Page 20 of Trolling For Love

“What do you think so far?” Flynn asked as he stood on a rocky outcropping looking out at the forest below.

“I think this is the most amazing place I’ve ever been,” I said but then movement to my right caught my attention. A white wolf. No, it was—more. I watched as it transformed into the same man we’d seen at the restaurant last night. “What do you want?” I yelled and shoved Flynn behind me.

“I mean you no harm,” he said, and held his hands out in front of him as he stood there naked, his white hair blowing in the breeze. “I came to warn you.”

“Warn me? Why would a leshy take the time to warn a troll.”

“Both of you,” he said. “Flynn, I know you know your uncle is dangerous. But you don’t know that he’s been going out on missions to find any creature outside the boundaries of the town to destroy. He’s also gathered a few locals to work with him.”

“What? How can that be? He knows it’s not legal,” Flynn said.

“He does, but he doesn’t care. So far, the institute does not know what he does. But soon they will, and when they do, they’ll make sure he doesn’t harm any other monster around here,” he said.

“I hoped he’d given up on hunting monsters. But yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him in a long time,” Flynn said.

“One of his followers works in your camp. Be careful,” the leshy said before he transformed into a deer and disappeared into the woods.

“Sounds like we were right about Gene,” Flynn said. “What happens now?” He was worried, and as his eyes scanned the area, I knew our perfect day had been ruined.

“Now we protect each other.”

Chapter 18

FLYNN

The weekend had started so wonderfully but ended with us deciding we needed to be careful who knew about us. The next few weeks dragged by in a haze of suspicion and the never-ending urge to fuck Gunnar. He’d destroyed me for ever being with anyone else, and if I didn’t believe he was my mate at first, after a few weeks I knew for sure it was true.

“Ben is trustworthy,” I told Gunnar, and he nodded as we once again drove to town.

“He has been a good friend, but for now I will not risk you now that I have you. It would be far easier to kill you than it would me, and if they know you are my mate they would go after you.”

“Let’s not spend much time in Elder Ridge this week. I have a bad feeling. We’ll cash our checks then get groceries. We can go through a drive thru on the way back and do laundry next week.”

“We will do as you wish. I do not want to take any chances,” Gunnar said, but he’d been quiet the past few days and I wondered if he was worried too.

“Bo wouldn’t have come all the way out here to warn us if he didn’t think we were really in danger,” Flynn said.

“Gene Redmond had many chances this week to do something, but he didn’t. I think they have a plan already and they’re waiting. We need to be ready. You need to be ready,” Gunnar said. It was obvious there was more he wanted to say but he didn’t, and I was too afraid to know what it was.

“Should you go to the institute and tell them what we suspect?”

Gunnar thought for a moment before he looked at me as I drove along the bumpy road almost to where we’d turn to town. “It might be a good idea, but I won’t leave you alone as long as we don’t know where your uncle is.”

“I could go with you. I don’t know if they’d let me in, but I think you’re right, we’re safer together.” He agreed, and we drove through town and right up to the gate that led to the strange research institute I knew nothing about other than helping monsters integrate into the human world.

“You will go as far as they allow. Security is very high there, and I’m not sure it would be allowed. But I won’t leave you defenseless,” Gunnar said.

I followed his directions to the large facility that at first, I thought was a secret military base, and maybe it was. All I really knew for sure was that monsters were helped to integrate into our world here. I parked in the lot across from the massive gate and turned off the engine. We got out of the truck, and he held my hand as we walked up to the guards that stood at the gate.

“I need to speak to Doctor Ryan,” Gunnar said as he spoke to one of them.

“I need to see your ID,” he said and held out his hand. Gunnar took out a small pack from his back pocket and took out the ID they’d requested. “You too,” he said, and waited for me to take mine out of my wallet. The guard walked into a small guardhouse and tapped at the computer before making a phone call. “What’s this about?” He asked as he returned our ID’s.

“There is a human who wants to kill me and my mate,” Gunnar said, blunt as always. The guard’s eyes widened before he went back and was on the phone again.

“Doctor Ryan said he’ll meet you in the reception area,” the guard said and pressed a button that opened the gate.

“Is it okay I’m with you?” I asked Gunnar.

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