A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales Book 1)

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It’s okay,” I told her, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “It’s fine. I have more of the nulling elixir. We haven’t run out yet.” My father’s lined face was ashen within the candlelight. His eyelids trembled as though he were trapped in a nightmare. The beast roared, making me jump half out of my skin. Fear doused me in adrenaline, and then I was running. Sprinting as fast as I could go. I crashed through the brush. Rounded a tree. This would be my life until I went out screaming. And if people would just leave me alone, I could get on with it. The scary thing was that I had no idea when I’d moved or how I’d gotten there. Neither of those things had registered. It was like someone else had assumed control of my movements. Control of me. But at the same time, I remembered thinking those dirty words. Remembered wanting to act on them. Remembered feeling the ache in my core at the filthy, delicious thoughts.

Now, Finley, we both know we’re the match of the village.” He adjusted his britches, looking around at our audience. Apparently everyone had known this was coming but me. Super. Her giving her crazy imagination free rein is the reason A Ruin of Roses and, likely, the next two books, will be all sorts of warped and fun and hot and will include all the smut you ever dreamed of (and likely all the smut you never dreamed of, too).

My nerve snapped. I clutched the books to my chest as though they would protect me—classic bookworm reaction—and hurried home. I turned and gave Sable a fierce hug, kissing her on the head. Dash was next, and then I had to peel him away. With the window broken, I could now hear the beast. Its puffs of breath in the quiet night. The simmering growl deep in its chest.

A different sort of fear ate through the first, and I was all action again, launching forward to intercept Dash running into the living room. In a few hours, I finally finished my tasks and shoved Dash inside so he could go to bed. This harvest would last for a while, thanks to the strong, healthy plants the leaves had come from. By the time I needed more, my plants would hopefully be thriving in the spring sun. For our elders, it was such a grievous loss that they wouldn’t talk about it anymore. At all. I didn’t know who used to turn into what animal. I didn’t know details of a shifter’s life, or what it felt like to change. I didn’t know much of anything about what I was supposed to be. Maybe he still didn’t know. Maybe the mad king had cut him off. We might have been erased from his mind.A low growl sliced through every band of pleasure wrapping around my body, and the desire fell away like cut ribbons. In its place, cold terror once again reigned. I closed my eyes as my heart stuttered. Every nerve ending was pinging with electricity. Adrenaline had flooded my system.