The Orc's Prize: A Steamy Monster Romance Short Read

by S. Alexander

I was supposed to expose the monsters… not fall for one.

Oblivion Lock wasn’t on any map—until the Authority bagged me, dragged me underground, and threw me into a freezing cell with a seven-foot orc who could snap me in half.Garruk should terrify me.
He does.
But he also shields me, helps me, and watches me like I’m something worth protecting… something his.

When the prison goes into chaos, we escape together—fighting guards, golems, and a Warden who wants us dead. And somewhere between dodging death and pressing up against him in narrow tunnels, I realize the

I’m not afraid of the monster in chains.
I’m afraid of how safe I feel with him.

He calls me “little thorn.”
His mate.
His prize.

And I start wanting a future that shouldn’t exist for a human and an orc on the run.

I came here searching for my best friend.
Now I’m holding hands with the monster who would tear the world apart to keep me.

Freedom is close.
So is falling for him completely.

53 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2025

Reviews

[Kate V · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 smut-scale stars!

"My protective, city-hating orc. What am I going to do with you?"

"Keep me," I say. Her smile softens.

"Always."

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short story about a human woman thrown into a cell with a huge orc who basically decides she's his mate because she doesn't scream and try to get away from him. They break out what seems like moments later and try to dodge whoever is running the place while also looking for the lady's friend.

In the end they get into a fight with the prison's warden and some guards. It's basically a 'brains and brawn' working together to defeat the bad guys moment. Pretty standard. They basically fall in love in a couple of hours and declare their undying love. I feel like it's some short story you would listen to off Instagram in that regard.

The spice was quick, not all that graphic and happened at the weirdest times really. I would not be thinking hanky panky while trying to escape from a death prison, you know? Okay we are done doing the deed, now let's sort ourselves out and continue running away from the bad guys who are now closing in on us. Uuuhhhh, what?

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're back in the monster prison and this time around we have a lady thrown into a cell with an orc. She was trying to figure out what happened to her friend, he's been locked is this prison for ages. They meet. He knows she's the one for him. She's not onboard quite as quickly as he is, but the big guy hasn't killed her yet so HEY let's do this.

I have to say I'm a little iffy on the timeline for this one. Lily and Malek (book 1) broke out a couple weeks before (based on Tara looking for her here)? And then there was a second prison shake-up that let Garruk and Tara escape? Or did this all happen around the same time? To be fair, I'm really only here for the possessive monsters finding their special someone, so the timeline isn't completely killing the vibe for me. Still, I have questions about when this takes place in relation to book 1.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Ka'Lynn Paz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you want to read the fastest paced story ever made? look no further. This was maybe 50 pages of pure " GO GO GO" and not in the best way. the main characters somehow are none stop moving and yet having sex and healing wounds while running for their lives out of danger....in a day. yeah, a single day .. several hours maybe. Not a single moment of stopping and putting any real effort into building our characters. not even a stop to share names (and yet she knows his somehow). This was awful.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing Headlines

Another quick and violent monster romance in the creepy prison for monsters. This on features a human reporter and a battle scared Orc. She’s chasing her missing friend and a story, while he’s just waiting to die. Their escape was violent but their instant bond was pure magic.

[Kate Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, poor writing

The writing is abysmal. In the first act alone he’s supposedly in chains, but the chains are never again mentioned, and he’s able to beat up multiple guards unencumbered. I get that short romances aren’t always perfect but this is that bad. Couldn’t even get past the second chapter, not worth the time.

[Jennifer Reimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining

This was a short fun read that follows an orc that was imprisoned for decades and a tiny little human sets him free and NIW the chase is on to get out of this dungeon of a prison.

[jennayadventures · Rating 3 out of 5]

First question - how did they know each others names when it wasn’t even mentioned to each other???

Second question - how did his cuffs unlock all of a sudden? No blood and just her being there??

Quickest spicy not spicy paranormal book ever!

[T. Vang · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOOD

I liked this book. I would have given it a 5 if it was longer to give the main characters a personality and depth. And this book had potential to be great but literally fell short because it was too short.

[Kayleigh Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

She comes looking

2nd in the series. She comes looking for her friend only to get imprisoned herself. Can she break the chains and destroy the prison?

[LastNightInVegas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Stephanie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read with some spicy moments. It moves the story along for the series. I enjoyed it!

[Dux [My week is Booked] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable
Steam 3

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy quick short read

fun to read not hard to follow along , one spicy scene , fated mates , orc and human .