Page 4 of Trolling For Love

“I can hear all things in nature if I listen.”

“Wow,” he whispered, and for a moment he looked at me not like I was a troll, but like that didn’t matter. At that moment, I wanted him to look at me like that again. Even if I didn’t fully understand why that was. “Why is that?”

“I was born of the natural world when my country was being formed of fire and ice. I will always be connected to that world.”

“I don’t want to harm the trees. Quite the opposite. I want to make sure they stay healthy, and we give them plenty of room to grow. But we’re in the lumber business, so we do need to harvest some.”

“The trees understand. They’ve survived worse than being cut down.”

“I’m always careful to not take too many and wary of the location so we don’t cause erosion.”

He gave me that look again and this time I walked away. Nature was easy to understand, humans were far more complicated.

Chapter 4

FLYNN

Gunnar was fascinating, and I wondered why I hadn’t taken more time to talk to some of the other monsters who now lived here. I wanted to know more about where he’d come from because I didn’t think Iceland had trolls that lived there, but maybe they did. “You said you were from Iceland, are there other trolls there?” I asked as we walked from tree to tree.

“There are a few, but most live in the monster realm now. The human world is not a good place for us, or for humans if we’re there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I stopped eating humans because there were many other things to eat, and I hated that they were always so terrified of me.”

“I can’t imagine them being terrified of you.” I lied, and he rolled his eyes at me.

“If you saw me tear apart your workers before drinking down their blood and eating them whole, then how would you feel?” he said, and something in him changed. His friendly manner disappeared, and all that was left was a monster. His horns and fangs seemed to grow and become even more threatening while he seemed to loom over me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you,” I said, not really sure what else to say.

He smiled then, showing his white teeth and sharp fangs. “You didn’t. I just wanted you to understand I am a monster. There was never a time I’ve lived as a civilized creature before now, and only after going through the training they offered me at the center.”

“Are you all alone? I mean you said there were other trolls. Did you have a mate?” I hoped that was the right term.

“There were more of us but none of us were mates. Trolls can take a mate, but not many do.”

“Why is that?” I asked and stopped walking to face him.

“Most trolls do not like to share. Having a mate means sharing food, shelter, and everything else.”

“What about companionship?” I asked. I didn’t mind being alone, but I wouldn’t mind someone to spend time with.

He glanced at the ground and seemed to gather his thoughts before he spoke. Then he met my eyes. “I want to find a companion. I’ve grown tired of being alone.”

His expression showed me he was sincere, and the loneliness in his eyes explained exactly why. “There’s an app that helps monsters find their match. Sort of like a dating app.”

He wrinkled his nose at me before answering and where he’d only a moment before looked fierce and threatening, now helooked adorably awkward. “They showed us this during training, but I was never brave enough to try it.”

“I’m on it,” I admitted. “I wasn’t looking for anything serious, but I was curious about the app.”

“Have you used it?”

“No, I made a profile and scrolled some of the other profiles, but I haven’t tried to match with anyone. How about you?”

“I also made a profile, but I haven’t tried to match. I was afraid I’d end up with another troll,” he said and faked a shiver.

I laughed unable to hold it back and I would have sworn he smiled a little too. “Hey, maybe you’d meet a nice troll that wants the same things you do.”

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