Wicked Ever After: A Dark Why Choose Romance by Alta Hensley & Zoe Blake

Author:Alta Hensley & Zoe Blake [Hensley, Alta & Blake, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

A twig snapped.

I froze, not daring to breathe.

Nothing. All was still.

I took another hesitant step. Then another.

When I was far away from the den, I stopped to put on the simple skirt, blouse and leather slippers the wolves had provided for me. Wrapping myself in my red cloak, I drew up the hood as protection against the frosty morning air. Rubbing my numb hands together, I took a moment to get my bearings, then headed in the direction I thought led to the village. It was so silly really. It had come to me last night. The wolves couldn’t approach the villagers for help because all they saw were their beast forms. But I could! I would simply tell the elders that the men still lived inside the beasts. I would impress upon them the correct thing to do was to break the curse. The thought of my grandmother’s reaction when I returned sent a shiver down my body which had nothing to do with the chilled air. There was no doubt in my mind she’d sent me away with the hope I would never return. Well, this wasn’t about her. This was about righting an injustice. Somehow, somewhere, I felt as though my mother would be proud of me.

I continued to walk for what felt like hours. The warm yellow glow of the sun could be seen peeking through the treetops, but none of its warmth reached the forest floor below. My soft leather slippers were becoming tattered and torn, offering little protection from the rocks and branches littered about.

Beginning to doubt I had chosen the correct direction, I crawled atop a high boulder and looked around. The dark, gnarled branches of the trees seemed to move and shift. It was probably the wind, and yet…it wasn’t just the branches. The trunks of the trees grew wider, closer to one another. Slowly the small glimmer of sunshine through the trees was blocked out. It was as if the trees were closing in on me.

The trees were moving!

With my heart in my throat, I tried to will my body to move. As I searched below for a soft spot to jump off the rock, a dark mist began to slither and swirl across the ground. Black with streaks of sickening green, the mist became thicker.

The dark force.

The air was filled with a foul stench as the mist turned into a thick smoke. Swirling and churning around the rock. Pulsing and writhing, the forest echoed with a horrifying hissing sound as the dark force crept closer…became stronger. I could feel its insidious effect on me. My lungs started to seize. Looking down at my hands, I could see the faint blue outlines of the veins beneath my pale skin start to turn a bright glowing green. The dark force was invading my body. Death would soon follow. I couldn’t suppress a gasp of pained regret and horror for what was to come. Despite the protection of the wolves, there were times when the dark force took a villager.

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