by Aria Winter
I lead him up the side path to the estate gardens. Quickly, we move past all the flower and vegetable beds, skirting around the large fountain in the center. As we move past the tomatoes, I recall how only yesterday I picked several ripe ones to use for a stew. Back before I realized that shifters actually existed.
I lead Cash toward the tower in the far corner. It’s connected to the main house, but you wouldn’t know it from the state of disrepair. The worn and heavy wooden door creaks on its hinges despite my attempt to open it quietly. My gaze travels up the spiraling staircase that leads to my room at the top.
I look over my shoulder to the brothers. “We can take him to my room, but it’s at the top of the tower. Can you make it with him like that?”
“Of course.” Cash says this as if carrying a full-grown man, almost his exact size is nothing. I’m surprised as he follows me up the winding staircase with ease, especially since I still trip every so often from the worn and uneven steps.
Wind howls throughout the structure from the many missing stones and broken windows as we ascend. I do my best to keep it all neat and tidy, but I lack the means to repair any of these things. Still, I suppose I should be grateful for its current state. If it were pristine like the rest of the main house, my stepmother would surely have relegated me to the stables instead of allowing me to keep my room here.
As soon as we reach my room, I note the stunned look on Cash’s face as he takes it all in. “This… is your room?”
“Yes.”
When his gaze meets mine, sadness and pity are easily read in his expression, but he says nothing further.
I motion for him to lay Finn down on my bed. It’s little more than a straw pallet covered with fabric, but at least it’s clean and somewhat softer than the hard wooden floor. Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of furniture. Only a small table and chairs in one corner and a torn sofa that my stepmother was going to throw out, but I salvaged before she got rid of it.
I quickly move to the water basin and grab a clean towel from beside it, bringing it over to him. I kneel next to Finn, and my jaw drops. He’s completely naked.
I blink up at Cash. “What happened to his clothes?”
He gives me an apologetic look. “It is hard to maintain the appearance of clothing when we are injured.”
I frown in confusion. “The... what?”
He opens his mouth to reply, but Finn groans low in his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “Finn?” I speak his name, but he doesn’t answer.
Blood seeps steadily from the five jagged marks across his torso from the wolf’s claws. The cuts on his arms aren’t nearly as deep, but they’re still worrisome. I dip the clean cloth in the water and drag it over his skin to cleanse the wounds, trying but failing to keep my eyes from drifting lower. I’ve never seen a man naked before, and I’m shocked by how big he is. Not just his muscles and body, but his manhood.
I’ve heard women in the town refer to this part of a man as his “length,” but they failed to mention the girth as well.
Averting my gaze, I lift the tattered blanket that I use as a comforter and drape it over his lower half to keep my eyes from wandering where they shouldn’t. After all, it’s not proper to view a man without clothing unless he is one’s husband.
Cash kneels beside me, and I’m glad, at least, that he is still wearing pants.
I force myself to focus on cleaning Finn’s wounds. My mouth drifts open as I notice the torn tissue beginning to knit back together before my eyes. “How is that possible?”
“We heal very quickly.”
I scan Cash’s body and notice that his wounds are now slowly healing as well. “What exactly... are you?”
His warm, green eyes meet mine as he takes my hand gently in his own. “I know this is a bit of a shock to you, Ella, but we are shifters.”
“Shifters.” I breathe the word out as my mind struggles to wrap around the concept I believed only this morning to be no more than a myth. “And the wolf in the woods?”
He dips his chin in a subtle nod. “The same, just a different animal.”
My brow furrows. “Why chipmunks?” I ask, the thought suddenly striking me as odd.
“The smaller one is, the better one can observe the world and everyone around them unnoticed. Don’t you agree?” Cash’s lips curve up in a sly grin. “Besides, I was born into it. Our parents were the same. If our parents had been wolf shifters, Finn and I would be as well.”
I nod because as impossible as this all sounds, that makes sense. “And there are... more of you?”
“Yes.” He chuckles, amusement dancing behind his eyes. “We are many.”
Finn makes another noise, and I reach down to gently stroke his cheek. “Are you awake? How do you feel?”
Finn gently places his hand over mine as his eyelids flutter open. His green eyes stare up at me, and he gives me a weak smile. “I am feeling much better. Thank you, Ella. You are very kind.”
For all I’ve heard tales of shifters being dangerous, these two don’t instill any sense of fear in me. I don’t know why, but I feel that I can trust them.
I don’t, however, know how others would receive them. I suspect it would be with much fear and suspicion. People tend to be afraid of things they don’t understand, and this would certainly qualify as such.
I smile back at Finn. “Thank you for saving me.” I look between the two of them. “Both of you. And don’t worry, I will speak to no one of your... abilities.”
Finn gives me a faint grin. “Thank you, Ella.”
I run the cloth over his skin again, glad when I notice his wound is now completely closed over. Only slight pink marks remain where the deep cuts and gashes had been mere moments ago. A thought suddenly occurs to me. “I’ll go find you some clothing.”
He shakes his head. “There is no need.”
I frown. “You cannot walk around naked.”
Finn pulls back the tattered comforter and is now magically wearing pants. They don’t do much to conceal what I saw earlier. In fact, if anything, the outline of his pants only makes his manhood more noticeable.
He sits up, his face mere inches from me. A warm flush creeps up my neck, to my cheeks. A grin tugs at his lips, curving into a devastatingly handsome smile as his intense green gaze holds mine. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever met before. Him and his brother.
They are masculine perfection made manifest before me, and I’m embarrassed by the sudden arousal blooming deep within.
I don’t understand my reaction. It’s not as if I haven’t been around handsome men before. But something about these two fills me with a desire that is as surprising as it is overwhelming.
I force myself to avert my gaze. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Wait here.” I press down on Finn’s chest to push him onto his back. “You should lie down. You’re still healing,” I gently chastise. “I will be right back.”
I rush down the stairs to the kitchen and nearly run into the delivery man. “Your supplies are here, Ella.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
He grins, revealing a mouth full of several missing teeth. Each time I see him, he seems to have fewer and fewer. Poor man. I force myself to look up at his eyes, not wanting to stare. “Have you heard the news, Ella? The palace just announced a royal ball.”
“A ball?”
“Yes. And all eligible, unmarried women in the kingdom are required to attend.”
That’s... strange. “Why is that?”
He chuckles. “It seems the prince is in need of a wife.”
Hope fills me. “All unmarried women?” I ask, just to be sure I’ve heard correctly.
“Yes.”
My thoughts drift to my story about the prince who saved the girl from her evil stepmother. I can imagine how lovely such a thing would be: to be chosen by the prince and to live happily ever after, away from this life of indentured servitude that I’ve endured since my fath
er died.
My stepmother took everything out from under me after his passing. Apparently, the authorities were quite happy to take her coin and look the other way as she cheated me out of my father’s will. She claimed she was doing it because I was not yet of age to attend to such things. Now that I am older, I know the truth.
I thank the delivery man and pay him his coin.
As I head for the kitchen to retrieve something for Finn, I wonder when my stepfamily will return. They went into the town earlier, and I’m sure they must have already heard the royal announcement about the ball. I imagine once they hear of it, they’ll probably spend a fortune on new dresses.
I have asked many times to have my rights to my father’s fortune back, but Griselda always has an excuse for why she still needs to handle everything for me. Unfortunately, I’m reasonably certain that she’s gone through most of the money my father left behind by now.
She says I should be grateful. That most orphans are tossed out onto the streets once their parents have died. I suppose I should be. At least, she cares enough not to have done that to me. Even if she and her daughters treat me like a servant, they still provide for me in a way. Without them, I’d have nowhere to go.
However, I can’t stop thinking about the royal ball. I’m glad for the material I’ve saved over the years. Most of it is scrap left behind by dressmakers when they’ve come to fit my stepsisters, but it’s enough to make something beautiful to wear to such an occasion, I’m sure.
As I search the kitchen for something for Finn and Cash, a familiar voice calls out. Dread trickles down my spine when I recognize the impatient tone of my stepmother.
Chapter 2
Ella
My stepmother stares down at me with a thunderous expression. “Where were you?”
“I was repolishing the floors in the guest wing,” I lie. She doesn’t need to know what happened. I’m not even sure I entirely understand it myself. Besides, she couldn’t have been home that long, or she would’ve been curious about who was at the door earlier when the delivery man came.
A sharp slap across my cheek knocks me back, and I hit the wall, banging my head sharply against it. I barely manage to stay on my feet as I grip the table beside me to steady myself. I place my hand to my face, as if that will somehow ease the sting, and lift my eyes to her in confusion.
“Do not lie to me!” she snaps. “I went to the guest wing to find you, and you weren’t there.” She gives me an icy glare. “Now. Tell me the truth.”
I open my mouth, not sure how much to tell her. After a moment, I decide to tell her where I was and not what happened. Besides, I doubt she’d believe me anyway. “I went to the forest. It’s my birthday,” I offer, cautiously. “I went to the place where Father used to take me to picnic when I was a child. Do you remember? When you were first married, you went with us as well.”
Her expression softens as she stares down at me. In my heart, I believe she did have love for my father, but he died so soon after their marriage there just wasn’t enough time for her to have felt much for me. Sometimes I wonder if she was upset at me because I always had reminded my late father of my mother, his first love, and how he lost her.
Yet I never understood how my stepmother could be so jealous of my late mother. I remember how in love they seemed shortly after their marriage. She had definitely captured my father’s heart.
“You know it’s dangerous out there.” She eyes my wrinkled dress. “Even for a girl such as yourself.”
Normally, I would argue. But this time, she’s right.
I could have been killed today. If it weren’t for the shifter twins, I would have.
She shakes her head and gives me a pitying look. Reaching out, she cups my cheek tenderly. The same one she just slapped not even a minute ago. The echoes of remembered pain whisper across my still stinging flesh. “My dear, sweet girl. You know nothing of this world. That’s why you must take great care and be cautious at all times. I wouldn’t want anything terrible to happen to you.”
She stares at me with something akin to concern in her eyes. It’s moments like these that confuse me. Sometimes I think she hates me, but then she goes and says something like this. Something that almost sounds like what a mother would say to her child.
I lower my eyes, afraid she will strike me again believing I am trying to challenge her. “You’re right, Stepmother. I will be more careful.” Remembering what I’d heard from the delivery man, I lift my gaze to her again. “The delivery man had exciting news today.”
She arches a brow, as if trying to suppress her interest in what I have to say, but she doesn’t fool me. I know she loves news and gossip just as much as her daughters.
I continue. “The palace issued a decree. They are hosting a royal ball. All eligible maidens are required to attend.”
“I heard that this morning as well.” She rolls her eyes, unimpressed by my news. “Everyone has heard of this by now.”
I do my best to ignore her comment and walk to the linen closet where I’ve stored all the fabric I’ve saved. I want to go to the ball, and I know she’ll only agree if I already have the material I need to make a dress for myself. She certainly would not think of buying anything for me. “I... I saved this material and fabric.” I hold it out to her. “And I have enough to make myself a dress, and to possibly make a sash or some kind of trim for Mary and Beth as well if they’d like.”
Her eyes search mine a moment, narrowing. She reaches out and takes the fabric from me, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger as she studies it closely. “No.” She sniffs. “This will not do for Mary or Beth. But it should suit you just fine.”
I’m not quite sure how to respond since it is the very same fabric they’ve had dresses made from over the years, so instead, I just nod.
“Ella?”
“Yes?”
She gives me a thin-lipped smile. “We’re going out this evening. You needn’t make any dinner.”
A noise at the top of the stairs draws my attention. I look up to find Mary and Beth dressed in matching gowns with their hair braided exactly the same. As competitive as they are with each other, you’d think they would try to wear distinct clothing and hairstyles to tell them apart. Instead, they look almost like twins.
Mary looks at the fabric in my stepmother’s hands. “What is that?”
“Yes,” Beth says, eying the material. “It’s lovely.”
Griselda smirks. “Ella has saved this fabric to make herself a dress. She has also offered some of it to you as trimming for your dresses for the royal ball.”
“Royal ball?” Mary’s face lights up.
“Yes,” My stepmother answers. “The prince is to choose a wife at the event.”
“Can you imagine?” Beth stares at the opposite wall with a faraway look as if caught in a daydream. “Me? The next princess?”
Mary elbows her, startling her out of her reverie. “The prince won’t want you. He’ll choose me.”
“No, he won’t.” Beth snarls. “He’ll definitely prefer me. I’m the pretty one.”
“Take what you need for trim,” I interrupt, drawing their attention back to me. “But please make sure to leave me enough to make myself a dress for the ball.”
They blink down at me in astonishment.
Mary is the first one down the stairs. She studies the fabric with a scrutinizing gaze. “Where did you get this?”
“I saved it. This is all the scraps left behind from the dressmaker and—”
“Why, you little thief!” Griselda says, and then slaps me again. “I knew this material looked familiar.”
I place my hand over my face and stare up at her in fear. “I—I didn’t steal it. It was meant to be thrown away. I merely saved it to use later and—”
She slaps me again, this time much harder. Standing to full height, she glares down at me and points to the wall. “Stand there,” she commands.
“But, Stepmother, I—”
“No
w,” she says in a low voice full of anger.
Hesitantly, I move to the wall and place my palms flat against it as I brace myself for my beating.
“Your dress,” she says, reminding me to slip out of the top half to reveal my back.
Shakily, I do as she asks. I cringe as I hear the side table drawer open and slam to a close.
No sooner does my dress fall to my waist than the crack of the lash rips across my skin like fire. Every nerve ending jolts with excruciating pain. I try but fail to suppress a whimper on the second whip. But on the third and fourth, I cry out in agony. She stops after the fifth, and it takes everything I have to remain standing.
She grips my chin and directs my face toward her; I can barely make out her pitying look through my tears. “You know I hate to do that to you, but I have no choice, Ella. I don’t want you to grow up a thief, you know.”
I lower my eyes as I swallow back a sob and lift my dress, securing it around my shoulders again. “I understand, Stepmother.”
A faint smile curves her lips. “Now then. We’ll be back later tonight.”
With that, she turns and leaves. I note that she takes the fabric with her, passing it off to my stepsisters. They glare at me a moment before leaving as well, taking my glimmer of hope for a better life with them.
Swallowing back a sob, I wipe the moisture from my face and then gather food for Cash and Finn. Everything hurts so badly it’s difficult to walk. Holding the wall, it takes all my strength to make it back up the stairs, and when I do, I’m fighting back tears from the pain.
Pushing the door open, my foot snags on the raised entryway, and I trip forward. Hissing, I barely catch myself in time before stumbling to the floor.
Cash and Finn rush toward me, worry etched in their features.
I manage a faint smile at Finn, thankful that he’s feeling well enough to stand.
“Ella.” He gently smooths the hair back from my face as he stares down at me in concern. “What happened to you?”
He places a hand on my back, and I inhale sharply from the pain.