A Bite's Tale: A Furry Fable, #1

By Veronica Blade

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

5-star review by Tifferz on GoodReads "A Bite's Tales is a unique twist on Cinderella meets paranormal meets Jane Austen. This is a sweet story that captivated and entranced me from the get go."

5-star review by Vidya-BooksAreMagic "Excellent, sweet and irresistable romantic fantasy!"

NOTE: This is a short and sweet young adult romance, about 155 pages

BOOK DESCRIPTION

A Cinderella who spends her nights as a wolf. A prince with a taste for blood.

Seventeen year old Cydney struggles against her werewolf nature, trying to keep everyone around her safe. No way will she risk exposing the beast at the prince’s ball, no matter how her two cousins try to persuade her. Even as she attempts to get on with her life, Cydney can’t forget the boy she loved three summers ago — or what she did to him after losing control.

Turned into a vampire to save his life, the prince refuses to live up to his royal duties. He just wants to find the girl he loved and lost...the werewolf girl who bit him. But his father, the king, commands him to attend a ball where he must choose a wife. Can he find his Cinderella before he's forced to marry another? He doesn’t even have her real name, much less a glass slipper.

A BITE'S TALE: A FURRY FABLE EXCERPT:

If I’d known it could be like this and that she’d wanted it too, I would’ve kissed her ages ago. I mentally kicked myself for wasting all those weeks when we could’ve been doing this the entire time.

Her hand crept up under my shirt and her fingers trailed along my back. Goosebumps danced on my skin. She pressed closer against me and I took the kiss deeper, letting loose my weeks of pent up craving for her.

I didn’t think life could get any more perfect than being with Cindy. And I no longer yearned for a normal life. I wanted things to stay exactly as they were at that moment. With my Cinderella.

Forever.

A soft moan erupted from my throat when she angled her face to take the kiss still deeper. I slid my arms around her waist and the tips of my fingers inched up underneath her tank top.

She shivered.

But it wasn’t a usual shiver. Her whole body began to tremble and I nearly lost my hold on her. I pulled back. Cindy’s eyes grew huge and her pupils dilated.
She threw her head back, her limbs vibrating as she growled. No, not a growl. It was more like a dull roar, full of pain and anguish. Was she… was my Cindy about to turn into a werewolf? Or was it something else? Maybe if I held her again, whatever was happening to her might stop. I lunged for her.

“Get away from me!” Sobbing, she shoved me back, but in the process, one of her claws raked across my chest.

I flinched, as blood beaded on my skin. A little scratch wasn’t going to stop me though. Not when Cindy needed my help. I stepped forward again.

Her lips curled up, exposing long, growing teeth and she shrieked. Yeah, she’d hit werewolf maturity all right. But she hadn’t completely morphed. Just her teeth and nails. Maybe if I calmed her, she could prevent it from progressing. I wrapped my arms around her waist, as I’d done just moments ago, and pulled her close.

She shrieked again, then searing pain shot through my arm.
Werewolf bite. Oh, crap. My dad was going to kill me… unless the werewolf virus beat him to it.

The forest spun around me and I couldn’t keep my eyelids up. My muscles went lax and when the ground rose to slam against me, I didn’t feel a thing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crush Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 12, 2012
• ISBN: 9780979886973

Veronica Blade

Veronica Blade lives in Southern California with her husband and children. By day she runs the family business, but each night she slips away to spin her tales. She writes stories about young adults to relive her own childhood and to live vicariously through her characters. Except her heroes and heroines lead far more interesting lives -- and they are always way hotter.

Book preview

Copyright  ©  2018 by Veronica Blade. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Crush Publishing, Inc

Gardnerville, NV

www.CrushPublishing.com

Crush Publishing, Inc name and logo are trademarks of Crush Publishing, Inc and are used only with its permission.

The places, characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by author.

ISBN 978-0-9798869-7-3

Cover design by Rose Nomura

Editing by Robin Haseltine

And Sarah Billington

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~ For my wonderful husband ~

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A Bite’s Tale: A Furry Fable

Summary

A Cinderella who spends her nights as a wolf. A prince with a taste for blood.

Seventeen year old Cydney struggles against her werewolf nature, trying to keep everyone around her safe. No way will she risk exposing the beast at the prince’s ball, no matter how her two cousins try to persuade her. Even as she attempts to get on with her life, Cydney can’t forget the boy she loved three summers ago — or what she did to him after losing control. 

Turned into a vampire to save his life, the prince refuses to live up to his royal duties. He just wants to find the girl he loved and lost...the werewolf girl who bit him. But his father, the king, commands him to attend a ball where he must choose a wife. Can he find his Cinderella before he's forced to marry another? He doesn’t even have her real name, much less a glass slipper.

~~~

TTTW cover

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Chapter One

Remy

Seated on the log, I forced my limbs to hold still, but my foot had a mind of its own. My toes twitched, making tiny indentations in the soft dirt. Where was she?

Every day this past week I’d come to this same spot in the woods and waited for her, just as we’d agreed at the end of last summer. But I had no clue what day school ended for her across the sea in another country, so I had no idea when she’d arrive.

What if something happened and she didn’t come to Ile de la Paix this summer at all? I couldn’t imagine a summer without her. I didn’t know her real name. If she never showed, I wouldn’t know where to find her. My chest ached at the thought of never seeing her again.

I sucked in a deep breath and took in the warm mid-morning air. The scent of strawberries floated my way as leaves whispered on a breeze. I rose from the log to see if see if she’d arrived.

She emerged from the cover of the trees. Cinderella.

Hi, Jack. She beamed and as she stopped in front of me, my heart fluttered.

It’d been almost a year since I’d seen her. This was our third summer together and every time we reunited, she looked slightly different than the year before. Some things never changed though. Her hair was always fiery red and her eyes were the same bright, forest green.

My eyes fixed on one dramatic difference.

This time, she had... boobs. Maybe she’d had them last year. I’d never noticed. Last summer, her jeans weren’t that snug and didn’t sit so low around her hips. Her stretch tank top hadn’t clung to her swells and curves or rode up to expose about an inch of her flat stomach.

My mouth went dry.

She’d always been pretty, but now... now she was hot. I wiped sweaty palms on my denim clad legs, while trying to act cool.

You did something different with your hair, I croaked, then cleared my throat. She was only fourteen, a year younger than me, and I’d never been nervous around her before. It’s super straight.

It’s called a blow-dryer. Ever heard of one? Cinderella giggled in a way that made me notice her lips and wonder how soft they’d feel against mine. Hey, when did you get so tall? she asked.

It’s called a growth spurt. Ever heard of it? I smirked.

Cindy’s hands shot to her hips, one brow raised. Okay, smart-ass, what do you want to do today?

I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to ignore the almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her. Anything you want.

She gave me a shy smile. I missed you, Jack.

Maybe now would be a good time...

Why are you staring at me like that? Did I leave some breakfast in my teeth? Her hand covered her mouth.

What? No. I tried not to think about what it would be like to touch her — and not in the platonic way we had the last two summers. I wiped away the lust-induced brain-fog and remembered the food I’d loaded into my backpack every day the past week. C’mon. It’s getting hot and we have a one-mile hike ahead of us. We can talk on the way.

Where are we going? she asked, twirling a red lock of hair around her finger. I thought you just said we could do anything I wanted.

Oh, right. I had said that. But I really didn’t want to explain how seeing her again had made me practically forget my own name. Best not to go there at all.

I thought that cabin we went to a couple years ago might be a nice place for a picnic. Reaching behind the log, I grabbed my backpack. When are you going to tell me your real name? I know it’s not Cinderella. No parent could be that cruel.

She rolled her eyes. I’ll give you mine when you give me yours. You’re the one who started it, remember?

I turned my back on her and began weaving through the forest. It would’ve been more gentlemanly to let her go first, but I’d already made myself look like an idiot by gawking at her. Besides, I didn’t want to get trapped in a conversation about our real lives. If I told her my name was actually Remy, she’d figure everything out. My name wasn’t exactly that common, especially on our island. I couldn’t tell her my true identity. Not yet.

I liked knowing she was my friend just because she liked me, and not because I lived in a castle. Before I revealed myself, I wanted to be absolutely positive she liked me as much as I liked her. Even if she did, once she knew about me, she may not want to be my girlfriend. I’d listened enough over the past two summers as she voiced her thoughts on the royal family. She may not want any part of that life. Or me. I wouldn’t be able to stand that.

I hated being secretive and I knew she’d feel betrayed. One day soon, I’d have to tell her. I didn’t want her going back home and hooking up with some guy who wasn’t good enough for her. Some guy who wasn’t me.

But I wouldn’t tell her today. I needed a little more time with her before she knew the truth... and maybe hated me.

By the way, she said as she followed after me, my mom told me never to come here. Any idea why?

Her mom knew about this place? Crap. Her mom could come looking for Cindy and recognize me. Cindy figuring out my real name would suck, but there were worse things. It only took one person at the castle to find out I’d snuck out — and had been doing it regularly — before word eventually spread to Dunston. Then he’d kick my ass — if my dad didn’t beat him to it.

I was supposed to be in my room right now, resting. They hovered over me, always worrying that I would strain myself physically. My dad even employed a live-in doctor, just in case. That was ridiculous since most of the time I never even noticed anything was wrong with me. Still, I wasn’t allowed to go off on my own. They worried something might happen and no one would be around to help me.

What good was being alive if I couldn’t live my life the way I wanted to? I would’ve gone nuts if I hadn’t gotten very good at sneaking out.

Does anyone know you’re here? I stopped and swung around to face Cindy.

No. Of course not. My mom never lets me go anywhere alone. As soon as she realized I’d turned into a teenager, she practically put me in lockdown. She waved a hand through the air. I’ve been slipping out of the house for months. Anyway, she’d mentioned that this was the king’s property and there’s no trespassing. Apparently, they’re getting really strict about it. My mom read something in the paper about a guy getting arrested.

Only because he was a tourist and didn’t know that all hunting on the island is forbidden. Don’t worry. I come here all the time. I turned and resumed the hike.

Right. I forgot. But just because you come here a lot doesn’t mean you won’t get caught, she pointed out.

Well, it won’t be today. I threw a grin over my shoulder.

She giggled. Hey, I heard that the king’s advisor—

She bumped into me when I halted mid-step.

I turned to face her again, brows furrowed. What about him?

She cast a searching glance around the forest.

There’s no one to hear you, I reminded her.

Rumor has it he’s a vampire. She shuddered, then leaned toward me conspiratorially. Makes the castle seem even creepier, don’t you think?

I chuckled. She was so cute. It would, but only if vampires existed.

She gave me her get-real look. You’re going to pretend you don’t know about them? Look, I know they try to keep the humans ignorant, but we know better, don’t we?