A growling stomach woke Brand from his well-deserved nap. Realizing his hunger was the culprit, he got up and headed for the dining room hoping that he’d not missed the midday meal. Astrid and Uhtred had yet to come back from hiding their loot or were off playing with the other children while Magna was out. Brand wished he’d ask them to bring some food before he slept.

There were several children shouting, shoving, and shaking tables as Brand entered the room. He expected this outcome after learning of Magna’s absence. Maybe half the orphans meant to cook today would make enough boiled oats for everyone or serve the rest after they had their fill. The result was one person trying to serve up to 30 forcing several to go hungry, but Brand wouldn't be one of them.

Walking towards the crowd with the intention of barreling his way through, Brand was stopped by a wolf kin standing in his path.

She had short gray hair with bipedal wolf ears on top of her head. A thin layer of fur the same color as her hair veiled her body and like most beast kin regardless of if they were of cats, dogs, or even bears, she bore long fangs and sharp claws for starting flesh with ease.

The wolf kin girl lifted a bowl of oats up to Brand with a smile that was meant to be seductive and a wagging tail that was just comical to see. Ignoring the food, Brand looked the girl in her eyes without a hint of care or familiarity.

“What do you want... fuck, what’s your name again?”

The wolf girl’s tail stopped wagging and her smile changed to a frown. “Emla, damn it! You know my name Brand. We’ve been together since I can remember.”

“Oh,” Brand gushed, palming a fist in fake remembrance. “You're that evil little pup that made my life hell for fun.”

Elma looked away as his eyes turned hard.

Years ago, Brand was doting over the girl. When he shared his feelings, she laughed at him saying some of the most colorful insults he’d ever heard about his dark features.

Worse was after the rejection, Elma told everyone leading many of the children to tease him for his dramatically different features. The teasing led to beatings over time that led to Brand constantly fighting bullies until he’d grown tall enough and strong enough to become an orphan lord himself.

To this day, he still hated her for all she’d done, but he knew why she did what she did.

Beast kin were treated poorly by most people, Saint Hilda's not being an exception. Magna would not stand for it, but the children found ways around her. This treatment stopped when Brand became the new target saving many beast kin and the other non-humans from torment.

Even so, he hated her. Whatever she's done came from a place of desperation to fit in. her rejection might have even been a part of it, but that didn’t mean he’d let her into his gang.

Elma was scheduled to leave Saint Hilda's at the same time as Brand, but unlike him, she had no plans. If she was lucky, a pack on woodlands street would take her in, adding one more to a lot of starving beast folk. Being smart enough to see Brand making plans for the future, she'd been trying to join his group for the past year with no results.

Elma looked back at Brand with pleading in her voice. “Can't you see I'm trying to make up for all that?”

Brand pointed a finger at the bowl. “And you think food will help.”

Elma face reddened speaking in a whisper “I could offer more.”

Brand grabbed the bowl and found a table to sit on. Not meeting Elma's eyes, he spoke over his shoulder. “Go find Ooba. He still wants you. I don't.”

“Elma, where the hells is my food!” yelled the boy Brand had just spoken of.

Ooba was another orphan lord that hated him with a passion. His anger towards Brand was due to Elma being his woman while she tried to gain Brand's affections.

Being a human of particularly short stature, Ooba was not the sort normally seen as an orphan lord. He had black hair that was messy and long with a spotty beard. With a lanky frame, Brand and Elma both towered over him. The only reason he ran anything was due to the shock he could give every hour or so.

The pain and paralyzing effect quickly gained him followers, but out in the Null Road would only gain him a bloody death. If someone could recover or had a friend nearby, Ooba would die in the encounter. So, to Elma, he also had no prospects after leaving the orphanage.

Ooba made an angry face at Elma then at Brand then back to Elma. The words he’d meant to say were stayed by a low growl that came from the beast kin’s throat. As Ooba stepped back, Brand chuckled with a mouth full of oats.

“She gave it to me,” he said, mixing the bowl with a spoon.

Ooba's anger flared and with it came a blue crackle and popping sound from his hands. When the sound ceased, Brand chuckled louder. “Temper, temper, Ooba. What are you going to do now that your one-shot focus is gone? Well, it's not like that would have stopped me anyway.”

For many years, Ooba shocked Brand several times a day following Elma's lead. That all changed around three years ago when he grabbed Ooba while being shocked. The move sent lightning back into him with a painful result. Months later, Ooba somehow learned to defend against his own power, but that didn't matter. Brand simply learned to choke the boy without letting go even when shocked.

Powerless, embarrassed, and filled with rage, Ooba turned around to leave. He stopped after seeing that Elma would not follow. Sending one last hateful glare at Brand before leaving, he stormed out of the room.

“Not gonna feed your man?” Brand inquired as he finished his meal.

Taking a seat next to him Elma came in close to whisper in his ear. “I only want you, Brandy.”

Brand grasped Elma's hand squeezing it until she winced in pain. “You don't get to call me that.”

“Brand,” Elma gasped out trying not to flinch more than she already had. “No other woman that wants you.” She put a hand on his thigh near his manhood inching closer with every second.

Brand’s grip loosened. It's not that he didn't want Elma, he just didn't want to care about her. She was pretty, she was the only woman he knew that actually wanted him despite her obvious motives, but he didn't trust her, and he didn't trust himself not to want to.

Brand grabbed Elma’s hand and pulled it away. His voice held the edge of a threat, a warning, and a promise at the same time. “Not with you. Not ever.”

Uhtred suddenly ran into the room stopping in front of Brand. “They're here for you!”

Brand stood up quickly shoving Emla away from him. “Who's coming?”

“What are you two talking about?” Elma asked her voice growing louder as if it would stop her from being ignored.

She tugged on Brand's shirt trying to his attention, but he knocked her hand away like an annoying fly and made for the front entrance with Uhtred on his heels.

“There are about 20 men,” Uhtred said. “I don't know if they are mages. Wait, why the hells aren't you running away.”

“Like I said,” Brand answered, resting against a wall to peek outside without being seen. “If it's a mage or cultivator I'm dead anyway but I should be able to outrun the city guards without magic.”

Looking into the courtyard Brand was relieved to only see about 20 guards. “I can handle this,” he thought with relief before eyeing who they were guarding.

Magna and Azmina walked at the center of the unit talking like old friends. “Why is Magna with them?” Uhtred asked in disbelief as he looked through another window.

“This is probably a good sign,” Brand decided. “I don't see Magna happily talking with people here to kill me.”

Elma appeared next to Brand looking through the same window as him. “What did you do to get a bunch of guards after you?” she asked, sounding scared. “And some kid.”

“Oh!” Uhtred exclaimed. “That's the foreigner you saved right. Your right, she is pretty.”

“If you like a woman with no curves,” Elma remarked in spite.

Brand put a finger to his lips. “You two, shut it.”

It was then Azmina stopped talking. She looked up at the orphanage somehow meeting Brand's eyes with a smile. He stopped looking through the window knowing that there was no hope if the noble wished him harm.

“I'm heading out,” Brand said to Uhtred while still ignoring Elma.

“Uhtred, stop him,” she said forcefully standing in Brand's way.

The thief instantly grabbed the back of Brand’s shirt. Unable to slow him down, he was dragged along, feet sliding across the floor.

“Just wait,” he begged, struggling to keep his footing. “We need to know more before you go out there.”

“The girl already saw me,” Brand explained, resignation in his voice. “If she’s anything like her brother, I’d rather her not bust in here to find me.”

With that said, Uhtred let go, not wanting to be at Brand’s side as he faced his fate. Brand then put his arms in Elma’s armpits lifting her straight up as she flailed around in protest and placed her behind him. Steeling his nerves, he made his way outside hoping for a thank you instead of an execution.