Page 30 of Sweet Giant

The cabin creaked and groaned under the punishing wind, and I found myself moving closer to Mastorr, seeking the warmth of his body even though it was plenty warm inside thanks to the woodstove. Maybe it was the noise that drove me closer to him.

Mastorr shot me a surprised look, but quickly wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against his solid body, his immense warmth.

“Thanks,” I said. “I, um, guess the wind is freaking me out a little.”

His thick brows drew together. “Freakingyou out?”

“The noise of the wind and the cabin constantly creaking and groaning is making me nervous. When I lived in Seattle, loud or strange noises often heralded a missile attack or another danger. Some of my earlier memories are of being awoken in the middle of the night to air raid sirens and being ushered by my grandmother into the small, dark cellar to wait out the threat.”

His eyes gleamed with concern, but also a bit of confusion. “What is anair raid siren?”

“It’s a very loud noise that’s supposed to warn residents of a town or city that something bad is coming and you need to take cover immediately. In some parts of the country, it might mean a tornado is about to touch down. But where I’m from, it meant enemy vessels were incoming and might possibly attack.” I was glad to be out of Seattle, and I never wanted to live near a large city again. Even if it meant struggling for survival in a place that was lacking in resources. Even if it meant roughing it in the wild.

My heart skipped a beat as I gazed up at Mastorr. He’d finished eating and he was now stroking his hand along my arm, his touch causing goosebumps to erupt all over my body. My scalp tingled with sensation when he occasionally caressed my hair.

Summer. I’d promised to stay with him until summer. I swallowed hard as my hands started shaking. Maybe I’d lost my mind. There were moments I couldn’t believe what I’d agreed to.

My desire to be alone faltered whenever I looked at Mastorr. But even if I truly wished to remain alone, I needed to be realistic about my situation.

As much as I hated to admit it, I needed help. Badly. I was essentially stranded over forty miles from the nearest town. No more solar truck. No more fake identification or credit card. I shuddered to think what might happen to me if not for Mastorr’s arrival.

If Mountain hadn’t shown up, I would be okay. Even during the height of winter. But the fucker had taken my transportation and my access to money. A vision of myself trying to make it to town on foot in the cutting wind sent a chill through me.

As though sensing my inner turmoil, Mastorr tightened his arm around me. I finished off the last of my sandwich and snuggled deeper into his embrace. The wind continued to howl, and the cabin continued to make disturbing noises.

The sirens won’t go off. I’m not there. I’m not in Seattle.

I’m not working tonight. I’m not about to heal a horde of wounded rebels. Everything is okay. I’m okay… I’m okay… I’m okay…

Fuck. My chest felt tight, and my breaths kept coming quick but shallow. I hadn’t had a panic attack in weeks, but here I was, on the verge of tumbling into the pool of terror just because the loudness of the wind had set me off. I needed to stop thinking about the air raids and Mountain and the long nights I’d spent healing rebels. I needed to turn my mind off.

I pressed my face into Mastorr’s soft fur and forced in a deep breath, inhaling his enticing pine-woodsy-mint scent. My heartrate calmed, if only a little. Another deep breath, then another. I cleared my mind and inhaled his scent as if he were the cure to all my ailments.

Time passed. I couldn’t say how much. But I found myself yawning and blinking as I awoke later in the afternoon. Mastorr had shifted me to sit on his lap with my face resting directly over his heart.

Thump thump thump.

I sighed and laced my arms around him, content to remain on his lap. His closeness and his familiar scent had grounded me, saved me from falling into the throes of a great panic.

Thump thump thump.

Safe in his arms, trusting that he would protect me from any danger, I shut my eyes and drifted off again.

Chapter25

MASTORR

Though the snowstormhad ceased five days ago, the wind remained fierce, and the temperature had dropped as well.

I longed to take Liv to my people’s cavern, but I would not risk her wellbeing. Even if she dressed warmly and I carried her to the cavern, giving her the benefit of my body heat, she might still freeze. While I wasn’t an expert on humans and their limits when it came to severe weather, it was a risk I refused to take.

Her safety meant everything to me.

I stood next to Liv’s bed, watching her slumber. It was early morning, and she was sleeping longer than usual. But she looked so peaceful, I couldn’t fathom rousing her just yet. Her eyelids fluttered every so often, and she would make tiny whispering sounds, almost speaking during her dreams but not quite.

As I stroked her hair from her face, she sighed and snuggled closer to me, even in her sleep, seeking my touch. My heart filled with warmth. Oh, how I adored her, this sweet little half-human, half-Vaxxlian.

She’d started allowing me to hold her every day. Sometimes she would crawl into my lap, and other times I would hug her or just drape an arm around her. She also permitted me to carry her upstairs to bed each evening, a ritual I anticipated with ardor.

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