Odessa

Creed held me tightly, his powerful arms encompassing my waist. My dress was soiled, ripped, and covered in deep red blood. The witch was completely destroyed. Blood covered her face to where I could no longer see the darkness in her eyes.

My body tensed, and immediately Creed turned me in the opposite direction. He was so in tune with me as I was him. His fury was far from over, but his urge to protect me and keep me safe kept him from going crazy. Mortus laid on the floor, his head dismembered from his body, but I still did not dare to look in that direction. Whatever Creed did post head ripping, I wasn't sure, but I bet it would cause permanent damage later.

The yells coming from above our heads had been silenced. I didn't notice them until the roars had subsided. Dirt continued to fall from the area Creed had fallen from the roof. "Where am I?" I whispered, my head looking just into his scruffy neck. I dared not look around the room. The thick metallic smell was enough to give my brain wild imaginations of what it looked like.

"You were in a bunker." Creed sighed heavily. "We couldn't find the door, but I felt you here." Creed put his hand to his chest. "It was overwhelming like you were beneath me." Smiling softly, I petted his chest.

"That was how I felt like you were on top of me." Creed's nose rubbed the top of my forehead as Annan jumped in with a thud.

"Good Gods, did we miss all the fun? You couldn't wait, could you?" Creed growled, pulling me tighter against his muscular body.

"If he was any later, I'm not sure what would have happened," I muttered. Granted, I killed a witch, but who knows what I would have done with Mortus? He scared the daylights out of me and with one look from him I would have been frozen with fear and nothing would have become of it.

Annan rubbed the sweat from his forehead, his wings bending slightly in defeat. "I see that you have dismantled him... GOOD GODS!" Annan cried. I flinched at his raised voice while he stomped to the far side of the room where Mortus' head lay. Laughter filled the bunker. Annan was almost crying as his laughter soon died and became blue in the face.

"Gods! That is hilarious! I didn't know you could be so funny!" My curiosity peeked. I looked behind Creed to find the Duke's boys inside his mouth. Gasping, I let out a giggle.

"I've heard Willa threatening some guards by shoving their dicks down their throats, but now I've got the best picture in my head now. Willa!" Annan screamed up above the hole. Willa fluttered down in an instant and covered her nose. "Ew," she quipped. "Smells like death down here." Her eyes scanned the room. "Oh yeah, I see." Annan pulled her by the arm and they gathered around the head of Mortus.

"Is that his?" Annan giggled like a little girl until Willa cried in laughter. "That is great! Who did this!? I need a camera!" Shaking my head, I tapped Creed's shoulder.

"Can we leave now? I think I'm done here." He rubbed the side of my head, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

We climbed out of the hole in the middle of the forest, only to be met with dead bodies lying on the ground in pools of blood. A fire had started and pieces of vampires were being put on top of the blaze. I rubbed my arms together, trying to seek warmth when I knew very well my dragon could keep me warm. It was now a new nervous habit that I needed to break.

King Orion pointed his sword to various piles of vampires, while the dead witches and warlocks were pulled out of the forest and into an open clearing to decide what to do with them. Witches and vampires that were captured were bound, gagged, and sat up against several trees.

Grabbing onto Creed's arm, I looked at the vampires still awake and watching us intently. "They can't break out of those bindings," Annan stood beside me. "Remember, dogwood is impossible for them to break. They will come back to the palace and stay in the dungeons until we figure out if they know anything." I hummed, watching part of Orion's army continue with their duties.

At the corner of my eye, a person with green skin picked up a lifeless body to move to the others. He was tall, obviously green, with tusks protruding from his jaw. If I didn't know any better, he looked just like an Orc from Dungeons and Dragons, except prettier? He didn't strike my fancy, but I could see some human women might like him.

"Creed," I pulled his arm, pointing to the creature. "Who are they?"

"Orcs," he grunted. "For two years, these creatures have let the vampires in. Their dark magic didn't work on them, so they had to become friendly. Once the Orcs found out they were bringing in humans, using them for blood when they did not give permission, the Orcs attacked. The memory powder the Rogues used on us doesn't work on Orcs, no magic does. Glamour spells cloaked the bunker and the entrance where you stayed, so they couldn't help us find you, but they wanted to help fight to find you."

"Are they going to fight in the big war that could be coming?" I bit my fingernail. If this was true, they could be of great help if black magic didn't affect them. We might have a fighting chance if there were more of them. So far, I have only seen three. Surely it wasn't just the three that fought against all these supernaturals enhanced by black magic?

"They are powerful, mostly muscle, but they are swift as well. Much power in their steps, they remind me of small dragon alphas with immunity to magic," Annan added.

"They wish to strike a deal if they help. I know nothing about it. I followed my heart to you as quickly as I could once I felt the light leave my chest." Creed touched my face with the pads of his thumbs. He makes me melt.

"You felt the light, too?" I craned my neck back to get a better look at my mate.

"Yes, it came straight from here," he traced his chest. "I received great power from it. I jumped the wall, and it pulled me right to you." Creed and I were connected much more than I realized. We both really made each other stronger with this special bond we have.

Orion sheathed his sword, walking towards us with a lightened step. Willa flew to him, planting a kiss on his cheek and fluttering to the ground. "You are lucky this was quick, darling, otherwise you would have walked into a bloodbath." Willa stuck out her lip, which Orion immediately took after with a swift kiss.

"I knew it was over. I flew overhead. Those orcs pack a punch." Orion stopped in front of us, letting out a mighty sigh.

"T-thank you, King Orion. Thank you for coming for me." Orion's smirk ran up his cheek. He held out his hand for me to take and quickly placed his other hand on top.

"I think you are the one that should receive thanks. You wielded your magic, causing the black magic to run dry on the rogues. I believe the light that came from Creed that you had procured weakened the small band here. This is magic that will take care of us in the future." Tilting my head to the side, I did not know what he was talking about.

"You will play a major part in this war. Maybe you don't see it now, but you are strong, Odessa. I urge you to continue your lessons with Bohdi."

"Hey!" Willa interrupted. "How did you know?"

"I know everything, darling. You are an open book. A smutty book, but a good one." Willa's face blushed, turning her face away.

"I just want to go home, back to our cave. I don't want to fight." I laced my fingers with Creed's. He only squeezed in response, but the look in his eye told me there was much more for us to discuss.

King Orion commanded the soldiers in the area to destroy the remaining dead bodies. Willa explained how the three Orcs, named Sugha, Valpar, and Thorn. They all had raging muscles, at least seven feet tall, and crazy hair and tattoos on their bodies. Massive swords, clubs and spears hung on their backs, thick bindings on their arms, legs to use as armor. Not that they were needed, as Willa put it.

They were cousins of Ogres, so to speak, except these Orcs were not hostile and dared to do unspeakable things to women or children. The Orcs had found some humans that had escaped during transport to this new secret bunker, mostly males, because the females were too weak to keep up. The males now lived within their tribe in their own huts.

Once the males were strong enough, they led the orcs back to where they thought the bunker was, only to be greeted by more forest. The glamour spell the rogues had cast kept even the Orcs away.

More humans were here, hidden, and finding the rest of the women would be much easier since Creed found me and using the same hole he dug into.

"Men, here!" Orion pointed to the hole Creed had created. Several Faes dropped in, carrying their swords, and the Orcs only followed.

The Orcs were eager to find the rest of the humans. For that, I was grateful. I still felt terrible that the rest of the humans all had to suffer so much over the past month, even if they weren't relatively nice to me.

"They want women," Orion walked to us as he watched his men jump in. "There are no female Orcs anymore. They all died of sickness." My mouth hung open as I turned to glare at Orion.

"Don't tell me you promised the women to them, did you!?" I squealed. Orion stood back, holding up his hands.

"Hold on there, I did no such thing."

"Well, the way you just announced that, seems like you are going to let them have the rest of the women down there!" Orion shook his head frantically.

"No, that isn't it at all. They have mates as well." Creed pulled me back to his chest, not liking me getting so close to the King Fae. He pets my shoulder, trying to calm me. Lucky for Orion, it did.

"Orcs have been behind these walls for centuries. They haven't seen a female in all that time. They talked about a bonding that is like ours. Of course, it is probably the same thing, but it has been misconstrued. They want to find their mates, mates that a goddess said she would provide soon."

"The Moon Goddess?" Ondi said as she came to her son, touching her forehead to his.

"I believe so. The Orcs said she glowed blue and had a crescent moon on her head. Can't think of any other goddess that does that."

"And do you think some of those women down there could be a mate of theirs?" Orion bobbed his head back and forth.

"Maybe? But they want more chances to meet more supernaturals, tear the wall down so they can travel to seek their mates, but that, means the Ogres are going to get through the wall and cause danger. Princess Sadie will have to be involved." Orion folded his arms against his breastplate.

"If we can get them to agree to fight with us, knowing that they are immune to having spells cast on them, it could shift the odds of the war."