The Forgotten Fairytales (24 page)

W
hile the rest of the school slept in on a Saturday, I spent the morning going through Donny’s book and working on my magic skills. The light stayed brighter longer and now had heat to it. I only focused on one element at a time, even though the book had sections on earth, water, and air too. Those were the basic elements of all magic.

According to the book and what I’d learned in class, if I mastered those, I could do any spell. How earth related to turning someone into a toad, I’d never know, but I was too overwhelmed to question it. Before Dad left, he told me to make sure to work on my craft, that it would be my saving grace. Whatever that meant.

Deciding to take a break, I sat in the round windowsill. Outside snow blanketed the once dead grass, masking imperfections with flawless white. The sleek, footless snow told me not a single person had walked outside this morning.

A shadowy figure emerged from the side of the building and headed toward the trees. The heavy trench coat and a dark beanie kept me from seeing who it was, at least until the figure glanced to the side. The profile was unforgettable.

“Wolf,” I breathed, the heat of my breath fogging the icy glass. Where was he going so early? Into the woods no less. No one went into those woods.

A pair of boots sat near the door. I hopped up and slid them on, while grabbing my coat. My feet led the way as I spiraled down the staircase, almost tripping a few times. The winding made me unsteady, but I tried not to think about it. Instead, I went out the back door—an emergency exit which didn’t have an alarm—and burst into the bitter dawn.

My teeth chattered as I ran toward the trees. My chest ached from breathing so hard, but I kept moving fast, following the footsteps until they faded away, leaving me nothing to track. I froze, my fingers like ice in my pocket. The trees canopied above, blocking out most of the sun. Damn, it was cold out. I should’ve brought mittens.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped at the sound of his deep, hoarse voice and twirled to find him behind. A dark trench coat hid his body and dark hair curled from beneath the beanie.

“Fresh air.” My teeth chattered. “You can never get too much.” My lips were probably blue, and breathing in the bitter air dried my throat. Wolf didn’t look nearly as cold though. In fact, he appeared comfy and warm inside his thick coat and gloves.

“You’re a terrible liar.” He half-grinned.

“Not really,” I said. “You just have a built-in lie detector.”

That got a small laugh, but not enough to make the tension ease from his shoulders. “You shouldn’t have followed me. The woods aren’t safe.”

I scowled and placed a hand on my hip, though the shivers weakened my confidence. “Spare me the safety talk. So cliché. Plus, I’m no damsel. I can kick ass.”

Wolf hiked up and eyebrow. “Oh, really?” Suddenly I found myself on the cold ground. He had kicked my legs right out from under me before I could blink. “Your reflexes suck.”

My hands sunk into the snow as I pushed myself up, and carefully assessed our surroundings. Trees at least twenty stories high, some bare, some full of dead leaves clinging on for life. And Wolf, who stood with his weight on one leg. Standing like that made the other weak. His arms were relaxed by his side, still amused, but also an easy target. The last thing he’d expect was…

I lunged forward, like a lion diving at its prey, wrapping my arms around Wolf’s waist and used all my strength to knock him to the ground. Which wasn’t easy considering he towered over me in height, but what I lacked in height, I tripled in strength. Wolf and I soared backward and slammed onto the snow, my body landed hard against his, though it probably didn’t hurt him like it had me. I sat up and straddled him.

“Damn.” He pulled the beanie off, hair fell in waves along his face. “How the—”

“I told you.” I wiped the snow from my forehead. “I’m no damsel.”

As fast as I knocked him down, he seized my wrists and flipped me over, his massive, rock-like body hovered over me. Each breath came out heavy and ragged. “We could go at it all day, but I’d still beat you. Wolves cannot be defeated.”

His gloves scratched against my bare hands, pressing them deeper into the icy ground. Despite the cold, heat seared through me, rocking into my core as I registered how close we were. How his hips pushed against mine so sinfully. How his eyes held onto mine with a fierce intensity. I swallowed hard, my throat drier than ever.

Confusion muddled my mind. I didn’t understand why I was so damn attracted to him. We were like two magnets drawn together by different sources. Maybe I was doomed for failure, but my body waged war against my brain as my longing to feel his hands along my skin increased. I wanted him to touch me, to kiss me, to press his mouth to mine, to feel his abnormally sharp teeth against my flesh.

Inside I screamed to kiss him, for him to kiss me. For him to want me again.

“Wolf?”

“Yeah.” His hot breath was on my neck—hot and sexy and so tempting.
Don’t say anything Norah, you don’t want lose him again.

“I can’t feel my leg.”

“Oh.” He blushed.
He actually freaking blushed.
“Sorry.”

Using the ground for support, he lifted off me but didn’t help me up. Instead, he started walking again. His legs were longer than mine and he was a freakishly fast walker. I had to sprint to catch up.

“Stop making me chase you!” I shouted as I reached his side.

Wolf barely glanced my way, his gaze off in the distance. The pale light only shined on half his face, the other side masked in shadows. The muscles in his jaw clenched tight, and a thick vein ran down his neck, bulging with each inhale and exhale.

“Come.” He started walking again.

Wolf didn’t slow his pace for me; instead, he sped up. At first I found it irritating, my muscles ached, my feet were sore—these boots were
so
not made for walking, and flurries dampened my coat, which in turn soaked through to my shirt.

But then, a half mile into the walk-run, my calves strengthened and the pain vanished. The heat from sweating warmed me and better than anything else, Wolf pushed me harder. I didn’t want to complain or lag behind, that would only further his case that, like most princesses, I was helpless.
I’m not helpless.

Wolf stopped so abruptly, I almost slipped on the snow. He latched onto my arm and lifted me, as if he anticipated the fall. Before us was a beautiful pond, frozen from the cold, but that wasn’t what struck me.

Snowflakes were draped like lanterns above the pond. Not real snowflakes but that kind that you cut out from sheets of paper as a kid. The disc-sized flakes fluttered like butterflies.

“What are those?”

“Snowflies,” Wolf said. “They come out after a heavy snowfall.”

We walked toward one of the trees to catch a closer look. They were just like butterflies, but larger. Their bodies were pure white, their wings white with clear patterns cut out to look like snowflakes. They had pale blue eyes and long silver antennas.

Wolf reached in his pocket and opened his hand, revealing a fistful of seeds. A snowfly fluttered from the tree and landed in his hand like a whisper, slurping up the seeds as if it were a lavish meal.

One left and Wolf replenished his hand for another. And another. And soon the pond had so many snowflies I did nothing but stare. The snow was quiet and slow as it fell upon the ground, stealing my breath away.

“You want to try?” he asked. I nodded, unable to speak.

He dropped a handful in my palm, but I clenched it shut. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” he grinned. “Here.” His fingers trailed the back of my hand, loosening my stiff fingertips until the seeds were exposed. “Relax, Norah.” My head jerked to him, he rarely addressed me by my real name. Usually he dabbled with nicknames, but this time, the way he said
Norah
, was so breathy and chilling.

A snowfly from the tree across the pond fluttered to us, its wings glistening like diamonds in the pale light. All too soon, it landed on my palm and I stiffened, afraid of its bite. Instead, it sucked and slurped and I couldn’t help but giggle at the tingling sensation.

“Weird.” It finished and flew off. “But so cool.” He smiled, staring as more snowflies swarmed the trees near the pond.

The snowflies danced above the frozen pond like pixies. Peering over my shoulder, I noticed Wolf stared off into the forest. The trees white with snow and ice, went on forever, showing no signs of ending. I wasn’t even sure which direction we came from, let alone how to get back to the castle.

“You must know the woods well to get here and back every winter.”

“I’m a hunter. I’d be useless otherwise.” Wolf refused to make eye contact. Tension built in my shoulders, knowing it would wash away the second he smiled. But a smile from him now was like waiting for rain in a drought. Hopeless.

“My dad took me hunting once. I didn’t have trouble using a bow but couldn’t master the wilderness part.” Camping, knowing where the wind drifted, and predicting the shift. Dad did everything so well, especially hunting. I had no doubt he’d survive in the wild on his own. While I mastered the art of self-defense and weaponry, I didn’t have it in me to skin innocent animals.

“Princesses don’t need wilderness skills anyway.”

He always went there didn’t he? Why couldn’t we just be people? “I told you, I’m not a princess.”

“Not yet.”

“Not ever.” I lifted up my hair, revealing my mark behind my hairline. “I’m a hybrid.”

His throat tensed. “Impossible. They killed them all.”

A smile twisted on my lips. “I’m a survivor, remember?” His eyes blazed into mine like fire and ice. Gold streaked across his irises resembling that of a shooting star. “My dad, he’s a writer and my mom, well, yeah, she’s a princess.” Wolf didn’t seem as excited as I was. “Don’t you know what this means? I can do whatever I want. No rules. No story to follow. I’m free.”

A soft breeze tousled Wolf’s wavy dark hair. The muscle in his cheek jumped after he pushed a thick strand behind his ear. “Far from it. Now that you’re here, now that
they
know you exist, you’ll never be free again. Ever.” He swallowed, and for a moment, anger and resentment flickered across his face. “We’re prisoners to our books, our fates planned long before we were born. You’re no different than us.”

“Yes I am. I refuse to let them control me.” My hand found his, tracing the rough patches of skin over his knuckles. “We are the authors of our fate. Destiny is in our own hands, not theirs.”

Wolf said nothing, but stared at me, as he had on the first day we met. Like I was a puzzle he desperately wanted to figure out. Doubt darkened his features, wiping away the spunk I loved so much. I hated seeing him this way—weak, vulnerable, tortured. A far cry from the boy who barked snarky, sarcastic remarks every two seconds.

He tugged his hand from mine, leaving me empty and alone. “Maybe if I were someone else, anyone else, I’d believe that. But I’m a wolf, Norah. A killer who gets killed. A creature destined to die alone. No matter what I want, no matter what fantasies I dream up, the truth will always be there. That’s the same for you too. Fight your fate all you want, but deep down you
know
it’s true. All of it. Hybrid or not, you’re a princess, and I’m a wolf. There’s no escaping reality.”

His words were like a hard slap. My throat tightened, chills raced across my body. Suddenly his behavior made sense. “That’s why you’re avoiding me, isn’t it?” I wasn’t naïve enough to believe Wolf didn’t like me—like really,
really
like me. He did, more than I knew. I liked him too, a lot. “The thing with Carrie and then the other day. You’re trying to push me away.”

“Thinking I could ever have you was unrealistic.” His voice was void of emotion. “You and I make no sense.”

“Yes we do!” Desperation rattled me to the core. I couldn’t lose him. Not now, not ever. “You were one of the first people I met here. No pretenses, no façade, no lies. You were always truthful. Now you want to throw that away because of some tragic future that may or may not be true?”

Wolf’s eyes were much darker than I was used to, haunting almost. But he didn’t say a word. Over the past week, a pain weighed on my heart over Wolf, part guilt and part longing. A longing to keep him in my life when I felt us drifting apart.

“Tell me the truth.” I swallowed hard, my heart beating so fast it was seconds from leaping out of my chest. “Did anything happen between you and Carrie?”

He sucked in a breath. “Of course not.” The edge of his mouth fought its way to the deepest frown I’d ever seen. He was being tortured and I didn’t know why. What the hell was going on? We were fine, perfect, until the rumor.

“Please let me in, Wolf. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I can’t.” His jaw tightened, matching the sudden jarring of my body as he moved closer to me, closing the small space between us. “I can’t be your friend. I can’t be anything to you.”

“Why?” Tears glossed my eyes. I willed them away, praying not to cry but my heart was breaking.