Page 73 of A Castle of Broken Memories

“Take your beefy, fucking hands”—I leaped straight for the arm holding Mari captive, fangs ripping into the thick forearm and digging out a hunk of flesh—“off my mate.”

The queen roared, but still she didn’t release her hold on Mariana, and I was sent flying onto the floor by the back of her free hand. Her mouth twisted into a deranged grin while she lifted Mariana’s body up to her face and sniffed. “Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of werewolf scum.” Her eyes bulged grotesquely as her thick tongue slid the length of Mari’s body with a skin-crawling slurp. “Be she alive or be she dead, I’ll grind her bones to make my br⁠—”

Enough.

A deep, growly voice echoed through my mind, and from the way the rest of the room froze, I’d guess I wasn’t alone in hearing it. Every head turned as one, instinctively seeking out the source, and my jaw hinged open at the sight of a silvery black werewolf perched atop the second-floor landing. A green cloak billowed out around her hulking form that made every other werewolf I’d seen look like pups, and a pale-faced prince dangled upside-down from her jaws. The queen let out a pained cry at the sight of him.

That’s right, the wolf rumbled low inside our minds. I have your obnoxious little shit of a prince, and if you want him to remain in one piece, I suggest you release my granddaughter and tell your guards to stand down. It’s over.

Granddaughter. Meaning, that wolf was⁠—

“Let my son go, Cabrera,” Queen Alba growled through gritted teeth. “Or I’ll crush Little Red here into mush.”

Like hell she would. I tried to push myself up to my feet, but an invisible force kept me pinned to the floor. When I continued to struggle, a soft, elderly voice whispered in my ear, “Patience.”

A menacing snarl vibrated through the room. You remember me, Alba. How flattering.

“As if I could forget an upstart alpha such as yourself. You and your pack of half-breeds are the reason we giants preferred staying in the clouds. Fewer fleas.”

A wise choice I encourage you to continue in the future. Now, let her go, and we’ll be on our way. Fleas and all.

Queen Alba’s eyebrow twitched, her face wavering with indecision. “What about the boy? The one who brought this curse down on our heads. I want him turned over to us. Justice is required for his crimes.”

From what I’ve been told, the boy spent sixty years imprisoned beside your well in the form of a frog. That is ample punishment for one so young, especially considering the barbaric enchantment you laid upon his sister.

“She was sold to us by her father for a fair price,” the queen hissed. “We did nothing wrong.”

She was not his to sell, and if you continue to press the issue, I’ll send for the goblin king to resolve it. I wonder which side he’ll rule in favor of?

“Your king has no jurisdiction here,” the queen snapped, but there was an underlying hint of trepidation in her tone. “But I tire of this pointless back and forth. My kingdom has sixty years to catch up on. Why waste any more of it on you? Take your damn pack and be gone.”

The force holding me back released, and I sprang forward just in time to catch Mariana when she slipped free of the queen’s hold.

“Run, Jack. Take her down the beanstalk before the queen changes her mind,” the voice whispered inside my head, and cradling Mari against my chest, I made a mad dash for the double doors. Dad and Sean joined me, flanking my sides, and a cacophony of claws clicking over marble rose up as the werewolf pack followed close behind.

And then my feet were sinking into misty clouds and the sun—the real sun—was stinging my face, and it was like a yoke had been lifted from my shoulders. I was free.

A warm hand cupped my cheek, thumb wiping away the tears I hadn’t realized I’d been shedding, and I looked down at Mariana’s beaming face. “Jack Braun, my dashing hero in underpants.”

I choked out a laugh as I slid to a stop beside the beanstalk. Mariana slipped from my arms but made no effort to move away as the others shifted around us to begin their descent back into the forest. Lifting her other hand to my opposite cheek, she gently pulled my face toward hers as she whispered, “Promise to make it to the ceremony this time?”

I closed the distance between us, brushing my lips against hers. “Cursed giants couldn’t keep me away.”

Her mouth slid across mine, the corners curving upward. “You know I hate you for that stunt you pulled, right?”

“Oh, I know.” I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her flush against me as I kissed those exquisitely plump lips. “But that’s okay, because I’m going to love the hell out of you.”

“Quit the smooching and get moving, mis tortolitos. There’s a stampede of giants on my ass.” Mariana’s abuela skidded to a stop beside us, her faded green cloak flapping around wrinkly bare limbs. She pursed her lips at my shock, snapping, “Well don’t just stand there gaping—vamos!”

A roar of angry voices coming from the castle quickly brought the urgency of the moment to a glaring reality, and I met Mariana’s gaze as her abuela swung onto the beanstalk and began shimmying her way down. “You next.”

She growled, snatching my hand as she used the other to grab onto the beanstalk. “Like hell I will. We go together.”

Arguing was clearly pointless and I could see the queen and her guards thundering towards us through the clouds. So without a second thought, I released her hand and swung onto the stalk opposite her, and together we began working our way down the thick green stem.

We were almost a quarter of the way when I looked up and saw Queen Alba’s hulking form grappling clumsily with the stalk above us, with more giants backed up above her.

“They’re following us,” I called over to Mari, the wind howling loudly in my ears.