Little Red (Not Quite the Fairy Tale #5) by May Sage Read Free Book Online

innocently as neither Aiden nor Chase knew of the Woodlandian Princess who’d survived in hers for over a year. 
    “I’d like to speak to her. We could come to an arrangement. Money, land – if there’s something I can do, I will.”
    Chase was surprised as his own fervent aversion to that prospect. Providing things for Lana was his place.
    Rather than attempting to enunciate his inexplicable feeling on the matter, he replied: “I’ll pass the message along, if I ever see her again.”
    His words were tart on his tongue. 
    Then, because they were friends, he had to say: “Aiden, you know the song we’re submitted to while being on hold happens to be Pretty Pinup, right?”
    Understandably, the King was silent for an entire minute.
    Then: “Pardon me, it seems I need to go spank my wife.”
     

     
    When she’d imagined leaving the pack before, it had been by herself, or with her mum and Jaya in tow. The plan had been staying in Jereena and blending in; now, it was out of the question.
    If they had been twenty, they could have gone anywhere. Considering the fact that there were two hundred and seven Wilderling under her care, she had to think things through.
     
    Lana considered her options very seriously before writing her missive, and charging Tarik with delivering it in person to one particular couple in Europa, who might be able to help them. She expected to hear from them in a month or two – if ever. She drafted a few other plans, but none of them included staying together, satisfying their need to shift at will, and their urge to run. If the couple rejected them, they’d have to sacrifice something.
    Going separate ways was out of the question. Their pack might be new, and rather small, but the link was firmly implanted in her protective instinct – all of them were hers to care for, as long as they wished to be. So, that meant they’d have to move to a place where they’d need to hide their nature. Others were doing it, so she knew they could, although that prospect broke her heart.
     
    On the positive side, her packmates were as settled as they could be in a place that was only a pit stop.
    The Royal Bank had purchased another bag of gold – a larger one, this time – and she had enough funds to take care of her people.
    Her people. She still couldn’t get over that.
    Lana chose to rent a countryside castle on a six month lease. It wasn’t far from Crystalia and it had turned out to be much cheaper and simpler than trying to secure five dozens of houses in the same area.
    At first, most amongst the pack were confused, unsure of what they were supposed to do. They’d all had jobs back in their old homes, and they’d received an allowance of food and gold for their contributions.
    They had plenty of money now; some of the other enforcers had had as much gold as Lana, others, less, but enough to buy themselves a comfortable future regardless. They’d only brought what they could carry on their back with them, leaving most of their possessions behind, but it had been plenty.
    Strangely, the only person who was without personal resources was the richest woman in the pack: her mother.
    Mary had inherited a collection of fist-size stones carefully set on delicate filigrees of platinum and gold, diadems, rings and bracelets so old they belonged in a museum. That’s what she’d chosen to carry, along with a handful of things Lana valued. None of it would get sold.
    “It’s your legacy,” Mary had told her a long, long time ago.
    Lana wasn’t sure what it meant. She knew she’d had to be called Vermeille, like her mother, rather than adopting her father’s name, but frankly, she wasn’t overly curious about a bunch of dead people who’d liked shinny stuff. Her name meant nothing; well, except that a silly fay had insisted that red was somehow her color, because of it.
     
    Considering that most of them were millionaire, they didn’t need chores, but without them, they were close to death by