Sullied cinders a revers.., p.1
Sullied Cinders: A Reverse Harem Omegaverse Fairy Tale Retelling (Twisted Tales Book 2), page 1
Sullied Cinders
Twisted Tales Book 2
D.E. Chapman
Sullied Cinders
(Twisted Tales Book 2)
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Copyright © 2021 by D.E. Chapman
All rights reserved.
Edited by Amber Biesecker
Cover design by Devil’s Designs
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
For those than love a little twist to their fairytales. For those that need a bit of darkness to soothe their souls, this is for you.
Sullied Cinders
A scorned shifter makes for a lawless lady.
Cinderella is ecstatic to finally turn twenty-five and be blessed with a mate by Mother Moon. But her night of happiness is ruined before it even begins.
Being rejected and shamed before her pack is clearly not bad enough, because then she’s kidnapped and sold to a seedy pleasure house in the middle of nowhere. Cinderella goes from pack princess to simple servant in one fell swoop.
She’s beaten and broken, used and abused, and just when she loses all hope, she finds salvation—and freedom—at last.
The only catch?
She’s forced to attend an academy of witches who are only too eager to see her leave.
Warning: This story is intended for mature audiences. It includes foul language, sexual scenes, and graphic violence. There are MM scenes in this book and depictions of sexual assault. This twisted Cinderella retelling isn’t for the faint of heart. Be advised this is a reverse harem novel where the main character ends up with more than one mate by the end of the book. And while this story can be read as a standalone and comes with its own HFN, it's recommended you read the books in order to fully enjoy the series since old characters like to pop back up every now and then.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by D.E. Chapman
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Warning: This book contains explicit descriptions of sexual assault in chapter 5 around the middle of the chapter.
Prologue
Cin
So much pain. So much darkness. It’s all-consuming, and I feel like I’m drowning under the weight of it all. I want it to end so I can find peace again, but Mother Moon has cursed me; it’s the only explanation for why I’m forced to endure these hardships, one after another.
When will this agony end? Or am I doomed to live a life of suffering until I’m too beaten down to fight back?
I don’t want to do this anymore.
I don’t want to live like this anymore.
I’m tired, worn thin, and dragging. Nothing makes sense and I’m ready to quit. I just want to know what I did to deserve this. Was it something I did or didn’t do in my past life that’s come back to haunt me? Am I facing my punishment for past sins I can’t recall? Or is this shitty luck instead of bad karma?
None of my theories or assumptions make me feel better because I’m still in pain, still suffering with no end in sight. Their cruel laughter haunts me. The searing agony from my broken bond shreds my insides with every breath. So many bruises decorate my flesh that I can no longer tell where one starts and another ends. Hands poke and prod what doesn’t belong to them, invading and desecrating what’s left of my innocence.
Nothing is forbidden. Nothing is left untouched. I’m beaten and broken, used and abused with no end in sight, and I’m so damned tired.
Rage builds inside me slowly but surely, but I worry I’ll be long dead before I can kill them all. Murder and mayhem call to me like a siren who lures sailors to their deaths, and I just know that I won’t be able to resist the temptation for much longer.
But it’s moments like these that have me questioning why I bother restraining this newfound savagery that grows stronger with every hit and kick. What am I waiting for? Why am I preventing this darkness in me from devouring everyone who touched and took without consent?
Maybe it’s time to free this caged monster once and for all and watch the world burn with a sick little smile on my face.
Chapter 1
Cin
There’s a nice breeze at the lake today. The sun is shining and the weather is absolutely perfect at eighty degrees. The grass beneath me is softer than a cloud, and the singing birds and jumping fish calm me like nothing else. I come here when I need to think, or when I need to unwind and distress. For the past year, I’ve been here nearly every day.
I’ve needed it.
And lucky for me, most of the pack avoids this small lake, though I’m not sure why. It just means I can spend hours here without prying eyes or chatty Cathys and instead enjoy the solace this place brings.
I close my eyes and listen to the trees sway in the wind and sigh as contentment fills me. The lake is in the middle of a forest of pines and firs that lies at the far edges of our territory.
Honestly, it’s not easy being the sole princess to a prominent wolf shifter pack. There’s a weight on my shoulders I wish I didn’t have, and maybe I wouldn’t have had to bear it so soon, had my father not died so young. Instead he was murdered in his sleep by a traitor in our pack. Who that person is still remains a mystery, and despite it being nearly a year since he passed, we’re no closer to solving it.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that someone is impeding the investigation—or at the very least, slowing it down—because we’re wolf shifters, for fuck’s sake. We have a superior sense of smell and intuition. Even if the killer didn’t leave behind a discernable scent at the crime scene, there is no viable way to remove an individual’s scent markers without the assistance of a strong witch, which is a major clue in and of itself.
We should have relayed our suspicions to the local coven and narrowed down the list of suspects. Instead the pack essentially closed our borders and isolated ourselves. Contact with the outside world became forbidden because “they feared more death would find us.”
It’s a bunch of bullshit, if you ask me, but no one does. I’m considered too young to be brought in for the important talks because I’ve yet to mature in the eyes of Mother Moon. Being banned from the council meetings means I miss any new information that may have been gathered in regard to my father’s death, which makes collecting evidence against the perpetrator extremely difficult.
I have my suspicions as to who murdered my father, of course, but I dare not publicize them without physical proof. The thing about being the pack princess—or Luna, as some wolves call it—is that my word is as good as law, even as an underage wolf. If I so much as whisper an accusation, that person is immediately put on the chopping block, and I refuse to lead a shifter to their death on the off-chance my hunch is wrong.
This situation is even more complicated because my gut says my stepmother is the one responsible, even though there’s no evidence to back me up. While she’s never been anything but sweet and kind to me and the pack, there’s just something... off about her. Something I can’t pinpoint, but it’s been there since the moment dad brought her into the pack five years ago. Lady Tremaine is well-liked by everyone, and that sentiment only grew when father passed and she took a more prominent position.
There is also the fear that if share my suspicions with the council, they will take her side over mine, as she’s the acting Luna until I receive Mother Moon’s blessing during the coming-of-age ceremony. It would be so easy for them to turn on me and banish me from my own pack, and I refuse to allow that to happen. This pack belonged to my father. Leading these shifters is my birthright; I can’t lose it.
And then there’s my sister. Well, stepsister, but the two of us are thicker than thieves. If I outright accuse Anastasia’s mother of murdering my father, what will happen to us? She’s become like blood to me, and we’re the best of friends. I can’t imagine life without her.
Ana was there f
Ugh.
I tug on the end of my waist-length blonde hair in frustration. Once I become an adult in the eyes of the pack, I’ll finally be privy to the details regarding my dad’s murder. I feel like everything will just be so much easier all around. and I’m just glad the ceremony is tonight. I’m nervous, but excited too. I have a chance at finding my true mate tonight, and what wolf doesn’t look forward to that?
I climb to my feet and stretch. Since I’m still feeling antsy even after sitting by the lake for nearly two hours, I think I need to burn some of this energy off with a run. It’s been a while since I shifted anyway, so it will do me some good to let loose for a bit.
Too bad Ana isn’t available, otherwise I’d ask her to run with me. She mentioned something about her mom needing her help prepare for the ceremony today. I’m not sure why Lady Tremaine didn’t ask me to assist her, though. Being the Luna, part of my responsibly is to lead the charge for all ceremonies and events, so you’d assume my stepmom would enlist my help instead.
I should have been helping out for a few years already, but when Father was alive, he wanted to give me as much freedom as possible for as long as possible. And when he was murdered, I assumed my stepmom was just giving me time to grieve, but now I’m not so certain what her aim is. If my hunch is correct and she did kill my dad, then she’s likely got nefarious reasons for not training me to take over as Luna in her stead.
I shake off the thoughts. These half-baked theories will drive me nuts if I don’t stop.
I strip and shift. It’s a painless transition from human to animal, and I relish the feel of the grass between my paws. I take a second to stretch, butt high in the air as I ready for my run.
I’ll never get tired of turning into a wolf. Everything heightens, and suddenly I’m looking at the world with new eyes. Even my thoughts alter when I become an animal. I’m more instinctual, even though who I am as a person hasn’t changed.
Our animals aren’t separate entities residing inside our bodies; that only happens with bitten wolves. Just imagining how challenging it would be to hear another voice in my head makes me grimace.
My thoughts alone are enough, thank you.
We don’t lose ourselves to our beasts; rather, the shift enables us to exist in a far more natural state that isn’t restricted by societal rules. We are ourselves, but in a simpler state, though I hear it’s different for the bitten. It’s a struggle for them to maintain their humanity because their animal counterpart is usually stronger, thus most bitten become feral within a year of their turning.
I take off without warning, tongue lolling out of my mouth in a canine grin. Wind passes through my fur as I run as fast as my four legs can go.
Chapter 2
Cin
“You’re back,” my sister says with a grin. “Did you go for a run?”
I drop onto the bed with a smile. “I did.”
“Hey!” Ana mockingly frowns. “Don’t get comfortable. The ceremony is due to start any minute now, and you still need to get dressed.”
She’s right, of course. I spent hours on my run and lost track of time. Before I knew it, the time for the coming-of-age ceremony was upon me, and I still wasn’t back to the keep.
I didn’t even bother going back for my clothes at the lake, otherwise it would have just delayed me further. Instead I stayed in wolf form and slipped into Ana’s room, where she’s currently sitting at her vanity in her simple red ceremonial garb. It’s a plain dress three times too big, so it’s easy to get on and off since we’re switching forms for the ceremony.
“Fine, fine,” I huff as I sit up, unconcerned with my nudity around Ana. Wolves don’t have a lot of insecurities and reservations about exposing ourselves, since the byproduct of shifting means we’re naked a lot. We don’t flaunt ourselves, but we’re not exactly shy, either.
“It’s in the closet.”
I smirk at her intuitiveness. Ana likely figured I’d be out late and immediately come here—which I did—and prepared my gown for me. Damn thing needs to be ironed, even though it’s about to get wrinkled as all hell during the ceremony. It makes no sense, but unfortunately, it’s one of our rules that’s been enforced for centuries. Maybe after tonight, when I can fully claim my place as Luna, I can change the asinine rule.
It’s something to consider, though I’m sure the council will put up a fight. They do like their ancient rules and stuffy ceremonies.
I slip the simple gown over my head. The material is lightweight and airy, the color darker than blood. It’s intentionally long, so there is a train behind me, even though it will be more of a headache than it’s worth when sticks and dirt stick to the hem during our walk into the clearing for the ceremony.
“Ready?” Ana asks.
I leave the closet and give Ana a smile in lieu of an answer.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Good. Let’s go, Cin.”
We leave her room and start our trek through the massive stone castle with its hundreds of rooms and twice as many steps. The pack house was built back in the 1800s when the first alpha of the Ashfoot Pack claimed this land as his own. Over time, other cabins and homes were built around the castle to accommodate guests and members who were seeking more space to grow their families. And now we have nearly thirty homes on our fifty-acre plot in the surrounding forest.
“Are you nervous?” Ana asks quietly, looking at the ground as we walk.
I gently nudge her shoulder and say, “Yes. You?”
She huffs out a laugh. “So nervous I could barf.” I pull a face at that, and my sister just laughs harder.
I’m so glad that we’re both twenty-five, otherwise us sharing a coming-of-age ceremony would be impossible. Since the festival is held every year in the late summer months, only those who had their twenty-fifth birthday between the time of the last ceremony and the upcoming one are eligible for the coming of age. Twenty-five is when all shifters are considered old enough and mature enough to bond with their true mates.
So when they reach this threshold, the pack’s alpha, Luna, and council create the serum that awakens Mother Moon’s blessings. Each of-age wolf consumes this potion and heads out on a pack run in hopes that their true mate is within their own pack. But in case they don’t find them, the coming-of-age ceremony lasts the entire week, and all the neighboring packs gather to try to find their mates from any of our allied packs.
There is a roster we follow, one that shifts each year so no one pack is constantly receiving guests year after year. Otherwise, that pack’s finances and food would slowly diminish if they had to host hundreds upon hundreds of ravenous wolf shifters each summer. It’s like one massive party where one pack hosts, and two or three neighboring packs come for drinks and food on day two. Day three, two or three different packs arrive. Day four, the hosting pack visits another hosting pack’s land with one or two others. This cycle repeats until every single pack has met with every other pack’s unmated members.
But even with this schedule, there are some pack members who don’t find their mate during the ceremony. Sometimes their true mate is in a distant pack, one we don’t associate with, and sometimes their mate isn’t of-age, so they’ll need to participate in the next coming-of-age until they finally meet.
The moment Ana and I are out of the castle, we head south toward the clearing where our ceremonies take place. We look like the last ones to gather as all the unmated members, Lady Tremaine, the council, and a few of the betas are already lined up and ready to go. There are only six of us this year receiving the serum, though there are dozens of unmated from the previous years.
Ana and I step up beside Genny, one of the other females participating in the ceremony today. She offers us both a small smile, which we return, before she faces front again where the council and my stepmother stand.
