by Aurora Dawn
Sold to the Wolves
Enchanted Kingdom Chronicles Book One
Aurora Dawn
Captive Quill Press
Copyright © 2018 by Aurora Dawn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
Haruki Murakami
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
An Exclusive Look at Court of Shadows
An Exclusive Look at Dragon Awakened
About the Author
Also by Aurora Dawn
Chapter One
“Tell us what must be done—” Etian said, cupping their mother’s face in his hands.
The four brothers of the Davidian Clan stood around her bed, utterly forlorn.
Etian, Matthias, Alexi, and Drevah. Four wolves watching their mother perish under a sinister curse.
The feeling of helplessness made the air thick and hot, even as the cold wintry wind swept in from the mountains. It was almost too much for Alexi to handle. He wanted to turn away, but that felt too much like cowardice. Their mother deserved better. She’d raised them to be good, strong men as well as wolves. But, this turn of events ignited a fury within them all.
The Serpent Sisters would pay dearly for this heinous crime.
She groaned, veins blackened, mouth white, eyes sealed shut. Every breath came out labored, faint.
“My,” she began, and Etian took her hand into his.
“Don’t speak, mum,” he whispered. “You must save your strength.”
Her eyes lolled closed, and then reopened—focusing on each of them. Eyes the color of the summer sky had paled in color and clarity as she blinked away tears. Her hair was the color of straw—like Alexi’s—though the others all shared various shades of dark brown.
“My boys,” she said, her chest heaving. Her voice made a wet raspy sound as she inhaled, and coughed the air out of her lungs. “Do not despair. If I die, I will always be with you. By Asir, the Wolf God’s light, my power will pass on to you all. Like your father, and grandmother and grandfather before him.”
“No,” Drevah said, shaking his head. “You mustn’t speak this way. We will find a cure. Be strong, Mother. Don’t let them win.”
“Yes,” Etian—the youngest—said. “Hold on. Just a while longer.”
Alexi’s jaw tightened as he eyed the raised veins pulsing across her forehead and cheeks, and down her pale neck.
“I will find her,” Alexi said, and everyone turned to him, surprised that he’d spoken at all.
A man of very few words, the sound of his voice caused such a stir of emotion in their mother, that she tried to sit up and get a better look at him.
“My boy,” she said, and he didn’t correct her. Though he was the eldest, just seeing the tears in her eyes as she looked to him with a smile, ushered him closer.
“Mother,” he said, kneeling at her side. The others followed his example, crowding around her sickbed.
She nodded, waiting for him to continue.
His heart ached as she reached a frail hand up to cup his face. Her hand was still soft, yet cold, and he held it against his cheek like he did when he was just a child.
“Mark my words. I will break the curse, and free the realm from this taint,” he said.
The others shot a look to him, for they knew what those words meant. Still, if anyone could do it, it was Alexi.
“We are with him,” Etian said. “I am the swiftest. Matthias is the most clever—Drevah the strongest.”
“And,” Matthais added. “Alexi is the one with the power.”
“Have you seen her?” Mother asked, hope in her eyes.
He nodded, and the others all breathed in, their brows lifting.
She smiled then, and blinked away tears. “I put my faith in you, Alexi,” she said, then turned to them. “I put my faith in you all.”
So, it was settled.
The search for the lost heir would begin.
Chapter Two
Elle woke in a panic, the pearl necklace around her throat pressing into her tender flesh.
It burned.
Sweat drenched her fire-red hair as she sat up in bed and glanced around the darkness of the room. The air was thick, too hot, stale, pulsing with magic.
The scent of burning embers wafted into her nostrils as she set the fire hearth ablaze. A flick of her wrist was all it took.
She stood from her bed, the cold stone floor a shock to her pale, white skin.
The castle was asleep. The other wards of the monastery curled up under their blankets, safe, and warm, while poor, less fortunate humans and shifters were left to suffer as a curse plagued the Enchanted Kingdom.
Looking out to the night sky, she whispered a quiet prayer.
“Please,” she began. “Take me from this place.”
Something stirred within her, a flutter of cold followed by warmth. A smile came to her face as a gentle breeze swept in and lifted her hair, cooling the sweat on her scalp and caressing her face.
Winter was coming, and with it, the Enchanted Kingdom would shield itself from the rest of the world—from the darkness that always seemed to knock on their door.
A curse plagued the fae folk, the shifters, and the scattered tribes of humans. Under the rule of the Davidian Clan, there was at least peace.
To be untouched—unmarred by the Serpent Sister’s Curse, meant that danger came in many forms.
From dark forces.
From witches.
From desperate men.
Just days ago, one of Elle’s best friends had been kidnapped and whisked away by a gang of men. To be wed and mated to their sons, no doubt.
Poor Magda.
Elle, on-the-other-hand, she was destined for a different future.
She would escape the Enchanted Kingdom on a boat, sail to a faraway place, and live out her life as a baker.
Yes, to only worry about flour, eggs, milk, and sugar would be a grand life—a life worth living.
A knock came on her door.
She gasped, shooting a frightened look over her shoulder. With a sweeping of her hand, she calmed the flames of the fire and sent them vanishing into the air like embers in the wind.
“Elle,” a familiar voice called.
She stiffened, closing her eyes. “Come in, Anna.”
The maidservant opened the door, peeking inside.
“I saw light, miss,” she said, peering around the room, a look of confusion on her face when she realized that the room was dark. “Are you in need of anything?”
Elle shook her head. “No, dear. I may take a walk around the gardens.”
“At this hour, miss? The others still sleep.”
“Do not worry. The guards are always watching over us. No harm will come to me.”
“Are you certain?” Anne asked. “I can accompany you.”
No, she thought. You don’t want to follow where I must go.
Instead of voicing her thoughts, she simply forced a small smile and approached the young blonde with a brighter future ahead than her mistress.
She took her by the shoulders, the truth in her eyes.
“I will be back before breakfast,” she said, keeping her voice light. “Then, we can read by the lake.”
Anne grinned. Though she was a servant—a human with no magic, no ability to shift, and no prospect for bearing children, Elle envied her. She’d give anything to be like her.
To be free.
After dressing, Elle ventured out into the early dawn. Before the others awakened, while the maids fetched hot water for the morning washing, she stalked the gardens.
The cold, wintry air swept around her, lifting her hair from the hood of a fur-lined cloak. Back home, the sun would rise above the distant mountains, and cast its glow onto her as she lay in the hay, chewing wheat and daydreaming of the ocean.
She’d never seen it before, and the tales her grandfather would tell would feed her imagination for the rest of her life.
Violet flowers bloomed along emerald ivy that wrapped around the iron gates that separated the monastery from the wild world beyond. It was a stark contrast to the white snow.
A pop of color in untainted territory.
She observed the towers, and the guards who stood high above, looking over the entire frosted valley.
It would take some crafty thinking to get past them.
She took off her gloves, in need of true feeling. With her hands wrapped around the bars of the gate, she breathed in a cleansing breath. The chill of the iron was almost too much to handle, but she held on, wishing by some divine intervention, that the gate would creak open, and she’d be free to run.
Did her grandparents know what they were sending her off to? That this place was more of a prison than a sanctuary?
The questions fleeted from her mind as her eyes narrowed at the majestic white wolf standing on the other side of the gate. Only a few feet away, he blended in with the snow and ice-covered trees that lined the road leading to town.
Where did he come from?
Her breath caught in her throat as bright blue eyes met hers, and white smoke puffed from the wolf’s snout.
She wasn’t sure why, but something stirred within her. She knelt to the ground, and without hesitation, reached out a hand through the bars.
As if pleading, she reached for him in a silence that spoke volumes.
“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t leave me.”
A grunt escaped her lips as someone grabbed her by her hair and yanked her to her feet. She shot a look over her shoulder, not surprised in the least to see Father Lewis glaring down at her.
“What are you doing out here?”
She shook her head, utterly terrified of the leader of the monastery, his dark eyes portals to true evil.
With trembling lips, she turned to seek out her white wolf.
To her dismay, he was gone.
She closed her eyes, wondering if he was real, or just her imagination. At times, it was difficult to tell the difference.
But, the truth remained, Father Lewis had her in his clutches, and she’d be punished.
Turning to face him, she feigned innocence.
“Nothing, Father,” she said, speaking as sweetly as possible over the shaking of her voice. “Just a walk through the gardens. Apologies if I’ve gone too far.”
“You could have been kidnapped, or murdered!”
She nodded, frantically. “Yes, Father. I know, Father. It won’t happen again.”
He frowned, but considered her words. He let go of the handful of her hair, and shoved her back toward the main building. “Off with you. Repent for you sins at the ceremony today, you foolish girl.”
She nodded, thankful to be let free with such minimal scolding. She ran, not looking back, snow flying as her boots carried her along the path.
No gods or wolves will set you free, she told herself.
Still, there had to be another way.
Chapter Three
After the morning’s incident, the monastery was on strict lockdown. The inner gates of the castle were closed. The guards were doubled, and the girls were forced to remain inside.
As Elle walked down the long corridor to breakfast, she glanced out the archway that looked out to the long stretch of icy grass and a frozen pond that separated them from the stone walls that surrounded all of the grounds. The cool breeze, swept in, lifting her hair and caressing her face.
Sometimes she wondered if the wind and breeze called out to her—urging her to follow it somewhere.
Somewhere far from this horrid place.
Then, she thought of the white wolf. In the Enchanted Kingdom, any creature could be more than what they seemed. It’s eyes haunted her as she wondered if the wolf had been simply that—or perhaps a man.
Such things could drive one crazy, and so she tried to divert her thoughts to the present.
Porridge.
It awaited Elle on the long, wooden table as the cold air wafted into the dining hall from the open windows that lined the walls high up toward the ceiling.
She sat down beside Claire, her wild, red hair flowing over her shoulders, brightening the room with its vibrancy. In a sea of gray frocks, white aprons, wooden furniture, and stone walls, she stood out.
Though, she wished she did not. She’d rather be at home, tending to the cattle on her grandparent’s farm. With her elbows on either side of her steaming bowl of oats and berries, she rested her head in her hands, staring across the table to the rows of other girls devouring their first hot meal of the day.
Soon, they’d retreat prayer, and then to different classes in sewing, painting, languages of the Enchanted Kingdom, and other boring courses the Elders believed a good wife should have.
This wasn’t a finishing school.
They all knew that.
Whether they wanted to or not, they were being prepped for sale.
Like the cattle she used to tend to in her younger days.
The empty seat across from Elle and Claire was a stark reminder of their missing friend.
Someone they’d come to think as a sister.
Elle recalled the day she’d been brought to the Monastery of the Great Wolf. Though only three years ago, it seemed like yesterday.
Elle, Sister Sophia, and Brother Dava had traveled for weeks to reach the monastery. During the night, they’d arrived, and shuffled Elle to her first bedroom.
One she shared with her dear friends, Claire and Magda. Three wooden beds, a tall dresser, a standing wardrobe, and a clock shaped like a cat was all that fit into the small space. Two young girls looked at her from their beds.
Twins, with golden hair, and identical pale faces sat up from their beds and looked at her with curiosity. Elle was equally curious. She’d never seen twins before.
Her curiosity was overshadowed by the darkness of the room when door was closed the door behind her. She wrapped her arms around her body, and stood there for a moment, looking out the thin window that displayed the back of the monastery’s grounds.
The darkness horrified her. Even back at home with her grandparents, she slept with a burning candle.
Grandmother always told her to stay out of it. Evil creatures lurked where the light did not reach. Tales of shadows and spirits haunted her.
With a heavy sigh, she went to empty bed. The first tears fell then.
While all seemed dark around her, and fear started to creep into the back of her mind, one of the twins climbed into bed with her. It was odd being cramped in that small bed, but something about it felt right and calmed her.
“I’m Magda,” she whispered, her voice sweet and light, like a magical creature from a dream. “What’s your name?”
Elle sniffled, looking into her hazel eyes. “Elle.”
She snuggled close to her and wrapped her small arms around Elle’s body.
It reminded her of her mother, when she was
just a small child, before she vanished.
“Shh now, Elle. It’s all right,” she’d said, and Claire nodded, smiling at her from her bed on the other side of the small room. “We must stick together. We’ll take care of you now.”
That was a different time. When life was a little more hopeful. A little less bleak.
With a sigh, she glanced at Claire, who blew her full spoon of chunky porridge, her thin black brows knotted together as she picked out the raspberries.
How she managed to put on a strong face after her sister’s disappearance was a marvel. She refused to talk about it, claiming that her sister had escaped and simply gone home. She just wished her sister had taken her with her.
Elle never said a word against Claire’s reasoning. She let her believe that. If it brought her comfort, what was the harm?
“Drop them into my bowl,” Elle said, giving her a lopsided grin.
Claire shrugged, taking all of the raspberries out of her bowl and placing them into mine. “They’re all yours,” she said. “You get the honor of having tiny seeds in your teeth when the Davidian Clan delegate arrives.”
Scoffing, Elle took a heaping spoonful of the porridge and blew away the steam. “Fine by me. You think I want to be fawned over by a snobbish messenger and carted off to be concubines to the princes? No. Not me.”
“But, you claim you want to be free from this place,” Claire said, watching her, and tilting her head.
Elle pursed my lips. She had a point.
“Not like that,” she said, simply, returning to shoveling food into her mouth before the annoying bells began to chime and they’d be marched off to prayer.
“Well,” Claire said, with a shrug. “Suit yourself. All of the girls are primped and ready to meet the delegate. Imagine…being a princess.”