Red and Her Wolf (Kingdom, #3)

Red and Her Wolf (Kingdom, #3) by Marie Hall


Acknowledgements:

First and foremost to my fans for sending me awesome notes, asking when Wolf would finish, how much you love Kingdom. To you guys, you rock. Second, I could never have done this without the help of many, many wonderful people. Sonya, C.C., Joyce, and Jennifer… you all are always awesome and a real encouragement to me. To some very special fans: Gaele Hince, Livia, and Katie at Curse of the Bibliophile. You girls went above and beyond, I’m grateful to know you.

Dedication

To my fans, this one’s for you guys…

Red and Her Wolf

‘Bad boys need love too…’

Long ago there lived a beautiful child. Her name was Violet. Fair of skin, with blonde hair and large blue eyes. Born of wild magic, she was a woman with a child’s heart. Innocent and lovely, but not at all what she seemed--you see Violet went by another name: The Heartsong.

She was the child of fairy magic, the physical manifestation of all fae kinds unbridled power. Cosseted and pampered, she grew up in isolation, never knowing who she really was, or why there were those who’d seek to harm her.

Ewan of the Blackfoot Clan is a wolf with a problem. He’s been sent to kill the Heartsong, but the moment he lays eyes on the blonde beauty he knows he’ll defy the evil fae he works for to claim Violet as his own.

This is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as it really happened…



Prologue:

Long before the Hatter met his Alice, or Gerard his Belle… a Wolf claimed his mate…

Weak light spilled through the twisted forest. The sky, a wash of orange and pink, threatened to give way to night. Violet shivered, hugging her cape tight around her body. Strange sounds whispered on the breeze. The call of night owls and the squeak of tiny field mice played a gentle melody in the background.

But there was more--something slithering, creeping like the cold hand of death slinking slowly behind her. The wind whipped through her hair as she tried to brush it back. Her heart pounded a chaotic rhythm in her skull as she swallowed the bile working its way up her throat.

Grandmother hadn’t been feeling well. She gripped the handle of her basket, fingers clenched until her nails gouged her palm. Violet never strayed from the safety of her home, never farther than the river. Grandmother had taught her years ago that beasties of the worst sort lurked beyond.

She glanced up at the massive trees that towered above her. Skeletal branches twisted gnarly fingers heavenward. It was easy to imagine the forty foot behemoths might at any moment open sappy maws to suck her up.

Shivering harder, she picked up her pace, nearly running. Lungs heaving now with the effort to climb the steep hill leading back to the safety of her river. Night was closing in quickly. Already the colorful splash was giving way to the inky blue of a silver studded sky.

A raven cawed and ice skated down Violet’s spine. She swallowed hard, first noticing the bird back at the apple orchard. Yellow apples--almost golden the way they shone in the sunlight--a prize worth escaping the temporary safety of her grandmother’s home for. The gift should make her ailing Gran smile again.

Bushes rustled behind her.

Violet didn’t look back. She wouldn’t. To look back might make the fear manifest. Ignoring the knot of dread in her gut, she yanked at a dangling root and hoisted herself over the hill. The river was finally in sight.

A black blur brushed her cheek. Fear slithered down her throat. The raven circled back around, and with a loud caw, dove for her again.

Violet marched.

***

“Och.” Danika--fairy godmother semi-extraordinaire--sailed through the breeze with her fairy friend like a graceful swan cutting a swath through a placid lake. “I swear that Gerard will be the death of me. He has a thing for the maids of the sea now.” She shuddered, eyeing Miriam the Delighted.

Miriam’s large white teeth flashed at Danika as she grinned. “The man’s useless, Danika. Truly, ye should give him up as a lost cause.”

“No,” Danika shook her head, zipping high and low, dancing through the air with the joy of a fairy with ample time on her hands. “I’ll find him his match, you mind my words.”

Gathering her fairy dust, Miriam threw it at a pitiful looking bloom of a rose, its red drooping petals gleamed a deep ruby red when the golden dust settled upon it. The flower gave a happy chortle and waved on its thin stem back at them.

Miriam snorted. “Are ye sure of that now? Wouldn’t ye rather seek my boon, I could tell ye quite simply who she is.”