I can’t continue to raise Bran and Owen on my own in the human world, on the opposite side of the country from their mysterious orc daddy. They aren’t thriving with only humans in their vicinity. Hence this desperate drive with my babies in tow to an Orc Commune in the middle of nowhere.

And how did I end up pregnant and alone?

I blame it on too much wine and a hotel bar in Bangor, Maine.

I was decompressing after a writer’s retreat. Drunk after only two glasses of wine. And instantly hot for the big, sexy orc who sat down next to me. Everyone else in the room squealed or tensed in fear. I licked my lips and moved closer to his bare chest that peeked from an unbuttoned shirt.

He smelled sooooo good.

I lost my mind, behaving in ways I never have in my entire life. I loved his tusks and horns and all those powerful muscles. Some people think orcs are ugly and in fact beastly, something to be avoided. But I’d never been so bold. In fact, just sitting in that bar by myself was a first. I was all over him in an instant, so forward, with my hand on his bare arm much too often. In minutes I’d talked him into taking me up to his room.

I know. It was cray. I’d never in my life had a one-night stand or picked a guy up in a bar, club, or anywhere else. But I was just that attracted to him. The area between my thighs was hot, wet and throbbing for him alone.

And he was really into me that night too.

After that big orc finished nutting for what seemed like the seventeenth time and insisted I have just one more orgasm, I thought I might have found someone who I should try to keep in touch with, because sex with this guy was clearly next level.

But as the night wore on the growl in his voice became more and more intimidating. He was a reasonably normal and gentle orc at first, despite his tall, twisted horns and jutting tusks when we met at the hotel bar. But after I removed my clothes in his room on the tenth floor, he immediately referred to me as his “Bride.” And much later he started mumbling about fighting his own urges, wanting to drag me by my hair into his cave? I loved his big muscles and his horns, tusks and claws, but he started getting a bit rough at the end of the evening as if he were losing control. He’d originally referred to himself as a “Wild Orc” which I should have realized meant “off the hook.”

Yeah, as soon as he passed out, I got out of there quick. I ran away from our hotel bed and sprinted off into the night.

In my defense, when I left after our one-night stand, I thought my IUD was working great, but somehow it didn’t.

Maybe I should’ve stayed and given him more of a chance? He could’ve woken up the next morning, acting completely normal again. But I also had a flight to catch that very next morning. And I wasn’t in the frame of mind to find a husband. I’d wanted a rare hook-up after days spent at a writer’s conference and nothing else. Something daring and different to shake up my boring workaholic existence. Three hours later I was already on an airplane heading back across the country. I thought my night with that hot orc would be a pleasant memory and nothing more. Also, I’d dodged a bullet—getting away from a Wild Orc who might’ve woken up and dragged me off to his lair.

But, back home in my own lonely bed in my condo with views of the Pacific Ocean, I quickly discovered I was missing that big orc and his luscious green dick. The sound of his voice and his scent haunted my mind and body. No wonder I’d fallen into his bed so quickly, after very little conversation. And I stayed all night because my orc’s shaft was thicker than any man I’d ever met. He knew exactly how to touch, suck and lick a clitoris and he’d even managed to find my G-spot in record time. I was so desperate to recreate these conditions, I ordered a green, custom-made dildo to his exact specifications. It’s still not good enough because the simple dildo isn’t the same as having his large, hot body covering mine. His lips, the scrape of his tusks and his large fingers. Oh, and his scent, the touch of his hot skin…but the dildo works in a pinch.

I got extremely horny while pregnant and it would’ve been great having him there to service me. But then I’d remember how he wanted to drag me off to his lair and possibly kidnap me, and I’d again decide to go this alone.

Yes, I should’ve told him I was pregnant right away, but I wasn’t ready to see that orc with questionable motives again.

But a whole year later, I continue to want him desperately and no one else. The thought of someone other than Bran and Owen’s father touching me leaves me cold. And after I read that book about orc families, I understood his motives so much better.

One year later I want a do over.

So I hired a private investigator and discovered that hot orc is named Whelan Overlook and he lives on an Orc Commune in Maine.

My babies need him.

And…and maybe I need their daddy too.

I glance down at the GPS which clearly shows my progress to this mysterious commune. I’m almost there. Ten minutes away. We’re off the main highway now, with dense forest on either side and views of remote mountain lakes, having left the last vestiges of civilization over an hour ago. Luckily, it’s a crisp and sunny day, with no rain or snow. Although the winter weather should be showing up in the next month because it’s nearly Halloween.

I bite my lips as anxious nerves flutter in my stomach. Supposedly orcs don’t approve of random human visitors to their communes. What if they turn me away because I’m not arriving with their father?

Oh, well, I’ve still got to try. I’m coming in hot and fast with two orc babies in tow. I’ll just do my best to talk them into letting me inside to meet up with Whelan. I was told his residence was at this specific commune.

A whimper escapes my lips.

What if the private investigator is wrong and Whelan lives elsewhere?

And I haven’t seen him since the night of our twins’ conception. As far as I know, he didn’t know my name either and he doesn’t know he has sons. Maybe he won’t want to have anything to do with me and our sons because of how I left? Which is sad because our babies are adorable. Maybe he’s already moved on and found another human female to mate and I’m a distant memory?

The guilt hits me hard. Who am I kidding? He’s going to hate me. This isn’t going to be pretty. He’d called me his “Bride,” and I left without a backward glance and then later found out I was pregnant and never told him.

I lift my chin, ready to face the drama I created. Nothing is going to stop me from doing what needs to be done to make sure Bran and Owen get the care they need. I’m here to make up for the past and that’s what I’m going to do. No chickening out now.

I pass a sign that says Warning: Orcs Only Past This Point.

I keep going.

Now the road turns to mainly gravel. Good thing I purchased this four-wheel drive after my recent cross-country move to Maine. It’s made for actual off-road driving. I pass another glinting mountain lake and realize the setting here is stunning. A hundred thousand acres of nearby wilderness is owned by Whelan’s Orc Tribe. I’m starting to think living here might not be so bad.

Oh hell. There’s a checkpoint up ahead and two scary-looking orc guards are stationed nearby. They look similar to Whelan, but with shorter horns and a slightly smaller build. Both wear dark pants and unbuttoned flannel shirts and aren’t carrying guns, thank god. Behind them, I assume, is the commune. There’s a fence made of thick wooden spikes and barbed wire on top that curves to the right and left with no end in sight either way. Very formidable. I can’t see past the fence, so I still have no idea of the layout of the commune or how many orcs live here.

I park at the checkpoint and lower my window.

The two orcs exit the wooden security shack positioned in front of the thick metal gate. They each eye me with obvious skepticism. The taller one speaks first. “And you are?”