Fairy Tales with a Shift: Complete Collection (5 Bear Shifter Novellas)

by Cara Wylde

  So, as the crowd turned and started back towards the village, Braden quietly stripped off his clothes, gathered them in a neat pile, placed them at the roots of a tree, then shifted into his bear form. He took a long loop through the forest, so as not to be seen by any of the villagers, and was some way behind Scarlett as he picked up her trail. He moved as quietly as he could, acutely aware that was the territory of the enemy. He fought back his instinct to run ahead as quickly as he could to catch up with Scarlett. Instead, he forced himself to move with extreme caution so as to remain undetected. His best chance of killing the wolf-shifter was to take him by surprise, especially as the beast had the home advantage here, in the heart of his little kingdom. But still, Braden moved as fast as he dared as he followed Scarlett’s trail. He would never forgive himself if she were to be harmed.

  ***

  Scarlett followed the forest trail. At first, it was wide and clear of brambles and undergrowth, but as she continued, it became more and more overgrown, until it was only just discernible from the surrounding forest. Then, something cracked a twig behind her. She spun around, her hands going to the hilts of her hunting knifes. She couldn’t see anything in the darkness, except for the moonlight shining down through the trees.

  Just as she turned to resume her journey, she heard a rustling to her right. She turned to look, again on alert for what might be an attack. For the second time, there was nothing to be seen in the darkness. She started walking again, but moving more cautiously, afraid that at any moment the wolf-shifter might pounce.

  While she continued to hear strange noises and feel like she was being watched, nothing jumped out at her as she walked on. Deeper and deeper, she walked, losing all track of time, her constant state of alertness chasing any other thoughts out of her mind. She grew tired at some point, but she pushed forward, willing her legs to move and ignoring the slight pain in her soles.

  Just as she thought she might wander the forest all night long and not meet anyone, she saw a light up ahead. At first, she was glad for this sign of civilization, but then she remembered why she was there and that this could only mean she was close to the lair of the wolf-shifter. She walked on slowly, carefully pushing her way through the undergrowth and the branches which caught her red cape and tore small pieces out of the soft fabric.

  Eventually, she broke through the entangling vegetation and found herself at the edge of a large clearing. She almost stumbled, expecting it to be more thick vegetation to fight her way through, but she caught her balance and managed to stay on her feet.

  Scarlett looked across the clearing. On the opposite side, there was a campfire, and in the flickering light she saw a handsome man.

  The man looked up as she stumbled into the clearing. He smiled at her, and Scarlet smiled back, her heart filling with peace. She had expected a giant wolf, so it was normal for her heartbeat to slow down when she was faced with another human being.

  The man gestured to a log beside the fire, and Scarlett accepted the invitation by walking over and sitting down.

  He had long, flowing black hair, and bright green eyes that sparkled in the firelight. Despite the fact that he was naked, with a lean, yet muscular body, Scarlett wasn’t afraid of him. It certainly wasn’t the strangest thing that had happened to her lately. There was an air of calmness and serenity about him that made Scarlett feel safe. Somewhere, at the back of her head, she knew this was all wrong. She knew she couldn’t trust this man, and not because he was naked.

  “I’m glad you’re finally here,” he said.

  His voice was like liquid honey, and Scarlett swallowed heavily. She almost licked her lips.

  “I’m glad too,” she said.

  As she said it, she realized it was true. In these few minutes since first meeting this man, she had felt more calm and at peace than at any other time in her life. It didn’t make any sense, but it also didn’t matter much.

  They sat and talked for what might have been mere moments, or endless hours. Scarlet could never recall clearly. It was like some spell had been cast over her. She sat and listened to the man, and answered him truthfully to even the most intimate questions. It was like he wanted to know her, to know her truly and deeply, and Scarlet wanted to open up and tell him all her secret fears and desires.

  After a time, the conversation came to an end. The dawn’s early light was just beginning to show in the east, and the fire was nothing but embers. The whole night had been used up between the time Scarlett had spent wandering through the forest and the time sitting in conversation with this stranger. As she was starting to shake herself out of her daze, one smile from the man made all her thoughts vanish again.

  “Come with me now.”

  The man stood up and offered his hand to Scarlett. Scarlett took it and let him lead her away from the fire.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To a very special place.”

  Scarlett and the man walked hand in hand. The full moon was retreating slowly, offering its place to the summer sun. Scarlett felt safe and protected in the man’s company, any thoughts of the wolf-shifter and danger pushed away from her mind. The forest gave way to a large open meadow which slopped upwards the mountains that framed the valley. The meadow was full of wild flowers, and Scarlett’s heart was filled with love and wonder. She had had no idea such a wonderful place existed on earth, this close to her home.

  They walked uphill for a short while and came to an opening in the cliff face. It was the entrance to a cave, and inside the cave were an array of lit candles. The light spilled out onto the meadow, although it was too weak to actually reveal anything to the human eye.

  “It looks beautiful,” Scarlett said.

  “Yes,” agreed the man. “Come inside.”

  He led the way up to the cave entrance, and just as they reached the opening, he made way and let Scarlett walk in first.

  Scarlett stepped on the cold stone floor, her face bright with delight as she marveled at the constellation of candles which were affixed to nooks and crannies all around the cave. She turned back to the man who waited at the entrance. He smiled at her, and Scarlett felt her heart fill with happiness. The man’s smile turned into a snarl. His eyes narrowed, and then narrowed some more as his face started to melt and deform.

  Scarlett gasped, unsure of what was happening. The dream was falling apart, and she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know how to gather the pieces. For a split second, she was worried that something bad was happening to this handsome man. Fortunately, the misunderstanding didn’t last long, as a spike of panic jolted through her when she realized who she was with. This was the werewolf. This hunky, charming stranger had deceived her into coming willingly to his cave. Here, so far from the village, cornered, she was easy prey. She started walking backwards, looking around for some chance to escape, but the walls of the cave were all around her and the wolf was at the entrance, performing his grotesque transformation.

  The creature started to grow bigger, filling the cave entrance. Fur started sprouting from his skin as he leaned forward and put his hands onto the ground. His arms thickened and grew longer as his whole body morphed into the shape of a huge wolf, not just his face, but his whole head changing into a wolf’s head with jaws so big and strong that he could snap off one of her limbs as easily as biting into a pretzel.

  Scarlett continued to back away, but soon she found herself against the rear wall of the cave.

  The wolf let out a huge roar. His breath was hot and humid, wrapping her in its foul odor. When he snarled, the very sound was a tactile force that shook her to the bone.

  Scarlett fumbled at the waistband of her skirt, her fingers numb with panic as she searched for her hunting daggers.

  The wolf took a step back and looked at her with his smoldering red eyes. They dripped with hunger and desire.

  Scarlett pulled out her hunting knifes, faced the wolf and took aim. The beast snarled, but it was more like he was laughing at her than expressing
fear or surprise. He circled back around to the side of the cave, taking his time, showing her he was in no rush, taunting her. She wasn’t going to be rushed either. She knew she had one chance to hit home, one chance to kill this beast before he devoured her. She couldn’t risk moving too quickly and letting the perfect moment slip through her fingers.

  The wolf’s tail twitched back and forth as he crouched down. He turned his head first to the right and then back to the left, but his eyes always remained fixed on Scarlett.

  Scarlett held fast, holding her knives in a throwing position, but waiting until she was certain it was the ideal time to throw them.

  Suddenly, the wolf let out a great roar and leapt into the air. Scarlett threw one of her daggers, but the thing just sailed through thin air and clattered onto the stone floor. The wolf was crouching on the other side of the cave, making a deep rumbling in the pit of his stomach. It sounded like laughter. Before he could leap again, Scarlett threw her other knife, aiming straight between the wolf’s eyes. Once again, the weapon clattered against stone as the wolf dodged out of the way. He was incredibly fast. Scarlett cursed under her breath, scolding herself for having been so naïve. Of course she’d never be able to throw the daggers hard and fast enough to hit a werewolf who could move at supernatural speed. When he leapt from one side of the cave to the other, his massive body was a blur and Scarlett had to blink a couple of times to regain her focus.

  Now, each of Scarlett’s knives was at opposite sides of the cave. The wolf was still blocking the entrance, and Scarlett had her back against the wall of the cave. Suddenly, she made a dash to the right, trying to get to her knife before the wolf. The beast pounced and landed beside the knife, his big paw covering it.

  Scarlett darted back just as his jaws snapped too close to her face. Without thinking, she dashed for the knife on the other side of the cave, but the result was the same. While her whole body was shacking with terror and frustration, the werewolf seemed to have a lot of fun. Maybe that was why he hadn’t attacked and eaten her yet. The game she had initiated amused him.

  Scarlett lost her balance as she jumped away from the creature and found herself on her back, looking up at the wolf. His lips pulled back, baring his sharp teeth as a string of saliva drooled from the side of his jaw. Scarlett scuttled away from him, but she instinctively knew there was no escape. He just stood looking at her, his tail wagging like a puppy’s playing with a toy. She moved away until her back ended up pressed to the cave wall. Her knives were lying useless on the ground, and the wolf was about to pounce. She grabbed the end of her red cape and rolled onto her stomach, pulling the cape up around her head, afraid to face what was coming her way. If it had to happen, fine, but she didn’t want to stare into those mad red eyes anymore.

  The wolf let out a great roar that seemed to shake the very mountain itself. She felt the ground tremble as he leapt at her, and she could smell his horrible breath as he opened his mouth, could almost feel his teeth sink into her flesh as he leaned over her.

  Then, out of nowhere, another roar filled the cave and a great swoosh of air flew past her.

  The wolf was swept off his feet. The whole cave reverberated as his body hit the wall and rolled onto the ground.

  Scarlett heard him scramble to his feet, loose gravel from the floor of the cave flying everywhere. He growled, a deep rumbling that sent shivers through Scarlett. This time, an answering growl met his, and the ground shook once more as two great forces launched themselves at each other. There was a big crash as two solid bodies met. The wolf let out a high-pitched yelp, and the two heavy weights landed on the floor, shaking the mountain to its very core.

  Scarlett felt like she was at the epicenter of an earthquake. She pulled her cape aside and peeked out to see an enormous black bear towering up against the roof of the cave. He let out an ear-shattering roar that made the cave ring like a bell. She looked over her shoulder and saw the wolf cowering in a corner. He seemed to be nursing his right shoulder, but he was far from being defeated just yet. He let out another high-pitched snarl and crouched down, preparing to attack again.

  Apparently, the bear was not going to wait for him to make his move. Before the wolf could gather his strength to pounce, the bear flew across the cave and swiped him with his forepaws, splashes of blood spraying up against the cave walls as the wolf cried out. With a second powerful swipe, the bear threw the wolf to the other side of the cave. Scarlett couldn’t understand how, but the werewolf pulled himself to his feet and fixed his eyes onto her. He bared his teeth in a grimace of a smile and lunged straight for her, probably hoping to take her down with him now that it was obvious the black bear was crushing him. Scarlett closed her eyes and screamed.

  Once again, there was a fast swooshing of air and a solid thump of two hard bodies hitting each other. The wolf let out a strangled yelp and the ground shook as the bodies landed. The bear roared one last time, and the sound was followed by a final thud as something hit the wall of the cave.

  The silence was every bit as intense as the noise of the two huge animals battling for their lives had been. Scarlett opened her eyes and saw the mangled body of the wolf-shifter resting in a pool of blood against the side wall of the cave, his dead eyes locked on hers. She felt as if her very soul could be sucked out of her body and looked away. He was dead. She couldn’t believe the werewolf was dead. Scarlett just stood looking at his body. The thought that he was finally no more, and that the great shadow she had feared all her life was gone, slowly sank into her consciousness. Then, she heard a low growl behind her and she remembered she was not alone.

  Scarlett spun around, stepping back against the wall of the cave as her eyes settled on the black bear that had just killed the wolf-shifter. Was her fate to be spared from one monster only to be eaten by another?

  The bear looked at her for a moment then the unexpected happened: he turned to leave. He was going to abandon her in this cold cave.

  “No!” She called after him. “Wait!”

  She could sense something about the bear, something familiar. There was something about his eyes, a kindness she had seen before. Humanity. Yes, he wasn’t a simple bear. Now that she looked at him more closely, she noticed the animal was way bigger than a normal bear, which meant he was probably a shape-shifter. A shape-shifter who had just saved her? It didn’t make any sense… All her life, she had thought they were all evil.

  “Who are you?”

  The bear ignored her.

  “Please,” she insisted.

  The bear paused and turned to look at her. He reared up onto his hind legs, and Scarlett gasped. Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed it. Maybe, she should have let the shifter go and waited until he was far away so she could finally find her way back home. She was so stupid, so incredibly stupid.

  But the bear didn’t lunge at her. Instead, his body started twisting and shrinking. Bones snapped and muscles rearranged themselves into a new form. His fur seemed to dissolve in the light of the few remaining candles scattered about the cave, and as he shrank, the shape of the bear became the shape of a man. The bear’s skull morphed into a human skull. The eyes and muzzle turned into a human face, a very familiar human face.

  Scarlett covered her mouth with both hands, and her eyes became as wide as saucers. Where only moments ago a huge black bear had stood, now stood Braden, his noble features and proud attitude unmistakable even in the dim light of dawn. Scarlett’s heart froze with terror. Braden, the lovely Braden with whom she had just fallen in love with, was, in fact, one of them. He was one of the most dangerous and evil creatures in existence.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The look on Scarlett’s face tore Braden up inside. He couldn’t bear the fear he saw in her emerald green eyes.

  “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I would never hurt you.”

  Scarlett looked over at the dead wolf then back to the naked man who, just moments before, had been a huge bear.

  “I’m a bear-shifter,” Braden explaine
d.

  Scarlet was still in shock. She wanted to say something, but words failed her. Her throat felt dry, and her hands were sweaty. She eyed the daggers, but knew there was no way she could reach them.

  “I mean you no harm… I’m different, I promise. I don’t believe in using our shifter powers to oppress people. I travel around the country freeing people from tyranny and injustice.”

  Scarlett could not quite grasp everything that had happened to her. From walking out to certain death, to being rescued by Braden… It was all too much for her to take in at once.

  “We both came out here to rid the five villages of this evil menace,” Braden said, gesturing at the corpse. “And now you are free of him forever.”

  “Free,” Scarlett repeated the word. They were free now, she realized, and all thanks to Braden. She looked away from the dead wolf and back to him, standing naked before her. “I don’t… understand. Why? All my life, I’ve been told shape-shifters are cruel, selfish creatures who have no mercy for humans. People hunt them down… when they can. Who are you, really? And why are you doing this? Why are you hunting down your own kind?”

  “My name really is Braden,” he smiled at her. If he was to convince her, he had to start with the small details. “I come from a noble family. We have land on the other side of the kingdom, and we are all bear-shifters. The people who work for us know what we are, and they have learned to trust us. My parents have always been kind to them.”

  “Bear-shifters…” Scarlett shivered. The word still didn’t taste right on her tongue.

  Braden looked sad at her reaction. “Unlike the shifters you’ve known, we don’t use our powers for evil gain. We believe in equality and justice for everyone, human and shifter alike.”