He didn’t finish the sentence, but Beth knew what would’ve followed. Kinna the Mage was in love with him. Since she was here, sitting on the couch with Uthar, basically a stranger listening to the story of his life, she knew that he did not return her feelings.
“But I have to prove myself.” He straightened his back and looked her right in the eyes. “Morok can’t have children. And that is a weakness. It’s unacceptable for an orc captain to not be able to fill a woman’s belly with babies. His seed is weak, and he cannot be respected.”
“Maybe it’s not him. Maybe it’s... umm... Hula is her name?”
Uthar shook his head. “There are rumors he tried with other females, too.”
“Oh, that’s horrible.”
“No. In our world, we are allowed to mate with whoever we want. Another tradition that is dying, since there are so few females that are available.”
Beth blushed. That sounded... interesting. Not that she was a fan of the idea.
“And Hula doesn’t mind?”
“No. Or she shouldn’t. She is still his mate, still the one he turns back to.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. He talked about it like it was so natural, even desirable. Did he, too, want to be with other women? Maybe there was something between him and Kinna, and that was why Kinna regarded her as a rival. She had so many questions, but she didn’t feel this was the right time to ask them.
“If I prove my virility, that’s one big step toward winning this battle. My orcs will respect me. They will love me and fully accept me as their captain. This horde hasn’t seen baby orclings in years!” He held her gaze. “If we can give them that... If you can give them that, they will worship you, Beth. And they will never question me.”
“Wow.” She leaned back, feeling the need to put some distance between them. “That’s... a lot.” Intense. Intense was the right word. The atmosphere felt heavy again. “I don’t know what to say...”
A crease appeared between his thick, dark eyebrows. “You don’t have to say anything. You will do it. Carry my baby. It’s your purpose.”
“Wow!” She jumped to her feet and considered putting another piece of furniture between them. “That doesn’t sound great, you know. It’s not exactly what a woman wants to hear from... umm... her man. Even when that woman is a tribute and very much open to the idea of having babies.”
He stood up as well. “Then what is the problem? You’re contradicting yourself.”
“It’s too soon, too fast. I’m not ready. I don’t even know you! And you don’t know me. You can’t treat me like a piece of meat, okay? I have feelings. And I’m open to... this.” She motioned between the two of them. “To us. But we should take things slow. I... I want to get to know you first. If you’re going to be the father of my children, then it’s only fair, don’t you think?”
She felt like she was trying to impose her human values on someone whose culture was about anything but taking things slow and being reasonable. She knew it wasn’t working before he even opened his mouth to protest.
“There’s no time!” he said. He took a step toward her. “I promised them I will put a baby in you before the full moon.”
“Well, I don’t know when the next full moon is, but I’m sure it’s too soon.”
He took another step toward her.
“You should’ve consulted me first, at least. Before making such promises...”
“You are my bride. You are the female I chose as my mate. You will do as I say.”
He took hold of her wrist, and she yelped and tried to free herself. He was not impressed by her struggles. He pulled her toward him, and she crashed against his chest. He was so big and ripped that it felt to Beth like she’d crashed into a boulder.
“Let go! This is not how it works,” she yelled. “This isn’t the way, Uthar!”
“That’s for me to decide.”
With his other hand, he grabbed her by the waist and easily lifted her. She started kicking him, but she couldn’t have inflicted any sort of pain if she wanted to. He was hard and tense all over. The most she could achieve was to annoy him.
“Put me down! Put me down right now!”
He started walking toward the stairs.
“Uthar!”
When he started climbing the stairs, she settled down because she was afraid her kicking and screaming might unbalance him and cause them both to fall. But when he reached the landing, she was right back at it.