Page 1 of Savage Giant

Chapter 1

GORRAN

Trespassers.I suppressed a growl. The scent of their unwashed bodies assaulted my senses. I crouched in the bushes, spying on the human males who’d paused in a clearing. Three in total. Bloodlust hummed in my veins, but I took a deep breath and tried tamping down the desire to kill. The urge to terrorize and maim.

My eldest brother Brutus’s words echoed in my head.We must only kill those who pose a true threat to our tribe. If too many humans go missing on our lands, eventually more will come as they search for their lost brethren.

The wind ruffled my fur, bringing the foul aroma of the males directly to my nose. Disgusting. They smelled as though they hadn’t bathed in a full moon cycle.

Two of them began arguing, while the third and oldest male—whose hands were bound with thick rope—walked away a few steps and settled on the ground. As the elderly white-haired manshifted in place, he kept casting fearful glances at the bickering men who were apparently his captors.

On silent feet, I moved closer to the clearing, darting between trees and bushes as I attempted to remain hidden. Once close enough to discern the trespassers’ words, I stopped and kept my body aligned with a narrow fir tree. Then I listened to the unfolding argument.

“We could toss him off a cliff,” the dark-haired man said. “It’ll seem like an accident if anyone comes looking for him. People will think he slipped or maybe offed himself.”

“That’s a terrible idea, you idiot,” the yellow-haired man sneered. “He’s a seasoned hunter who knows these mountains like the back of his hand. And nobody in their right mind would believe he killed himself. He’d never willingly leave that wife of his. Not when she’s so sick.”

“Well then what doyousuggest, numbnuts?”

“We kill him and bury him deep in the woods. Somewhere no one will ever think to look. There are shovels in the truck.”

“Please let me go,” the prisoner said, his eyes beseeching. “My wife needs me. Please. She doesn’t have much time left, and I’ve got to take care of her. We can forget this whole thing. I won’t report you to the authorities. I give you my word.”

“Shut the hell up!” roared the dark-haired man. He marched to the prisoner and kicked him hard, which caused the elderly man to roll on his side with a gasping wince.

Rage flared inside me. In my tribe, we revered our elders.

I closed my eyes briefly and absorbed the emotions and spiritual energies rolling off the three men.

From the prisoner, I detected worry, fear, innocence, injustice, and regret. Yet no hatred. Not even for the men who were talking about killing him. And above all, I sensed genuine benevolence, a deep desire to perform good deeds and help others.

From the bickering men, I felt darkness, greed, fear, and undeniable wickedness. I tensed, ready to intervene if the dark-haired man attacked the prisoner again, but he walked back to his comrade, leaving the elderly man whimpering on the ground.

“We can’t let him go,” the dark-haired man said. “He’ll snitch the moment he’s free. And I’m not going back to jail.”

“I agree. Okay, we’re doing this my way. We take him farther up the mountain, then strangle him with rope and bury him as deep as we can dig. We can head straight to Canada after that and continue traveling north to my cousin’s place in Alaska.”

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

The elderly man tried to scramble away as his captors approached, and I decided it would be the perfect moment to reveal myself.

I emerged from behind the tree and made my footsteps purposefully loud. Twigs snapped beneath my feet, drawing the attention of all three human males.

Shock rippled over their features. Three faces went pale, three mouths parted in surprise.

I stood two heads taller than the dark-haired human, who was the largest of the males. Savage, violent urges filled me, and I reveled in the fear that brimmed in their eyes.

The two would-be murderers unsheathed large knives. No guns, which I found curious. Human trespassers most always possessed guns. But I already knew they didn’t have guns—I would’ve caught the strange metallic scent of such a weapon on the breeze. If they’d had guns, I would’ve attacked them from behind, before they could see me coming. Having been shot once before, I wasn’t keen to repeat the experience.

Their knives glinted in the sunlight that pierced the canopy overhead. It was a rare sunny day on the cusp of winter, and I was glad for the brightness of the afternoon, for it meant thehuman males would see me clearly. They would see me for the monster they believed I was.

I took a deep breath and roared loud enough to rattle the branches of the nearest trees. The stench of urine had me wrinkling my nose. A wet spot appeared on the dark-haired man’s pants. I smirked before roaring again, and the two would-be murderers spun on their heels and fled the clearing.

The chase was on.

I took off after the men, leaving the elderly one behind. I would come back for him later.

I reached the dark-haired human first. With a thunderous growl, I pushed him to the forest floor. His knife flew from his hand, but he grasped for another hidden in his boot, a smaller blade that probably wouldn’t even pierce my hide. I chuckled and circled him as he pointed the knife at me.

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