Law of Blood- Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 1- The Way Things Are

“What? Why can’t I go see Lina?” I was both excited and confused. The bond that I shared with Josie, Lina, and Rava went deeper than mere telepathy. We were all one in many ways. So when I felt what was happening to Lina it was perfectly understandable for me to want to go to her.

“This is for your wives to handle. Rava is already on her way to the office. We would also welcome any of the deputies even if they haven’t joined the club,” Josie replied.

“Yet,” Daria said.

Josie looked at her and then at me and laughed. “Yes, yet.”

“What about us? I know we aren’t part of the family and if you want to keep it private, I understand, but I did just have a baby, so I might be able to provide some help,” Nunani, Denne’s monkeykin wife said.

Josie smiled. “Of course you and Melossi are welcome. You may not be part of the family, but you are part of our team. Us deputies have to stick together. Maybe your husband can keep mine occupied for a while.”

“Jo Jo, why are you pushing me out?”

The stunning foxgirl looked at me. Her fiery red hair framed eyes that made my heart pound faster. “I love it when you use my pet name, but it doesn’t change anything. This is for your wives to handle. We’ll call you when your son is cleaned up and his mother is ready to see you.”

Denne came up behind me and said, “Honestly, why would you want to be there. Sativa blessed men with the fun part of making babies. Now you should stay out of your wives’ hair. This is really one of the few things that even orc men give way to their women in.”

I wanted to explain how on Earth fathers were expected to be at the bedside while their wives were delivering the baby, even if it was only so they could be cursed at for causing this. But, I knew that wouldn’t make sense to them. The power distribution between men and women was different here and their stronger bodies made the birthing process much easier. I shrugged. Maybe this was for the best.

“Okay, I guess Denne and I could go on patrol.”

Josie smiled and took a step to cross the space between us. She stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed me before whispering into my ear, “Don’t worry, Lina will be okay.”

Daria came up behind me then and pinched my ass. “I don’t know. I kinda like that he is so interested in this. A man should want to protect his progeny and women.” Then she kissed my other cheek before heading into the office.

Nunani and Melossi both snickered before kissing their husband and following her. I was surprised then when Mursha walked up beside me and kissed my cheek. It wasn’t that we hadn’t been sharing some quiet moments of making out, it was just that she tended to want to keep it private. Maybe a small display of PDA was good then. She didn’t say anything although I could feel Josie’s excitement at seeing the kiss. It wasn’t that she was into Mursha at all, but that she knew I was. I was definitely a damn lucky man. A husband on Earth would have had his head removed at about that moment.

After all the women were gone, Denne said, “You better make an honest orc out of her.”

I looked back at him to find him glaring intensely at me. I was taken back because he had never expressed anything but support for my relationship with his sister, Mursha. Maybe it was the tusks but it was hard to tell if he was messing with me or was actually upset.

Then he burst into laughter. “You should see the look on your face.”

“Very funny, deputy,” I replied with an emphasis on the last word.

“Oh you just had to go there. I thought this was gonna be fun guys time. Maybe got get some drinks or something, cause a little bit of a ruckus. That is the orc way of doing things. Half the time if you fine an orc in a bar making a mess of things, it will be because his wife is at home delivering a baby.”

“Okay, okay, I just was taken back. You do know that I offered to marry Mursha. I want to treat her fairly.”

“Of course. We talk a lot. I was just trying to do my best impersonation of Mactosh,” Denne said referring to his and Mursha’s father.

“Well your father can be a bit intense at times, but I always thought he was the biggest supporter of the sheriff.”

“Right again, but he is still taking it hard that Mursha wants to be a deputy rather than staying at home and making him a bunch of grandchildren. She is his youngest and truthfully always was his favorite. If there is anything that could get him up in arms it would be anyone mistreating Mursha,” Denne said.

I shook my head. “Yet he was willing to force her into a role that she wasn’t suited for and didn’t want.”

“You say that oddest things. That is the orc way. Hell, it’s the Law of Family. All of Olimero is like that. Trust me. I’ve been out east and even there fathers want to decide who their daughters marry. It is a bigger deal amongst orcs and elves though.”

“Just when I think I’m beginning to adapt here, I realize that there is so much more for me to learn. My instincts are often to do the wrong thing by Olimeran standards.”

“Don’t take it too hard. If anything can mess with a man’s mind it’s his wives. You’ve already got three and two more that are on the edge. If Lina has her way you’ll end up with as many wives as my dad,” Denne said.

“They definitely make my head spin, but usually in a good way. I know I’ve said it before, but where I’m front a man would have his eyes cut out if he tried to do what I’m doing here and the women would probably all gang up to make it happen.”

“What a messed up place. Not that I want as many wives as my dad has. Two, maybe three is enough for me. It isn’t the bedroom that is hard to keep up with, it is all the other things that a wife expects. Then again, maybe you are rubbing off on me.”

I just nodded, thinking about what he had to say. I had to wonder if I was biting off more than I could chew. It had been so natural with both Lina and Jo-Jo. Rava had taken a bit longer to get there, but with the bond between us, I could completely feel what she was feeling and knew that she was just as committed as I was.

Maybe that was part of the problem. I couldn’t read Daria or Mursha’s minds. Or maybe it was just the fact that five wives was going to stretch me thin. Oh well, I’d just have to suffer through. I’m pretty sure that a smirk twisted the corner of my mouth at that point. It was good to be the king or rather the sheriff.

“We should get started on patrol. Not sure how soon they will want me back.”

Denne protested, “What? You were serious about patrol? You need to go drinking. And it’ll be hours probably. They like to have the baby, get some time with them and then get all cleaned up. I know Nunani was upset that I saw her so soon after the birth of our child. Women have a way they expect these things to do. They won’t know what to do with themselves if they don’t get to yell at us for drinking too much.”

I heard Denne speaking but a glint of light across the street on the roof of a nearby building had caught my attention. Something about it made me go on alert even if I didn’t have to worry about sniper rifles here. “Shh…” I said while holding up my hand in a fist as a sign for him to stop.

As much as Denne liked to complain about stuff, what he called the Sativa given right of every warrior, he was also a consummate professional. I could sense the disturbance in the air as his muscles tensed and he moved to grab his axe. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed though because a figure stood up on the roof where I had seen the glint of light.

Ki funneled into my eyes almost on its own and I sprang into action. I reflexively empowered my legs was immediately running out into the street. Each stride carried me forward fifteen feet as I crossed the distance in seconds. Then a push against the ground brought me up to the roof. I saw her cat tail fleeing a couple of rooftops away.

I had a strong suspicion that it was Nimeera. My expanded senses had caught signs of her watching us from time to time. There was no way I could trust her. She might have helped against One Direction, but surely she had her own agenda.

Denne arrived at the base of the building with his axe in hand. I shouted down, “I think Nimeera was watching us again. I’m gonna follow her.”

“It could be a trap.”

“Follow as close as you can. Traps come with the job.” Then I was off racing across the tops of the buildings. I knew I was stronger than she could possibly be but even with the great leaps and bounds I had made, I doubted I was a agile as she was. Fortunately, speed is a combination of strength and agility.

I telepathically notified Josie about the situation. She immediately responded, “Where are you? I’ll come help.”

“No, I’ve got this. You take care of our Lina. Denne and I will handle Nimeera.”

“Just make sure you don’t ‘handle’ her too much.” Telepathy and our bond left no doubt about what the fierce foxkin meant by handle.

“She is just a criminal for me to catch.”

“Lina and I both still think that she had a thing for you. And remember no matter what Lina thinks, you don’t have to catch’em all.”

“Don’t worry Jo-Jo, you will always be the fierce foxkin under my sheets and at the center of my heart.”

“The fact that the bond lets me know that you truly mean that just tells me how naïve you are. The three of us won’t be the last to join with you, I’d bet the white tip of my tail on that.”

“Don’t do that, I like your tail,” I responded. One of the advantages of our type of telepathy was that I could send mental images with my words. Images in this case which showed just how much I liked her tail.”

“Just be careful. Thoughts like that don’t belong in your head while you are racing across rooftops.”

“Can’t help it, they are pretty much there all the time.”

She gave me the equivalent of a mental hrmph with a secret smile and then I was focused on catching Nimeera or whoever it was. She had pulled ahead a bit while I was distracted but now I pushed more ki into my limbs. The past few weeks of practice had greatly improved my control. I wouldn’t say I had mastered it yet, but I was definitely coming along.

I sent telepathic images to Denne too, but this time they were just of my location so he could follow on the ground. The orc deputy was about the best warrior I had met. I was pretty sure he was better than Josie, not that I would tell her. Of course, being good with a blade didn’t mean he could keep up with us.

At the speed we were going, Nimeera would hit the city wall in seconds. I stayed back far enough to watch for her to turn left or right. I expected she was going to try to lose me by going to the streets at some point. Instead, when she hit the wall, she simply kept going. She pushed off and leapt fifty feet from the wall. Oh, this was getting interesting.