I followed the giant, plaid-covered stranger who promised warmth and lasagna to his truck across the road.
If this was the beginning of a horror movie, at least I’d die full.
Chapter 2
Axel
ThewindhowledasI pulled the truck into the clearing in front of my cabin, tires crunching over fresh snow. The lone building stood solid against the storm. I glanced at Ella. She hadn’t said much since we left her car, but her grip on the door handle had loosened. That was progress.
The moment I saw her stopped at the side of the road, the beast inside had insisted I stop and help. She was alone and stranded, the snow whipping around her tiny vehicle like it was trying tobury it from my view. Then when she’d opened her window that tiny crack, her scent had hit me like a punch in the chest. Instinct took over, and I knew I’d found my mate.
Mine!
She was the one! I wanted to roar and announce to the world that I’d finally found her.
But the way she’d looked at me like she thought I might attack her had hurt. It made my beast growl. I wanted to hunt down whoever it was that had made her so wary and end his pathetic life.
I killed the engine and stepped out first, hoping to open her door for her, but she was already climbing out by the time I reached her. I took her bags instead. The cold didn’t affect me much; I was immune to it, considering what I was, but the moment she was exposed to the chilled air and whipping snow, she started to shake.
Placing her bags down briefly, I removed my jacket and placed it over her shoulders.
“You d-d-don’t need to. I’ll be f-f-f-ine,” she chattered, clearly not fine.
“I don’t feel the cold,” I said honestly.
I picked up her bags again and started up the snow-covered path to my front door. She followed, bundled in my jacket, eyes scanning the trees like something might lunge out at her. I didn’t blame her. Trust didn’t come easily to people who’d been hurt,and I could tell that she’d been hurt. It was something our kind could feel.
“Cabin’s just up the path,” I said, nodding toward the porch. “Watch your step.”
She trudged behind me, boots crunching in rhythm with mine. I unlocked the door and pushed it open, the warmth spilling out like a hug. She relaxed the moment it enveloped her.
It was dark in the cabin, so the first thing I did was flip on some of the lights. Her eyes moved as she scanned the place, cataloging everything. The counters, the bookshelves, the worn armchair in front of the fireplace. Much of the cabin was open concept, except for the bathroom and bedroom.
I wondered what she thought of the place. It wasn’t much, but it was perfect for a yeti living on my own. Some people in these parts called me a sasquatch or bigfoot, but it was really the same thing, just words from different parts of the world.
As a species, we tended to stay at the fringes of society, though it was more a habit from centuries of hiding than a personal choice.
Since the fall of The Wall, I’d found myself spending more time in Darlington. The city was special in that many monsters went about without any form of magical glamour. It had been mostly a shifter and magic town before, so the switch had been natural. The high concentration of magical creatures and monsters had been the reason my family had settled in the area to begin with.
“I need to grab my groceries from the truck, but make yourself cozy. I’ll start up the fireplace when I get back,” I said before closing the door behind me and stepping back out into the storm, which was quickly turning into a blizzard.
When I returned, Ella was still bundled up in my jacket. It hung past her knees, almost swallowing her completely. She removed her shoes, which were caked in snow, and left them melting on top of the entryway mat. My boots joined them, and I marveled at how huge they looked next to her dainty ones. No wonder they called us Bigfoot.
Taking several large steps over to the kitchen counter, I placed my most recent haul down. Then I started unloading everything and putting it away.
“Hot chocolate?” I offered, after starting up the fireplace. “I know it’s just the mix, but with the marshmallows and some real chocolate added in, it’s almost as good as the real stuff. Almost.”
“You actually have that? It wasn’t just to get me to follow you into your truck?”
“Marshmallows too.”
“I’ll take it,” she said, grinning. She was relaxing a little already, though she still held herself stiffly, like she was ready to run.
I wouldn’t give her any reason to. While our kind were considered monsters, we weren’t really monstrous. More like gentle giants of the woods and mountains.
While I fixed the drinks, she parked herself in front of the fireplace, and I realized that I had one single armchair. I also only had one bed, but we’d figure out sleeping arrangements later, after she relaxed a bit more and didn’t look at me like I might grow claws and rip her to shreds.
I did have claws on my feet, but I’d never hurt her with them.
