Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter One: Stirred Destiny

(Sample manuscript only. Chapters replaced/deleted from Chapter 25 onward. Full book available on Amazon with added chapters + extras. Follow links in my bio on my Wattpad profile. Sorry for any inconvenience)     

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"Daddy, what is this?" she asked, bright eyes wide and curious as she poked the grasshopper with her pudgy finger.

Charlie laughed as he moved towards his daughter, wondering just how the little six-year-old saw the world around her. Everything to her was an adventure and he was proud to go along for the ride. Having two older children who saw travelling to other countries as an adventure, it was nice to relive those days where the front yard was as far as his little girl wanted to go - for now, anyway.

With a chuckle, the greying man knelt beside his youngest child and answered, "It's a grasshopper, sweetie. Touch it and see what happens."

Her little face wrinkled up in disdain. "That's icky, Daddy!"

Charlie smiled and pulled her into him in a big bear hug before sitting her in front of him, and winked. "Watch this."

He went on and poked the little bug, sending it hopping away and into the thick brush of trees. With a shrill, delighted scream, she threw her arms around her daddy's neck so that if the bug so much as glanced back at her, her daddy would be able to pick her up and fight it off.

"Aira, why are you screaming?" came an exhausted voice. A mother was truly never far away when her child screamed for help. "Charlie, stop antagonizing her."

Charlie Blight smiled at his tiresome wife before looking at his daughter – who was still clinging to him – and laugh along with her. All Vivian could do was sigh as she watched her husband act like a child.

Vivian treaded carefully towards the two, trying not to wince as sticks and other such things stuck into her feet. It seemed flip-flops weren't the best option for camping out in the wilderness. With a swift flick of her hand, she tugged at her daughter and smiled. "It's time for dinner and bed, pumpkin."

Aira shook her head defiantly. "No!"

Vivian rolled her eyes and grabbed the little girl, gently pulling the screaming six year old towards the campfire Charlie had set up earlier. Aira tried to pull away from her mother but the struggle was futile, her mother always won in the end.

"You spoil her too much, Charlie. What's she going to do when we're not around anymore?" Vivian snapped, her blue eyes lucid and glaring at her husband from across the fire.

Charlie glanced at his wife of twenty years, still shovelling cooked fish into his mouth as he answered, "She'll be thirty by the time one of us kicks the bucket. We're not that old, Viv."

Vivian had always used the same rule while raising her older children - teach them how to be independent and strong willed. Aira, although only six years old, was incredibly clingy and had no desire to be without her parents for more than five minutes. Since the day Aira was born, her parents had not had a single outing alone for fear that Aira would choke to death from screaming so loudly once she realized they were gone.

"She hasn't even started school yet. The principal at her school told us she can't go back there, not after what happened to that teacher."

Charlie tried to stop himself from laughing, but a few stray chuckles still left his lips. "How many stitches did the woman need again?"

"Five," Vivian snapped, glaring at her amused husband. It wasn't a laughing matter and was far less humorous than her husband made it out to be. "Plastic scissors should come with a warning!"