I owe him. He saved me, even when his kind destroyed my family.

When orcs invaded our village, everything changed. The newly self-appointed mayor chose me as his wife—no matter what my choice had been. Living taxes were imposed—if you want to live, you pay.
My new husband pays the tax for both of us, and it keeps me working wage-free in his eatery for my room and board.
But then comes the day when everyone else in our town hides because the orcs return for us.

My scars aren’t the honorable sort among our people. Mine were forged by capture when my mate sold me to another clan.
I returned home upon her death, broken hearted and in denial that she was one who’d betrayed me. But part of me knows the truth and for that reason, I’ll never re-mate. A decision that’s challenged when I save a beautiful female from the clan who once imprisoned me. A female who’s left her human husband and—like me—is determined never to mate again.