Cursed Beauty: YA Fairy Tale Adaptation by Stacey O'Neale

Cursed Beauty: YA Fairy Tale Adaptation by Stacey O'Neale

Author:Stacey O'Neale [O'Neale, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Phoenix Reign Publishing
Published: 2021-08-29T16:00:00+00:00


Chapter Sixteen

Shock didn’t begin to explain how I was feeling.

I watched in horror as Alder and Sage circled each other. Every member of the pack wore an expression of wonder and worry; none of them rushed to either side. They seemed unsure of who they should support. Alder was their leader, but Sage was popular amongst his kin. The audience remained silent, appearing frozen in place.

Rune had a different look about him. He always managed to hide his emotions, and any time he reacted to anything, it came with a grain of irritation and sarcasm. But, right now, he was terrified. I had to assume these battles for pack leadership were violent. Alder was much larger than Sage, but would he kill his only son and heir? I wanted to believe that he wouldn’t, but I’d heard shifters tended to lean into violence more than other creatures.

“You want to claim what’s mine?” Alder shouted at Sage with venom in his words. “Very well, boy, come and take it.”

The crowd backed up, forming a circle around Alder and Sage while they shifted into their wolf forms. I remembered that Sage told me it hurt every time he transformed, and I had to turn away from them. When I tried to imagine the unbearable pain he must be experiencing, my chest hurt. If I only had my power, I could’ve done something to stop this, but now I was helpless.

One by one, each member of their pack began to transform. It was as if the imminent brutality energized them. They were all around us in every direction, making it impossible for us to attempt to escape. It was pointless to try. We could never outrun a pack of wolves, even with magic. They were the apex predator of the Shadowlands.

And I was about to witness just how powerful they were.

When I heard a familiar growl, I turned back around.

Alder was double the size of Sage in his shifter form. The muscles in his body coiled with every step he took. They circled, but neither made a move as they snarled at each other. It made me wonder if they were able to speak telepathically. I never got the chance to ask Sage about it.

Hazel appeared at my side. “We need to stop this before someone gets killed.”

“We can’t do anything,” I explained. “I’ve been trying to activate my power since we escaped the cage, and I’ve got nothing.” I glanced at her satchel. “Unless you’ve got a weapon in there powerful enough to take out a pack of shifters, we’re useless.”

Those words felt like bile in my throat, but it was the truth—no point in giving Hazel any hope. There was nowhere for us to run and no way to stop what was happening. We just had to pray that Sage was strong enough to beat his father. That was our one chance. Everything was riding on his shoulders.

Alder made the first move. He tried to catch Sage off guard, pouncing on him when he wasn’t expecting it.



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