Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“Fear not.”
Dustin didn’t know that a simple touch and two words could provide such comfort. The man’s voice and language sounded ancient, as if he was far wiser than his years. Dustin stood to his feet before a hero, a titan, feeling unworthy in his soot- and grime-covered overalls, but he didn’t care as he got lost in that concentrated glare. The titan was a remarkable man to gaze upon but even harder to look away from.
Dustin stood in the middle of disaster and ruin, years of his hard work and dedication wiped out within minutes. The titan was standing far closer to him than he should a stranger, but Dustin didn’t move, and he didn’t dare object. The man flung one side of his robe off his shoulder, and Dustin got a whiff of his scent over the scorched land. He smelled like the woods on a warm autumn afternoon.
He began to repeatedly move his muscular arms around in a circle until the ashes began to rise and spin into a cyclone, gathering until all of the land was clear of the ashes and ruin. The titan opened his arms wide, his eyes closed as if he was waiting for a hug as he whispered words Dustin couldn’t hear. The wind picked up, warm and damp like the start of a fall rain shower.
By the time the warrior was finished, Dustin was left speechless. He didn’t know what to think or feel as raw emotion burned in his center. A confident, calloused palm touched his jaw, thick fingers pressing into the scruff of his beard. Dustin had a sudden urge to clamp both of his hands over the titan’s where it held him so he could keep him from moving, ever. But he remained still, mesmerized.
“Calm your mind, beautiful human.”
Dustin gasped at the honey-coated words and chanced a look up, the vision before him almost knocking him on his ass. It’d been years for him, but Dustin had no doubt that he saw desire and appreciation in the man’s green gaze.
“Your fields will blossom again at first light. Plant your new harvest, and you will see bountiful rewards. Your pack will eat and be healthy.”
It was a small relief that the spring and summer months had been so warm, and now that autumn was upon them, their fields were primed for their fall crops.
Neither of them moved, and the titan didn’t speak for a long moment, nor did he step away as his thick eyebrows dipped low like he was confused. Or curious, Dustin couldn’t tell. The man’s large hands cupped his face, then slid behind his head to the nape of his neck. Dustin’s heart beat a bass drum behind his rib cage, his wolf pacing and howling for him to get closer to absorb more of this man, this earth soldier’s potent energy.
The touch was intimate, close, their bodies only inches apart, the hulking man’s glare lingering on his mouth before slowly traveling back to his eyes.
“Who are you? What is your name?”
It took Dustin a minute to find his voice. He’d just seen this godlike man come through the clouds on a horse not of this world. He didn’t exactly know who or what he was, but the fact that the beast of a man called him “human” had to mean that this warrior wasn’t. Dustin didn’t even know what direction he’d come from, only that he fell from the sky like an angel. Is that what he was? Dustin had never seen an angel decked out in so much suede and leather with a four-foot sword that shimmered bronze when it was in his hands.
“My name is Dustin Constus Hill,” he finally managed on a husky whisper. “I harvest the land for the pack.”
“Noble indeed,” the man rasped, his voice lowering to a puff of air that brushed across Dustin’s forehead. “I too, harvest for my lands.”
To Dustin’s absolute dismay, the sexy man oh so slowly dragged his hands down his cheeks until they were gone and back at his sides.
“My brother has found his true love here and has decided to make these pack lands his home instead of in the western realm. I will always come to his aid if he calls. And if you ever need me…” The titan placed his hand in the center of Dustin’s chest and closed his eyes, making his wolf go insane with want. The man spoke to Dustin without opening his mouth, but he still heard the words as clearly as if he’d spoken them aloud as a damp breeze touched his earlobe. “I am Notalus Cavalerie, Lord of Tir an Fhomhair. Do not forget me, handsome mortal. Whisper my name on the south winds, and I will come for you.”
Shifters began to come out of their cabins when the darkness lifted and the moon broke through the clouds, casting a light on the land they’d feared was gone forever. Dustin waved the shifters over to let them know it was okay—they were all going to be okay.