when Nash broke down the door and dragged me off with him. The bastard left my son, my four-year-old son, in an apartment all alone, with the door kicked in. He could have been stolen or wandered off and been struck by a bus, but Nash didn’t care. He was all about what he wanted. I don’t know what I ever saw in him, but I swore that day that I’d never put Ethan or myself in that situation again.”
I’ve seen her fight Yanzu and Baloq off, but she’s a small female. “How did you escape him?”
“After he held me against my will for two days, Nash left his knife out while he showered. I didn’t care what he did to me, Verig. I had to get back to Ethan. I stabbed Nash. It was the only way to escape. I screwed up.”
“The kill was justified.”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t kill him. I only stabbed him in the shoulder. That’s the mistake I made. My only thought was escaping. When I finally made it home, Ethan was gone. I found a note saying the authorities had taken him. I spent the next two weeks trying to get him back. Then, the police arrested me.Accused me of trying to kill that bastard Nash. I went to prison for attempted murder and child abandonment.”
This makes no sense. None of it, especially the charge of abandonment. I just watched this female stand up to Atox at the gathering for the sake of our graka, then aid in the delivery of her younglings. Tansey has fought me and this entire camp to return to her son.
“Why would your people cage you because you escaped your captor?”
“Nash lied and said I attacked him. Then, he accused me of child abandonment, even though he was the reason Ethan had been left alone.”
“The male manipulated the circumstances and laws against you. This is more evidence that human males are untrustworthy, lower than gorja dung.”
She stiffens, as if I’ve insulted her. “Finish the tale.”
“Why? So you can use it against me?”
