Orc’s Promise by Julie K. Cohen

I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now I’m trapped in an impossible choice between the alien warrior I’m falling for and the son I’d die to protect.

When orcs raid the human settlement on Kovos, I’m kidnapped by mistake. I was only trying to save another woman, but now I’m separated from my six-year-old son with no way home. The orcs can’t return me—I know too much about their defenses. And I refuse to let them bring my boy here, where humans are seen as inferior.
Verig, the orc second-in-command, rescued me from a brutal captor and gave me a choice: his protection or take my chances with the others. Falling into his bed was pure weakness—and I can’t let it happen again, no matter how his touch sets me on fire or how he treats me like I’m precious instead of disposable.

This powerful male carries his own scars. He lost everything when his people fled their dying world, and he believes bonding with me—marrying me—will somehow redeem his past failures. But I’ve been used by men before. I won’t be anyone’s salvation.
When Verig defies his king’s direct orders in an effort to prove himself worthy of me, everything falls apart. He’s stripped of his rank and placed under the command of Yanzu, the brutal orc who first tried to claim me. Now Verig faces daily humiliation while Yanzu plots his revenge.
I could save the male who’s shown me what real protection feels like. Or I could save my child.
There shouldn’t be a choice.

So why does my heart feel like it’s being ripped in two?

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Mine to Possess
Orc’s Promise is a steamy enemies-to-lovers alien romance with high emotional stakes, featuring a fierce single mother and the honorable warrior who risks everything for her love.