Page 4 of Savage Giant

Though I didn’t comprehend some of what the elderly man had said, I understood enough to know the human males I’d mortally wounded would be considered villains by their own people, and he’d revealed enough to satisfy my curiosity. I nodded and gestured south, in the direction he’d pointed while mentioning the truck.

“You may leave the mountain and return to your people,” I said. Stepping closer, I grasped his forearm and peered into his dull brown eyes, and my entire body tingled as I summoned my ability to glamor. “Leave the mountain and don’t come back. You don’t want to come back, not even to hunt. You are confused and you have no idea how you got here, but you will go home immediately. Go home to your mate. Your wife.”

“Go home,” he repeated in a soft whisper, his eyes glazed over. “I-I’m going home.”

I released his arm, and he headed down the mountain without a backward glance. Relieved that he would have no memory of glimpsing aSasquatch, I followed him to the truck, though I kept my distance so he wouldn’t hear me and turn around. Once he climbed into the vehicle and took off, I let loose a long breath.

“Feeling merciful today, brother?”

With an annoyed growl, I spun to face Mastorr. He was the only member of our tribe who was quiet enough on his feet that he could sneak up on me when downwind.

“What are you doing here?” I shot him a glare, but he only laughed.

“Looking for a human female, of course. There are several cabins in this direction. Though they are most always unoccupied, I visit them every few days to check for new arrivals on the mountain. The next time a young, fertile human female sets foot on our lands, I intend to claim her for myself.” His eyes glowed with warmth. “Ever since our father’s spirit came to Brutus in a vision and told him that all three of us would take human females as mates, I have prayed for the Great Spirit to guide a sweet human woman into my arms.”

I snorted. “If you want a human female so badly, visit Newhalem next time Axxon goes to spy on the town and take one for yourself.” Newhalem was the nearest human settlement, and Brutus had charged our cousin with keeping an eye on the humans there, particularly in regard to how unsettlingly fast the population of the town was growing.

Mastorr’s face darkened. “You know it is dangerous to interact with humans beyond our borders. We must keep to our lands and hope the human males do the same, while also praying their females wander into our lands.” He cleared his throat. “Father told Brutus that human women were our path forward after we lost so many of our own females in the tragic blaze. You should be out looking for your mate rather than going on killing sprees.” Though his words were a bit harsh, he spoke in his usual gentle tone.

I forced in a steadying breath. “I don’t go on killing sprees—I help to protect our lands. And yes, sometimes protecting our lands means taking lives. And as for looking for my mate,she’s gone. Sashona’sgone. Dead. Killed in a blaze caused by humans.” My throat tightened with emotion.

“You were courting Sashona,” Mastorr said softly, “but you hadn’t mated yet. Even if you had, she is sadly gone, and you would be free to mate with another female—a human one.”

“Stop looking at me with pity, brother, or I will smash my fist in your face.” I ground my teeth together and took a few steps back, not trusting myself to remain calm. “You don’t know what it was like. I feltcalledto Sashona.Calledto mate with her. And then suddenly she was gone and…” My voice trailed off and I swallowed hard. “I doubt I will ever feel called to mate with another female, Montikaan or human.”

Before he could reply, I stomped off through the trees, my strides long and rapid, human blood still coating my hands. I didn’t look back, and I spent the rest of the day securing the markers that lined our borders, twisting new branches and urinating on them to ward off pullshannas—Montikaan males from other tribes.

Eventually, darkness claimed the land. I made a nest of dried grass and twigs, then curled up underneath the brilliant night sky. Alone with my grief.

Chapter 2

CARI

My skin crawledas Salax idly caressed my arm, a show of power as I stood at his beck and call. He hadn’t dismissed me yet, so I had no choice but to remain at his side. I tried to maintain a polite smile, but it wasn’t easy when I wanted to smack his hand away and dump the bourbon I’d just brought him over his head.

Four more years. Four more years and then I would have my late father’s debts paid off and I could leave this soul-crushing place.

“You look ravishing tonight, by the way, Cari,” he said, not taking his eyes off the tablet in front of him. “You should wear this red dress more often.”

I hated myself a little as I said, “Thank you, sir. I will.” And suddenly I was glad he wasn’t looking at me because I found myself blinking back tears.

Last time he’d caught me crying, he’d screamed at me for being ungrateful and ordered me to get on my knees and apologizeto him. All while his goons had watched.

It had been the most humiliating experience of my life.

Four years. How would I survive four more years in this hellhole? I’d barely made it through the last year. I longed for freedom. I longed for safety. Not that there were many safe places left on Earth…

Too many people like Salax held power in the world. People with hearts filled with greed and hatred. I glanced at the table in the corner of the room where boxes of Vaxxlian blasters were stacked. Contraband, alien-made weapons that would bring him a fortune while half the city lived in squalor and starved. On another table, there were piles of old-fashioned but refurbished human-made weapons that would also fetch a handsome sum on the streets.

“It’s seven o’clock,” Salax said. “Go fetch my dinner, Cari. And make sure there’s a goddamn salt shaker on my tray this time.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” I exited his office, relieved to be away from his caressing hand. My arm prickled where he’d repeatedly touched me.

I passed the armed guards outside the door, then strode down the hallway, dreaming of the day I would finally be free.

My feet ached in the five-inch heels I wore, and bone-weary fatigue clutched me. While my job wasn’t too physically demanding, itwasmentally exhausting. The endless fake smiles and pleasant responses to Salax’s brash orders were taking a huge toll on my health, and I felt like a shell of my former self.

I despised the man with every fiber of my being, and I wouldn’t be sorry if one of his numerous enemies succeeded in taking him out.

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