Shifted Rose [The Cursed Wolves Series, Book 1] Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Dear Reader

  Shifted Torment [The Cursed Wolves, Book 2]

  The Alpha Legacy

  The Twisted Fairy Tale Series

  SHIFTED ROSE

  The Cursed Wolves, Book One

  By Holly Hook

  Copyright 2020 by Holly Hook

  CHAPTER ONE

  "So what's taking you all the way out to Tower, anyway?"

  I yank my attention from my phone. Outside, fields, woods, and distant mountains zoom past. Montana is a place where time stands still and my exile feels as if it will last for an eternity.

  I don't want to talk to the cab driver, a slightly older guy who's probably struggling to pay for college, but if I don't, I'll probably end up on one of those Reddit threads about entitled butthead passengers, and then from there I'll end up the unwitting star of one of those Reddit videos. What to tell him, then? I pause, hoping that the silence sinks in the point that I'm not happy to be leaving New York behind. I thumb through my phone again, glimpsing the exchange between Dad and I, and then I decide that telling the guy a bit is better than ignoring him.

  "I'm going to live with my cousin."

  "Oh. I was just wondering, since I've never seen anyone going in and out of Tower. It's not exactly a bustling metropolis." He goes back to paying attention to the empty highway ahead of us. Yeah. It's completely dead. We pass a cattle ranch before the landscape gives way to more rugged pines and hills. And finally, those trees and hills close in and we're passing the sign for the town of Tower, Montana.

  "Her name is Gia," I say. "I've never met her, but my parents say she's nice and could use some help on her homestead."

  "That's a cool name." The driver taps the steering wheel. The card hanging on the back of his seat tells me his name is David. His photo smiles at me but doesn't cheer me up.

  The town of Tower is a dark place, heavily shaded and chilly. I shudder. Lots of old, run-down houses are set back in the trees. Ever since Mom and Dad got back from their hikes out here, they've been arguing. This place has a depressing air that must have rubbed off on them.

  "...talking to him. Why did you talk to him, Lisa?"

  "He meant no harm."

  "Well, no amount of counseling will ever fix this."

  I wipe off my phone screen. "So, what's here in Tower?" How can a town be so far from the airport and so far removed from civilization? The houses look built back in the gold rush days.

  "You're seeing it." He nods in tune to the classic rock radio station that keeps going in and out, just like my phone.

  I have to say something because silence is rude. "I sort of heard. Gia grows her own food. Mom showed me some pictures of her garden before I left home." I reach into my backpack that holds most of my most prized possessions—the rest is in the trunk—and pull out the Memory Book which holds little artifacts from our past family vacations. Mom found and picked the brightest red rose I've ever seen from the woods out here, and it's still kept its full color over the past three weeks even after being pressed. I rub it and close the book.

  "It's always good to be self-sufficient," David says with a smile. So he's legit a nice guy and I wish I could talk to him for longer. And he won't post his encounter with me online for judgment. "If you're having trouble at home, I'm sorry."

  Trouble at home?

  Heck, I've been sent away because my parents are arguing for unknown reasons behind closed doors. And it's been happening since they got home.

  My phone buzzes.

  It's Dad. My heart leaps, but there are of course no well-wishes, no promises that I can go back home in just a couple of weeks.

  Keep your grades up. No B's ever again.

  I sigh. Yes, I will.

  David stays silent as if sensing that I need the quiet time. Now old, small houses mix in with businesses that look like weather-worn log cabins. I've seen rustic places like this before, and I know not everyone is a CEO of an insurance company like Dad, but this place lacks charm. It's dreary and screams desperation.

  I swallow. Two men stand outside a dusty bar, leaning against the building as if they have nowhere else to go. A woman in a faded blouse walks out of a small, faded grocery market with three small children in tow, and she's struggling to keep them all in line. The cars lining Main Street are all adorned with rust, pine tree air fresheners, bumper stickers about honking if parts fall off. Even the pickup trucks, generally prized possessions in places like this, are suffering from rust belt syndrome.

  And at last, we roll out of the main town, through another run-down neighborhood, and finally, to a dirt drive that leads far back into the woods. I can't see where the driveway leads, the woods are dark and thick, and David is stopping here.

  "Your destination is on the right," the GPS chirps.

  I gulp. I wish he'd pull into the driveway, but there's a chain across it. So that's a no go.

  "Here you are," David says. "Would you like help getting your luggage out of the trunk? I can help you carry it up the drive." He feels sorry for me.

  I've hiked in woods before and I'm pretty fit, but I don't want to make David feel useless. "Sure. If you get them out of the trunk that'll be great. From there I can just roll it up the driveway."

  He gets out. Sure enough, the address on the dented mailbox is right. This is Cousin Gia's place. I know she lives in the woods, but sheesh. She really lives in the woods.

  David gets out my rolling, checked luggage, which still has the hot orange tag placed on it hours ago. I grab the hunter green rolling luggage and sling my purple backpack on. David frowns at me, but I give him a thumbs-up. "I'm good, but I appreciate the offer."

  "Good luck," he says, before getting into his car, making a U-turn, and turning around.

  I watch him go. Now I'm alone out here. But as soon as I hike up that driveway and get to Gia, the faster I can settle in.

  The wind kicks up, blowing my hair into my face and making the tall pines creak. The air here smells fresh and good, at least. No pollution. Maybe staying here in Tower won't be as bad as I think and Gia might even be cool. And I can't allow myself to get caught up in self-pity if I'm going to keep my grades up and pretend everything is okay. That's the only way I'm going to get back home before the start of senior year.

  The only way to go now is forward.

  "Well, here goes," I say, straightening out my luggage.

  Gia's driveway is, of course, dirt and gravel. My luggage bounces and tries to roll down into every dip. I squint through the tree trunks and hilly terrain but can't see the cabin yet. Birds chirp as they jump between branches. This driveway must be half a mile long. Yikes. But I soldier on and roll my luggage around another curve.
>
  Silence falls as I round the curve and face yet another stretch of woods. The birds stop chirping and even the wind seems to go still.

  The world seems to dim.

  And I still can't see Gia's cabin from here.

  The farther I walk, the more tension crawls up my spine like a million ants. Am I even in the right place? Maybe this is a private road and the inhabitants back here will shoot first and ask questions later.

  My heart thumps its way into my throat. A sudden feeling of nope overcomes me and I freeze. Something's wrong. My legs stiffen with an urge to turn around and get out of there.

  And then I realize why.

  Everything has gone completely silent.

  The wind even seems to have stopped. Every bird seems to have vanished from the world and even the insects have gone into hiding. Not a single pine tree creaks as it sways and I can hear no signs of life anywhere.

  That's never normal for the woods.

  Once Mom and I felt like this on a hike and it turned out a mountain lion was watching us from a nearby boulder.

  I take a sharp breath. It's not as if I've never been in the outdoors before. I've heard park rangers give this advice millions of times. And now I have to employ it.

  Make noise.

  "Hey!" I shout, widening my arms. I take off my jacket and stretch it out, trying to look big, and I turn in a circle even though I know mountain lions are ninjas and I might not even see it. My senses sharpen and the greens and tans of the forest and the hills pop. My own breath fills my head.

  And then I see it and my shouts die in my throat.

  A large tan dog—no, it's a wolf—steps onto the driveway I just crossed and stares at me with deep brown eyes without a shred of kindness. I've seen wolves before, but in the distance, and they never wanted anything to do with us.

  This one is different.

  This wolf is huge, terrifying, just twenty feet away, and curling its lips back to reveal all its teeth as it stares lovingly at my throat.

  CHAPTER TWO

  "Okay," I mutter, a chill rushing over my body.

  A creature that generally doesn't mess with humans has decided that I, a girl from New York with a hunter green piece of rolling luggage and a magenta backpack, is a threat.

  The wolf growls at me, hatred blooming in its dark eyes. It takes an intimidating step towards me. Check that. Anything this wolf does would be intimidating, with the possible exception of running away.

  "There's no need to do that. Nice wolf," I force out, wondering how far I'll get before it jumps on me and starts tearing at my throat. I stop trying to hold my jacket open because that's not working. My rational thought breaks down and my heart races in my ears. The silence continues to hang over the world. I take a breath, maybe one of my last.

  Survive, Beckah.

  I've got to shed this weight and make a run for it. Something tells me that's my only chance of survival. This wolf easily weighs a lot more than me.

  I take off my backpack.

  Another growl rips from the monster's throat. Is the wolf smiling? I hold my backpack to my chest as a shield, let go of my rolling luggage, and back towards where the cabin must be. Yes. New strategy. Maybe I can shout until I back close enough to the cabin for Gia to open her door and fire a warning shot. She'd have guns, right? If that doesn't work, nothing will.

  "Hey!" I yell, fighting my urge to run and make myself prey. "Get out of here! You heard me! I'm not bothering you. If you want to argue with me being here, talk to my dad. He bought my plane ticket." I'm rambling, but I'm still stepping backwards and still inching closer to wherever Gia's cabin is.

  The wolf follows, tan hackles rising. He keeps his deadly stare on me, making ice spread through my veins. He's not even interested in my rolling luggage. I breathe faster, shallow, unable to stop the fear reaction. My skin turns clammy as all my blood rushes inward. My body's ready to fight the bleeding I'm about to do.

  And the wolf charges, closing the ten feet between us.

  "Shit!" I throw my backpack, complete with my heavy stuff inside, at the animal. It collides, and backpack and wolf go down to the gravel in a tangle of tan fur, yelping, and magenta fabric. Thanks, gym workouts.

  Then I do what I should never do in the presence of a predator.

  I turn and I run.

  Even my athletic legs can't carry me fast enough around the next curve of the driveway and the next. The wolf's growls at first get fainter behind me, and then plodding footfalls crunch against the ground as it gives chase. I look back to see the wolf not fleeing like I hoped, but cresting the hill of the curve I just passed and staring me down. A silent challenge lives in its eyes and bared teeth.

  And with no other sound at all, it bolts down the hill at me.

  "Gia!" I shout, vision sharpening again. Ahead, in the gloom, stands a big log cabin, just a dark shape against the green glow of the deeper woods. I duck under pine needles and jump over a fallen log. I'm taking a shortcut, taking the straightest line I can to the cabin. "Gia! Open up! Now!"

  Underbrush crashes behind me.

  I'm going to die.

  I seize a stick hanging off the tree and chuck it back at the wolf, but it bounces off the top of its head as it closes the final twenty feet between us. Already it's caught up and I have less than two seconds to—

  The tan wolf stops, snapping its stare to the side, and lowers itself to the ground and flattens its ears. And a second wolf, this one brown with beautiful rusty highlights mixed in, bolts out of the underbrush, charging not me but the bigger wolf.

  The tan one rises as the newcomer snaps at it, growling, and the two exchange aggressive noises as they circle around each other, embroiled in some kind of wolf territory dispute. I stand there, stunned at the turn of events at first, and then I remember:

  I have to get to the cabin before I die.

  The two wolves circle, taking all focus off me, and I sense a fight about to break out. The smaller wolf, the beautiful one, will be the loser and then the tan wolf will turn its rabid anger on me.

  "Go, Beckah," I say to myself.

  And as the wolves continue to bicker, challenging each other's manliness, I turn and finish my run to the cabin. It's the back, not the front, facing me and there's a wooden shed that just might be an outhouse. A couple of rugged benches face me and a sprawling, fenced garden bathes in a ray of sunlight. Then the back door swings open and my cousin Gia, who I've never seen in real life, looks first at me and then back at the wolves still snapping at each other.

  "Beckah? Get in," she says, mouth falling open. "I've never seen...no, just get in!" She waves at me frantically, holding the door wide open, and I dive into the dim cabin as she slams the door behind me.

  Normally I'm dignified, at least on the outside, but I forgive myself for running across Gia's kitchen, past her old stove, and into the living room where an old rug covers the wooden floor and stretches between the faded leather couch and the tube TV. I collapse on the couch, flopping onto my stomach and breathing relief into my hands. Dad's not here to tell me I'm being dramatic.

  "Were those wolves?" Gia's right behind me. She puts a strong hand on my back. "Beckah. I've seen pictures of you. Wow. I know there are wolves around here but I don't ever hear about them getting close to people or fighting. Beckah. Are you okay? You are Beckah, right?"

  I'm worrying her. So slowly, I push myself into a sitting position and look right at my cousin, forcing my breaths to slow.

  "Yes. I am. I just...I just..."

  "We have animals in these woods," she tells me. "Take slow breaths."

  "I've seen plenty of animals before," I say, determined not to be that spoiled city girl. Then I force my breaths to level out. I'm safe. For now.

  Gia looks somewhat like my mom, with freckles forming arches on each cheek. I can see that she's the daughter of her estranged brother, who Mom says fled New York to escape drug charges. As we look at each other, Gia turns her mouth down into a frown. "I can't be
lieve you already had a wolf sighting. I see them in the distance sometimes but they're shy."

  Shy? Shy? What I encountered doesn't fit that definition. Quickly I shake my head.

  "Did they purposely come close to you?" Gia leans down. "You're not carrying any meat on you? Being careful out here is a must. We only have two police officers."

  Now I know why my cousin keeps a chain over her driveway. She's in her early twenties, alone out here and trapped by the circumstance of her birth. "No. I don't. I just brought some personal items. I have some peanuts from the flight in my backpack, but that's all." I catch my breath and wipe the sweat off my forehead. "Is it always this interesting around here? The wolves won't get in, will they?"

  "Not at all," Gia says. "Let me get you some water if you're okay with lots of minerals. I know the water in cities is different than what we have here. Your father said he could taste the difference when he stopped by."

  I get my composure back and follow her into the kitchen, though my knees are still shaking and my heart is still racing. "Let me guess. He spit it out in the sink."

  Gia turns to me as she runs the squeaky sink. A yellow fridge from the eighties stands against the wall, humming loudly. "I think we're going to get along just fine." She smiles and fills a souvenir glass from what I'm guessing is the local bar.

  Relief fills my chest. I'm not going to die right now and Gia seems okay. Before now, she was just the reason Mom and Dad came out to try the rugged, obscure hiking trails around Tower they'd heard about on their hiking forums.

  I gulp down the well water. "That's great." Then I remember. "Gia. I left my luggage out there. That big tan wolf. He stepped onto the driveway and growled at me." I hate to ask this. "When they're gone, I might need help going out and getting my stuff. My backpack lost a wrestling match with the wolf."

  Her jaw drops and she grabs the counter. Gia pulls her plaid shirt away from her neck. "One of the wolves threatened you?" Clearly this is news. "It tried to attack you?"

  I thought she'd gotten that idea from the way I ran into her cabin, but until now she must have been thinking of me as easily freaked out.