The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (ebook offline reader TXT) 📕

Lord Callum was busy showering his son with praise. “Our brave hunters have brought back a treasure! I can’t imagine the dangers they faced to bring down these beasts!”

All eyes followed Maeve, awaiting her reaction. It was to be expected she would gratefully accept the gift Kieran offered and congratulate him on his courage.  But discomfort crept on the group when the polite and quiet lady finally reacted. Her sweet smile had vanished.

She took the last steps towards the cart with a blank face, eyes fixed. They held their breath when she stopped inches from the bodies and stroked one.  Despite the lack of lights of most of the boys, instinct told them Maeve was not happy. The atmosphere grew tense, now that Kieran’s confidence diminished.

He couldn’t allow being humiliated by her, not in front of all his friends and servants. “When you have a fur cloak on your shoulders, you will appreciate what I did to please you,” he said with an arrogant smirk.

Maeve turned to stare at him, not with fury, but with overwhelming contempt. Kieran cowered in front of her glacial glare. Her harsh voice startled him. “You’re going to die.” Her disgust was unmistakable. “There are no wolves on the hills. You and the other fools took your hunters to the Forest.”

A thick silence fell on the courtyard. If what she said was true, all members of the hunting party had committed a deadly crime. The creatures of the Forest were untouchable. Entering the Forest was considered a very serious affront. The punishment for killing one of its inhabitants was death.

If news of what the boys had done reached the capital, every one of them would be imprisoned and executed, including hunters, beaters, and any other who had taken part in the hunt.

Fear froze their blood, both of the perpetrators of the crime and of every other soul living in the castle. Although justice would not cost them their lives, lord and lady Callum, every tenant and servant would be expelled from society. They would lose their properties and status in court.

Kieran stared at her, horrified.

Lord Callum broke the tension threatening to sink his son. “Enough of this nonsense!” His voice echoed over the stone walls. “No one will say anything. This affair will never leave the walls of my house. If I find out any of you feel the need to reach to court with stories, I’ll make them regret it their entire lives!”

While shouting his threats, he glanced at each member of his service, and each visitor, before his gaze landed on Maeve’s furious face.

What an unnecessary bluff. Maeve thought, realizing they would never allow her to communicate with the outside. Much less after her future husband’s horrible crime. Kieran shivered with fear, once again a child under his father’s protection.

Pity was the last thing she would ever feel for Kieran. He deserved to fear after what he had done. Maeve turned to the cart once more, ignoring those around her. The lifeless bodies of the wolves brought tears to her eyes. Such beautiful creatures, murdered.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. What else could she do? Maeve bent over, uttering a prayer for the poor beasts when instinct made her realize the danger.  She sucked in a breath, her body paralyzed. A flicker of movement inside the cart drew her eyes upon it and to the most ferocious glare she had seen in her life.

The cart in which they carried the bodies was a cage, and inside of it, one of the most dangerous creatures in the Forest was held, prisoner.

Maeve couldn’t move, trapped by the intensity of the amber eyes that shone with a beastly glow. The tang of fresh blood reached her, mixed with an alluring wild musk. It took her eyes a few seconds to get used to the gloom inside the cage. Maeve could now see every detail of the one trapped inside.

He looked like a man, but much more brawny and rough than any man she had seen before. A dense dark beard covered his face. It mingled with long, black hair he had tied up with a leather band. His tanned skin looked unexpectedly clean for a wild man, except for the blood covering his hands and leg. He had little wrinkles around his eyes; his eyebrows knitted in concentration.

Heavily built and muscular, the scars on his bare arms and chest were breathtaking, showing he was a hunter or a warrior. Seeing him trapped and restrained made little sense. It wasn’t difficult to picture him breaking a man’s neck with his hands.

He wore a thick fur vest over one shoulder, secured with belts. His rugged pants and boots were leather. It was then when Maeve noticed one of his legs was injured, trapped in a bear trap that had torn his clothes and flesh.

He was bleeding profusely. The beast-man was lying in the narrow cage, on a dark blotch of his blood, watching her with absolute calm.

Those eyes captivated and terrified her. Despite him being hurt and trapped, the imposing man’s gaze made her knees quiver. Her body trembled with fear and excitement, and it startled her to notice she was gripping the cage bars. She didn’t remember moving. Her eyes widened in terror, hearing the sinister laugh that came from inside.

The man knew the power he had over her, and he smiled with pleasure at seeing Maeve shivering at his presence alone. Maeve couldn’t help noticing the bright fangs flashing in his smile. She gasped, thus freeing herself from the spell she had fallen into. She jerked away from the bars.

What for her seemed like an eternity was only a few seconds for the others around. When they saw her recoil with a terrified look, the curious crowd approached the cage.

All hell broke loose.

Terrified women covered their faces, bathed in tears, and the men pulled their hair in despair. Lord Callum kept gaping, at a loss for words. Maeve took advantage of the confusion lady Callum caused