After the intensity of Blake’s fight, the orc wedding blurred into a raucous, endless celebration. And Mason didn’t even hate it. Orc nobles knew how to let their hair down. They’d shed their royal furs and armor and danced or drank with the warriors until you couldn’t tell who was who.

There was a great feeling of brotherhood and kin—like even a common grunt was a kind of cousin to a tower lord, welcomed and laughed with on the special occasion. Mason knew it wouldn’t last in the deeply hierarchical towers, but it still felt nice.

Hours slipped away in a haze of roaring laughter, pounding drums, and the thick scent of roasted meat and strong orcish ale that tasted better the more you drank.

As they all got drunker, the hall transformed from standoff to revelry. Even Mason’s elite players loosened up. Carl was red-faced and snorting as he tried (and mostly failed) to keep up with Becky’s increasingly wild line dancing.

Phuong was sitting with a group of older orc warriors (and his civilian son), putting back tankards while his new wife smiled and shook her head from the sidelines.

Garet was telling stories to a circle of fascinated young orcs, complete with dramatic reenactments that had the greenskins howling.

Mason’s women, though, had only one thing on their minds.

They grew progressively bolder as the night went on and the wine flowed. Though only Lodie and Becky were actually drinking. Wherever he went, a woman or two followed. Feminine hands lingered on his chest and thighs.

Their bodies pressed close as the dancing turned to primal movement to the sound of drums. Lips brushed his neck and ears. Maybe it was the music. Or the time since they’d all been physical. Or just feeling safe and relaxed and the knowledge that they were all officially his wives now. But it had them buzzing and flushed, like they didn’t care who watched.

But he stayed in control. He made sure to give each of them individual attention, pulling them aside to tables or stealing moments on the dance floor.

Lexi didn’t talk much, but she couldn’t stop smiling. She held his hands when she stood with him, staring at the other girls and all the partying like it was Christmas morning.

“You look excited,” he said as they swayed together near the edge of the crowd, his hand low on her back.

“I keep thinking about the future,” she said, cheeks flushed. “All of us together, raising our children in like…a magic forest. Teaching them, watching them grow. It feels… real now. Like we actually get to have this.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “You’re going to be an amazing mother, Lexi. I’ll make sure none of you ever have to worry about keeping the family safe again.”

She beamed at him, eyes shining with more emotion than he could usually handle, but no longer seemed to bother him. She almost hopped trying to get him into a kiss. He laughed and bent down, and when their lips finally came apart they were both breathing harder.

Later he found Rosa at one of the long tables with Haley, her dark hair tousled, her dress askew from dancing. She was nursing a cup of some kind of juice and watching the chaos with a soft, content smile.

“Having fun?” he said, sliding in beside her.

She instantly leaned against his shoulder, sending a warmth straight down his chest.

“I never thought I could have everything—adventure, passion. And a family. But now…” She put a hand on her belly. “It’s like I get the whole dream. Sometimes I forget where I came from. I miss my abuela so much it hurts sometimes. I thought maybe I’d have family after the east…” She shrugged. “I haven’t found anyone.”

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“We’ll keep looking. But you have us. And you deserve all of it, Rosa. You’ve earned it. We all have.”

She wiped a tear and smeared her make-up. He smiled and failed miserably trying to fix it, then just kissed her and stroked her cheek. She was getting that mischievous twinkle in her eye again, though, and he narrowed his.

“What are you scheming?”

“Nothing. Ask your first wife, mighty king.”

He glanced over at Haley, but she just sat in her chair moving her bare shoulders to the drum beat, giving him an innocent looking wink.

He pulled Lodie away from the dancing next. She was standing on her own and staring at it all with wide eyes, looking ready to pull out a notebook and start scribbling like an anthropologist. The little goblin girl had also somehow acquired a kind of boar-tusk crown.

“Is it everything you hoped for?” he said loud enough for her to hear, trying not to stare at her ass as she wiggled to the music.

“This is the most amazing thing ever!” she squealed. “Orcs are so big and loud! And they have such cool stuff, and the music is so fun and—did you see that shaman with the glowing staff? I want to learn how they do that!”

He chuckled and meant to pat her back, but his hand kept slipping down to her ass. When she noticed she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you need draining, lord? Lodie doesn’t…I mean I don’t mind. I mean I like it, really. How you spray all over everything. Just say the word and…”

“I’m…good for now,” he said, with great difficulty, and a quick glance for any nearby listening humans. Than he was annoyed with himself for giving a shit who was watching and gripped Lodie’s ass again, which made her grin. “Glad you’re having fun. Just uh, stay near Haley. Okay? And keep out of trouble.”

She nodded with enthusiasm, and he took a breath and finally went to find Demi.

Blake found him first. His face was swollen, his arm in a sling, and he was limping pretty bad. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Would have thought that wife of yours would heal you,” Mason said, not sure if the sight of his bashed up brother made him angry or pleased. Maybe it was both.

“I would have,” Ilya said, coming up behind Blake and putting a concerned hand on his back. “He wouldn’t let me. Said he needed it, whatever that means.”

Blake met Mason’s eyes, and they shared a small smile.

“I know what it means.”

As usual, his feelings for Blake left him confused. But he knew no matter what happened, he would always have a love for the clever, fun little boy he’d shared a childhood with.

“I meant to congratulate you. On not being dead.”

Blake laughed, which made him clutch his chest in pain.

“We could spend all our time doing that. But thank you. For that, and the other thing.”

For saving my ass, he didn’t bother to say.

But then Mason had never needed him to say it. He’d saved his brother countless times and in countless ways, and he suspected he’d go on saving him. Just like he’d save everyone else, if he could. It was the function of a strong and good king, and maybe just a man. Because if a man with his strength and gifts didn’t do it he wasn’t sure he deserved to be called either.

“Well.” He turned away. “Enjoy your honeymoon, or whatever it is you’re doing. After the Nexus. So you’ll need that healing before morning.”

Blake nodded, but said nothing. The order to a soldier and not the request to a brother was clear. He didn’t try to stop him as he walked away, and as Mason left them his mind went straight back to his women.

He found Demi with Haley, the women side by side watching the dancing, Demi’s head on Haley’s shoulder, their long hair mixed and swaying with their hips. The sight alone had him stop and take another breath.

Demi inhaled and turned, and the girls both noticed him and smiled. Haley held out a hand for him to come join them. He did, and they both melted into his chest. He breathed them in and moved to the beat with his eyes closed.

They just stood there and touched and swayed without words. Demi eventually turned and kissed him full on, drawing out a moan as she chased down his tongue. Haley was sneakily and not so sneakily rubbing his ‘kingly’ pants.

“The other girls are still having fun dancing,” he managed, licking his lips when Demi gave him a second.

“Uh huh.” Haley slipped a hand into his waistline, and he groaned as she teased him. Demi started licking his neck. He was already rock hard.

“Are you two trying to cheat and get me to yourselves?”

“Maybe,” Demi whispered in his ear. “Is it working?”

He looked around the room through the growing haze of smoke. Most of his players had appeared to join Phuong et al in the drinking contest. The civilians were scattered but looking happy and safe, mostly together in groups, a few adventurous souls mixing with the orcs.

The other girls were busy doing their own things. No one was watching him. He looked back to Demi and Haley’s gazes, then tilted his head toward a side room. The three of them slipped away, probably doing a shit job of seeming innocent and not like they were about go bang.

It took two tries, but they found a storage room filled with crates and stacked up linens and furs. Perfect? No. But it would do. Demi practically attacked him as they went inside, and he pushed her against the wall and started pulling up her dress.

He blinked when he realized Haley had vanished, pulling back in confusion before she walked in with a tall, strong looking orc female with dark red eyes. She stared at him fiercely, with no shyness, pulling out a tie to let long, black hair fall around her shoulders.

“Uh.” He scanned her muscular but still feminine body from head to toe. “Who is this?”

Haley smiled her wicked smile.

“This is Dura. She’s one of Ilya’s new warriors, and she’s in heat. She asked very politely, if it were at all possible, if you could um, ‘fill her with a mighty human warrior baby’? I think that’s how she put it.”

Mason looked back at Demi in his arms, who just grinned and leaned closer, gripping his package with one hand as she whispered.

“Even if I couldn’t smell what you want, I can feel your cock twitching. Now take turns fucking us already.”

He breathed and stared at the orc, who was watching him like a cat with a very dangerous mouse.

“And then I thought we’d bring the girls one at a time for you,” Haley added, putting her hands on Dura’s arms like she was showing off a prize. “Demi and I thought we could…help you. Enjoy them all.”

Oh, it was good to be king. Mason looked at his wives. The first still showing off her new toy, the second literally gripping his balls like she was checking fruit. He’d been very strong all day, and for most of the night. But now it was time to reap his reward.

Fuck a random orc woman in heat in a foursome with his women? Yeah. Why the hell not.

“I am a warrior,” Dura said, swallowing as she looked him up and down. “You must defeat me in battle before you can have my body. That is, if you still have the strength. It is tradition.”

“Oh, honey.” Demi wrapped herself around him and shook her head as she squeezed his balls. “Maybe wave it this one time. It’s really pointless, and I’m not sure we should get him going.”

“It is tradition,” Dura repeated firmly. “I have killed males in battle. I will not submit so easily.”

Demi sighed, and started letting him go.

“O-kay. But yes you will. Be gentle, baby. My heals are itchy. Kinda makes for the wrong feeling, you know?”

Dura shrugged Haley off and started to take a fighting stance. Mason waited until she looked ready, then crossed the small room. He was on her before she blinked. Though she did manage a small squeaking sound.