Just A Kiss: (The Frog Prince) (Tangled Tales Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

to run in the forests of Dartmoor in your wolf form again, brother?” Wolf climbed the stone stairs of the battlements with his wife, Winifred, or Red, right behind him. His wife was small with bright red hair and wore that silly red cape everywhere that Wolf had given her.
    “Nay, I loathe the year I spent trapped in the body of a wolf.” Arnon’s jaw clenched just thinking about it. He gazed without focus over the walls of the battlements as the first rays of sun lit up the vast sky. “I hate that old witch, Hecuba, and what she did to our family.” He looked back to his brother who now had his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “I only wish father could have convinced her to remove your curse as well, brother. I feel your pain of living as a wolf.”
    “As twins, we feel each others’ pain sometimes, but don’t even pretend you feel the pain of my shifting because you didn’t have to go through it every day,” said Wolf.
    “And neither did I have the pleasure of living as a man, either. So in a way, I felt more pain than you ever will, brother.”
    “Stop it, you two,” said Red with a smile. “Arnon, you are free now, and though my husband is still cursed, I don’t mind him shifting into a wolf. I am still able to have him in his human form when it really matters.” She looked up at her husband and they shared a kiss. Arnon watched them from the corner of his eye, feeling lonely and a little jealous. He wondered how it felt to be lord of a castle such as this, as well as to have an army at his command and a beautiful wife at his side.
    A tinge of darkness lurked inside Arnon, leftover from his curse. In a way, he was almost happy that his brother was still destined to be a wolf every night. Wolf had good things come to him much too easily. Being his twin, Arnon could only hope that he’d have such good luck come to him as well.
    “What are you referring to, Winifred?” asked Arnon. “In the bedchamber, I’m assuming?”
    She giggled and looked up to Wolf and they shared a kiss again.
    “We’re working on making an heir,” Wolf told him proudly. Arnon was happy for his brother, but pitied himself at the same time.
    “You have a good life, Wolf, and I’m sure you will indeed have an heir. And it’ll be a boy as well.” Arnon looked back out over the forests of Dartmoor, suddenly wondering if being a wolf had been better than having to watch his brother flaunt his success in his face. “Or at least a boy – half the time,” he added with a slight sense of satisfaction. “The other half of the time your son might be . . . a wolf.”
    He glanced back to see the looks on both Winifred and Wolf’s faces now and they weren’t smiling.
    “Do you really think our baby would be . . . cursed too?” Winifred looked up to her husband with wide eyes. “I never considered the possibility.”
    “Neither did I,” admitted Wolf with a frown. Then he reached out and ran a gentle hand over his wife’s head. “Don’t worry, Red, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
    “I’m not sure if we should be . . . I mean mayhap we should wait for a while to have a baby.” Winifred seemed upset by Arnon’s suggestion and now he regretted bringing it up at all. He liked the girl and didn’t want to upset her or put ill thoughts in her head.
    “We’ll talk about this later,” growled Wolf. “Now go on down to the great hall and I’ll meet you there shortly. I want to talk to my brother alone.”
    “Of course. I understand.” She kissed him once more and the smile was back on her face. Then as she walked away, Wolf reached out and pinched her on the bottom. She squealed and jumped and shot him a seductive smile. Then she laughed and hurried on down the stairs.
    Once she was gone, Wolf turned back to Arnon with a scowl on his face.
    “Why did you have to put that doubt in her head?”
    “Why not? I’m sure you’ve had the same thought. Your baby might shapeshift into a wolf the same as you.”
    “Well,