Bearly Hunted: Fairy Tales with a Shift

By Cara Wylde

A retelling of Snow White

 

Nieve has always known her stepmother, the Queen, disliked her. But to go as far as to hire someone to kill her? No, it can't be true… Even as the stranger who followed her into the woods steps closer to her, even as she begs him to spare her life, she still can't believe what is happening is real. But it has to be, since the stranger is a bear-shifter. Everyone knows shapeshifters are assassins for hire.

 

Hunter has one last job to do, and then he will have enough money to take his sister and her children and run far away from this wretched kingdom and his horrible past. Kill her, the Princess. Why? His job doesn't involve asking questions. But, as he prepares to strike, their eyes meet and his world is turned upside down. The young woman is his soul mate. The second he realizes this, he needs to make a decision. Tell her the truth? Convince her to run away with him? There's no time for any of it, so he settles for the only solution he can think of: kidnap her and deal with the consequences later.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cara Wylde
• Release date: Sep 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386724872

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Nieve closed her eyes and listened to the sound of flowing water. Sitting on the bank of the river, she could hear the rustle of the gentle breeze in the trees, the hum of insects, and the chirping of birds. It was late spring, and life was all around her, harmonious and natural, following its normal course. But her own life was not so peaceful. Tears were running down her face as she relived memories of the latest fight she had had with her stepmother.

Her stepmother was such an awful, cruel woman. She was always picking on her and calling her out for her behavior. She would constantly criticize Nieve, saying such things as: That is not how a princess behaves. You are of royal blood, don’t do that! Have some decorum!, all in a sharp, criticizing voice.

It made no difference what Nieve said or did; nothing was ever good enough for her stepmother. And now she had spent all morning telling Nieve that she would never be a true queen, that she did not have that spark of royalty in her, and that she would just end up disappointing the memory of her father, the King, when he died and she took over the kingdom. Nieve didn’t care about becoming queen, but she did care about her lovely father. And the thought of being a disappointment to him was more than she could bear. She knew she was never going to be good enough for her stepmother. In truth, she didn’t even want to.

Her father, on the other hand, had nothing but love for Nieve. Every time he came into the room, Nieve’s heart would light up. There was always a big smile on his face when he saw her, and he was constantly hugging her and telling her how pretty she was. When her father was there, her stepmother said nothing. But as soon as he was called away on royal business, her stepmother would start bitching on Nieve again.

Why, oh why does she hate me so much? Nieve thought to herself as she sat by the river and cried.

One might have thought she would be used to her treatment by now. Nieve’s real mother had died at childbirth, so Nieve had never known her. All she knew was that she had inherited her mother’s raven black hair, creamy white skin, and red lips. Also, the fiery, Spanish blood her father had fallen in love with when he had met Nieve’s mother on a visit to Spain. All this she knew from her nanny. The King had been so fascinated with her mother’s country and culture that he had decided to call his first daughter Nieve, which meant snow in Spanish. Now, the name had become a burden to her, for the new Queen would spit it bitterly every time she called her, as if it tasted foul in her mouth. Of course it did. Nieve’s name reminded her stepmother how much the King had loved her real mother and first wife, how much he still loved her even though she was no more.

When she was a child, her father had decided to remarry. At first, Nieve had been excited, expecting a kind new mother, and perhaps some brothers and sisters as well. But that had turned out to be a short-lived dream, for it soon became apparent that the new queen was not going to be able to give the king another child. In time, the coldness of her stepmother turned to outright bitterness.

And now, all these years later, Nieve still tried to put on a brave face. She never once complained to her father about the treatment she received. He had so many worries to deal with being leader of the kingdom, that she could not burden him even more with her problems. Thus, when it all became too much for her to bear, she would slip out of the palace, unnoticed and unmissed, and come out to the forest to drown her sorrow in nature and beauty.

She sat back and let her tears dry. There was only so much crying one could do in one day, and the sounds of natural life going on all around her soothed and calmed her troubled soul.

Her heart jumped a bit when another sound came to her ears. A heavy kind of rustling amongst the trees. She opened her eyes and looked around, afraid that some of the servants from the palace might have found her and her secret spot. It was weird how she had gotten to fearing humans more than animals. She knew why, too. Most of the people she knew were in the service of the Queen. With no friends and no one she could trust, Nieve had come to appreciate animals and their silent, unbiased friendship more than anything.

As she looked around, she could see no one and hear no human voices calling out for her. Instead, she heard a deep growl and there, from out of the forest, emerged the most gorgeous looking creature she had ever seen. At first, she was a little bit frightened. But when she saw the graceful movements of the creature, she relaxed. Nieve stood and took a step towards the creature. She smiled and reached out a hand.

***

Hunter had followed his target at a distance, tracking her from the royal palace, out through the fields and into the nearby woods. With his keen senses, he didn’t need to keep her in sight. He could easily follow her trail as she wondered