Rules of a Fairytale

“Well, pooh. The giants weren’t as useful as I thought.”

My head snapped up to The Empress, back to her normal size, sitting on her fallen minion’s shoulder. Her wings fluttered languidly behind her as she smirked down at me. She waved her hand and everything around us froze. The two remaining giants held huge rocks and tree trunks that they were winding up to throw. Arrows from the palace guard were stuck in midair like stars in the sky. Madyson, who was the closest to me, held her belly, but her eyes still moved frantically. I gasped.

“They’re still awake, but I don’t want any interruptions. I thought we could have a nice little chat.” She sounded like the condescending fairy godmother we’d met in the fairy village, the one who thought it’d be a miracle to make me pretty. “First of all, I want to commend you. It’s not often that I say this, but you’ve impressed me. I never considered that any of you would be able to tap into fairy magic to escape. And to do it now in the midst of battle, you’ve earned my respect.

“That is why I’m giving you a chance. I am going to take over the kingdoms, starting with Sleeping Beauty’s. I’m letting you take your family and leave. You’ve succeeded in your quest so go home.”

I raised my chin stubbornly. “No. I’m not going to stand by and let you spread your evil. I’m not abandoning my pack and I’m not abandoning Steven’s kingdom.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to kill you.”

I grinned wickedly. “You’ve tried that already. I’m a lot harder to kill than you though. I am the Alpha of the wolves. Not only that, but I am the great-great-granddaughter of Maleficent and great-granddaughter of Aurora. And I am not afraid of you.”

A vaguely familiar feeling raced up my spine. It was like the change that happened every full moon, but there was no pain. And no moon. I could feel her though, my wolf, trying to come out. I welcomed her and was surprised for only a moment as she pushed through. It was strange, changing without the full moon, controlling it. Instead of the awkwardness of two different shapes fighting for control, my human and wolf halves merged seamlessly. Dark fur erupted along my skin and sharp claws extended from powerful paws. I snapped my teeth at The Empress and felt my snout wrinkle in a snarl as a growl rumbled in my chest.

My wolf side and my human side had always been to parts of one whole, but this was almost as if they’d been irrevocably meshed together.

The Empress’ eyes widened and her wings fluttered in agitation. “That’s not possible.”

My powerful back legs tensed as I sprang. She squealed and pushed into the air at the last second. I stood on the giant’s broad belly while she danced just out of reach. I huffed. I didn’t like standing on a dead giant body but I didn’t want to get down at let her be farther away.

“You’re resourceful, I’ll give you that. And you’re stronger than I thought. But nothing you do is going to stop this. I’m taking your power and then I’m taking the kingdoms. The days of spoiled brats like you getting their hearts’ desires from the godmother are over. I will be all-powerful.”

She was really getting on my nerves. For being a super magical fairy, she was sounding as whiny as a toddler throwing a tantrum. I was ready for her to stomp her foot, which would have been interesting while she was still in the air.

I jumped again and caught the hem of her puffy dress so she faltered a little, but I couldn’t hang on. Her bright green eyes narrowed at me and a shiny white wand appeared in her hand. It sparked at the tip when she pointed it at me and I barely dove out of the magic’s way. The giant’s body burst into flames behind me. She shot more magic, which I dodged again and again. Craters and fire followed and I knew she was close behind.

I made it all the way to the vegetable patch before she finally wised up. The next blast landed in front of me and I fell into the hole it made. My ribs still hurt from when the giant hit me and the breath was knocked from me when I hit the ground. I shifted back effortlessly so that I could hold my aching side. The pressure helped a little.

“Give up yet?” I taunted.

Her nostrils flared. “I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you. I still have the upper hand.”

I smirked. “We’ll see.”

Two human legs weren’t as strong as four wolf ones, but mine did the trick well enough when I jumped from the pit. She wasn’t expecting the sudden attack so I caught the fairy empress off guard and she couldn’t fly away. I changed in midair, hitting her square on. We tumbled down but I had enough agility to position myself above her with my front paws holding down her arms while my back ones pinned her legs. I changed again, keeping her down. “It seems that I have the upper hand. I guess I’m lucky fairies are only a foot tall- makes you easier to handle.”

“Not for long.”

Her hand twitched but nothing happened. She froze for a second and her eyes widened before her hand became more frantic. I knew what she was doing but I limited her range of motion so it was impossible for her to reach her wand. It was like us back in her dungeon; she couldn’t do magic without channeling it. Right now, she was essentially a very tiny human.

I caught sight of that shining stick just to the left and quickly snagged it. The Empress looked downright horrified when she saw her weapon in my hand. “After everything you’ve done, my first instinct as a wolf is to go for the jugular, keep you from hurting anyone else. But I’m not like you, and I’m not like my great-great-grandmother. I won’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be completely merciful. You trapped my parents, my grandpa nearly died from the trolls so you need to be stopped. And since you like Cinderella so much, I think I’ll take a page from her book.”

I used the wand. The magic wasn’t as uncomfortable as the cloak’s had been. She wiggled beneath me, but even The Empress or Fairy Godmother couldn’t stop this. The nearest pumpkin glowed brightly as her body started to dissolve. Her scream was short-lived. When the light faded, the pumpkin was a metallic silver color. It felt smooth and hard as steel. And there, if I looked hard enough, I could see the traitorous fairy in its hollow interior. She was stuck as surely as any genie in a bottle.

My quest was finally over and with that realization, my adrenaline faded and I collapsed right in the pumpkin patch.

A dozen pairs of worried eyes stared down at me when I woke up. My head pounded and my ribs ached when I tried to sit up with a groan. My mom, who knelt on the ground next to me, quickly wrapped her arms around my shoulders for support.

I blinked the grogginess from my eyes and took in everything around me. Off at the edge of the palace grounds, two giants had disappeared while soldiers tried to haul away the one my team had killed. I looked away quickly. Craters scarred the land made by flying greenery and fairy magic. Speaking of fairies…

The silver pumpkin was still there. Tate stood guard over it with a large broadsword at the ready. He smiled down at me when our gazes met. “Impressive, sister. That’s some serious magic you used to trap her in a pumpkin, of all things.”

I smiled back. “It seemed fitting.”

Madyson barked out a laugh and I took in the pack of wolves opposite my family and Brooke. “That was awesome!” she shouted. “You go full wolf. And you were still you and didn’t let the wolf take over. I didn’t know that was possible!“’

“I’ve away been in control. Other than being forced to change by the moon or my eyes glowing when I’m mad, I’m in charge.”

I winced as the nurse tending to me pressed a hand to my lower ribs. Tate smirked. “You broke something, didn’t you?”

“Probably,” I replied airily.

“I know that you’re this super awesome Alpha, but I’m still your brother and I’m not above teasing you for losing a fight against a tree.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “It was a giant, and I technically won the fight.”

“Not the way I’m gonna tell it. Seriously, though, did you change back and forth? On your own?”

I thought about it for just a second. “Yeah, I actually did. It didn’t hurt like it normally does and I shifted a couple of times.”

Madyson’s hazel eyes got bright with excitement. “Maybe you can show us when we get back to the den. I want to try!”

I ran my fingers through my tangled hair and darted a glance to my parents. Dad frowned slightly and shook his head just the tiniest bit. Mom looked over her shoulder and I followed her gaze to a couple of guards hauling out the magic mirror we used to travel between worlds. My heart sank. “I’m not coming back to the den just yet. I have to go back to my world.”

“But…”

Mom cleared her throat delicately and stood. I followed suit, using Bo’s hand to leverage me up. “We’ll give you a few minutes. Tate, bring that pumpkin. You can give it to the guards at the mirror.”

I waited until they cleared out before looking at my wolves again. I felt at home with the pack, but I wasn’t ready for all of the responsibilities just yet. I’d grown up a lot the last few weeks, but I still had some more growing to do, and that required my parents and brother. I belonged in Miami, at least for now. “Take care of the pack while I’m gone. I’ll be back in a few months, okay?”

Bo bowed. “Of course, my lady.”

Madyson looked like she had tears swimming in her eyes. “I don’t want you to leave.”

I smiled at the younger girl. “I know, but my family still needs me in my world. I’ll be back as often as I can and in just two years, I’ll be here for good. I need you to do something for me. We’re going to build up our kingdom so I need you to be on the lookout for good land near the den. Keep a running list and whenever I come Bo and I can work on deals with the landowners to buy it. This wolf pack is going to be a force to be reckoned with, but we’ll need your help. Can you do that?”

She blinked away the wetness and nodded resolutely. “Whatever you say. We’ll see you soon.”

She hugged me quickly and then the pair slid into the shadows of the forest and disappeared with the rest of the pack.

I stood there for a moment longer before I sighed and walked back to the others waiting at the mirror. Tate had an arm wrapped around Brooke’s shoulder. I smiled at them, glad they were happy. She leaned against him and let out a breath. “So what happens now?”

I frowned just a little. It was a good question. The Brooke Cast that I knew at school was so different than the one that had become my friend here and I didn’t know what would happen when we got home. “Now our world awaits,” I replied as I stepped through the portal.