Red and Her Wolf (Kingdom, #3)

He lifted a shaggy black brow. “Going to deny it?”


Nostrils flaring, it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to go to hell. But a small voice she rarely heard, and never heeded, called her bluff. She was still trying to find a reason to hate him.

“How do I let go of something that was my constant companion all these years?”

“One day at a time.” Grabbing the knotted section of fabric wrapped around his slim waist, he tugged, releasing the wrap and standing fully nude.

Goddess he was beautiful. Every part of him was sculpted perfection. Blushing, she glanced away.

“I hear footsteps headed our way, it’s time to go. I do not wish to say goodbye, or be caught. Kermani showed me the dream stone that would open the portal last night. Keep to the shadows.”

White light flared from every pore, burning so bright she had to cover her eyes. When the light died, a big black wolf stared back at her.

Chapter 9

Ewan studied the woods, while alternately glancing at Red’s shadowy form hidden behind a large barrel shaped tree. Since leaving the Eastern realm six hours ago, they’d made their way slowly through a forest unlike any he’d ever known.

Crushing the dream stone beneath his paw, he’d opened the portal, able to leave before any eyes spotted their departure.

The incident last night had left him shaken and disturbed. Who was this woman? His mate? She was violent, ancient, yet in so many ways still young and na?ve, untried in the ways of the world.

Tasting the wind, he plucked through the miasma of scent laden breeze. There was gingerbread, peppermint, and even the faintest whiff of molten chocolate.

Violet had stared in wide eyed wonder when they’d arrived at their next destination. Quiet and much more subdued than the day prior, as if she was thinking, sorting through thoughts, more likely wondering about not only him, but herself. Who she was and where she fit in this strange new world.

Again he glanced at her wraith-like form; pride bloomed in his chest seeing her move between the trees. Stealthy and silent, it was obvious to him she’d done this before. Her movements barely disturbed the gum drop leaves scattered upon the cookie crumble forest floor.

The sky was edged in bright washes of lavender and tangerine, a moon--not two planets--rested pregnant in a sky ready to descend into darkness.

Every so often her scent would tickle his nose, there was light, but like Miriam had warned in her letter… there was darkness too. Something malignant and foul that lingered in her blood. Huffing, blowing the stench from his nostrils he padded silently forward.

These forests were a macabre and intentional design. Within these woods lived a witch who preyed on the young. Every tree, every rock was made of sweets. Luring the children in deeper, making them forget the safety they’d left behind.

It would be good to rid Kingdom of the crone, but her death wouldn’t come by him.

Licking his muzzle, he glanced at her yet again. They’d not spoken a word since leaving his room. Ewan knew this form bothered her, saw it in the way she glanced at him when she didn’t think he was looking.

She was afraid, and he wished he could tell her not to be. That in this form he could kill, smell and see better than in his weaker human one. That he could, and would protect her from any and all harm. But the tradeoff for strength was his inability to communicate with her.

The path led straight and unswervingly forward. Many times his stomach grumbled, demanding protein. But to touch anything here was to alert the crone to their presence.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Red being the one to take her on. Miriam had called her a soul sucker, but hadn’t explained what that was. How to use the ‘gift’. The crone had killed many, Violet had killed one wolf, and had very nearly killed herself in the process.

He swallowed hard.

A thud sounded like a loud pop in his ears and he spun, the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he growled low in his throat. Nothing lived in these woods of horror. There were no land animals, no birds, no gentle hum of insects.

The crone had eaten them all.

He wasn’t sure what he’d find, a hidden trap, some beast let loose. Perhaps Red had begun nibbling on a tree branch. He should have warned her, he hadn’t thought she might not know the land as he did.

But it was none of those things. She was on her knees, head bowed, the red cowl covering her entire face. Calling the unbecoming, Ewan exhaled through the change, breathing through a transformation that pulled at bone and skin.

“Lass?” He trotted up to her and knelt by her side, heart clenching violently when he noticed the fat drops spilling from her cheeks.

“Who am I?” She sobbed, finally looking at him, blue eyes streaked through with red veins, as if she’d been rubbing them for hours. “What am I?”