Page 8 of Red Hood, Bad Wolf (Cursed Kingdoms)

A fter an hour of searching the gathering grounds with no sign of Mae, Rowan had given up and headed for the cabin. Maybe she'd find some evidence there, something to either confirm her suspicions or put them to rest. Anything to stop this ache of doubt and loss that came with every pulse of the mate bond.

She'd checked all of Mae's usual herb-gathering spots along the east trail, finding only freshly disturbed earth and lingering traces of an unfamiliar scent that made her magic bristle. Now, reaching for the cabin door, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand, not on the memory of Alder's anger, of his words that cut deeper than any blade: Maybe you should leave.

"My, what sharp senses you have, little Red Hood." Mae's voice came from behind her, silky with menace. "Though perhaps not sharp enough."

Rowan spun, her heart slamming against her ribs. Mae stood less than three feet away, all pretense of the kindly grandmother stripped away. Her stance was pure predator, her smile showing too many teeth.

"What big eyes you have, grandmother," Rowan said, her own voice steady despite her racing pulse. Her hand inched toward her belt, toward her silver blade.

Mae's laugh was dark honey over broken glass. "The better to watch my prey, my dear." She moved with fluid grace, circling to cut off Rowan's escape route. "And what a lovely prey you are. So confident in your training, your power." Her lips curved in a hunter's smile. "So blind to the real predator in your midst."

The mate bond flared with warning, but Rowan shoved it down, refusing to be distracted by emotions when her life hung by a thread. Mae continued her predatory circle, each step precise and measured, nothing elderly or frail in her movements now.

"What big teeth you have," Rowan said, matching Mae's circling pace, keeping her distance. Her fingers closed around the silver blade's hilt.

"The better to rip out your throat, my dear." Mae's smile widened, showing fangs too sharp for a normal wolf. "Just like I did to those hikers who dared trespass on my territory. Who thought they could walk my paths without consequences."

A chill ran down Rowan's spine as pieces clicked into place. "The missing persons. All of them?"

"Humans." Mae spat the word like poison. "Weak. Helpless. Prey." Her eyes gleamed with predatory satisfaction. "They used to know their place. Used to fear the dark woods and what lurked within. But now?" She gestured sharply. "Now they march through our territory with their maps and their phones, thinking they're safe. Thinking they're above nature's laws."

Rowan's training kicked in, cataloging details even as she maintained the deadly dance. Mae's movements were those of an apex predator—efficient, practiced, patient. This wasn't madness. This was calculated hunting. She wasn’t loup garou, but she was crazy nonetheless.

"What sharp claws you have," Rowan said, watching Mae's hands flex.

"The better to mark my territory, little Red." Mae's voice dropped lower, rougher. "Like I marked my traitor son who thought he could challenge my control of this pack. Poor Richard, so concerned about his mate's strange behavior." Her laugh held no trace of humanity. "He should have paid more attention to what I was feeding her."

The implications hit Rowan like a physical blow. "Alder's mother..."

"Wolfsbane and silver, carefully measured. Just enough to make her seem feral." Mae's eyes glittered with dark pride. "The Red Hoods did exactly what I knew they would. So efficient, so quick to eliminate a threat. And Richard?" Her smile turned cruel. "He figured it out too late. Became another trophy for my collection."

"You killed your own son." Rowan's voice shook with horror and rage.

"I protected my territory." Mae's facade cracked, showing the monster beneath. "He would have exposed me, would have destroyed everything I've built. This is my land, my hunting ground." She bared her fangs fully now. "And you, little Red Hood, have wandered right into my trap."

"What a big mistake you've made." Rowan drew her blade in one smooth motion, silver gleaming in the late morning light.

Mae's laugh turned to a growl. "Have I? Poor Alder, losing another loved one to the Red Hoods. He'll never trust your kind again after I'm done with you." She flexed her fingers, claws extending. "What big eyes you have, little Red. The better to see your death coming."

Mae struck with supernatural speed, but Rowan's magic flared, throwing up a shield of crimson energy. The protective barrier sizzled where Mae's claws raked across it, leaving smoking gouges deeper than they should have been.

"Did you really think you were the first to suspect?" Mae circled, her movements fluid and precise. "Others came before you. Red Hood witches who noticed too much, who thought their magic would save them." Her smile was all fang now. "They all died screaming."

Rowan gathered her power and sent a blast of binding magic toward Mae. The spell that should have locked a werewolf in place barely slowed her. She’s wrong , Rowan's training screamed. The binding should have held.

"Surprised?" Mae's laugh echoed with dark triumph. "Decades of exposure build resistance, little Red. Did you think I gathered wolfsbane just for my daughter-in-law?" She shrugged off another spell like it was mist. "I've spent years studying Red Hood magic. Every spell. Every ward. Every weakness."

The next attack shattered Rowan's shield, sending her stumbling back. She pulled power from the earth, weaving it into a counter-strike, but Mae was toying with her now, each move showing centuries of accumulated knowledge about fighting witch-kind.

"I watched you all." Mae's voice was conversational, as if they were still sharing tea. "The witches, the rangers, my own son. Learned their patterns. Their defenses." She batted aside a fire spell like swatting a fly. "Just like I learned yours. So confident in your magic, your training. Never thinking the grandmother might be the monster until it was too late."

Rowan's strongest binding spell dissipated against Mae's skin like water on hot steel. "You won't get away with this."

"I already have. For decades." Mae's next strike broke through Rowan's magical defenses, her claws raking flesh. It burned like fire. "And when they find your body, torn apart despite your magic, who will they blame? The sweet old grandmother?" Her laugh was razor-edged. "Or the dangerous pack that already lost one member to moon madness?"

Rowan tried to gather more power, but Mae's hand closed around her throat, disrupting her concentration. "Poor Alder, losing another love to 'feral' wolves. At least this time he'll have his pack rally behind him. Good riddance to a bad witch."

Through the pain, through the mate bond's desperate keening, Rowan suddenly understood. "You've been controlling him since he was a child. Killing anyone who might take him away from you."

"He's mine." The words erupted in a growl. "My territory, my pack, my grandson." Mae's claws dug deeper, and Rowan felt her magic flickering, weakening. "I won't let some Red Hood witch steal what's mine."

Rowan struggled, but Mae's power was overwhelming, centuries of accumulated resistance making her nearly immune to magical attacks. Black spots danced at the edges of her vision as her claws raked across the forearm she managed to get up to save her throat. The mate bond howled in her mind, but it was too late. Too late to warn Alder, too late to save herself, too late—

Glass shattered above them in an explosive cascade.

Alder crashed through the window in a spray of glass, his wolf form massive and dark with fury. He slammed into Mae, ripping her away from Rowan with a force that sent them both rolling across the ground.

Rowan gasped for air, magic surging back as her concentration returned. The mate bond exploded into full awareness, carrying Alder's rage and horror and love—so much love—it nearly brought her to her knees.

Mae recovered impossibly fast, facing her grandson with teeth bared. "You don't understand," she said, her voice still carrying that deceptive honey tone. "The territory has to be protected. Humans encroaching, Red Hoods interfering—I did what was necessary."

"You killed my mother." Alder's words came out in a growl as he shifted back to human form, his eyes blazing alpha red. "My father. You've been killing innocent people for years."

"Innocent?" Mae's laugh held an edge of madness now. "They were trespassers. Threats. Your mother would have exposed us to the humans. Your father would have destroyed everything I built." Her claws flexed. "Every death made our territory safer."

Raw power exploded from Alder, his Alpha authority filling the clearing. But Mae didn't submit, didn't even flinch.

"You think being Alpha protects you?" Her smile showed too many teeth. "I've spent decades preparing for this. Who do you think they'll blame when they find another Red Hood dead on our territory?"

She lunged for Rowan again, but this time Rowan was ready. Her magic burst forth in crimson ribbons, wrapping around Mae's legs. Alder struck from the other side, his claws raking across his grandmother's back. Mae howled—not in pain, but in fury.

But she'd forgotten something crucial. Something even decades of studying Red Hood magic couldn't prepare her for.

The mate bond.

Power surged between Rowan and Alder, their magics linking, amplifying. Red Hood witch and Alpha werewolf, their strengths combining into something Mae had never encountered in all her years of hunting.

Mae's eyes widened as crimson energy wrapped around her, enhanced by Alder's Alpha power. For the first time, fear flickered across her face.

"What big mistakes you've made, grandmother," Alder snarled.

Together, they struck. Magic and claw, power and fury, love and justice all merging into a single devastating attack. Mae tried to resist, tried to call on her decades of built-up immunity, but this was something new. Something she couldn't fight.

Her final scream echoed through the clearing as the combined power tore through her defenses, ending decades of secret murders in a flash of crimson light.

Silence fell.

Alder stared at what remained of his grandmother, his body trembling. The mate bond carried his anguish, his horror, his relief—too many emotions to process. Rowan moved to him, ignoring her own injuries, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He turned into her embrace, burying his face in her hair. Through the mate bond, she felt the moment his walls crumbled, felt decades of manipulation and hidden trauma break free. She held him tighter, her magic wrapping around them both in a comforting cocoon.

They stood like that for a long moment, healing beginning in the ashes of devastation. The mate bond was stronger now, tempered by shared pain and shared triumph.

"Don't leave," Alder whispered against her hair. "Stay. Please. I love you."

Rowan's heart clenched at the memory of their argument, now seeming so distant. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised. "I love you too."

Above them, the sun broke through the clouds, casting light on a territory finally free of its hidden monster.