Page 24 of Savage Giant

She’d told me about the weekends she’d spent at this very cabin as a child and claimed the Cascade Mountains were her most favorite place in the entire world.

I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d come close to crossing paths in years past.

Had I ever ventured near the cabin while she’d been here for a visit with her grandfather?

I liked to think I had. I liked to think at some point years ago, we’d unknowingly breathed the same crisp mountain air, inhaled the fragrance of the same flower-covered meadow. Even if we were both children at the time.

“We’re going to be here for a while, aren’t we?” she asked.

I surveyed the white, shimmering landscape. “Yes, I think we might be. Your cabin rests on the most southern border of the Starblessed territory,” I said, “which means it’s a long distance from the cavern. Under favorable weather conditions, it would take us well over half a day to reach the cavern from here. But in snow this deep? No, we must remain in the cabin for now, where it is safe and warm.”

She held out a hand to me. “Come back inside, Gorran. I’m getting cold just looking at you.”

I glanced down at my legs, the lower half of which were submerged in the snow. I wasn’t shivering—yet—but if I stayed out here for much longer, I would likely start to tremble from the cold. I joined Cari on the porch and stood a few steps away from her as I shook the snow from my fur.

She grinned at me and grasped my hand, pulling me into the house, not caring that my feet were still wet. She led me into the kitchen, and I was surprised by the sweet aroma that filled the space.

The oven glowed and I peeked through the transparent door to see a pan containing several round loaves of some kind. My people did not cook food like the humans did, though sometimes we marinated roots to make them last longer. I had no idea what she was making, but my mouth watered at the smell.

“Breakfast is almost done. Hope you like blueberry muffins,” she said with a glance at the oven. She pulled two plates from a cabinet and set them on the table. “I found a box of cornbread mix behind all the canned soup, and I took the liberty of addinga few extra ingredients, including a tin of blueberries that hadn’t expired yet.”

“It smells wonderful.”

She beamed with pride in the aftermath of my compliment, and my heart quickened to see her looking and feeling so joyous. She passed me a large mug of water and I accepted it with thanks. Drinking from a small human container was awkward, but I tried to make do. Usually, I quenched my thirst at a riverside, kneeling on the bank as I scooped handfuls of cool mountain water into my mouth. And when the weather was inhospitable during the winter months and a walk to the river was too treacherous, I would simply eat the snow.

As I watched Cari moving about the kitchen, putting things away and peeking into various drawers and cabinets, I experienced a stab of worry over whether she would easily acclimate to my way of life.

My personal alcove didn’t contain an oven, a microwave, a sink, a shower, or many other items I’d seen my female use during the last three days. I worried she would miss the human amenities to which she was accustomed.

Guilt settled over me that I hadn’t yet done anything to prepare my alcove for the arrival of a human female. Even though Brutus had insisted I would one day take a human woman as a mate, I’d never believed I would feelcalledto mate with any female again. As a result, I’d ignored his suggestions that I prepare my alcove for the impending arrival of a human female, just as he’d prepared his rooms for Hailey before he’d found her.

A ding rang out and Cari excitedly slipped a thick glove onto her right hand, then she opened the oven and pulled out the tray of muffins. Little whirls of steam rose from each tiny loaf. The delicious aroma became stronger, and my stomach rumbled loudly in response, which caused Cari to giggle.

“I’m sorry I laugh every time your stomach growls, Gorran. It’s just that it’s so loud I can feel the noise vibrating through me. It sort of… tickles.” She placed the tray of muffins on the table and sat down, then gestured for me to sit beside her.

I sank onto the large pillow she’d arranged on the floor for me—not that I required a pillow, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise. I thought the gesture sweet, and I once again marveled that she had prepared food for me.

Among my people, when a female offered food to a male who was courting her, it meant she was close to agreeing to become his mate. Close to offering herself up for claiming.

But as Cari placed a muffin on my plate, a howl echoed off the mountainside.

I was on my feet instantly.

“What is it?” she asked, unease emanating from her.

“It’s a Montikaan call for help, though I do not recognize the voice of the male who made it.” And if I didn’t recognize the howl, the Montikaan in question likely didn’t hail from the Starblessed tribe.

Fury swept through me.

A pullshanna.

Venturing into another tribe’s territory was considered an act of war. Yet the howl hadn’t sounded aggressive. Instead, it had sounded full of pain and fear.

Another howl reverberated over the mountainside, this one broken up, as though the male who’d emitted the call was in great physical pain.

With a growl of frustration, I walked to the front window of the cabin and peered at the snowy landscape, feeling pulled in two directions.

I was duty-bound to investigate a trespassing Montikaan, but I was also bound to protect my female. I didn’t want to leave herbehind while I went in search of a pullshanna, but I also didn’t like the thought of bringing her along.

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