Chapter 15
ELLA
MAIER MANOR
Irace out of the house, needing the cool air to calm my anger.
The cold nips at my cheeks and nose. I’m glad I grabbed my cloak hanging on the kitchen hook before I left.
I tuck it tighter around me as I march to the barn, needing to distract myself from my new stepmother.
That’s when I spot the Grimm brothers entering the forest on foot.
A wild, rebellious urge to talk to Jacob again swirls through me. Sure, it’s hardly proper for a young lady to be visiting men in the forest, but if we crossed paths by chance, that wouldn’t be wrong, right?
I grab a pitchfork from the barn—because you can never be too prepared—and yank my fur-lined hood over my head. The moment I enter the forest, a howl curdles the air along with shouting, growling, and snarling. A tingling scuttles through my body, warning me to run.
Jacob rescued me from the nixie. I need to help him if he’s in trouble. I gather my skirts and take off toward the sounds.
More calls, human this time, sound along with a shout. Fear pierces my skin like thorns. My palms are slick against the pitchfork as I weave around the thicket of brambles and branches. When I finally stumble into a grove, my heart seizes in shock.
A giant wolf paws at the snow inches from Jacob’s feet, where he lies, his blood staining the snow crimson.
I’m not sure wolf would be the correct word.
It boasts long claws poking out from massive paws.
The body is three times larger than a man, and its coal-black fur consumes the light.
The red eyes are bright as hot coals. Its mouth opens in a roar that trembles the earth and reveals a row of spiked teeth.
Arrows litter the ground at the creature’s feet.
Any second now, this beast is going to pounce and kill Jacob.
Jacob’s brother stands off to the side, face pale as winter.
His arms shake as he aims another arrow with a focus so single-minded he hasn’t noticed me.
It’s a ridiculously stupid move on my part, but I leap into the thick of the situation, holding out my pitchfork like I can actually face this giant-sized wolf. I plant myself between Jacob and the creature.
“What are you doing, Ella?” Jacob yells. “Get out of here!”
“Just repaying the favor,” I explain, crouching in preparation for an attack. The wolf looks at me with calculating, crimson eyes. “Shoo!” I shove my pitchfork at the beast.
The creature leaps forward. I jump backward, but not before the beast tears off a portion of my cloak. Jacob grunts behind me. He’s trying to get up.
“You’re in my way!” the brother calls from behind. “I had the perfect shot.”
“Just like all these others.” I nod at the ground peppered with unsuccessful arrows.
The monster bounds at me again. I plant my feet and point my weapon at it.
Its massive body smashes me to the ground, and I scream.
The fork’s spikes plunge into the creature.
Blood sprays everywhere. My dress. My face.
Paws pin me to the ground. Hot, reeking breath grazes my cheek.
The fangs are inches from sinking into my skin like it can’t decide if it should eat me whole or just rip me to shreds.
My body shudders.
But then the monster is lifted off me and flung through the air as if it weighs nothing.
Jacob.
His dark hair is tousled, and his chest rises and falls beneath a sweat-damp shirt that clings to every carved line of muscle. His sleeves are rolled to his elbows, and his forearms flex as he draws out a blade from his belt.
He’s beautiful. He’s lethal.
The beast growls and launches again. Jacob doesn’t even flinch. With reflexes startling fast—too fast to be human—he meets the beast. The two tumble across the snow, the wolf swiping with its sharp claws while Jacob wields a bloody knife, stabbing into the thick coat of the wolf repeatedly.
“Jacob,” I cry. “Be careful!”
But then it’s over. The strange wolf is deathly still on the cold earth.
Jacob rises to his feet. The wind shudders once again through the barren trees.
Sweat drips from Jacob’s brow, and between his wild hair and set jaw, it’s as if he, too, is a dangerous creature.
I crawl backward on the ground, horror keeping my body trembling.
Jacob turns to me, eyes like a winter storm and fire swirling together. “You all right?” he asks, his voice low and rough.
My lips part, but no words come. Who is this man? I take in his broad shoulders and the sharp blade clenched in his hand. Blood still drips from the tip. How can I speak after that? Not to mention the way he’s looking at me. Wild and reckless as if I’m the one who might devour him.
“Ella,” the brother says with a worried look as he pulls out a long rope from his pack. Jacob must have told him about me. “It’s too dangerous here. You need to leave immediately.”
I swallow my fear. “I was just trying to help.”
He starts to tie up the wolf’s legs until they’re firmly bound, while Jacob comes to my side.
“Are you all right?” he asks again, softer this time. “What you did back there was very brave, but my brother’s right.” He picks up my pitchfork, handing it to me. “You should go back to the safety of your land and those wretched birds of yours. The scent of blood tends to call to evil.”
“That’s no ordinary wolf,” I whisper. “The rumors in the village are true, aren’t they?”
The brothers look at each other like they’re communicating without words. Finally, the brother rolls his eyes and says, “Fine. You won’t see reason anyway.”
Victory flickers across Jacob’s face, and he helps me to my feet. “This is my brother, Wilhelm. He loves to tell me no, but I’m older, so I get the final say.”
“It’s an honor to meet you,” Wilhelm says, offering a quick bow.
“To answer your question,” Jacob continues. “Yes. This wolf has magic in its blood. Which means these creatures lurking in the woods are very dangerous. Are you sure you want to stay?”
“It’s happening!” Wilhelm exclaims. “Get her out of here.”
“Last chance to run,” Jacob warns me with a devilish grin.
“I’m staying.”
Horror fills me as something unfolds before us, so impossible, it shouldn’t exist outside of nightmares.