Jack

 

She’s cute when she’s excited. I never noticed that before. It’s the only reason why I give in and following Riley to the other section of the forest.

The Plush Toy Forest is dangerous ground. Too many bears and bunnies live here.

Since the call of our own story already started, it won’t be long until the wolf in me wants out, needing to satiate its hunger. I guess it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to gobble the middle one of the three little pigs. There’d still be the bricklayer and another one left. But if a certain piglet or a delicious yellow bear crosses our path at the wrong time, things could take an unpleasant turn in Fairyland.

I’d rather avoid that and get back in time to finish our play. Old Mrs. Redcoat is probably waiting for her cake, too. She won’t be happy to find out that Riley stuffed the entire thing down her throat. A smile pulls on my mouth at the memory of her bulging chipmunk cheeks when she ate it. Crazy girl. I didn’t know she could be this reckless.

“So, what do you want from Cupid?” I ask as we stroll through the picturesque wood. She’s still holding my hand, tugging me along as if she’s worried I might change my mind and take off in the other direction. Well, honeydrop, if I did, you’d be hanging over my shoulder and coming along, too. Promise. No chance I’m going back without her. In fact, I’m only waiting for her to realize what a harebrained mission she’s put us on and come to her senses. We won’t be able to deny our roles for too long. The situation will turn nasty if we do.

“From Cupid?” She looks at me in exhilaration, not slowing down a bit. “Nothing. And I really hope he’s not around when we reach his tree.”

Now she has my guts in a curious twist. When she said that she wanted romance and mentioned the dwarf-angel in diapers with his magical bow and arrow, I thought she might have heard of a way to shake up our story a bit. Whether the fluttering little guy can really do something like that, I’m not sure. Maybe if there was an official, legitimate hearing with the great storyteller. But, frankly, I’ve never heard of anyone ever actually meeting that ghostly voice of the tales. For all we know, he might just be a myth.

“Going to steal a few apples from his tree?” I joke because I can’t imagine what else Riley would be so eager to find out here.

“Not apples…” Her rakish gaze meets mine from under her hood as the forest clears in front of us. We reach a sunlit meadow with a single, huge, lush green tree in the very middle. “Just some twigs.”

“Twigs?” I laugh. “What do you want with—?” The words die in my throat. I pull her to an abrupt stop, whirling her around to face me. “Wait. You’re not going to—”

“You bet!” Her delicate hand slips from mine, and she props both of them on her hips. “I have a right to romance. And if I have to take it into my own hands, I will.”

“This tree is magical. It’s forbidden to break twigs or branches from it. I’m not even sure you’re allowed to touch it.” I gesture down her body. “Unless you’ve got a set of wings stored under that cloak that I don’t know about.”

“When exactly did you change into a square, puppy dog?” she mocks me. “I know people who know people who tell stories about you… And your reputation speaks for itself.”

The hypocrisy isn’t lost on me. When have I ever let someone stop me from doing something forbidden? On the other hand, it’s not funny to get chased down by angry villagers with pitchforks that want to skin you alive. In fact, I’ve been happy to keep a low profile for years. Besides, this is about the girl I’ve been playing out a tale with since the beginning of time. I’m not sure I like that she’s going to make severe changes to what we have.

“I’m the mean Wolf in this tale, remember? I’m meant to be bad. You’re…sweet little Red Riding Hood.” I emphasize the last words to make my point clear.

Riley contemplates that for a long moment. Her face stays stoic, her hard gaze never wavering from mine. Until she suddenly lifts on her toes, leans in very close, and slowly whispers in my ear, “Chicken.”

An annoyed growl emanates from my throat. The girl obviously needs a private lesson in the kind of animal she’s dealing with here. With a tight grip on her waist, I pull her in fast and snarl in her face, “If I wasn’t afraid to eat you alive, I’d let the Wolf out right now to settle this argument once and for all.”

A small gasp of surprise breaks free from her slightly parted lips, and she shoves at my chest. But the first second of shock fades, and a snide gleam enters her gaze. “Don’t go macho Wolf on me here. Rather, come and help me break off a couple branches instead.”

I don’t even have time to utter a reply because she’s clasping my hand and pulling me toward the giant tree in the wake of her ever-so-sprightly stride. What the hell— Why do I let this girl command me around so much of late? No one has ever shot me down like she just did.

Then again, it feels strange to be with her outside of our tale. Each of our lines has been set in stone. There hasn’t been the smallest deviance. Ever. I’ve known this girl—her every move and word—by heart for what seems like forever. Now, for the first time in so many years, I don’t know what to expect from her.

Confusion locks my tongue down as I let her drag me across the luscious, green meadow. She’s like the young, spirited puppy dog she loves calling me so much.

Riley stops beneath the tree and takes off her bow and quiver to lean them against the trunk. Then she tilts her face up to gape at the overhanging branches. They’re a little too high for her to reach. The realization spawns a sigh. Well, bad luck, little girl. I guess she’ll have to drop the crazy idea now, and we can finally head back.

Or… She releases the single button of her cloak at her throat and takes it off.

“Mmm, stripping?” Now things are getting interesting. “Go on,” I tease her with a smirk, leaning back against the tree and watching her, my arms and ankles crossed.

“No, not stripping.” She cuts me a sharp glare and then throws the bundled cloak at my face. I pull the red thing off my head and clasp it. Riley also takes off her shoes and then stalks toward me barefoot. Facing off, I have no idea what will come next from her. But I wonder…

“Lift me.”

Her words derail my thoughts. I’m speechless for a second. “What?”

“Help me up,” she orders. “I need to break off some good branches.”

I tilt my head and arch one eyebrow. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Well, I can’t climb this tree alone.” Her gaze goes from commanding to helpless and innocent in under three seconds. “You’re strong, and you’re tall. I need your help. Please, Jack.”

I don’t know how she does it, but next thing I know, I toss the cloak aside, lace my fingers and, lips compressed, slightly bend my knees so she can place her little, warm foot into my hands. Holding on to my shoulders, she nods, and I ease her up.

“Higher, Jack,” she demands. There’s only so much I can do for her, but she finds her way. Getting a hold of my hair, she places one knee on my shoulder, the second one following on the other side as her skirt swallows me up.

“Riley,” a deep, raspy groan escapes me when my head ends up between her thighs all of a sudden, my nose just an inch away from the red scrap of satin that is her panties. Screwed treasure of a leprechaun, does she even know what she’s doing to me?

I imagine not when her command, “Hold still, I’m almost there,” comes from outside the red-tinted spell she’s put me under. Behind closed lids, I roll my eyes, praying for enough self-control to get through this without doing something stupid.

As she works her way up to stand on my shoulders, I keep a hold of her ankles so she won’t fall off. Her skin is warm and smooth under my fingers. Tempting. Slowly, I push my hands up higher, sliding them over her shins and calves. Damn, Riley feels like forbidden silk. Stuck between her legs, my gaze moves up completely of its own accord. The reward is a glimpse into Eden. Above my face, there’s the enticing red apple waiting to be plucked.

“Jack! Are you feeling me up?” a girlish huff sounds from above.

My hands stop where they are. “No.”

One palm braced on the tree for support, she bends down, gathering and tucking the dress between her thighs, and scowls into my still tilted-up face. “Don’t gawk under my skirt, Wolf!”

I crack a lecherous grin. “Then stop fooling around in the tree and come down!”

“In a moment. When I have—” Because she obviously doesn’t want to let go of her dress and needs the other hand to grab whatever she has her eyes on up there, she starts to wobble on my shoulders. Even with the tight grip I have on her thighs now, I can’t balance her for long.

“Riley, come down!” I growl.

A squeak, her dress fanning out again, wood breaking, and the next second, she drops into my arms. She’s light as a feather, cushy to hold. Her face, a little flushed from fright, is now covered by a couple of stray locks. I blow them away for her and glare darkly into her eyes.

“Oops.” She eyes me sheepishly. Then her rosy lips stretch into a proud smile as she holds out one stick in either hand.

I put her back on her feet, quickly glancing around and hoping that nobody saw what we just did while she slips back into her shoes. We’re still alone, thank Grimm. “Now what?” I demand, my scolding gaze back on her. “You want to smack someone over the head with them?”

Returning my glare with determination, Riley sinks onto a rock in the longish grass close to the tree and surprises me when she pulls out a pocketknife from her right boot. “Now, I make an arrow.” She unfolds the blade and starts sharpening one end of the straight stick. “And instead of throwing your useless jokes around, you can help me with this.” Obviously impatient with my lack of enthusiasm for her mission, she gets to her feet again, stalks over, and pushes the second love branch forcefully against my chest. “I’m assuming you have a knife. Or aren’t puppy dogs allowed to play with sharp things?”

Ugh. How does she always know which buttons to push to get what she wants? I grasp the stick and get out my own knife which, unlike her, I keep in my pocket. We settle down on the rock that is big enough for both of us and silently go to work.

Every now and then, I peek over at her to follow up on how incredibly good she is at handcrafting the weapon. “So, what are you going to do with them once they’re finished?” I murmur after a while.

“Shoot me a prince, of course.”

I lift an eyebrow. “And then live with him happily ever after?”

“Mm-hmm.” All her anger has smoked off, and she’s just eagerly at work now. “You know Grimm was a bastard for not writing me into a beautiful, romantic story. So I’ll just have to take things into my own hands now.”

Damn, I thought she was only joking when she talked about finding a prince for herself. Now, an awkward feeling twists my stomach. She can’t really do this, right? I mean, our story is carved in stone. She can’t just replace me with a different ever after.

What will become of me if she slips into another tale? I’m the big, bad Wolf. There aren’t too many options for someone like me in Fairyland. I can either start blowing the three little pigs’ houses down, or take up a role in Peter and the Wolf. But Peter is… Well, shit, I don’t want to play with Peter.

Riley starts working the back end of her arrow by cutting a thin slit and sliding in a couple of small leaves for fletching feathers. When she’s done, she crosses to the tree to get her bow and draws it for a test. It looks good. Way too good. Actually, it looks as if it really might function for the purpose it was made for.

Done with my own arrow, I stand up and walk toward her, twisting the stick through my fingers. A gloomy edge enters my voice. “Do you even know how it works? Where you have to hit your prince to make him fall in love with you?”

“I’ll just aim at his heart.” Her spirited grin and lighthearted mood back in place, she turns to me with the bow drawn and points the arrow straight at my chest.

I stop the stick-twisting. A dangerous growl escapes me. “Bad idea, honeydrop.” With two fingers, I push the tip of her weapon away. “We don’t want that to accidentally go off.”

She laughs, stepping back and raising the arrow again. Same target. “Why not? Afraid of feeling a little love for someone?”

Oh, Red Riding Hood wants to play? Let’s make sure she really understands the rules then. “If you shoot this at me, you’re the only person around that I could fall in love with.” My chin dipped low and my eyes focused on her, I walk toward her with a slow, predatory stride. “So, tell me, little Riley…do you really want a lovesick wolf on your ass?”

Realization of the danger she’s toying with finally glistens in her eyes. But it doesn’t unhinge her reckless smile. She backs away from me slowly, my heart still in the line of fire. “Ooh, a cute little puppy—whoa!” Her feet get tangled in the red puddle of fabric behind her, and the arrow zooms off as she tumbles to the ground.

Thanks to devilishly fast reflexes, I catch the stick one-handed right before the sharp end drills through my skin. Mere pressure from my thumb breaks this one, and Riley’s mouth falls open as she watches. Apparently, it’s time to teach Red Riding Hood a lesson.

I toss the two ends away, not letting the brat on the ground out of my sight. With a very slow prowl, I change into the Wolf, feeling the warm grass beneath my four paws as I move on. Still motionless on her back, her eyes widen in shock. I know why. She’s never, ever seen me do this. As I step right over her, I bare my teeth at her face and puff a steamy breath against her skin, my snout a mere inch from her nose.

And now…beg for your life, little girl.

My wolf face reflects in her huge, frightened eyes. Her cheeks are pale, and her breathing is shaky. Yep, that’s exactly the reaction I wanted. But then she blinks a couple of times, and a seriously cute smile dispels her scared expression. “I’m sorry, Jack.”

No. I won’t excuse this!

Warily, she reaches out and starts rubbing behind my ear. What the hell? I want to snap at her hand—carefully, of course, so I don’t hurt her—but her fingers there in my fur work magic. Damn, that feels good. She tickles the spot and, suddenly, all I can do is squeeze my eyes shut in utter surrender.

My knees start to buckle. Yeah, that’s it. Right there, baby. A little more. I sink into the long grass beside her and rest my head on my paws, groaning dreamily.

Riley sits up and continues the pleasure. Quietly, she giggles. “You like that?”

My eyes snap open. Shit! I shift back with a final snarl and get to my feet. “No.” Patting the dirt off my clothes, I throw her a warning look. “And stop shooting arrows at me!”

Holy flea circus! What turned me into that fuzzy ball of no control? Using the moment when Riley gets up, I briefly shake myself so she can’t see it. That was crazy. Until today, no one has ever touched me in wolf form. Apart from the Huntsman, but his touches are never those of great pleasure—and he always has a knife on him. As Riley throws the cloak around her shoulders and fastens it at the base of her throat, I narrow my eyes at her, scowling. This girl is sneaky, finding all the right spots to undo me.

I need a drink. Without a word, I head off across the meadow to the line of trees because I know a shortcut to the village. She follows me after she picks up the remaining, intact arrow. With a taunting smile pasted on her lips, she straps the bow and quiver to her back as she skips along beside me. “Where are we going now?”

“Pub. I’m done.”

“What? No!” Her happy expression falls, and she grabs my arm to stop me. “Come on, Jack, let’s give it a try first.” She clasps the collar of my shirt and hauls herself up on her toes so her hopeful face is level with mine. “Please. We’ve come this far today. Let’s find a prince and shoot him. See if this arrow really works.”

I frown. “Well, if not, you’ll be the new death-bringer of Fairyland. No more worries about romance then.”

“So are you coming?”

We stare into each other’s eyes for a lengthy moment. Her irises gleam like two drops of honey in the sun. And suddenly, I understand why I haven’t eaten this girl all these years. She has me on toast. It’s her eyes, her innocent look. She does that hopeful eyebrow-quirk thing, and I turn to complete putty in her hands. Fuck. When did that happen?

I wrap my fingers around hers and gently move them away from my shirt. “Mmrrrr…yyyyyes.” Irritated with myself, I roll my eyes. “After all, if you shoot a prince dead, someone should be there to dispose of the corpse. And I missed my granny meal today.”

“Oh, Jack, you’re the best!” Exultation in her skipping step, she dashes off a few feet ahead, her red cloak flapping in the wind and looking just as happy as she does. Then she stops and turns expectantly. I can’t share her enthusiasm, sorry. She’ll have to settle for my moody pace.

Surprisingly, she does—without complaint. But when she walks on beside me, the excited tremor in her is still tangible. Riley is like a bouncy ball of fluffy unicorn laughter today. How one person can be this lively is beyond me. And yet, it raises a tiny smile.

After a few more steps, I cast a look down at her and cock an amused brow. “You always this jumpy outside our tale?”

Instead of giving me an answer, I can see how she’s struggling to calm down. To no avail. In the end, her bright beam finds its way to my face. “I guess so.” She clings to the string of her bow running across her chest and bounds a few steps ahead again, then comes back. Excitedly, her hands wrap around my arm. “Just imagine, tonight I could find my happily ever after. We’ll go out, he’ll propose to me, and at the end of the story, we’ll have a beautiful wedding inside his palace.” Her eyes grow like sunflowers in the summer. “Wouldn’t that be a gorgeous ending?”

The only ending I can see is me playing a role in Peter and the Wolf, and a hoard of angry village people chasing after me with pitchforks in the final quarter. So, no. That wouldn’t be gorgeous.

The forest gets thinner around us again. This must be Kansas because I can see where the tornado left a swathe of fallen trees behind. One lies in our path, and I help Riley over it. Dorothy’s house stands in the open space to our left, but that’s not where we want to go, Riley informs me. Ahead is another signpost, toward which my red bouncy ball drags me. “Camelot?” I read out loud.

“Yes. They have King Arthur. His wife ran off with his first knight so he’s alone again, right?” Her lips stretch wide. “Perfect for me.”

“Ah, so becoming a princess in a cozy castle isn’t enough anymore?” I laugh. “You want a whole kingdom to rule over.”

“Not really,” she replies meekly after a moment of deep thinking. “But he’s the only single royal in Fairyland that I know of. I don’t want to steal somebody else’s prince.” Then her face lights up a bit more again. “And he’s hot from what I saw in The Character Magazine.”

“Hot, huh?”

“Yeah. Like really handsome, you know?” She steps on a rock and ruffles my hair, grinning, and then tickles the spot she rubbed before when I was the Wolf. “Not like ragged, little puppy dogs.”

Did she really just do that? I narrow my eyes to fake a mean scowl and sneer at her. “Run…little girl.”

When a playful growl rumbles from my chest, Riley dashes away, squealing like a happy, young child. I chase her, but not in wolf form. That would be too easy. And too dangerous. Near a little brook barring our way, I catch up with my girl in red and grab her from behind. A surprised half-gasp, half-laugh escapes from her. Not wanting to fall into the runlet, I take off with her and jump across the water. On the other side, we topple down, Riley breaking her fall with my body.

She laughs so hard in my arms that she can barely manage to climb off me. The sound is interesting—and cute. Like the snicker of the purple My Little Pony. For a strangely long moment, it makes me just look at her. Still in the hold of the odd emotion, I reach up and wipe a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye with my thumb.

Her face feels incredibly soft, and suddenly, I want to know more about this girl that I only thought I knew for so long. The side she’s showing me today is completely new. Curiosity takes over. I bring my thumb to my mouth and lick the small drop off.

Riley’s laughter turns into an incredulous giggle. Still lying on top of me, she slaps me on the shoulder. “Ew, Jack. That’s gross.”

No, it’s not. It tastes delicious.

“Your tears are like sun-kissed honey,” I honestly tell her with a smile. “I should make you cry more and make a drink from them.”

“You’re crazy.” She laughs again, her hood sliding farther down her forehead to cover her twinkling eyes and half of her nose. Suddenly, all I see in front of me is a pair of sensual, rosy lips. I wonder what she’d do if I plucked a kiss from them. She said she wanted to be kissed, didn’t she? And a kiss is a kiss, no matter if a prince delivers it or a wolf.

My hands on her hips, I lift my head a little from the ground, ever so slowly nearing her. The next moment, Riley pushes back her hood to her shoulders with both hands. Her wild hair frames her face, a few locks tangling across her forehead. The happy gleam in her eyes changes abruptly when she looks into mine. Suspicion crumples her face. “Jack! Were you just going to kiss me?”

Okay, that was a fail.

Motionless from astonishment, I quirk my brows. “Maybe…?”

Now would be a good time for her to get off me. But she doesn’t. Her face is still only inches from mine, and she’s obviously looking for some sanity in my expression. “Why would you do that?”

My head drops back to the ground. Cumbersome under her weight, I shrug my shoulders.

Her expression turns grim. “Well, stop it. How would that look if my future husband saw me kissing a stranger?”

My eyes fly wide open. “A stranger?” Hell, I’ve known this girl for centuries! I lift her off me, then stand up and help her to her feet, maybe pulling a little too hard because she knocks into my chest. I glare down at her face. “What am I to you? Stage equipment?”

Instantly, her expression softens. “Ah, come on, Jack. You know what I mean.”

No, actually, I don’t.

She must be reading my nonplussed look correctly because she makes a tiny pout and continues. “You’re the bad Wolf, eating my family. Obviously, you can’t be my happily ever after. But I want one. Not just one kiss. A complete ending—”

“With a prince and all…” I finish for her, rolling my eyes.

Riley takes a wary step back, studying me with narrowed eyes. “Why are you so touchy all of a sudden?”

I pick up her strewn arrows and hold them out to her, growling, “Because your royal gibberish is crap.”

Her chin dips down.

“I don’t want you to drop out of our story. Maybe it’s not the best one ever, but it’s good the way it is.”

“No, it’s not!” she counters, back to boiling with anger as she stuffs the arrows into the quiver. “It’s not a love story. It can never be because love only happens among certain society circles. Which, sadly, neither of us belongs to.”

“Is that really what you think?”

“History proves it.”

“Fine. Then go shoot Arthur with Cupid’s arrow.” I wave an arm toward Camelot. “Find your gooey ending. I’m out.” Spinning on my heels, I trudge back in the direction we came from.

Behind me, it’s silent. Riley is probably just standing still, not going anywhere. Otherwise, I would hear her footsteps. Whatever. She can grow roots and hook up with a tree for all I care.

“Jack, wait!” her voice drifts to me a few seconds later. I don’t stop, so she runs after me and slows down at my side. I don’t spare her a glance. Cautiously, she touches my elbow. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

That ship has sailed.

“What’s the problem with it?” When I’m still silent, not slowing down at all, she slips in front of me and forces me to a halt with her palms on my chest. “Please, talk to me.”

My sinister scowl doesn’t make her move out of my way, so eventually, I give in and growl, “How would you feel if I told you out of the clear blue sky that I wanted to replace you in our story? That I wanted to find a”—I roll my eyes—“suitable mate, with no thought about your future? As the girl from the woods, I guess you could play Dracula’s bait.”

“Is that it?” Her expression turns so soft and pitiful it’s disgusting. “Are you scared of what will happen to you once I change my ever after?”

I push her out of the way none too gently and forge on. She’s back at my side in an instant, but this time, she walks with me in complete silence for a long time. When we reach the signpost at our usual meeting place, she stops. I can feel her sad gaze following me as I walk on. Her stare is boring into my back like a glowing lance.

Slowing down, I tilt my head back to sigh at the sky and shove my hands into my pockets before I turn around. A flicker of hope—a very little one—crosses her honey eyes. We stare at each other for like half a minute. Eventually, she takes a few reluctant steps toward me.

“You know, we could find you a happy ending, too, if you want.” Her suggestion surprises me. And it’s not at all what I want. A foot away from me, she stops and cocks her head with a weak smile. “Unfortunately, you broke the other love arrow, or we could have used it on the Queen of Hearts for you.”

In spite of my anger, she raises a small smile from me with that. It fades again quickly, though, and I push out a long breath. “I don’t want no queen.”

All I want is a girl with a red cloak. In what way I want her…I don’t actually know at the moment.

“Take care, Riley.” I slip my hand between her hair and her neck to pull her closer and place a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then I turn around and leave.