Her Troll Defender (Beastly Falls)

Chapter 7

Jasmine

I know this forest is the same one I met Loth in, though I’ve never been here. The trees whisper, but I can’t make out what they are saying. There’s a chill to the air, but it isn’t the promise coming of autumn; it’s the kind of chill as a storm front moves through. My skin erupts in goose pimples.

A holler catches my attention. Loud, deep, anguished. A hurt animal? I pause my footsteps to listen. There it is again. Not an animal. A human—or monster. Again. Whoever it is, it sounds as if they’re tormented. I press on, drawn to the sound even though each wail breaks my heart.

There, under a gnarly oak tree that has withstood ice, drought, war, and floods, I see him. His beautiful gray back is to me as he kneels next to the tree. Head bowed, one dirty hand resting on the trunk of the tree, I hear one word, whispered and traveling along the wind to me. “Please.”

The word makes my own knees feel weak. I don’t know how I know his plea, his anguish, his pain is about me, but I do. The same way I know that this storm will not pass us unscathed. Loth will not be unscathed.

Carefully, I make my way to Loth, who doesn’t seem to know I’m here. Walking around to stand before, kneel in front of him, but his head doesn’t rise to look at me. He’s breathing heavily, crying. I’ve never thought that trolls might cry. The realization hits me like an avalanche. I want to wipe away his tears, but something stops me from touching him. “Why are you crying?” I ask, knowing he won’t answer me.

“Spirit of our town,” he whispers down at the ground. I realize his yells were to get the Spirit’s attention. She may not be paying attention to him, but I am. “Please speak with me, listen to me. Release Jasmine from our curse. She doesn’t need the burden of my fate upon her. I know my fate as stone awaits me once she leaves, but I love her and don’t want her to be shackled with me if she doesn’t want me.”

As soon as my hand touches his shoulder to comfort him, I’m jolted up in bed. Panting, sweating, I look all around, feel for him. Nothing. It was just a dream. Just a dream.

I pad around quietly, make my way downstairs for a glass of water. Pink light streams in through the windows, so I make my way out to the covered porch to drink my water and watch the sunrise.

Was it a dream? Or was it a memory of Loth yesterday? The sounds he made, they would certainly make for a sore throat. What was it he said in the forest? I’d be shackled with him? That seems a bit unrealistic. It’s true, I’ve never heard of fated mates before now. Thinking of meeting him in the forest, the jolt of electricity I felt when he touched me. Maybe there is a deeper connection between us.

He’d turn to stone? That’s what the mayor meant when she said his fate was tied to mine. That if I leave Beastly Falls and turn my back on Loth, my fated mate , that he’ll turn to stone. Tears flow from my cheeks at the thought of him, quiet and caring for the forest, turned into a troll statue for the rest of time. To be a resting place for sparrows, but not able to protect them if need be.

That’s how Esme finds me, ugly crying into my hands on her porch. “Oh dearie, what’s wrong? You can tell ol’ Esme.” She sits next to me on the porch swing and wraps me in her arms. Somewhere in the back of my mind, there’s a realization that a werewolf is hugging me, and that she’s comforting.

“I’m fine. Just a bad dream,” I manage to get out between heaving breaths. Now, hiccups. Great.

“You’re okay, now,” she soothes as she pets my hair. “How about some coffee and fresh crumpets for breakfast? I’ve been dying to try my new recipe on a guest! And we can get a dream catcher from Evinara. She works at Twilight Tree Yoga; she makes fabulous charms and amulets. We’ll send those nasty dreams on their way.” Wiping my tears, I smile at her and nod. I don’t want to tell her that my bad dream was the answer I needed.

By the time I’ve eaten two delicious crumpets smothered in butter and homemade peach preserves and drunk my coffee, my mind is made up. Showered, dressed, I hug Esme to thank her for breakfast, and go to find another fated mate.

Esme gave me directions to Jenny and Rook’s place. It doesn’t take me long to find it, though I have to pound on the door to get anyone to answer. Jenny, groggy and squint-eyed, disheveled in her pajama shorts and tank top, opens the door, eyes me up and down, then pulls me inside, slamming the door shut behind me. “The sun is too bright this early in the day,” she grumbles as she walks into the kitchen and gets herself a glass of water, her thin cotton robe trailing out behind her. Her kitchen is dark, all the blinds are drawn. In fact, the whole house feels as if it is still midnight inside.

“Late night?” I ask, smiling, feeling nervous at her abruptness. She waves a hand in the air.

“Hazard of being mated to a vampire.” With that statement, she grins at me. I can practically see the heart eyes floating above her head. “You must be the new girl.” I nod. Not wanting to sound like an idiot, I don’t ask what kind of adjustment loving a vampire has been. Jenny looks happy, healthy, if a bit tired.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just wanted to talk to someone like me…A newcomer. What’s it—”

“What’s it like being a fated mate in Beastly Falls?” The wry grin on her face tells me she understands me completely. “It’s bizarre. But once you embrace it—if you choose to embrace your fated mate—it’s delightful. I wouldn’t change a thing…except maybe being allowed to leave. But I’ve been reassured that will change after a time.” She shrugs and finishes her water, setting the glass on the black countertop.

“I was kind of hoping you’d say that. Thank you. And I’m sorry again for waking you. I’ll see myself out.” The heaviness of love and sleep in the air is almost too much.

“One more thing,” Jenny calls after me. I stop, my hand on the doorknob, and turn to look at her. “These monsters have the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met. If you decide not to stay, be gentle. They’re more fragile than they look.” I gulp hard and let myself out of the dark house.

Next stop, the forest to find Loth.