Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3 (29 page)

Visit Chanda Hahn’s website to learn more
about her other forthcoming books.

Other Books by Chanda Hahn

UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book
1

Fairest: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 2

The Iron Butterfly

The Steele Wolf

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Web site:
www.chandahahn.com

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A quick thank you to everyone who helped me
with this book.

Stacey Wallace Benefiel, for all of the
writing, coffee and Panera dates. If it weren’t for you, this book
still wouldn’t be finished. To my husband Phil, who watched my kids
so I could go to Panera. To Panera, for having great tea. To my
Beta Readers, Alison Brace, Sadie Mohr, Dominique & Brendon
Hamson, Linda Della Volpe & Jennifer Martinez! And of course my
editor, who makes me sound smarter than I really am, Joy
Sillesen.

Bonus Content

Sacrifice of Love

The Grey Wolves Series, Book 7

By Quinn Loftis

Prologue

“
When I look in the mirror
I see my face, my blue eyes, black hair, and strong jaw. But I
don’t recognize the figures staring back at me. Something inside me
has changed, grown darker, colder. My wolf rages inside, constantly
fighting me for control. I know I mustn’t give in. For if I do,
chaos will come crashing down around us, along with lifeless
bodies.”

~Fane

Fane felt sweat dripping from his brow as he ran.
His lungs burned with effort as he tried to suck in more air. He
could see her, just up ahead. She was crying and screaming for him
to help her.

"I'm coming!" He yelled.

His footfalls pounded against the earth, seeming to
fall in time with the beating of his heart. Every time he got close
to catching up, she would be ripped from his grasp. He was losing
her. He felt his wolf clawing to get out, raging, howling inside of
him. Yet no matter how he tried, he couldn't phase. He felt
helpless, and that feeling only fueled the burning anger deep
inside of him. She was his. His to protect and over and over he
failed her.

Fane sat up suddenly, gasping for
breath. He blinked several times and looked around in the darkness
of the room he shared with his mate.
Another dream,
he thought. Sleep
continued to elude him. Along with it, the peace he so desperately
wanted. He glanced over to where Jacquelyn lay,
or should be laying,
he thought with
a frown. He closed his eyes and reached out to her through their
bond. He found her sitting with Jen and Sally by the large stone
fireplace in one of the sitting rooms in the Romanian mansion, a
place at which she seemed to take refuge more and more lately. No
fire burned. The hearth, like his heart, was cold.

Fane bit back the anger he felt at her for leaving
him alone in their bed—again. But he knew he couldn’t blame her. He
knew he had been distant from her, knew that she ached for him to
talk to her, to touch her, and yet still he held himself back.

Utter fury boiled inside of him; he needed to
destroy an enemy that was not flesh and blood. But he feared that
she would see this and he didn’t know how he could explain that to
her. How did he fight a memory? How did he defeat something that
was no longer happening, but wouldn’t let go of him? He was at a
loss and so he kept her at arm’s length, to protect her from what
he had become.

It had been two weeks since they had defeated
Desdemona and yet it felt as though it was only yesterday. Vasile
and the other Alphas were doing their best to work together in a
peaceful manner, attempting to formulate a course of action. A new
enemy had a risen just as the old one had fallen and the
supernatural world now waited with bated breath to see what this
new evil would bring.

Fane knew he should be helping his father and the
others. He knew that it was his duty to lead and to set an example
for others, but knowing and doing are two very different things.
The truth was, his control was gone. Something in his wolf had
snapped after seeing their mate trapped in her own mind. She had
been experiencing the worst kinds of violation and abuse and he had
only been able to stand by and watch. Now it took every ounce of
strength he had just to let her out of this sight. For the first
few days after the battle he hadn't left her side. It was only
after she threatened to have Peri put a binding curse on him that
he relented to her demand to have time with her two best friends.
But he was always in her mind, always attune to her whereabouts and
safety. It angered her more that, though he demanded she stay near
him, he would not let her in. The bond was open, but not where she
could see into his heart. He remembered her exact words when he had
finally relented to her pleas.

“I’m tired of being in this room, Fane,” she had
told him. She had been standing by the window, gazing out
longingly. She kept her back to him as she spoke. “I love you, you
know this, but I need more than just this.”

“I just want you safe,” Fane had told her through
gritted teeth.

She had laughed bitterly, “Safe and caged are two
very different things. You have got to get over whatever obsession
it is you have with protecting me. We are in your father’s freaking
house, I couldn’t be safer.”

“Too many wolves.”

She laughed again and turned to face him. “I’m done.
I’ve tried to be patient and understanding. I’ve tried to talk to
you, to get you to help me understand what’s going on with you, but
you won’t let me in. I’m your damn mate, your wife, and you won’t
talk to me. You can either get your crap together and respect me
the way I deserve to be respected…, or I will drag Peri into this
mess and bind you. You won’t be able to touch me, not like you
normally do anyway,” she spat out and Fane had felt as if she had
slapped him.

“Jacquelyn,” his chest ached as he spoke her name
and he took a step towards her.

“Don’t,” she snarled as she held up her hand, “You
are going to fix this, Fane Lupei, and it better be sooner than
later because I’m this close,” she’d held up her hand pinching her
fingers together, with no space in-between, “to packing my crap and
finding a different room.”

Fane would like to say that he didn’t lose his cool.
He’d like to say he didn’t shred the sheets on the bed or throw the
TV across the room, but he’d be lying. Her declaration brought out
his wolf. The idea of her leaving him, of not being in their room
where she belonged, was more than his wolf, or he could take.
Jacquelyn’s eyes had widened, but there was more anger than fear in
them when she had stormed from the room. That had been two days
ago.

He hadn’t known if she would come back that night or
not. She had briefly spoken to him through their bond to let him
know where she was but then she had shut him out cold. She barely
spoke to him when she chose to be around him and what little she
did was short and to the point.

Coming back to the present, Fane climbed out of bed
and staggered a bit. His limbs felt stiff and tight from the
intensity of the dream and it took a few steps before he felt them
loosen. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his
face, but avoided looking in the mirror. He didn’t want to see what
stared back at him.

When he came back into the bedroom, he stopped
abruptly in mid–step when he saw Sally sitting in one of the chairs
that was in the small sitting area.

“Does your mate know you are in another man’s room?”
He asked dryly as he altered his course to the closet and grabbed a
shirt. He slipped it over his head and then rejoined Sally, though
he did not take a seat.

“He does, though he is not happy that I did not
allow him to come with me.” Sally stared at him as if he were a new
species of bug that needed examining. He stared right back. He felt
his wolf stir and had to push him down. Sally stood and walked over
to him. He tensed, but didn’t move. She slowly lifted her hand and
placed it on his chest and he watched as she closed her eyes. He
wanted to push her away. To growl at her for thinking she had a
right to touch him, but then, she was a healer and it was,
therefore, her right.

He tried to keep the walls in his mind up but Sally
was strong and she pushed through with little effort. He waited for
her to see what he had become and then run screaming from the room.
He felt her presence, but it wasn’t the same as the mate bond,
there was no intimacy involved, and yet at the same time he felt
very vulnerable.

She stepped back as her hand dropped and her eyes
opened. She met his gaze and her face became stern.

“She could help,” she told him firmly, but her words
were gentle.

“At what cost to herself?” he asked.

“It is her right to sacrifice for you, just as much
as it is your right,” she continued before he could speak. “It’s
spreading inside of you like a disease and eventually your wolf
will take over. The wolf taking over, all instinct, without any of
the reasoning of the man would be a very, very bad thing. You know
this and still you hold back. She is aching and empty because of
your refusal to allow her to be what you need.”

“You saw what happened?” He asked, knowing she would
understand that he was asking her about his memories.

She nodded.

“You saw who touched her, who she willingly allowed
and yet that doesn’t anger you?” His voice dropped to a growl.

“It wasn’t real, Fane. It was a curse that fed our
deepest fears. She has suffered enough and you are causing her more
pain than the curse did. You have to find a way to let it go. You
need her and she needs you. If you can’t talk to her right now then
talk to someone because you are on a war path to self-destruction,
and if you lose this battle, it won’t only be Jacque who
suffers.”

He watched as Sally walked from his room, closing
the door gently behind her. He knew what she said was true. He had
to fix this mess he had created. He needed his mate, needed her
like a drowning man needed air. Sally spoke of Jacquelyn aching and
his gut plunged to the ground. He knew that ache—it was his
constant companion as well. His arms longed to hold her, his wolf
needed to possess her and he needed to love her, to show her how
desperately he loved her.

He didn’t know if he had pushed her too far, if she
would forgive him. He didn’t know how to tell her about the madness
inside of him. He didn’t know how to bear his weaknesses and shame
to her, but he knew that if he didn’t he would destroy them
both.

“Love, we need to talk,”
he sent through their bond and pushed so that it
penetrated the wall she was keeping between them. He felt her
shock, and then the utter despair that filled her, rush through to
him.
“Please, Jacquelyn, come back so we
can talk.”

He held his breath, waiting for her answer, praying
it wasn’t too late.

“It’s about damn time,”
she growled at him.

He nearly fell to his knees and wept as she reminded
him of who she was. She was his and she wasn’t giving up on
him.

“No I’m not giving up on you, but
I just might kill you.”
She was coming to
him; he could feel her getting closer.

“If dying by your hand means I can
feel your touch, then you can kill me a thousand times.”
He knew his words sounded as fraught as he
felt.

“Don’t tempt me.”

End of Sacrifice of Love Sample by Quinn
Loftis

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www.quinnloftisbooks.com