9 Nine

For a while now he had been able to hear the roaring of some kind of current in the distance. The human had probably only just picked up the sound due to her inferior hearing. It did impress him that she was able to distinguish the sound through the sound of the forrest however. Some humans he knew couldn't pick up the sound of a river when standing right beside it. At the very least she could identify water.

The sound of water didn't mean that they were actually on the right path though, so he turned his eyes back to the trees and muttered out a thanks under his breath.

He still wanted to turn back and head towards the main road. This whole cove situation was far too much of a danger to be worth the while. No matter how close her friends were to her it wouldn't be worth it to risk them both to pick them up along the way.

Even if they did, Fang had no use for them. He couldn't drag three humans through the forest and hope to make it out unscathed on the other side, it was simply too big of a target. Elizabeth would have to come up with a way to shake them off at one of the next towns.

Deciding to indulge his curiosity, he implored, "What are you going to do one you find your friends?"

The woman shrugged. "Take them to a town where they can find shelter probably. We can't bring them for the entire trip, unless of course they wish to come, so we probably wont have to go out of our way."

At the very least they were on the same foot with that.

"Why weren't they with you in the first place? It doesn't seem smart to split up after meeting in the town."

She gave Fang a pained smile. "I kind of told them to fuck off after I met them in town. Mary was freaking out and Eric had just come out of his burning house so he wasn't much better. I just thought it would be better for me to go alone."

Ignoring the obvious danger she had placed herself in, Fang focused on the other point that stuck out to him. "Why would your suitor leave you to get your horse instead of going with you? That doesn't seem like the suitorly thing to do."

At least for an orc. No orc would abandon his mate even if she held a blade to his groin. Fang had thought humans would at least follow them to make sure they weren't in danger.

"Because I told him to," she said, turning to him as if confused why he would ask.

He assessed her for a moment, noting she genuinely found nothing wrong with the situation. Instead of saying the words on the tip of his tongue he kept it shut, deciding enough was enough for the day.

Tomorrow he could tell her just how rotten of a suitor she had to abandon what would be his woman to comfort another. He shouldn't care anyway. This woman was nothing but his charge. Whether her male was fine or not was none of his concern.

Unless it was.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden clearing of trees. Out of nowhere they had stepped from the deep of the wood into a small lake area nestled at the foot of a small waterfall and cliff. The water sparkled a deep blue-green like in a storybook and the horse took notice and immediately walked to drink from it.

He didn't need Elizabeth's affirmation to know this was the area they were supposed to meet the humans. Still, scanning the area he noted he found no sign of life outside small woodscreatures, not even the hint of items left behind.

They were completely alone.

"I-I don't understand. They were supposed to wait for me here," she stuttered, rearing the horse around to check back behind them. "They should have gotten here long before us."

He grunted, breaking away from her to walk further around the muddy lip of the lake. If luck would have it the dirt was wet enough to retain tracks without having them disappear with a lap of the lake.

In moments he found what he was looking for, two sets of human shoe prints standing out brilliantly in the dark mud. They appeared to have been there at least long enough to pace over one another.

Waving her over, he pointed down at the tracks. "It looks like they made it."

She didn't say anything as she stared down at the prints, letting her cute wrinkled brow do all of the talking. Upset was clear upon her features.

"They must have thought you didn't make it."

A harsh breath escaped her, no humor to the tone. "They didn't even wait half a day."

"Humans," Fang said with a shrug, as if that was all the explanation needed.

She didn't seem to find the remark as humorous as he did. She whipped back to face him, face twisted in anger as she appeared to be thinking of some way to respond. When none came the look fell into a frustrated frown he found far less cute.

No doubt she was shocked to see herself abandoned, but Fang didn't even bat an eye. Humans in the face of tragedy thought very little of others he always found. You had to learn to live with their fickleness.

Instead of giving up like he had anticipated her doing, she returned with a renewed look of vigor. "We have to find them. You don't understand. Their not travelers. They'll get lost and killed, if not worse."

"Why are you so insistent on helping your friends who would sooner leave you in the ash?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Because they don't know any better."

She said it with such conviction that even Fang was a little swayed, though he knew for a fact her words were just lies she told herself. In all reality chasing after the two humans would probably result in the death of them both.

Still, the look in her eyes told him she wouldn't rest until she found them. If he forced her to go now it would only result in her escape, even if he watched her from morning to night. In the end the decision was obvious to him.

Find the humans as fast as possible and return to the mission.

However, he wouldn't do it for nothing.

"I will only help you on one condition," he told her, locking his gaze with hers.

She eyed him skeptically, "What is that?"

"As long as we are hunting down your two friends you submit to my command. No running off, no talking like you are the leader. You become my shadow, staying quiet and following commands like a good little girl."

He didn't expect his words to go over well with the woman, and from her taken aback expression they hadn't. He watched as a million thoughts flashed through her mind, a series of emotions following each one too fast for him to decipher.

Asking complete submission from a wealthy female was like asking the sun to set in the east, but he had been expecting that. This was an ultimatum for a reason. He was setting the boundary that would define their partnership for the rest of the next two years.

All she had to do was choose.

Finally settling on one response, her chin lifted daintily in the air. "That's not fair. I'm not just going to become your servant."

"No, it's perfectly fair, princess, and as long as you want to find your friends you will agree. Need I remind you I was only hired to keep you safe, not become a fool hunter."

He could see it now, the woman was finally settling on her decision. Instead of curling her lip with disgust however, her shoulders fell and a soft exhale left her plump lips.

"Alright. I'll do it. I'll be your shadow."

A satisfied grin slowly took over his face, the first genuine smile of his since he signed the contract. "Perfect."

Taking the reins of the unicorn, the threw himself up behind the woman, sliding comfortably into place behind her. Lucky she didn't have one of

"If we have any hope of catching up with your friends we need to ride at least halfway into the night. Judging by the tracks catching up won't be too easy."

"Why? They are on foot."

"That's where you're wrong." Leaning forward, he was greeted with the pleasant scent of the woman's soap. He wanted to close his eyes and inhale.

"You see those tracks? The ones leading away from the footprints?" at her nod he continued. "They took horses. Big ones by the look of it. Difficult to ride, but fast."

The sets of tracks lead directly south, in the direction of the main road. At the very least the two seemed to know their way around these parts so he wouldn't have to hunt them through the forest. As much as he liked the feeling of Elizabeth's soft ass pressing to him he wouldn't like the feeling of a sore ass after so much hard riding.

That was a feeling for his women and his women alone.

"They are heading to the road. Chances are if we pick up the pace we'll find them before night falls tomorrow. Maybe sooner."

"Tomorrow? Why so much time?"

"Do I need to remind you of the horses?"

She threw a sharp look over her shoulder. "No. I just mean it should be faster than that. It's not like they'd be moving at a running speed."

"No, but they have quite some time on us. Now if you don't mind, we have some tracking to do."

With a kick he ushered the horse forward in a start, slamming her back into his chest. The breath that left her made his balls tighten. If he wasn't supposed to be preoccupied with his work he might like to imagine the other sounds he could encourage from that little mouth.

Who was he kidding? He still would.