A Wolf's Tail

Hi everyone-

This is my first ever submission of a story. After watching a red riding hood, I decided to play with the classic fairytales, adding a wolfish twist. This is the beginning of Cinderella.

Don't Forget to rate and/or comment to help me improve the story.

hope you enjoy :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexander King stepped out from a darkened room and surveyed his pack, his face alight with pure joy. He raised his hands to calm them down, and waited patiently for the shouts to die out.

"IT'S A GIRL! A HEALTHY BABY GIRL!" He roared. There were howls throughout the room as his pack shifted into their beasts to hail their new princess. Within the darkened room, amidst the chaos, Andrea surveyed her new baby daughter in her arms, suckling quietly. She heard her mate's pronouncement to the pack and their reception. She was content to sit there quietly, her new found joy cradled in her arms. The Alpha strode back in and dismissed the pack's healers. He sat next to his mate and watched his daughter with wonder. He had nine months, yet he still could not conceive that he could have contributed to such a wonderful, gorgeous little baby.

"She looks like you, my love" he told Andrea gently

"But she has your eyes," said Andrea tenderly, stroking the newborn's cheek.

"What do we name her?" Alex asked, wondering how any name could possibly fit such a wonder.

"How about after your mother, Anna?" she debated, "or after mine, Lisa?"

"Maybe both?" he asked, a smile forming.

"Both?"

"Of course."

"Annalise?"

Together they stared at their daughter, who giggled at the name. They smiled down at her.

Alex leant down and kissed his daughter on the head, "Be welcome my darling, Annalise."

~~~~

Eight years flew past and the princess grew and grew. She was very small compared to the others her age, but she had a fire in her spirit and a spark in her eyes that outmatched them all. She was beautiful even at a young age, and many predicted a heart-breaker in the making. Although she had everything she wanted and more, little Annalise was not spoilt and had not an unkind bone in her body.

Eight years had, however, taken its toll on Alexander. Though he had been reigning alpha for many years, he had slowly fallen ill, and grew weaker as time went by. Neighbouring packs, hearing of the alpha's ill-health sought the opportunity to nip at his borders and poach on his hunting grounds. They grew more and more bold as his failing leadership meant bigger gaps in his defences.

It spiralled into an assassination attempt on his life that was very close to being successful. He could not figure out who was behind all of the attacks, as many were done in secret, and he could not risk all out war by falsely accusing a neighbouring pack. He could not seek help from the Council, as it would make him appear even weaker than he was.

~~~~~

After the attack on his life, he sent Andrea and Annalise into hiding with his most trusted men. They had stopped on a country road so Andrea could go to the toilet and refresh herself for the second half of their journey.

Anna was very fond of climbing trees and took the opportunity to climb a particularly tall pine. Just as she reached the top, she felt her mother's voice in the back of her head, speaking to her telepathically. ~Anna, where are you, my darling?~

~I'm up the tree mamma~ Anna replied. The wind blew past and brought a foreign scent to Anna's sensitive nose,

~Mamma!~ Anna cried down their bond, ~someone is coming!~

~Stay where you are, don't come down and cover yourself with sap,~ her mother ordered. Anna could hear her mother barking orders at their escort. Anna did as her mother asked, covering her self with sap, snapping and dropping fresh branches down the tree to mask her scent. Strong pine scent over-powered her nose, making her eyes water, but she knew her mother wouldn't ask if it weren't important. She broke more twigs and threw them in the direction she came from.

~No matter what happens, Darling, I don't want you to come down from there until Daddy comes. Do you understand?~ Andrea asked her daughter. She sensed the hesitation and heard the thoughts in her strong daughter's head, ~I mean it, Annalise I don't care what you see or hear, you don't move from that branch and you do not make a peep!~

~Ok Mamma, I promise~ replied Anna as she felt her mother and escort shift. She could see the car they were travelling in, and her mother's form. Cars screeched into the scene from no where, and hard men jumped out and phased before engaging with her mother and group. Her mother was easily out numbered 4 to 1 and the battle was bloody and quick. The men fell quickly but her mother was captured. The leader shifted back into human form and drew out a dagger. He held it to her throat and asked, "Where is the child?"

"She is not with me, thank Luna" Andrea replied. He scowled at her and slashed a gash into her cheek, making her cry out.

"Where is the child?" he asked again.

"Cut me all you want, the answer is the truth and I can't change it." Her mother said her face hardening. He slashed at her other cheek; the cuts healing quickly thanks to her Were blood.

"Our intelligence told us that you and the girl would be here, so where is the girl!?" he yelled, brandishing his knife around.

"There was a change of plans at the last minute, in case our security had been breached." She gave a short laugh and said bitterly, "As it turns out my dear mate was right."

The leader scanned the area, then nodded to one of his men who had not changed. As the wolf came closer, the man pulled out a pink pillow case that belonged to Anna. Andrea's eyes bulged as she stared at the scrap of cloth. "So there is a spy in my pack," she said frowning.

The man smiled at her, "yes, and that secret you will take to your grave, but not before we check out your story."

The wolf the leader had sent growled from the car. In his jaws he carried Anna's Coat that she had left there when they got out.

Anna nearly gasped in shock, but caught herself in time.

The leader took it and smelt it. He looked at Andrea face unreadable.

Andrea sighed, "I had to say goodbye to my daughter for goodness knows how long. I wanted something that could remind me of her. Now I won't ever see her again." She broke into tears that would convince most people. Anna, however, knew those tears were fake, as she could hear her mother's mind was ticking and calculating how she could keep them away from her daughter and if there was any chance she could get out of this alive.

The leader stepped away and dialled on the phone and explained to the other end what they had found out. The conversation was short and quite clearly the man didn't like what he heard. With a snap he hung up the phone and turned to Andrea.

Andrea stared back, straight into his eyes without fear.

"So before you send me to Luna's Embrace, will you at least do me the honour of telling me which pack I owe my death to?" She asked.

The man let his head fall back as he roared with laughter. "Lady we have no "pack" we are of our own will, and others if they pay enough." He added with a dark chuckle.

"And in this case, I am guessing it was hired, since you clearly do not know who I am," Andrea said.

"Indeed you are correct, you certainly pissed someone off." He said, advancing on her with his knife.

"And now, so have you," She growled and shifted into her wolf form. She fought like a demon possessed, claw and fang flying with bloody speed. The leader dropped back and let his lackeys fight the she-wolf as he watched intently. Andrea was fast and very practised at fighting. Though she received a few wounds, she finally incapacitated all of them. Turning to face the leader, she was a vision. White fur streaked with blood, red, dripping fangs and claws as she lowered her head and snarled in challenge. The man smiled a phased. He was as jet black as his human skin, and bigger than most of their kind. They fought furiously, their snarls ripping the tension in the air. Had she been fresh, Andrea possibly could have won. It was her injuries that finally gave her way, but not before she swiped at his face and spat her blood in it. It was an ancient werewolf curse, that meant the wound would not heal completely and scar horribly; something their fast healing natures normally stopped. It was her final act of defiance; marking her killer forever more. Her wolf, almost dead, receded inside her. She slumped to the ground as a naked human. Her injuries much clearer and even more horrifying than her wolf form. The man phased back, his three parallel cursed wounds reaching from the top of his left eye down and across cheek. He picked up his knife and approached the slowly dying woman.

~Mamma!~ Anna cried

~Stay there! Don't you dare even move,~ her mother said sharply. ~You promised, remember, and princesses always keep their promises!~

The man halted his advance and looked to the east. Across the horizon a fleet of cars sped towards them. He looked down at the woman, her eyes closed and face contorted in pain. She was almost at Luna's door; he was just going to make sure she got there quicker by ending her suffering. He dropped the knife, choosing to save his own skin using the time to get away before the cars could arrive.

Anna dropped out of the tree as soon as the man was out of sight and bent over her mother. She gently tried to clean her mother's wounds.

The cars screeched to a halt as the pack members flew out the car and halted in horror at the scene that lay before them. Andrea in the middle of the massacre coughed blood, grimacing in the pain. Anna crouched over her, knife held ready to defend her mother. Though she was still too young to phase, her eyes glowed gold and her teeth were fangs. She would protect her mother no matter what.

Her uncle pushed through the crowd and ran up to his niece.

At seeing her uncle, Anna dropped the knife. Andrea looked at her daughter and her heart swelled with pride, she defiantly had the makings of a fine alpha.

"Anna," Andrea whispered, "I...love... you... I'm.. so... prou...d-"

And with that, her mother passed into Luna's welcoming embrace. Anna sat back and watched her mother closely; a single tear fell slowly from her eye. Silently the rest of the pack moved around, cleaning up the site, masking the evidence of fighting and disposing of the bodies of the mercenaries. Sitting quietly, her uncle gently patted the little girl's shoulder.

~They were mercenaries,~ she said mentally to him alone, ~hired to take us out. I was in the tree when they arrived, and Mamma lied to them. We have a spy in the pack- they had my scent and they knew where we would be.~

Anna's uncle stared at her in shock. For such a little girl to have this much courage and spirit was amazing. All other children he knew would have been a mess, hell, a lot of adults too.

~Is this all of them?~ He asked directly, taking her cue to treat her normally.

~No,~ she replied, her face hardening, ~their leader got away- but mamma marked him with a triple curse mark across his left eye and cheek.~

~Then we will find that Malus, and seek our revenge,~ her uncle replied calmly.

His beta signalled him, so he picked up the little girl and carried her back to the car they travelled in. Anna watched as the men wrapped up her mother's body in a sheet and lay her with the other members of the pack who had fallen to protect her.

Anna sat beside her uncle silently all the way home, her mind whirling at the consequences of this event. She refused to put into words what she had witnessed, as it would weaken her resolve to be strong.