The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (web ebook reader txt) 📗

Thus, unnoticed, the half-breed tribe breached the ill-protected castle. Advancing house by house, room by room, sowing death in each of those damned souls.

When the inhabitants of the castle discovered the half-breeds, chaos broke out in the halls. The girl turned to the screams, and her feet pulled her to the main building. Hakken grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall, shielding her with his body.

“What is that?” The screams coming from the castle were unmistakable, along with the roars accompanying them. The girl gaped at him with terrified eyes. “Is that your pack?”

He stared back, without saying a word or moving an inch. Now is your chance, little one. Why don’t you ask me to save you? 

He refused to accept a human child helping him, expecting nothing in return. It was not natural. Yet, she only seemed to want to run towards the voices crying out for help, ignoring the imminent danger.

Humans are never this selfless. Is she stupid? There could be no other reason.

He lifted her off the floor and wrapped her in his arms before taking a mighty leap that made them land on the upper edge of the wall. With another impressive jump, he fell with a thud on the other side before embarking on a dizzying race towards the Forest. He held the girl’s shaking body while his mind kept reeling.

What the hell am I thinking?

CHAPTER X

INTO THE FOREST

Maeve

They entered the crisp darkness of the Forest, leaving behind the bloody scene in the castle. The hunters, soldiers, and any other who took part in the hunt received their punishment, and the broken and dismembered bodies were stacked in the center of the courtyard and burned.

Instead, the bodies of the murdered wolves were carefully suspended over the castle’s main entrance as a reminder and a warning. You kill a creature of the Forest, death follows you.

The next morning, merchants discovered the survivors, crying over the remains of Walter Callum, Kieran Callum, and the boys who joined the hunt. Lady Callum fell into disgrace, and—expelled from all good society—she retired to spend the rest of her days in a convent, in as much peace as she allowed herself.

A single glance at the wolves, and the state in which the human corpses were, clarified the situation. The horrifying news traveled the kingdom. Both the eminent members of the clergy and the king condemned Lord Callum’s crime. They accepted the punishment of the guardians of the Forest as fair.

No one knew about the fate of the young Maeve O’Riordan. She disappeared into the ruins of the abandoned castle, lost from memory.

Maeve remembered every moment of this fateful night.

The air left her lungs when the half-breed lifted her. Maeve’s stomach churned at the sight of the ground disappearing under her feet. She hid her face between the layers of fur on his shoulder, terrified at the fact they now stood over the top of the wall. When the pull of the second jump jolted her, a gripping terror took over her mind. The speed with which the man carried her across the hills made her lose all sense of direction.

Screaming, she struggled to be free of her captor, ending up in a tangled mess of limbs. And to think she worried about his survival. He needed no help! The half-breed’s strength overpowered hers by a laughable degree. One growl from him made her stop her scuffle, and she whimpered, shielding her eyes from the danger and horrors around her.

Hakken

He left behind the stretch of land separating the castle from the Forest in a heartbeat. As soon as he reached familiar territory, the adrenaline wore off, and he slowed down. Everything was at peace, once outside the human realm.

Now free and out of danger, Hakken trusted his people to deliver rightful punishment. But he tensed, groaning in annoyance by his new predicament. One entirely out of his own making. When he stopped, darkness thickened as the moonlight only touched the top of the trees.

After scanning his surroundings, he focused on catching signs from his tribe. His leg healed nicely, and a single breath of fresh air served him enough to restore the strength he lost during his time underground.

Hakken sensed them several miles away and headed in their direction. After all his time wandering, he was eager to reunite with them. But first, he needed to consider a minor problem—the problem shivering with fear in his arms.

What reason could he give for saving the girl from the carnage? He acted on impulse. How could he explain killing her disgusted him? She was a harmless and kind little thing.

Hakken only hoped his tribe would accept his whim with relative calm, and a more compassionate solution could be found.

They were getting closer. Before facing them, he needed to make some things clear with the girl. And find a reasonable explanation of why he arrived with a human under his arm.

Humans were forbidden to enter the Forest, and the half-breeds expelled or punished offenders. But here he was... carrying a strange brat. He stopped in a clearing, bright enough to take a good look at her. During the escape, the girl kicked and punched, not understanding the danger she was in. As soon as they entered the Forest, she clammed up, gripping on his furs for dear life. The poor girl barely suppressed her tremors.

Hakken sat on the ground and focused on her. “Child.”

Hearing him speaking her language was all it took for her to spring from her hiding spot. She now sat on his thigh, looking like a frightened doe. Hands clenched, holding protectively over her arms. She flinched when he ran a thumb down her cheeks, wiping the tears.

“What’s your name?”

With a soft, shaky voice, she replied. “M-Maeve.”

Silence fell between them while they analyzed each other. She waited; he pondered.

“Your family?” he asked. The girl hesitated before shaking her head. Tears flew from her eyes.

“No one. They are all dead.”

“There?” he