Page 41 of Gentle Giant

Five Montikaan malesescorted us to the cabin. We ran through the trees, not slowing our pace, not stopping for water or food. I held a basket filled with supplies Brutus had thoughtfully packed, and I tried not to think about all the food we were bringing with us. The women who weren’t holding babies carried baskets brimming with supplies, and according to Harmonn, it was enough food to sustain our group for a full moon cycle if need be.

I couldn’t imagine being parted from Brutus for a full month, and I hoped we’d simply brought the supplies as a precaution. Or perhaps in case some of the food stores in the cavern were destroyed if the mountainside caught fire.

My heart sank at the prospect of a massive fire destroying the Starblessed’s home. The cavern felt like home to me, and I longed to return, longed to return to Brutus. The idea of sleeping in the cabin again felt strange. I didn’t belong there. It was part of the human world I’d already decided to leave. It was Brutus’speople with whom I belonged, his tribe that had welcomed me with open arms.

I struggled to keep up with the group, and I soon found myself lagging behind. A male whose name I couldn’t remember slowed to keep pace with me, and Harmonn joined us as well. She carried a basket strapped to her back and little Karmm in her arms.

“Where’s your son?” I asked.

She displayed a proud smile. “He is at the front of the group helping to lead the way. He has traveled to your cabin before with Axxon during one of his scouting missions, so he knows how to get there.”

“Oh, I see.” I chuckled. “Please don’t be offended, but I’m not going to talk anymore. Need to save my breath for all this running.”

She laughed as we ducked under a low hanging branch.

My side ached and I felt light-headed, though somehow, I kept going, driven by the urgency of the situation.

Hours later, when the cabin came into sight, I slowed to a walk. Thank God. We’d finally made it. I noticed the women and children were lingering around the perimeter of the house, not yet going inside. As I approached, they all looked to me.

“They are waiting for you to invite them inside,” Harmonn whispered.

“But it’s not even my cabin. I don’t own it. I was just renting it for a couple of moon cycles.”

“Doesn’t matter. They think it’s yours, and most of them have never seen a human-made building before. Only the males have, since they travel farther from the heart of our lands than our females do.”

I approached the steps and paused, still trying to catch my breath. Once I no longer felt on the verge of collapsing, and the ache in my side lessened, I said, “Please come inside andmake yourselves comfortable. We can stack the furniture against the walls to make room for everyone.” No point in keeping the couches, chairs, and beds in their usual place. The Montikaans were too large to use them.

The front door was still open and hanging at an angle, and I smiled when I saw it. Brutus had broken it down the day he’d found me here. The day he’d stolen me away and took me to his secret Sasquatch cavern.

I jogged up the steps and motioned for the Starblessed to enter the cabin, and a sense of purpose filled me as I watched them cautiously walk inside. Even though this wasn’t my home, I would make them feel welcome for however long we had to stay, though I sincerely hoped it wasn’t more than a few days.

All the adults had to duck under the doorway, and so did a few of the older children. I bit back a laugh as I imagined how the very unhelpful Airbnb host would react if she knew one of her rental cabins was currently filled with Sasquatches.

Was Brutus covering himself with the smelly muck right now, preparing to climb into a tree while holding jugs of water? Or was he still waiting for the scouts to return?

A Feshhallian. I could scarcely believe one of the deadly aliens was still on Earth. The United States government had claimed all the Feshhallians were destroyed during the final battle, but apparently one of them had gotten away. I hoped it was just the one fire-loving alien. If there were more of them roaming the planet… I shivered at the thought.

As I guided a group of mothers who had small infants upstairs, a startling realization dawned. If I would’ve never come to Brutus’s mountainside, if he would’ve never captured me, his people might be facing complete annihilation. Because they wouldn’t have known to use water as a weapon against a Feshhallian. They wouldn’t have known the dark creature wasan alien from another planet, rather than an evil spirit that walked the earth.

I’d come to Brutus in a vision, while he’d featured in my dreams. I wasn’t a particularly spiritual person, but I knew without a doubt that a higher power had brought us together for a reason. Not just so he would finally find a lifemate, but so his people might be saved from the Volmatt tribe and their dangerous Feshhallian pet.

And me? I’d spent most of my life moving from place to place, wishing I could settle somewhere beautiful and be surrounded by people I cared about, people who also cared about me, a place where I truly belonged.

A real home.

I’d tried to find that with Nick, had hoped living with him and eventually becoming his wife would give me the peace and sense of home I’d desperately sought.

But it hadn’t worked out the way I’d hoped, and now I wasn’t sorry for it.

Because Brutus was my perfect match.

Hewas my home.

Chapter 31

BRUTUS

I smelled worsethan a flatulent elk. We all did. But the pungent muck was necessary to keep our natural scent from carrying through the forest. Still, I dreamed of walking into a cool river and washing the stench from my body, then using my healing energies on the water to remove the impurities. After that, a long soak in the hot spring with Hailey sounded perfect.

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