Okami: A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Read online

  Okami: A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling

  Tales of Akatsuki Book 3

  Nicolette Andrews

  Copyright © 2019 by Nicolette Andrews

  Cover Art by Nadica Borshivka

  Cover Design by Covers by Combs

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To my best friend, Nicole. My constant sounding board and biggest cheerleader.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Excerpt The Priestess and the Dragon

  Also by Nicolette Andrews

  About the Author

  1

  Shin leaped over a fallen tree. The strong scent of plant decay tickled his nose. Mixed in with it was something unexpected, the musky scent of another wolf. He slowed and lifted his nose to better catch the scent on the wind. The collar around his neck weighed against him, but in the centuries as Akio’s slave, he’d learned to account for it.

  It couldn’t be. The few remaining okami packs were located farther to the north. Being weakened by war and isolation after the fall of the dragon, they kept mostly to their territory. They wouldn’t risk venturing into the domain of a powerful yokai like Akio, not by accident. Could it be the dragon had recruited them? When Akio had learned of his return, he’d sent Shin to taunt him. It was a reminder that even centuries later he still owned Shin. Could this okami be the dragon’s reply?

  Duty calls. Shin sighed. Hopefully some hapless wolf had wandered too far from home. Their scent was strongest along the forest path but quickly diverged into the woods. Other than the smell, there was no other sign of the strange wolf. No prints, no hair, nothing. It was as if a spirit moved through the forest. I guess it’s safe to rule out a lost traveler. Just what I needed...

  Deeper into the forest he followed the strange wolf’s trail, where the sun struggled to push through the canopy and the darkness swallowed everything. Fog cloaked the forest floor and obscured his vision. But Shin knew this place well and he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

  The trail went cold along a river bank. The fog rolled back and revealed a single human footprint in the mud. Shin pressed his nose against it.

  The stink of wolf was all over it. A female wolf. What are you doing here, I wonder? Judging by the break in the fog, she wasn’t far away either.

  An arrow flew past him.

  Missing him by a hair, it embedded itself into a nearby tree and wobbled. Shin growled and ruffled the hairs on his back, scanning the surrounding forest for the intruder.

  “Come out, you coward. Enough games,” he snarled.

  A figure stepped out from behind a tree nearby. She wore the red and white of a priestess. Her braided brown hair hung down her back and had been hidden beneath a straw hat. Over her shoulder, she carried a quiver of arrows, and one was nocked, pointed straight at Shin.

  He sniffed the air. This was the wolf he’d been following. A wolf in priestess garb? Now he’d seen it all.

  Shin transformed from wolf to man and held up his hands. “Hold. There’s no need for violence.” He wasn’t about to fight a fellow okami, especially if she was working for the dragon.

  “You were following me,” she responded.

  She turned her head, tracking him as he inched around trying to get a better look at her. He’d known all the wolf packs at one time. But there was nothing to indicate what pack she was from. And he was certain they’d never met before. She narrowed her eyes at him as he examined her.

  “My apologies, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He held his palms open to show her he meant no harm.

  She scoffed and pulled back her arrow until the bowstring was taut. “Do I look stupid? What. Do. You. Want?” She bit out each word.

  Her gaze didn’t even flicker from his face. She was doggedly persistent about keeping that weapon pointed at him.

  She was brave, he had to give her that. “I think I’m the one who should be asking that question.”

  “Do you work for Akio?”

  He hated being lumped in with Akio’s lackeys. Working for Akio had never been a choice. But he had to do it to protect Rin. Not that he was going to tell this okami. Shin exposed his canines as he grinned. “I think the better question is: who do you work for?”

  “I don’t have to tell you anything,” she snapped. She talked big, but her hands were shaking.

  They weren’t going to get anywhere at this rate. One wrong move and she was going to stick him with that arrow. But not if he disarmed her.

  He lunged toward her.

  She loosed the arrow, but it landed ineffectually in the mud. When he came toward her, she couldn’t respond fast enough, encumbered by the bow.

  Shin grabbed her around the middle, prepared to throw her over his shoulder. She swung with her bow, clipping him on the jaw and sending him back a few steps.

  He recovered quickly, however, and wrenched the bow from her hand. She tried to throw a punch; he dodged it. But she kicked him hard in the gut. It knocked the wind out of him, and she was preparing to hit him over the head when he thrust forward and sent her stumbling backward and onto her rear.

  Shin pinned her arms down before she got the chance to swing at him. She was a capable fighter. If she hadn’t slipped, she might have gotten the better of him.

  Her straw hat had fallen off in the struggle, and he could see her more clearly now. She had a narrow face, brown eyes, and long pointed ears like himself. Her cheeks were flushed from fighting, and her gaze was fierce—

  “You bastard, let me go.” She kicked and squirmed, cursing him, but pinned as she was it was futile. After a few moments, she exhausted herself and lay heaving beneath him. It wasn’t the most ideal position for gaining her trust, but she was the trespasser here, not him. She did not transform. If she did, she would’ve easily escaped. Curious. Was this all an act perhaps?

  “Just tell me: do you work for the dragon?”

  “Let me go and I’ll tell you,” she snarled and bared her canines.

  He’d have to take her word for it. He let go of her wrists, and as soon as he did, she pushed forward, planting her palms on his chest. It threw him off balance just long enough for her to slide out from beneath him.

  She scrambled for her bow, before racing deeper into the forest.

  “Hey!” he shouted after her.

  Which she ignored. If one of Akio’s lackeys caught her, they wouldn’t hesitate to bring her to Akio. He chased after her, grabbing her ankles to bring her back down to the ground. But her legs were too slick with mud and she slipped out of his hands, grabbed her discarded bow, and ran up the hill away from him.

  He should let her go. Even if she did work for the dragon. It made no difference. The dragon was weakened by centur
ies of imprisonment. He wasn’t strong enough to break Akio’s hold on him. Hoping for an escape was useless. It had been Shin’s choice to make this sacrifice. There was no turning back. On the other hand, if Akio found her, he’d torture her. Shin couldn’t stand another innocent falling prey to Akio’s cruelty.

  He raced after her up the hill. By the time he reached the rise, she was nowhere in sight. He scanned the forest trees pegged in the space on both sides, but there was nowhere she could have gone—it was a dead end against a boulder with a flat face.

  “You don’t need to hide from me,” he called out, scenting the air, but the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. “We got off on the wrong foot. I’m not your enemy.”

  Shin turned in a slow circle, expecting her to be crouched down or backed into a corner like a wounded animal.

  From the corner of his eye, something flashed. As he moved to intercept her, something hard collided with the back of his skull.

  2

  Akane looked down at the incapacitated idiot and tossed the rock she’d used to knock him out aside. Did he really think I was going to fall for that? She rolled her eyes. He looked like a rag doll, his limbs cast aside carelessly. If he was here, then there were likely others prowling these woods. That would make getting closer to Akio’s palace that much harder. It would be safer to retreat, but the head priestess was counting on her.

  Akane took a few steps, then pivoted on her heel and went back to his incapacitated body. She couldn’t leave a job half done. She should tie him up, just in case he woke up. He stank of boar and wore a collar around his neck. The moment she let her guard down, he’d take her to his master. She dragged him over to a nearby tree. When she got close, she could scent the wolf on him, pungent and earthy. She hated to admit it, but she liked that smell.

  Just tie him up, you’ve wasted enough time as it is. This was supposed to be an information gathering mission. She hadn’t planned on running into any of the forest guardian’s men. Best to deal with this unexpected complication quickly.

  She wound the rope around his chest and bound his arms behind a tree trunk, pulling the knots extra tight, perhaps a bit out of spite. She dusted off her palms and admired her handiwork. Maybe I should have tied his hands to his feet and then to the tree? She looked him up and down as she debated. You’re wasting time. A voice nagged at the back of her mind. She was supposed to get in and out—find out where Akio is taking the priestesses and then report back to the head priestess. This would have to be a sufficient enough job.

  She fled, with one last glance back at him. There were bound to be others nearby, and they’d find him. Her quiver strap had torn while she’d wrestled, and now it slammed into her back over and over, the arrows clattering together. It made being stealthy impossible. She should abandon it in favor of stealth, but it had belonged to Mei and she couldn’t bear to leave it behind.

  Thick fog blanketed the ground and as she ran through it, it did not dissipate. Instead, it reached for her, rising up from her ankles to her waist. Every step she took echoed around her, amplified by the fog.

  Something snapped nearby, and she swiveled her head only to realize it was the clattering of her quiver.

  Get it together. She shook herself. The okami couldn’t have broken free already, could he? She stopped and scanned the forest around her. Her hands gripped hard onto her bow. Very slowly, she removed an arrow from her quiver and notched it.

  A small blur of orange darted out from within the fog.

  She drew back and was about to fire when a fox froze in front of her. It stared back at her with golden eyes. It was just a mundane fox, no spiritual energy emanated from it.

  She lowered her bow and the fox skittered away. I’m being too jumpy. She used to hate her heightened hearing and sense of smell; it made the priestesses at the temple nervous when she heard things from far away. But for once she was grateful. If it hadn’t been for her abilities, that idiot would have caught her unawares. Stay on task.

  The fog was getting thicker, and the sound of every step echoed back at her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She tightened her grip on the bow.

  An arm snaked around her neck.

  “That was a cruel trick leaving me tied up like that,” the wolf whispered in her ear.

  She slammed her elbow back into his solar plexus. The idiot doubled over, gasping for breath.

  Akane spun to face him, arrow drawn and pointed at him. “How did you break free?” she gasped, her voice shaking despite her best effort to keep it steady. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of how to escape. She could try wrestling him again, but he might just overpower her. Maybe head-butt him and make a run for it, but he might catch up with her.

  He chuckled. “Did you really think mundane rope would hold me? Do you know nothing of your own kind?”

  Her own kind. They were nothing alike. She served the light, while he was a servant of that vile monster who was kidnapping innocent girls from all over Akatsuki. She shifted from foot to foot.

  “I’m not like you,” she ground out as she looked around the fog for some weapon or distraction she could use to her advantage.

  “Just tell me, do you work for the dragon?”

  “I would never serve a monster.”

  “Huh.” He quirked a brow.

  “What do you want from me?” She couldn’t hide the trembling edge to her words.

  “What is an okami in priestess clothing doing in here?” She wasn’t sure if the question was meant for her or if he was just musing to himself.

  Yokai in the area had been more active than anywhere else. Villages around the region were being terrorized, food stores raided, travelers murdered, and worst of all, they were stealing priestesses from the temples. Surely the wolf knew - maybe he even helped spread the mayhem. He was toying with her, she was certain of it.

  “I got lost, so why don’t you let me go?”

  He tilted his head. “Do I look like an idiot? Last time I let you go you hit me over the head with a rock.”

  “You were chasing me.”

  “But why not transform? You could easily escape me if you did.”

  Of all the things he could have asked her, why that? “And lose my ability to reason?” She smirked. “I think not.”

  “You’re very strange.”

  “I’ve answered your questions, now let me go.”

  “Only if you promise not to hit me again.”

  Maybe he was stupid. It had to be a trick. But it was her only chance of getting away. The second he let her go, she’d run.

  “Alright.”

  He let go of her wrist first. As soon as it was free, she spun, prepared to strike at him. He dodged it and pulled her quiver from her back. She lunged for it but came up short as he leaped back and out of her reach.

  “You said you were going to let me go,” she growled.

  Quiver in his arms, he leaped onto a low-hanging branch of a tree. He dangled his prize, and she jumped to grab it. Anytime she got close he yanked it away, laughing as he jumped to the next branch.

  “This is to make sure I don’t end up with an arrow in my back.”

  She should cut her losses and run away now. The head priestess was counting on her to complete this mission. But she couldn’t leave Mei’s quiver with this idiot. It would disrespect her memory.

  “Go on, leave the forest. If you run into anyone else, they won’t be so generous as to let you escape.” He shooed her away with a wave of his hand. While he sat down, legs crossed, and laid her quiver over his lap.

  Her eyes flickered toward the arrows and then went to his face. “I’m not leaving without my quiver.”

  “Why would an okami need a bow and arrow when you have perfectly good teeth and claws?” He tilted his head to the side.

  She didn’t owe him any explanation. “Are you always this infuriating?”

  “Most women find me charming, actually.”

  She scoffed, but her gaze was fixed on
her quiver. The leather was embossed with swirling patterns, and when it had been Mei’s it was imbued with her spiritual energy. Little of it remained, but it was all Akane had left of her.

  “Why don’t you come and get it? Or are you afraid of a big bad wolf?” He dangled it down where she could grab it once more.

  The wolf inside her stirred. Awakened by some primal urge deep within her. She bared her teeth at him, which were already starting to elongate. If she didn’t get away soon, the wolf would take over and then she’d really be in trouble. She couldn’t lose control now, not in the middle of enemy territory. Akane took a long breath, soothing the beast inside for now. Chasing him was futile. But it was clear he was arrogant, maybe if she pretended to give up...

  “I’m not afraid of a pompous idiot. Know what? Keep them. You’re right, I don’t need them.” She turned her back on him and headed back into the forest. All the while praying her ploy would work.

  “You’re something of a puzzle,” he called after her.

  She ignored him and kept walking.

  He dropped down in front of her and threw the quiver at her feet.

  “Take my advice and leave this place while you still can.” He strode away, his arms folded behind his neck.

  Akane stared down at the bow and arrow on the ground. She should shoot him in the back just to be certain. But he walked away, disappearing into the mist. She wouldn’t take his advice; she still had a mission to complete. It was that fool wolf’s mistake to let her go.

  A shadow moved through the mist around her. Akane drew her bow once more, pointing it into the opaque fog.