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    Red and the Restorer: Red Origins, #3
    Red and the Restorer: Red Origins, #3
    Red and the Restorer: Red Origins, #3
    Ebook159 pages2 hours

    Red and the Restorer: Red Origins, #3

    By Kendrai Meeks

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    About this ebook

    Run.

    It was the only thing Gerwalta could think to do, the only chance she and Andreas had to stay alive. No matter how far away they travel from the Black Forrest, however, it will never be enough. Especially when the sanctuary they believe they've found holds its own hidden dangers.

    Andreas knew there would be consequences when he decided to make a wolfsretter his mate, but he could never have imagined the lengths he'd have to go to protect his family. When both he and Gerwalta lose an aspect of their powers, can they still stand against forces determined to tear them apart?

    The final installment of the tragic love story of the real Red Riding Hood, and the close of the prequel trilogy to the bestselling Red Chronicles.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTulipe Noire Press
    Release dateOct 2, 2019
    ISBN9798201125257
    Red and the Restorer: Red Origins, #3

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      Book preview

      Red and the Restorer - Kendrai Meeks

      ONE

      Never did Gunda Faust allow grays to streak outwardly across the bold colors of her declarations. Oh, in her heart, her spirit often rebelled against the injuries her position forced upon those around her, but not even her own husband had heard her doubts regarding their eldest daughter. Helga did claim many traits that would make her a powerful leader: intelligence, cunning, determination, even beauty... But woven into the cord of her demeanor ran an undeniable thread of sadism. Gunda would be the last to propose violence was without place in the policing of wolves, but extreme acts should be born of extreme circumstances. Helga lusted for blood not to nourish power, but to quench a thirst for pain.

      She’d managed to rule the wolves, but in short order, she’d lose her family’s loyalty, and where would that leave things? All her children in the ground, that’s where. Gunda shuddered when she thought of any of her progeny coming to violent ends. A matron demanded respect and obeisance, but that didn’t mean she held no love for her children. Gunda treasured all five, from fierce Helga to reserved Gerwalta.

      And then the news came from Venice: Gerwalta could fly. By the traditions of their kind, it was a sign that it was the youngest child, not the eldest, who would follow Gunda unto the throne. Helga wouldn’t cede for tradition’s sake, however. Her youngest, so often overlooked, would now find herself on the sharpened end of her eldest sister’s sword. Perhaps the wolfsretter of the House of Night to whom Gerwalta had betrothed herself would help keep her from harm. It wasn’t the match Gunda would’ve chosen, but it was a good match for a child she suspected would be reluctant to sink to cruelty.

      A knock on the door pulled the Matron from her reverie.

      Enter.

      Helga’s head poked through the chamber door, bringing Gunda to her feet. What? What has happened?

      When the door swung farther, revealing Gerwalta’s intended, Mehmet, in Helga’s wake, the Matron knew.

      She refuses to enter the tent. Gunda nodded in the shadow of her own presumption as the other two crept in. Never fear, Herr Siyah, nerves about the joining aren’t uncommon and quickly remedied. I’ll find my erstwhile daughter directly and assure that she performs her marital duties posthaste.

      The two young people exchanged a look of confusion.

      Gunda arrested herself on the spot. There is something more.

      Helga looked to her clenched hands. Yes, Gerwalta didn’t claim her bridegroom, but the situation is more dire than nerves. What I mean to say is...

      The Ottoman wolfsretter assumed the rest. It appears she has betrayed our vows and your clan, Matron, he announced. She has run into the arms of the königswolf.

      The news hit Gunda in the gut and throwing her off balance. Impossible. No wolfsretter of the House of Red would do such a thing.

      Yet, it appears to be so, Helga resumed. No one in the schloss has seen Gerwalta for nearly an hour. Maximillian just returned from the packlands, reporting that the königswolf is also unaccounted for.

      But that doesn’t mean... It’s not as though Gerwalta would...

      Or would she? Truth be told, Gunda had suspected some festering secret behind her daughter’s eyes. When Gerwalta had returned from Venice proclaiming she’d arranged her own marriage, Gunda had surmised that her youngest had pulled an excellent coup, working some secret conspiracy. Could it really be the secret she’d been hiding was that she was in love with a lupine?

      Each of the Matron’s knuckles cracked in succession as her hands tightened into fists. Find them.

      Both Mehmet and Helga dipped their heads, the latter saying, And what shall we do with them?

      Bring them both before me in chains, Gunda declared. He in silver, she in iron. I’ll have the truth of it from their own mouths.

      Mehmet stepped forward. Matron Faust, if I may? You are entertaining a great many guests, and it is possible that Gerwalta hasn’t committed any act of the flesh with the lupine. I’d suggest a small party of men for this mission. Perhaps this can be contained silently, and men will not be missed as much from the festivities. It may still be possible to seal our union and merely punish the wolf without any inside the grounds being any the wiser tonight.

      She chewed on that a moment, discerning the taste. Yes, perhaps. Helga, send the men, your brother included. My order otherwise stands but advise them to be discreet upon their return. Once I have the truth of it, I’ll decide how to proceed.

      TWO

      Pulling on Andreas’s hand had as much effect as yelling at the wind. There was no arresting him. Unless she wanted to cause him injury.

      Honestly, breaking one of his legs became more tempting by the moment.

      Andreas, stop! I cannot go before the pack like this. I haven’t any clothing!

      That at least made him slow a fraction as he glanced back at her over his shoulder. Yes, and I approve wholeheartedly.

      "You approve? Enough of this foolery. She wouldn’t cede their lives on the altar of his amusement. Gerwalta sped her steps, placing herself between him and the path back to the pack’s farmstead, her arms stretched out wide. What part of ‘we need to run with haste for our very lives’ didn’t you grasp? We haven’t time to visit the pack for a social farewell."

      At last, he stopped. Andreas fixed her with feasting eyes, raking over the contours of her unclad form. Exquisite.

      She fell in on herself, attempting to cover her treasures. "You may be a wolf, Andreas Barron, but you are still such a man."

      It is no sin for one to appreciate the beauty of his mate.

      It is if it comes at the cost of her life. She pressed on. That Helga hasn’t already arrived is a slim blessing. I love you. I’ve given myself to you, but will you treat that so gallantly as not to heed my warning?

      He stepped forward, closing the space between them. At first, Gerwalta thought he may mean to take her again—he’d already attempted once. Instead, Andreas’s gaze softened. He took up her hands in his, raising them to his mouth to kiss the back of her knuckles.

      Love, hear me, he begged. I am the königswolf. If I leave my pack without proper ceremony, the consequences for them will be manifold.

      You were prepared to leave them without ceremony when we were in Venice, Gerwalta argued.

      Then I had already been away from them for nearly two moons. A third would snap my tether with them, letting them decide upon a new king. But now...

      If you left, there would be no one to represent them against the Matron. Gerwalta cut him off. His sad eyes told her she’d surmised the consequences. There needs be a new king ere we depart. But, Andreas, in our current circumstances, that can happen only if one of your pack defeats you in battle. Your pack loves you. None would dare.

      Do you forget so quickly, love? he asked. There is a new packling, one who harbors quite a dislike for me.

      "But to leave him in charge against my family would... He’ll drive them into silver swords for certain!"

      Andreas turned back towards the village. Once Gerhart is king, a king’s honor will comply him to do what is in the best interest of the pack. He’ll protect them.

      And if he doesn’t?

      Despair contorted the beautiful brow of her beloved. Then we are all dead.

      THREE

      Andreas met Wilhelm’s eyes across the shorn field. A momentary smile faded as Gerwalta stepped from the tree line in his wake.

      Wilhelm dropped his pitchfork and stumbled forward. The sheep, awaking with the dawn, would have to wait for their morning meal. Andreas hesitated, wondering what he would say when they were close enough for words. Many times he’d imagined a foggy future in which his beloved would be his mate and mother of his pups, dreamed of their bliss and resilience in the face of adversity to their coupling, but he’d never anticipated the ignition of the battle they were sure to wage. Now, staring down its nose, he wasn’t sure how to confront the beast of their reality.

      Whatever the next few minutes held, they were only the first of the forever in which they’d always be in violation of not only Dark One ways, but of their very nature. If Andreas couldn’t gain the understanding of his own pack—of his own second—what hope did they have?

      Gerwalta, clutching the edge of her conjured red cloak in an effort to conceal her nudity, drew to a stop at his side.

      He is wondering if I am stalking you. Quickly, take my hand.

      Andreas didn’t allow his gaze to break from his second’s as he complied. There is such hate in his eyes.

      It is for me, not you, Gerwalta assured him. We should expect nothing less.

      We should hope for so much more. Andreas licked his lips. Whatever happens, know that you are my priority. I’ll protect you.

      She pulled his hands to her lips, even as it forced some view of her flesh beneath. I vow the same.

      By the time the two parties had closed the distance, Wilhelm boiled. "Mein könig? What goes on here?"

      So few words, but what they said was so much more. They spoke of confusion, anger, betrayal, desperation. Heartbreak.

      Abandonment.

      Andreas assumed the confident mask of the ruler. Wilhelm, gather the pack.

      You cannot possibly mean to say that—

      Wilhelm! Andreas more growled than spoke. The wolf raged within him, a command now, not a request. His second would have only two choices: comply or defect. Now say I.

      Forever gathered in a dew drop as Andreas waited. Finally, Wilhelm acquiesced. With a pivot, the lupine within him took control, letting out a high, wallowing howl. Soon enough, the others began to come into view, moving with haste from whatever daybreak errand they’d been about. Some still carried the implements of their tasks. A washboard, a basket of eggs, a butchering knife...

      His pack... He loved them each. Some he’d grown up with. Some, grown older under. Some had grown under him. To be their könig had been his joy, his privilege. But now, he’d be their greatest regret.

      "I have an

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