Rescued By Her Monster Mercenaries

Going once…going twice…sold to the very hot orc in the back row!

Don’t ask me how I got here. One minute I’m breaking up with my ex and the next I’m standing on a block, being sold off as a mate in a bizarre auction. The highest bidder? A monster. Literally. When the orc warrior takes me home and gives me a taste of his superhuman skills, I’m too satisfied to be scared. And when a minotaur mercenary joins us, we are more than happy to let that bull horn in on our fun. 

I’m living in a fantasy world…and loving every minute of it.

But now there are malevolent forces threatening us, and I have to wonder if our romance will survive when we’re fighting for our very lives. Would my mates be safer without me? Should I try to find my way home, or is there a way I can be a help instead of a hindrance? Some things are worth fighting for. And love is one of them.

            OLIVIA
           
I didn’t know how long I had been a prisoner in this strange land. I just remembered having that huge fight with my asshat of a boyfriend, him dumping me out of the car on the side of the road then driving off. Having no other options, I limped down the road, my fire-engine red stiletto heels not suited for a long walk on a deserted road. And yes, the Eagles song about Hotel California was playing in my head the whole time, especially when the fog drifted in and I got disoriented. Then I got dizzy. The ground became uneven and difficult to walk on. Then I felt woozy and woke up in this weird renaissance faire land. Only, it wasn’t make-believe, I hadn’t bought a ticket, and I didn’t think there was a way home. So much like the song.
I had been here several days at least. I had woken up in a wagon that was little more than a wooden box on wheels with a roof to keep out the sun, with a few openings in the wood to let the air in. The only light came from cracks in the wood and the small window in the back that was too small to fit through, and since there were three metal bars on the window, I was definitely not getting out that way.
The hay that was my current bed was scratchy and rough, and smelled like it had been out in the weather for a while and had gotten wet, with mold possibly growing in pockets in the recesses where I didn’t want to look. My hands were bound in front of me and a chain trailed from my ankle to a bolt in the floor, my shoes no where to be found. That really pissed me off. They cost me a month’s salary, not that my loser of a boyfriend helped pay for them, even though he loved me in them. Four-inch, spiked heels. Fire-engine red leather. A killer to walk in, but he didn’t like them on the ground. He was more into them on his shoulders or digging into his back. Right about now, if I saw the asshat, the heel would be digging into his balls.
Outside the wagon I could hear the creaking of wood and the clop of hooves in the dirt, the squeaking of the axles and wheels as they rolled along. The wagon wheels clunked as we rolled over the ground, the livestock that followed that the weirdest parade lowing and baaing. I was in a country version of Oklahoma and I wasn’t happy about it at all. But hey, I didn’t have to pay my rent or credit card bill for my shoes, so there was an upside. Maybe my asshat boyfriend would have to get a job or live in a box with his Xbox.
The wagon ride seemed to go on forever. I was exhausted and hungry and thirsty, but the man driving the wagon hadn’t offered me anything except at night when we’d stop. He had been rough but hadn’t tried anything with me. All he said was that I would fetch a good price at market as long as I was unspoiled. Did that mean I was food or worse? I didn’t know what he meant exactly, but he was carrying hides and leading livestock and wouldn’t answer any questions. But he didn’t touch me, which was a huge relief, so maybe it would be okay.
Each evening he would let me out to stretch my aching and sore muscles after being cramped and bruised in the wooden wagon, the hay being little barrier to the hard floor. And the roads were rutted and full of potholes which transmitted every bump since they hadn’t heard of shock absorbers in this backwards, god-forsaken place. I’d pee and do other stuff behind a bush, eat some stew with coarse bread then back into the cart for more endless rocking. 
The first few nights I tried talking to him. Well, I tried pleading to let me go, bring me home. Then I tried bonding with him. Isn’t that what you were supposed to do with your kidnapper? Create empathy so he wouldn’t hurt you? He only grunted and told me to mind my mouth. I was going to the house no matter what. And I could do it with or without a gag. Judging by the filthy state of his clothes, I’d rather skip the gag, assuming it wouldn’t be any cleaner than him. So I shut up. 
After several days, we rattled up to what looked like a medieval village and all hope for escape turned to despair.
The village was surrounded by a stone wall and a few guard towers with guards standing on them. The streets were dirt with a few muddy puddles. The buildings were low and square, with thatched straw roofs and wooden doors. The whole town looked like a decayed version of a medieval village, like one that you’d see in a picture book or on postcards or in a movie or in a T.V. show or a video game or a book. The whole place felt like tat, like you were in a movie and a director was telling you where to stand and what to do, that you couldn’t talk or do anything but act, like you were in some fantasy world.
The village was shaded by a wall of forest, but there were some buildings beyond the tree line. It was early spring, the days not hot, but still warm enough to not require a coat. The houses were a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs and were built of wood, stone and clay. The roads were dirt and the majority of the people were peasants in simple peasant clothing, but there were also soldiers in armor and noblemen in richly decorated clothing. 
I had no hope of figuring out how I got here or where I had even come through from my world. Nor would I be able to find my way back, being hopeless with directions without a GPS. As I looked out from the bars, this was something out of a fantasy movie or a role playing game that my boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend probably, used to play.
All manner of creatures walked through this town, not just humans. In fact, there were few humans. Large, strange creatures wandered the streets, the likes of which I had never seen except in those stupid video games or fantasy movies my boyfriend made me watch. I had no idea what to call some of these creatures so I relied on what he called them. It terrified me, reinforcing that I was in a whole new world, and it may never change.
Green-skinned orcs with tusks jutting up from their lower jaws, strong, powerful looking, easily seven feet tall and bigger than any man I had ever seen. Dark haired, fierce looking, with piercings through various body parts. They only wore trousers, more like shorts, leaving their chests bare, and a sword or other weapons arrayed on their body. The creatures of the town gave them a wide berth when the orcs walked by, with respect and a little fear.
Smaller creatures, somewhat misshapen and distorted, a lot smaller than me, though I was pretty tall, around five foot nine, which always irritated my boyfriend, especially when I wore the heels. These creatures, maybe goblins, had big bellies and spindly legs, and topped maybe five feet tall. They wore what looked like a toga, but I didn’t see weapons but I was sure they had them. They scurried about, usually in groups.
Much larger gray-green creatures, even larger than the orcs, and ugly, reminded me of trolls or ogres. They were solitary, ugly and grumpy looking creatures, carrying large axes or clubs. I vowed to avoid them if possible.
Then there was another species I never thought I'd see outside of mythology books. Half man half bull. A minotaur, that’s what it was. Huge, fur on most of his body, massive, towering over most of the creatures, with a brace of axes crossed over his back. 
Damn, I was in some weird-ass fairy tale, completely outside the realm of anything known. I was so screwed.
“Get out before I drag you out.”
My savior and owner glared at me from the opening at the end of the wagon. He’d treated me kindly so far, but the bars on the wagon and the bindings on my wrists reminded me that I was still his prisoner. I slowly got to my feet and inched my way out of the wagon. He unlocked the foot shackle and dragged me out. I stood and briefly contemplated running. But in which direction? Before I could decide, he attached a length of rope to the chain between my wrists.
“In case you get any ideas,” he growled.
I realized that the area had grown silent and we’d drawn a crowd, most of the creatures I had noticed earlier. I was still wearing the small red dress my boyfriend had liked me to wear when I had gone missing, the one I had hoped to have fun dancing in. Now it attracted far too much attention from these creatures, despite being torn and dirty and smelling far too fragrant from not bathing. But it revealed more skin that I would like from these creatures and, while I had loved showing off my body at the club, I longed for a cloak or something to shield me from the hungry gazes pressing close.
My captor waved a club at the pressing crowd. “Get back, you bastards. Pay your dues at auction if you want another look.”
He grabbed my upper arm, hard enough to leave prints, and hustled me through, liberally using the club to beat back anyone who got too close. He dragged me to one of the larger houses in the town that looked like an inn maybe with a signing swinging over the door. I didn’t get a chance to see what it said as he dragged me around the side to a smaller door.
He rapped on it three times and an older woman opened it, wearing a deep wine colored dress bordered in gold braid. She was older than me, probably in her forties, and attractive in a handsome way. She didn’t seem surprised to see us there—almost as if she had been expecting us, or at least him. She stepped back and motioned for us to enter then quickly shut the door behind us and barred it.
The woman led us down a hallway past several closed doors and into a larger room at the end. The room we entered was decorated with finely crafted furniture, velvet curtains and expensive artwork hung on the walls. In the center of the room was a large table with a decanter and glasses on it. A roaring fire burned in the stone fireplace against the wall. The woman gestured to one of the chairs and my captor settled heavily into the velvet-covered seat. The older woman remained standing, watching me. I wasn't offered a seat or a removal of the manacles.
“Hadron. I didn’t expect to see you. You almost missed our auction. What have you brought me this time?”
Her voice was brisk and her gaze assessing. I squirmed as the woman gave me an assessing look. “Found her in the forest in the border between our lands and the Orc lands, Odelia.”
Odelia took my chin in a surprisingly strong grip and tilted my head. “A very unique find, Hadron. A redhead. We haven’t had one of them in a long time. Curvy, sturdy. Our bidders will be very pleased. Too bad you’re coming in late. We could have driven up the entry fee considerably.”
“Not my fault the roads were muddy after the rainy season. You could always keep her for the next auction. Drive up the price, Odelia,” Hadron grumbled, glaring at me as if it were my fault that he was late coming in.
The woman gave a harsh laugh. “Not on your life. Not with the orc king seeking all human women and not caring if they’re in his domain or not. I don’t want to be caught with any unmated humans. It’s a death sentence, even if we’re not on orc land.”
Hadron grunted. “Fine. I’ll take my cut and go.”
“After the auction. It was good you paraded her a bit before you got here. Maybe more will come.” She turned to me, not unkindly. “Come, girl. You need a bath and clean clothes. And probably a decent meal. I’ve had his cooking. You’re lucky you didn’t die.”
Hadron grunted again and stomped off. Odelia took my arm in a firm grip and the door slammed shut behind me, ending my chance at freedom.