Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale)

by Cassandra Gannon

  Marrok forced his eyes open so he could watch the shifting black mist that covered his body blend with her red tresses. It was beautiful.

  She was beautiful.

  “Every share circle, I spent the entire session picturing this.” He got out. “I have a vivid fucking imagination and it didn’t even come close to how incredible you are.”

  She lifted her head long enough to give him a playful look. “I knew you weren’t paying attention to those stupid meetings. You talked a good game to Ramona about all that psychobabble, but I could feel your eyes undressing me the whole time.”

  “I was paying attention to what mattered.”

  “You know, half the reason Ramona hated me was because she was so jealous of the attention you paid to me and not to her.”

  “You think I should’ve paid more attention to that lunatic?”

  “Hell no.” Her eyebrows drew together. “You’re mine. Even then, you were mine.”

  Marrok liked that answer. Possessiveness wasn’t love, but it felt pretty damn satisfying to hear her claim him as her own. “I’m a hundred percent yours, baby. I have been right from the start.”

  “I know! Ramona was just completely out-of-line. Such a terrible doctor.” Scarlett frowned. “And she didn’t do anything to make you feel better about yourself with her unprofessional behavior.”

  “Well, I’m feeling fine, now.” He tugged her lips back towards his throbbing erection, before she got distracted by another do-Gooding campaign. “Please don’t stop.”

  She grinned at him and didn’t stop.

  Marrok enjoyed it for as long as he could, but there was no way he was going to last. He was too close. His jaw locked, struggling to hanging on. “Letty?” He tried to focus. “I’m about to come.”

  Her head popped up, again. Going so long without talking must have been hard for his precious little chatterbox. “That’s the whole point, dummy.”

  “I’m still not ready.” Somehow, he found the strength to pull away from the warmth of her mouth. “Not yet.” He flipped her around, so he was on top again. “First, I need you with me.” He settled between her legs and was so damn grateful that she was his. “I need you.”

  “You have me.” Scarlett looked straight into her eyes and smiled. “But, I’m still the one making love to you.” She nodded as if precision on the point was vital. “I want you to feel safe with me.”

  “I feel a hell of a lot more than safe right now.” He was going to lose control if he didn’t get inside of her soon.

  Be gentle.

  Be gentle.

  Be gentle.

  “You know what I mean. It’s important that you trust me to…” Scarlett trailed off with a gasp as he surged forward, seating himself deep within her damp heat. “Marrok.”

  He had her.

  Finally.

  “You’re the only person in the world I trust, Red.” Marrok dropped his forehead against hers. She hot and tight and perfect. He knew what it was to come home. “You’re my wife.”

  She bit down on her lower lip, her body shifting to accept more of him. “Not so fast. You have to propose before we’re…” She let out a breathless sigh as the next stroke went even deeper. “Oh yessss.”

  “I think I did propose. And that sounded like a yes to me.”

  She blinked. “You did not propose and I didn’t say… God yes.”

  He chuckled at that and increased his thrusts. “New thought: Since you’re the one running this show, I think technically you should be the one doing the proposing.”

  “You expect me to ask you to get married?”

  They were already married, as far as Marrok was concerned, so he really didn’t see why there needed to be any asking, at all. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to play hard to get.” He dipped his head to suckle her breast.

  She obviously had a lot more to say on the subject, but she was getting sidetracked by all wicked things he was doing to her body. “You really are Bad.”

  “Told ya so.” His teeth ground together, wanting to postpone his own orgasm. “Letty?”

  “Mmmmm?” Full words were apparently beyond her.

  “Can I stop being gentle now?”

  She frantically bobbed her head.

  Hallelujah.

  Marrok caught leg and pulled it higher. At the same time, he dragged her farther under his massive form. The wolf was twice her size and it was hungry for her. The black mist licked against pale skin. He pinned her down, enjoying the small whimper of surrender. Both of her wrists were caught in his palm and her body was his for the taking.

  “Wife.” He breathed into her ear.

  Dazed blue eyes met his. “Marrok.”

  It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but it would do.

  He rocked into her again and again. Scarlett gave a cry of passion, surging to meet his demands. As far as he could tell, she liked the ungentle him.

  Thank Christ.

  She was so close now and he was about to lose it. Marrok’s hand slid down to where their bodies were joined and he deliberately brushed his thumb over her tight flesh. He’d been paying attention in the dungeon. He knew just how she liked to be touched.

  Scarlett went taunt, her eyes wide. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  The ripples of her climax pushed him over the edge. “Letty!”

  And then all he could do was hang on and ride out the explosion.

  ***

  “Marrok?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You okay?”

  “I have no idea. I can’t feel anything below my nose.”

  Scarlett grinned at that and pushed back a handful of his tawny hair. He was back in human form, sprawled out on top of her like he had no intention of ever moving.

  She knew the feeling.

  “Did I hurt you?” He asked after a moment.

  “No. Of course not. You were very gentle.”

  “Not at the end I wasn’t.”

  She gave him a kiss. “You were a little less gentle, but I loved it.” Even at the end, he’d been careful not to harm her. She never worried about him being too rough. Marrok always took care with her. Maybe because he understood what it was to be treated badly. To be hurt and unloved and discarded.

  Even now, she could feel the tension coming back to his body. He had just given her everything he had, but he was still unsure. He was instinctively bracing for her to leave him. He couldn’t help it. God only knew what he’d endured in his life.

  Scarlett didn’t take offense at his wariness.

  In time, he’d see that she’d meant what she’d said. He was safe with her.

  She snuggled closer to him, her palm finding his. “I have work on a plan to destroy my stepsister, but I’m too relaxed to remember why.” Their fingers locked together and she closed her eyes. “I’m going to take a nap and you’re going to hold me. Deal?”

  She felt him relax against her. “Deal.”

  Marrok positioned himself so he was lying between Letty and door, like he wanted to protect her against any surprise invasions. Given Jana’s tendency to attract enemies, it was probably a good guess.

  He nuzzled her hair, his body curving around her. “So… was this really your room as a kid?” He asked after a while.

  “Kind of.”

  From the direction his palm was going, napping was the last thing on his mind. “Well, that’s kind of kinky, don’t you think?”

  She batted his hand away, just to torment him. “I think you’re incorrigible.”

  “Oh come on… You didn’t ever lay in here and daydream about some local Wolfball player ravishing your Good little self?” His teeth nipped her ear. “I’m imagining the reverse situation, right now.”

  “There aren’t any local Wolfball players.” Scarlett said staunchly. “My grandmother controls the Enchanted Forest and she doesn’t approve of that barbaric so-called ‘sport.’”

  “Really? ‘Cause she’s got a Blu-ray of my highlight reel sitting on a shelf downstai
rs.”

  Scarlett sighed. “Fine. I don’t approve of it. It keeps the wolves in virtual slavery.”

  “Yeah, but it also keeps us alive.” He grew more serious. “Without the Four Kingdoms wanting us for their stupid game, where else would we go? The wolves would be hunted down. Take away the teams and the Good folk wouldn’t exactly be voting for us to hone our natural abilities.”

  It annoyed her that he was probably right.

  “Some of the wolves could survive without the sports. Become servants or whatever like the rest of the Bad folk. But, I’m pretty sure I would’ve been killed. People don’t always like me.”

  “If it wasn’t for my grandmother watching out for me and my stepfather being a Good folk, I’d probably be in the same boat. The only friends I have I made in the psych-ward. What does that say about me?”

  He chuckled. “You’re still ahead of me. I’ve never had a friend in my life.”

  “Except me.”

  Marrok kissed the curve of her neck. “Except you, baby.” He whispered.

  She tilted her head back to look at him. “Wait, wasn’t Trevelyan your friend? He must have been, if he wanted you to escape with him.”

  “We watched each other’s backs. The dragon and I were stuck in a room together, so we formed an alliance against the other inmates. I didn’t see the ‘friendship’ going quite as deep as he did, though, since I wasn’t about to help him blow the prison up.”

  “He wanted to blow up the WUB Club?”

  “A fair-sized chunk of it.” Marrok shrugged. “He figured we could just walk right out in the confusion. I might be a bastard, but I couldn’t slaughter hundreds of people.”

  “Of course not!

  “Yeah, well, the dragon wasn’t so squeamish. He needed me to help him pull the plan off. When I refused, he went fucking ballistic. I don’t think he’ll be invited to our wedding.”

  “Well, you were right tell him no.” Scarlett assured him righteously. She thought for a bit. “How did he finally get out, if you didn’t help him?”

  “Dr. White is always looking for a new inmate to entertain her after hours. Trevelyan played along, until he saw some sort of opportunity to escape.” Marrok made a face. “Obviously she wasn’t going to report him missing right away. How would she explain it? I think he only let her live so she’d have to face the all the speculative whispering.”

  “Horrible woman. I’m not at all sorry I wiped her memory.” Scarlett muttered. “Still, the dragon didn’t actually have bad plan. I mean, ours was better. No way would I let you sleep with that bitch to facilitate our early release. But, his idea was sort of ingenious in its simplicity.” She sighed. “It’s wrong that someone so clever was locked away in the first place.”

  “Well, Trevelyan’s evil, so it wasn’t too wrong.”

  “Maybe he wouldn’t have been evil if he’d been given the opportunity to be better.”

  “I doubt it. He was really evil.”

  “Alright maybe not him, then.” Scarlett allowed. “But a lot of Bad folk are trapped by circumstance.” She shook her head. “There should be a place where everyone can be safe. Where everyone can have a say and be recognized and not have to live their lives as second-class citizens.” She met his eyes. “We all deserve a chance at a happily ever after.”

  His expression went soft. “God, I love you.” He ran a hand over her hair. “You are so Good it breaks my heart.”

  “I’m serious. When you were younger, there should’ve been somewhere that would take you in and make sure you were protected. You would’ve been spared so much misery.”

  “And maybe then I wouldn’t have found you.” He shook his head. “My path led me to my True Love and that’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to be.”

  “Yes, but you had to needlessly suffer to get here. What if our situations really were reversed? Wouldn’t you want to create a better way, if it had been me who went through that pain?”

  Something dark passed behind his eyes. “You don’t want to know what I would do if our situations were reversed. Anyone who harmed you, I would kill three different ways before they even realized they were dead.”

  She laid a hand on his chest. “You don’t think I feel that way, too?”

  “It’s not the same.” He realized he was going to lose this debate. She could hear it in his voice. He wasn’t quite ready to admit defeat, though. “And, you know, there are a lot of guys like Trevelyan out there. Not as sociopathically villainous, maybe, but still… Some Bad folk deserve to be kept away from the rest of society.”

  “Not all of them, though. They shouldn’t be punished before they do anything wrong. You can’t paint everyone with the same bigoted brush. Most people just need a chance.”

  “Why is it up to us to give it to them? I can see you’re thinking we have to do something and…”

  Letty cut him off. “Because of our children.”

  Marrok blinked. “Children?”

  “Well, given the explosiveness of our encounter, I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that you’re my True Love.” She was absolutely certain of it, in fact.

  “No shit.”

  She ducked her head. “Well, if we have a baby,” she cleared her throat, because it seemed a little forward to bring up a future, right now, “it’ll be fifty percent wolf. Don’t you think she should have a more secure life than you did? What if something happened to us and my family? Who would look after her?”

  He didn’t respond to that, but his hand settled on the curve of her stomach as if he was already shielding their child.

  Scarlett kept going. “Baddies need a place, Marrok. And my grandmother is turning over the entire Enchanted Forest to me.”

  “You want to invite villains to live here?”

  “Yes! You and I could do this. I know it.” Bad folk already hid in the Enchanted Forrest. This would just legitimize things. “We could be a fifth kingdom that’s a safe haven for everyone. We need to…”

  A pounding on the door interrupted her rapidly developing plan.

  “Letty?” Esmeralda called. “Come quick. Cinderella’s is about to appear on TV and she seems like one pissed off bridezilla.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Prince Avenant’s obsession with the “usurper” remains unchanged.

  Forward progress is doubtful until he can learn to see the truth.

  …And until he stops petitioning for the rest of the group (and me) to be executed for treason.

  Psychiatric case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae

  Avenant started fixedly at the screen as the perky reporter stood in front of his former palace. “Good Lord, they’ve ruined my kingdom. Where are the stocks? What are those God awful flowers doing everywhere? It’s supposed to be a land of frozen menace, not a garden party!”

  The Tuesday share circle was gathered around the television in Jana’s family room, waiting for Cinderella’s announcement. Scarlett had no idea what her stepsister intended to say, but she knew it was going to be trouble. In the meantime, there was nonstop coverage of the WUB Club breakout on every channel.

  Which was trouble enough.

  Their escape seemed to have inspired villains everywhere. It was the first time Baddies had ever openly defied the status quo and come out on top. All around the Four Kingdoms, Bad folk were in the streets showing support. The Tuesday share circle had their faces and names plastered on signs as people marched into town squares. Marrok’s souvenir Wolfball jerseys were worn in solidarity. Other people painted their faces Bridge Ogre blue, much to Benji’s delight.

  Even Scarlett was surprised by the response. Trolls, witches, ogres, wolves and every villain in between openly defied authority to cheer for their fellow Bad folk. Unrest had been brewing in the Four Kingdoms for a long time, but now it was bubbling over.

  “I’m here in the Northlands, getting a response about last night’s horrible getaway.” The TV reporter’s trying-to-look-grave expression didn’t quite work with her three pounds of
precisely applied makeup. “Many people here are worried what deposed Prince Avenant might be planning now that he’s free of the Wicked, Ugly and Bad Prison and, no doubt, looking for revenge.”

  Avenant couldn’t have been more pleased with that intro. “You should be worried, peasants.”

  “One person who isn’t concerned is current ruler of the Northlands.” The reporter continued, her voice going up and down in TV news cadence. “Avenant was overthrown by beloved bookshop owner, freedom fighter, and honorary princess Belle…”

  “Usurping bitch!” Avenant seethed.

  “…And she’s sure the former prince will stay far away from his homeland. Belle?” The reporter thrust her microphone forward. “Any regrets about crossing an escaped convict with a known penchant for vengeance?”

  “No regrets, at all.” The camera panned to a dark haired woman in yellow dress. She looked studious and Good and absolutely no threat to anyone. But she’d kicked Avenant’s ass during the Northlands’ uprising. “Avenant was a beast of a man who deserved to be ousted.”

  It was a miracle the TV screen survived Avenant’s rage. “A beast would have fucking killed you when I had the chance!”

  Benji cringed at his volume. “Shhh! You’re going to wake-up Dru.” He chided, as if that wouldn’t actually be a positive thing.

  Drusilla was still in her mystical coma, sleeping sounding on the wicker sofa. She’d stay like that until Scarlett got her to Charming, no matter how loud Avenant ranted.

  “Why didn’t you kill Belle?” Esmeralda asked Avenant archly. “The girl doesn’t even have any powers. Why couldn’t you just freeze her and her stupid little rebels solid when they came for you?”

  Scarlett glanced at him in surprise. That was a good point. Why hadn’t he won the fight? Even if Baddies weren’t used to winning, with his abilities Avenant should have at least triumphed over a librarian.