Snow Kissed
What are people saying
about Snow Kissed?
“This may not be the fairy tale you remember from your childhood, but it is one you won’t be able to get out of your head,”–Emily Fertic
“Snow Kissed is an epic tale filled with heart-racing adventure, the forging of strong, familial bonds, and engaging romance.”–Beth Burnett
“This is not your average fairy tale—it’s much more exciting!”–Mia LaFornara
© 2018 MJ Padgett
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. The names, occupations, events, incidents, and businesses are products of the author’s imagination. Certain cities, states, countries, and institutions are mentioned, but the characters involved are wholly imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. Certain creative liberties have been taken with regard to procedure and function of some occupations, agencies, locations, and events to suit the purpose of this work of fiction. None are intended to represent actual agencies, agency procedures, persons, or events, and any factuality is purely coincidental.
First Edition 2018
Black Forest Tales Publications
Printed in the United States of America
Cover Design by: MJ Padgett
Artwork/graphics obtained from: Shutterstock
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SnowKissed
M. J. Padgett
The Immortal Grimm Brothers’
Guide to Sociopathic Princesses
Volume One
For Lily...
May your dreams be larger than life,
May your hopes be sweeter than sugar,
May your love span centuries, and
May you always remember who you are.
I love you, my little happily ever after.
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
The Series
Song of The Lost
Beware the painted lips of Red
Whose kiss will surely render dead
For a heart as cold as death doth reign
Deep in forests filled with pain
Hear the cries of suffering souls
From beast to man upon the knoll
She bestowed a curse of miserable life
Upon the hands that toil and strife
Rise against the broken way
Steadfast my love, do not give sway
For evil lurks among the shadows
Be not tempted my darling White rose
You alone hold the key
Our daughter dear, set us free
Align with you, the seven sworn
Who not in death, we still do mourn
From the poison they shall rise
Forever cursed, Canis lupus inside
Break the moon once of blue
The howl we seek is strong and true
Beware the painted lips of Red
Whose kiss will surely render dead
Save the wolf who’ll have her head
Our ever beloved Salien bred
Prologue
When I was a child , my mother read to me every night before bed, most often from a tattered book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales . I loved the stories and listened intently as she read. I pretended I was a princess from a faraway land, a strong woman with an entire kingdom at my beck and call. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the line between reality and fantasy was squiggly. Not the craziest thing to happen in my life but shocking, nonetheless.
The Grimm brothers spun tales of fair princesses and evil step-mothers, tales that carried deep and meaningful lessons, but what if the tales were rubbish? Who would imagine the innocent stories disguised sinister plots and murderous princesses? Unfathomable, but true. Let me begin with the tale that changed my life forever.
Long, long ago, in a land far from here, there lived a beautiful princess. The princess was the apple of her father’s eye and the dearest love of her mother’s heart. Everyone loved the young girl, for she was the kindest and fairest princess who ever lived. She brought joy to the hearts of those who knew her, and her charm and grace captivated her audience. Snow White was her name, and her skin was soft and delicate as fresh snow, lips the brightest shade of ruby, eyes the color of moss that grew on the stones by the riverbed.
The kingdom was prosperous and happy. No one had reason to speak unkindly of their king and queen or their lovely daughter. One day the queen fell ill. No doctor in the land or in any of the neighboring lands could heal her. Not long after she became sick, she died. The king hid in his castle for days, but it was his duty to give the kingdom a queen. He soon took another wife, despite his broken heart.
His new wife, Ravenna, detested her step-daughter. She desired the king to herself, but he doted over his daughter without end. Knowing Snow would inherit the throne upon the death of the king, the new queen set out to rid herself of the girl once and for all. Soon after the king died, the queen ordered the royal huntsman to take Snow deep into the forest for slaughter. She ordered him to bring back her lungs and liver, proof he obeyed her demands.
The huntsman pursued the princess, but when the time came to murder her, he could not. Instead, he killed a boar and removed the organs to give to the queen—Evil Queen as the kingdom named her. Snow fled farther into the forest where she came upon seven dwarfs. All miners, they worked from dawn until dusk to supply coal to the neighboring kingdom.
After Snow told her tale of woe, they took her in and cared for her as their daughter. Once Ravenna discovered the princess survived, she sent her a gift—a poisoned apple, which Snow eagerly bit. After a single bite, she fell to the ground. Believing her dead, yet not able to let her go, the dwarfs placed her in a glass coffin.
After several days, a prince happened upon the unconscious Snow White and instantly fell in love with the girl. He begged the dwarfs to let him take her away, and they agreed. Upon moving her coffin, they dropped it, and a bit of poisoned apple fell from Snow’s mouth. Moments later, she awakened to the delight of her dwarf friends. The prince upheld his promise and carried her away to marry.
At their wedding, they forced Ravenna to wear shoes of burning iron and to dance until she died. Snow White and her prince lived happily ever after.
And so was the life of Snow White, or was it? Not at all. Not even close. I almost didn’t believe it myself when I first learned the truth surrounding Snow White and her step-mother, Ravenna. However, when one of the legendary Grimm brothers appeared at my window late one cold, winter night, he made it impossible not to believe.
Chapter One
Ablue moon, an ex
tra full moon that randomly popped up on the astronomical calendar to make my life difficult, as if being a teenager wasn’t complicated enough. Lucky for me, the phrase, “once in a blue moon,” accurately described the frequency of my little, shall we say... condition?
Whatever you call it, it caused more trouble than a little for my parents and me. My parents discovered my condition when I was very young. If they hadn’t had a front-row seat on one such moon, I’d be in an asylum somewhere in Antarctica. There was just no way to explain it without sounding delusional.
Most nights of the year I was an average teenager. I had best friends, a secret crush, loved music and movies, and liked running. I spent my time hanging out with my friend’s or passing the hours studying at the library.
But once in a blue moon, I was anything but normal. I suppose since it was always inside of me, I wasn’t normal any time, but I liked to pretend I didn’t have a predatory animal hiding inside of me 364 days a year, lying in wait for that one glorious night of escape.
I’m sure you’ve read the make-believe stories of wolf shifters, werewolves if you prefer, but what you’ve read is not true. I used to believe my kind only existed in fairy tales, folklore, and fiction until I learned the truth. What I became on those nights was nothing compared to the story behind it. Little did I know I descended from royalty, living out a curse inflicted on me by a beloved character in fiction. But she wasn’t fictional, and she wasn’t nice. Not even close.
The story of my life is long and wrought with plot twists, deception and love, mystery and intrigue. But if I’m to tell you the story, I must start the night everything changed. The night I met him . The last, normal night of my abnormal existence. After that night, things happened so quickly I’m not sure I was fully present and aware for every moment.
It began the second full moon of December, the thirteenth full moon of the year, fulfilling its definition as a blue moon in every way. My parents prepared a larger than usual dinner, having learned the more I ate before I shifted, the less destruction I caused later. They weren’t fond of finding the stripped carcasses of woodland animals in our backyard after a night of ravenous feasting.
“It’s dropping below freezing tonight, so dress warmly, Calla,” my mother said, forgetting again that I wouldn’t need clothing until morning.
I listened to her instructions to ease her mind. The shift was as stressful for them as it was for me, so I did what I could to make it easier.
“I will. Don’t worry, Mom.”
My father entered the kitchen with a rolled-up newspaper, and the wolf in me tensed. I’m not sure why, since neither of them had ever hit me in my life, but the sight of the rolled newspaper made the dog react every time. He tossed it on the counter, and it fell open, the headline glaring at me.
Farmers All Over Town Prepare for Blue Moon
The rest of the article described the measures local farmers and pet owners took to ensure their livestock and pets stayed safe overnight. I knew what my father implied, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not convince him I was not the culprit behind the savage slaughter of the local animals. He didn’t want to believe it was me, but the timing made it difficult not to assume.
“Dad, I’m telling you, it’s not me. It’s just a coincidence. You read about these things all the time. All kinds of animals get crazy on full moons.” I tried to reason with him once again, but he was one step away from locking me up in the basement until morning.
“Honey, even if you were slaughtering animals all night, I wouldn’t care. I’m just afraid someone will... oh, I can’t even think about it.” He fell into a chair, always a bit dramatic. He rubbed his temples to ease his frustration and worry. My mother sat beside him, matching his concern and bumping it up a notch.
“Calla, dear, we would die if something happened to you,” she said. “What if a farmer sees you and assumes you’re the one killing the livestock? You might get shot or worse!”
I had a hard time thinking of anything worse than getting shot.
I sympathized with their position but could never make them understand what the wolf inside me needed. I needed to run, to be let free to hunt, or the primal urge to do so would remain inside me, pushing me to the edge until I exploded in a frenzy on the next blue moon.
If that happened, well, there’s no telling what I might kill, a fact I learned the hard way after killing so many animals in one night, it took my father a day and a half to clear the backyard without suspicion. I would not allow myself to lose control that way again. There was no way to be sure I could control myself if I crossed paths with a human in that ravenous state.
“I’ll go up the mountain and stay there all night. There’s nothing but trees for miles. Not a single farmer in sight up there. I’ll be safe, I promise,” I said, eating more from my plate to convince them I wouldn’t eat everything in my path on the way up the mountain.
“I realize we can’t keep you penned up like a puppy, sweetheart. It’s just so difficult. We worry all night long, especially when you’re quiet.” My mother squeezed my hand, an attempt to soothe herself that didn’t work.
“Quiet?”
“You know, when you don’t howl to tell us you’re safe.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that wasn’t the reason I howled, but if it eased their minds, I would do it frequently.
“If I give you a howl every so often throughout the night, will that help?”
My father chuckled and shook his head.
“We love your howl, darling, but please be careful. It may reveal your location, and if there are hunters out who... I can’t. I love you. Be careful.” He kissed me on the top of my head and left the room. My mother stood and kissed me, then gave me a firm hug.
“Don’t mind him. He works himself into a tizzy these nights.”
I finished the last of my dinner and gathered my things in silence. I packed a change of clothes, my phone, and a few snacks in a bag I would leave hidden somewhere in the woods. I’d need everything in the morning when I shifted again. I learned the hard way to prepare. One too many mornings waking up naked, and I remembered to pack back-up clothing.
The creaky back door slammed on my way out, and the bite of the December air clamped down on my face. I checked my watch, an hour before nightfall. I had to hurry. I drove my car to the little hideaway I’d found one day, parked as far into the tree line as possible and covered it with branches. A futile act, but it made me feel better to think no one could see my car from the road, raising suspicions.
After a mile hike into the woods, I leaned against a tall pine. I felt the tingling in my toes and the tips of my fingers, indicating the impending shift. I tied a rope around my bag and hoisted it up the tree for safe keeping. As a precaution, I kept my necessities separate from my car in case it was found and reported. I didn’t want to talk to the police naked, or on some nights, covered with blood. I secured the rope just in time.
I tried to strip before I shifted but ran a little behind time, so my clothes ripped to shreds. I shook off the scraps of fabric and smelled something tasty right away. Ignoring my urge to find it, I moved farther up the mountain. I made a promise to my parents, and I intended to keep it.
Feeling the soft dirt beneath my paws and inhaling the aroma of fresh-cut pine made me feel free. I ran, and I ran, letting the wolf have her fun for a while. When I reached high ground, I raised my head to the moon and howled loudly for my parents. I pictured their smiling faces, the only two souls on earth who knew my truth.
I glanced around, sniffing the air for a nice deer or a few rabbits, but all I smelled was snow. It was coming and there would be a lot. Snow was helpful for hunting. As a white wolf, hunting was tricky, even though most of my prey was color blind. The large white void I created in the scenery was a dead giveaway and a good reason to run if edible.
I continued my run, hoping to find something over the next hill, perhaps on the other side of the mountain. Halfway there the snow fe
ll, quickly blanketing everything in a cloud of white. And then I saw it.
A giant deer appeared in the distance, grunting and snorting in search of something green to eat. I crouched and studied the stag for a long time. I didn’t enjoy killing other animals. In fact, it was the thing I hated most about my transformation. I’d much rather eat a bowl of pasta and kick back watching TV all night, but such was life.
Just when I’d convinced myself to go for it, the wind shifted. My lungs filled with the scent of the deer, but behind his smell was something familiar, yet different and new at the same time. The deer also caught the scent, and he lurched forward, springing toward safety amongst a tangle of underbrush.
I chased him, not at all interested in searching for another one if he got away. When he erupted from the other side of the brush, I sprang out just beside him, but he darted to his left before I had a chance to topple him. He was fast, shooting around trees and jumping over logs, but I was faster. He made a quick right turn and one last lunge toward a thicket of blackberry bushes. I leaped into the air, catching his neck before he escaped.
I had to eat, there was no way around it, but I could do without the carnage. Once, my parents tried leaving raw meat out for me, but the animal instinct wouldn’t settle for it. I had to hunt. Sometimes it felt like I had two souls residing in the same body, one human and one wolf, both vying for dominance.
I let my mind wander as I snapped the deer’s neck. A quick death was my style. I didn’t play with my food, and I found it disgusting when other animals did. They say humans are sadistic, but I’ve seen animals do things to their prey that bordered on sociopathic.
I dragged the deer to a secluded area, so I could eat before exploring the mountain. I heard an unusual noise, a guttural rumbling nearby. My ears perked, homing in on the sound. The rumbling grew closer, a growl I assumed was a wolf of the actual, full-time variety. Try as they may, I never met a natural wolf I couldn’t handle, so I wasn’t concerned.
However, once he came into view, my heart stopped. Solid black, as large as me and dead-set on taking my meal. Once he was close enough, I lunged at him and snapped at his face. He fell back and repositioned, then came at me again, intent on ripping me to shreds at the gut.
My initial goal was defending my food, but if he wanted to play nasty, I could give him a run for his money. I dodged his gut-ripping teeth and jumped onto his back, sinking my own canines into his neck. He let out a howl, then a sharp whine. I loosened my grip, assuming he got the hint and would run off into the forest, but I misjudged him. He turned his head quickly and seized my foot in his teeth, shaking until I fell from his back. I recovered from the fall and limped toward the safety of the thicket.