Rules of a Fairytale

I spit out the gross taste in my mouth when the door slid open once again. My head lifted to glower at Fairy Godmother, but she didn’t step in to taunt me. Instead, three bodies came tumbling into the room, one much smaller than the others. I blinked my eyes to focus them and the sick feeling clawed back into my chest as the door slammed shut. The tallest one sat up and ran his hands through his dark hair. Mom gasped and hurried to his side, pulling him into her arms. “Tate! What happened?”

My brother hugged her back before pulling slightly away to help Brooke get up. I was surprised to see her awake. Ryder, still a frog, hopped in spin until he found me still hunched over the toilet. Those giant blue eyes narrowed as Tate started talking. “Tasha, you were gone when we woke up yesterday and I’m incredibly upset with you about that.”

I waved my hand, dismissing his statement. I would have responded if I had any energy left. He scoffed and continued. “The vines were gone so that Brooke wasn’t trapped. I, um, went to check on her and, um, realized the spell was broken once she woke up then. I think that Malika’s power wasn’t strong enough to make the curse last longer than the night.”

Brooke frowned slightly at that and I glared at my twin. He was lying, I could tell. Love could break the sleeping curse, and if he loved her, that was it. There’d never be another girl for him. If she loved him back, great, they were mates and they would live happily ever after. If not, he would be alone forever, and I didn’t want that for Tate. I think Brooke knew there was more to the story, too.

“So how did you end up here?” I croaked. “I know I covered my tracks.”

“Yeah, I know. I couldn’t smell you at all and you had the mirror. We’ve been looking for two days. Then an hour ago, this hummingbird showed up. It... herded us to the house. Magic did the rest to throw us into this room.”

The frog prince hopped closer to me. “Your turn. Why did you disappear?” he demanded.

“The Empress visited me in a dream. I came here and she revealed herself. It’s the Fairy Godmother. She wants to take my power and my Alpha status. I think she brought you because I’m being less than cooperative.”

“So how do we get out of here? There has to be something we can do,” Brooke said.

My mother turned a quizzical eye on Brooke. I’d told my mom all the awful things the girl had done to me and had painted a very unflattering picture of her. I knew that Mom was thinking about all of the times she’d held me as I cried because of the mean girl at school. “Yes. How indeed? It was one thing when it was just Cale and me, but she went too far bringing my children here.”

Yikes. Mama bear was making an appearance. “So what do you suggest, Mom? It took 13 good fairies to trap Maleficent. We don’t have nearly that much magic.”

A calculated smile curved her lips, the one she got when she knew Tate or I were lying to her. “Your father is a wolf and I am Maleficent’s great-granddaughter. You and your brother have the magic of wolves and fairies, plus you are the Alpha.”

My body heaved again, but thankfully nothing came out. “That’s all, true, but she was able to do this to me with just a wave of her hand. We’ll have to think of something else.”

Ryder hopped up into the tank lid. “You might be right. The Fairy Godmother is strong. But you also have to realize that so are you. She’s scared of you, otherwise she wouldn’t have done all of this. Why don’t you get some rest and we’ll discuss this when you’re not vomiting your guts out.”

I glared at him, but he had a point. I forced myself to relax and in enough time, I was feeling better. Hours, or maybe days passed and we had no leads on how to escape. Mom was adamant that my family’s magic would work, but Tate and I had never even tried to access the fairy power. My grandmother had never taught my mom how to use that magic, and even the good fairies had denied her. As a result, none of us had any clue what we were doing and going wolf right now would be counterproductive. In short, we were all helpless.

Soon enough, Dad fell asleep and Mom wasn’t far behind him. She curled up against him, using his arm as a pillow. Even trapped they were the epitome of true love.

“How does it work, the mate thing?” Brooke whispered to me while the boys were across the room starting at the door and trying to come up with something. “What exactly does that mean?”

I sucked in my bottom lip, thinking. “It’s not like the books back home make it sound. It’s not love at first sight. Becoming mates takes time; I think so that the wolf can be sure. It’s falling in love with a person so completely that you can’t settle for anyone else. A mated pair is really what true love is.”

“That’s it? There’s no dating different people until you find the one? You don’t get a second chance?”

“Nope. Why do you think Tate doesn’t date at school? I know girls like him and he gets a lot of offers. He hangs out with some girls, but he won’t go out with them for real because none of them are going to be his mate and he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings with a break up.”

Brooke frowned. “What if someone fell in love with a wolf, but they didn’t love that person? Or what if a wolf fell in love with someone that didn’t love them?”

“Well, if someone loves a wolf, they might eventually get over it, especially if they know it wouldn’t happen. But that’s a really rare case because most humans see wolves as evil and tend to stay away. On the flip side of that, if a wolf’s love is one sided, they’d end up alone.”

Her blue eyes got wet. “That’s so sad.”

I nodded my agreement and tugged on my hair before my gaze met hers again. “Why all the questions?”

Her eyes darted to the door and back at me. I chanced a quick look to see both boys still focused on the locked door. “I’ve heard lot of different versions of Sleeping Beauty. In every one of them she wakes up because of an act of true love. I- I think Tate woke me up.”

I blinked at her. I’d had my own suspicions, but hearing someone else agree sort of worried me. I tried to say something but no words came out when I opened my mouth. I chanced another look back at my brother and it looked like he was getting frustrated with the door. We didn’t have much more time for this conversation. “So what does that mean if he did?”

It was her turn to look like a fish. I saw the war going on behind her eyes she was spared answering by the other two members of our little group. “Your turn, sis. Work some magic on that door.

I cocked my head to the side, giving him a look that said he was crazy. “What, do you expect me to alohamora that thing open? I have no clue how to work fairy magic.”

“You didn’t know how to act like an Alpha, but you’re pretty good at bossing me around.”

“That’s different; you’re my brother,” I retorted.

He smirked. “What’s your excuse for Bo? Just that he likes you?”

I glared at my twin. Ryder hopped between us before there was any bloodshed. “Maybe we should all just get some sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

Sleep, yeah right. That wasn’t easy on a cold concrete floor with no blankets or pillows. The Fairy Godmother had taken my bag when I got here so I didn’t even have that to lay on, and it looked like the others were in the same boat. Tate curled up closest to the door. Brooke looked at him for a second then turned around awkwardly and shuffled to the far corner. She leaned up against the two joining walls and pulled her knees up, letting her head bob onto her crossed arms. Ryder was still staring at me.

“Do you think Tate’s right?”

“About Bo liking you? I don’t know,” he replied harshly.

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are worse than girls with the gossiping. No, I was talking about the magic. I’ve never really tried to tap into the fairy side. I don’t even know how it’s done.”

He looked pensive- at least as much as a frog could. “I’ve only seen a fairy once, other than the Fairy Godmother. It was almost boring. She waved her wand and said what she wanted, which was to move my mother’s throne to the other side of my father’s. And that was it. When I asked, she said magic is about siphoning it and bending it to your will. She said the wand alone isn’t powerful, but a fairy can use it to manipulate magic.”

“So I wouldn’t have to make magic from scratch. I could just reuse some that already exists.”

“Sounds like it to me.”

My eyes got big. “Ryder, do you trust me?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately. I was a little surprised that he would reply without any hesitation.

“Oh, um, good. Come with me.”

I rushed to the door and pressed my hand against it. The wood was cool to the touch and creaked when I banged on it. It didn’t budge when I tried to slide it, which made sense because Tate had already tried that. I could feel the slight hum of magic and it sparked with my excitement.

“What’s going on?” Tate mumbled sleepily. Oops.

“I want to try something. Ryder and I were talking about magic. You can manipulate it. Ryder, you’re still spelled but maybe I can use the curse Malika put on you and redirect it at the door. I mean, if you’re okay with trying that. I would have used the mirror, but she took all of my stuff.” I emptied my pockets and only my cell plopped out; I’d actually forgotten about it.

Brooke crawled over from her little corner to watch my little experiment with interest. Her gaze landed on the phone. “Why do you still have your cell phone? I thought you said they don’t work here.”

I clicked the side button and the screen lit up to show the clock and remaining battery life. “I’m not sure. Just a small comfort, I guess. It’s almost dead and is only good for showing the time anyway.”

She snorted. “Almost midnight. How very Cinderella.”

Her eyes suddenly got glassy and she tilted her head to the side so that her blonde waves spilled over one shoulder. I left her alone to her thoughts while I looked down at Ryder. He nodded at me. “What do you need from me?”

And I froze. What now?

“Hey, question,” Brooke called suddenly, saving me from coming up with the rest of my little plan. She had my phone in her hand. “Why did Cinderella only get until midnight? Or was that not really part of the story.”

“No, that part’s true. A spell that big can’t last forever. Even magic has its limits.”

“Like the magic holding us in here?” she hedged.

I grinned at her. She was smarter than I ever gave her credit for. “Yeah. She probably reinforces the door whenever the magic wanes, but there will most likely be a lag, a weak point. I don’t think she’d be that vigilant on it if she doesn’t think we know about that.”

“So you’re gonna siphon the magic out of me and use it to break through her spell?”

I felt the door again. The magic was still strong, but a little less so. Even with Ryder’s help, I doubted I could break through. “Not exactly. I’m gonna siphon it from you and act as a bridge for Tate to draw from. He’s gonna open the door.”

My brother frowned, looking absolutely horrified. “Me? No way.”

“Yes. You’re better at this magic stuff than me. You beat Malika, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know how I did that.”

“We’ll figure that out. Ryder, do you still trust me?” He nodded and I knelt down to his level. “Good. Give me your hand. Tate, I’m going to push the curse from him and send that magic to you. Got it?”

My twin took my other hand and extended his free one towards the door. I could feel power flowing from Ryder’s webbed fingers and into my belly. It felt slimy but I focused on the raw magic and what it could do. That power shifted to something like new before I sent it to Tate with a little bit of my own. He gasped and I could see the faint orange glow beneath his hand.

“It’s working!” Brooke whispered excitedly. She tried not to blow anyone’s concentration, but her enthusiasm was contagious. The door slid open, slowly, but it was definitely open. On the outskirts of my senses I could hear Mom and Dad murmuring their awe.

The door slammed open and we went flying several feet. My back ached and my head spun from impact. I tried to sit up, but something warm held me in place for a second. I looked up into Ryder’s bright blue eyes and noticed I’d landed on his very human chest and he had one arm cradled around my shoulders. My face burned red. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. You saved me from that curse.”

Before I could shrug off his praise, a blue mist curled in through the doorway. The Fairy Godmother, human-sized, stood in the fog of her magic with a wicked grin on her face and some red fabric in her hand. I squirmed, feeling antsy.

“Impressive. Tate, I think I’ll keep you once I take over the kingdoms. You will make a fine guard dog.”

He growled. “Not gonna happen.”

She shrugged. “We shall see. Once I take over Tasha’s power your pack will have a new Alpha and you will have to obey. But you kids have become more meddlesome than I initially thought. So, how about a little distraction? Prince Ryder, I believe you know what this is.”

She held out the scarlet fabric and it unfurled into a hooded cloak. I shifted uncomfortably while he crossed his arms. “My grandmother’s hood.”

“Exactly. It would have been smart of that adorably handsome Beta to take the hood and change the wolves’ fate, but most humans are too ignorant to know how agitated it makes them. Especially when they go full wolf.”

Chills raced up my back and magic coursed through me at her words. It was familiar, this agony, but it felt wrong. I wasn’t supposed to be changing into my other form right now, so everything hurt so much more as I tried to fight it. Pain immobilized my entire body and I screamed as my bones tried to rearrange themselves. Shifting because of the moon had been one thing, but this forced change was different, unnatural. Dad snarled and Tate howled as they both tried to fight it just as hard as I did.

“What’s going to happen?” Brooke asked, terrified. I screamed in agony and my back arched off the floor.

“They’ll come after the two of you. Cale is my mate and Tate has my blood running through him so they recognize me as part of the pack, but you two... We’ll just have to play keep-away.”

Ryder’s blonde hair fell into his blue eyes, which locked in me. His expression was concerned and somehow, I found myself focusing on that and didn’t hurt quite so much. “Stop fighting it, Tasha. It won’t hurt so much if you give in. And if your dad and brother change, your mom won’t be able to hold them off. You are stronger than them. You’re the Alpha, remember?”

I didn’t have quite so much faith in my ability as Alpha, but he was right that Mom couldn’t protect them alone. Once I stopped fighting it, the wolf magic settled over me like a hot steam. My body still ached as hands became paws with sharp claws, skin became fur, my nose became a snout, but it was nothing like the blinding agony from momenta ago.

The sleek and powerful wolf took my spot and I loped to stand next to my mother. I felt Brooke and Ryder at my tail, but focused on watching the other two werewolves finish transforming. Dad was the first and his head immediately snapped toward us. His yellow eyes flicked past Mom and me and he licked his chops. Tate finished soon after and started panting, relishing in the idea of a hunt. I could smell Brooke’s fear, which meant that they could, too. I think that’s what set my brother off.

He leapt across the small space. I matched the jump, catching him in mid-air and stopping his attack, for a second, anyway. He looked at me with curious, puppy dog eyes before they flicked hungrily at Brooke. I growled and he looked back to me, lowering his gaze in submission. His instinct to hunt was trumped by the instinct to obey the Alpha.

Dad’s wolf was more calculating than Tate’s impulsive one. He sat, watching for an opening to his prey. Glowing yellow eyes were wary on the red cloak and the person still holding it. Ryder was toast if I couldn’t figure out how to subdue the other two werewolves.

I growled at my father, just a low sound, and his massive head swiveled to me. He hesitated a second and then lowered his head and just sat on his rear. It wasn’t the submission Tate showed, but at least he wasn’t attacking.

I risked a glance back at Brooke and Ryder. They both looked horrified and my stomach dropped. I’d grown up in this particular fairy tale so seeing my dad and brother as half wolf didn’t faze me, but what did they see? From that perspective, I guess I could see why Red Riding Hood’s huntsman would have killed the original Alpha.

“Now boys, that’s enough,” Mom snapped. “I know you don’t want to her anybody.”

Dad growled his disagreement and took a step closer. My shoulders hunched and my snout wrinkled up in a snarl. He stopped. His eyes took in the scarlet cloak before locking onto mine almost pleading. “Enemy,” he ground out slowly, his longer teeth making the word sound harsh.

I had to admit that the cloak made me nervous. I wasn’t sure how some fabric could be so scary, but I felt the danger that stemmed from it. That didn’t sit well for my wolf because my kind weren’t meant to be anyone’s prey. Strange what magic could do.

“No, Cale, there is no enemy here,” Mom tried to soothe.

Dad growled and Brooke whimpered. I backed up and pressed against her legs. Wolves are sensory creatures that use touch to comfort. Somewhere along the last week, Brooke had become almost a friend and I wanted to reassure her. I snapped at my dad and he backed off.

Sharp claws raked against my snout. I yelped and turned my attention to Tate. “Mine,” he snarled. His golden eyes were slightly green and they weren’t filled with the hunger I’d expect of a hunting wolf. He looked almost concerned, jealous, and confused. I stepped to the side so that I was still close enough to protect the two humans but far enough away that my coarse black fur didn’t touch her leg and my brother visibly relaxed.

I tilted my head to the side and shifted in agitation. My rear brushed against something soft that sent a shock through my entire body. I swiveled my head around to the ancient red cloak that made me so uncomfortable. Magic pulsed around me and I got an idea.

I batted the cloak away from Ryder and crawled under it. It felt like spiders were crawling all over my skin, but I ignored the feeling and let the magic envelop me.