“Was she alone?”
“I don’t know, my lord. But she was the only one snared by our traps. We’ve found no other sign of people with her.”
I frowned. “Strange. To be this far abroad, and alone no less…was she lost?”
“You can ask her that yourself.” The scout turned to me, half his face turned up in a lopsided smile. “I’ve heard human females can be very good…companions, if you know what I mean.”
I’d heard the same, and the very thought of a human female’s soft body beneath my own stirred something primal within me. Who could resist sampling something new? Something forbidden?
But the scout’s words made me pause. “She’s injured, you say?”
“Aye. Her leg, I think. That’s why we opted not to move her.”
I nodded, unable to tamp down my curiosity any longer. If a human female had been wandering around in the woods, how had she even gotten here? If they had the means to travel to us, could they come back in larger numbers?
“Open the door.” It wasn't a request.
With a nod, the scout did just that, leaning in to push it back with a grunt. The soft light inside poured out into the night, and a sweet scent accompanied it. Too sweet, especially in contrast to the sharp, earthy scents orcs treasured.
But she was no orc.
She lay on a thick mat of furs, her skin pale but tinged with a rosy flush in the low light of the brazier. Her body was leaner than the orc females, her waist more slender, her breasts rounder and more full. Her hair was a dark curtain that trailed down her back in tangled waves.
Her entire body was curved and soft, inviting. She was everything we weren’t.
And that meant she was dangerous.
She didn't stir as I stepped further into the tent. I didn't take my eyes off of her, intent to catalog each injury that marred her soft skin. A large, dark bruise bloomed across her thigh. Her foot was swollen, and a dark-brown stain encircled it. Her wrists and ankles were still bound — not that she’d be able to go far in her state. Dried blood covered her calf. Her skin was ashen, and I wondered for a moment if she was even alive. She lay so still, like a faint breeze would knock her over.
“What happened to her?” I asked, my voice low and grating. The scout shifted uncomfortably.
"Her legs got tangled in one of our traps. My men and I found her strung up and unconscious at the border. We didn't see anyone else, but we cut her down and brought her back here for questioning."
"Questioning? Is she a spy?"
"That's for you to find out."
I nodded, not taking my eyes off of her still form. A deep, primal hunger slumbered in my gut, but more than that, she'd aroused my curiosity as well. I wanted to know everything. Everything, from how she'd gotten here to where she was from. But most of all, I wanted to know how much she'd seen on her trek here and if my people were in danger.
"Bring the healer. Let's see what can be done."