Beauty In Her Madness (Winterland Tale #3)

By Stacey Marie Brown

Be our guest into this twisted tale where nothing is what it seems, and Winterland is even more dark, sexy, and naughty.

Dinah Liddell has always been the responsible, sensible one. Everything in her life was structured and planned, but ever since her sister, Alice, returned from a mental institution two years ago, Dinah is slowly feeling like she is the one losing her mind.

Nightmares, voices, and visions of things that should not exist crack at the walls of her sanity, bubbling up things from her childhood she’d like to keep boxed up. Especially when two of those visions are sexy as hell brothers. One warm and friendly, the other cold and bitter.

There is a draw to them she can’t deny, pushing at her barriers, and ripping her sanity away.

Her life was going exactly as planned—school, work, and building a life with her longtime boyfriend, Scott. But the harder she tries to keep everything in order, the faster it falls apart, shattering it like glass.

Dinah’s controlled world is about to descend into madness.

When the beauty breaks, the beast will arise. And it is out for vengeance...

Alice in Wonderland meets Beauty and the Beast with a holiday twist. The bad-boys of Winterland are back...and they brought friends.
Be careful what you wish for.

**This is not a standalone. Part of the Winterland Tales. Recommend reading book 1 and 2 first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacey Marie Brown
• Release date: Dec 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005597344

Stacey Marie Brown

Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt. Books, travel, TV series, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts. Has always been fascinated by things dark and creepy, but needs to be balanced by humor and romance. She believes that all animals, people and the planet should be treated kindly.

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Beauty in Her Madness, Copyright © 2020 by Stacey Marie Brown

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This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. Published by: Twisted Fairy Publishing Inc.

Layout by Judi Fennell at www.formatting4U.com

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Edited by Hollie at www.hollietheeditor.com

Edited by Mo Siren’s Call Author Services [e-mail]

Dear Santa

Thank you for adding more bad boys to your naughty list.

Send them all my way!

ALSO BY STACEY MARIE BROWN

Contemporary Romance

How the Heart Breaks

Buried Alive

Smug Bastard

The Unlucky Ones

Blinded Love Series

Shattered Love (#1)

Broken Love (#2)

Twisted Love (#3)

Royal Watch Series

Royal Watch (#1)

Royal Command (#2)

Paranormal Romance

Darkness Series

Darkness of Light (#1)

Fire in the Darkness (#2)

Beast in the Darkness (An Elighan Dragen Novelette)

Dwellers of Darkness (#3)

Blood Beyond Darkness (#4)

West (#5)

Collector Series

City in Embers (#1)

The Barrier Between (#2)

Across the Divide (#3)

From Burning Ashes (#4)

Lightness Saga

The Crown of Light (#1)

Lightness Falling (#2)

The Fall of the King (#3)

Rise from the Embers (#4)

Savage Lands Series

Savage Lands (#1)

Wild Lands (#2)

Dead Lands (#3)

Bad Lands (#4)

Blood Lands (#5)

Shadow Lands (#6)

A Winterland Tale

Descending into Madness (#1)

Ascending from Madness (#2)

Beauty in Her Madness (#3)

Beast in His Madness (#4)

Table of 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

About The Author

Acknowledgments

Beauty in Her Madness

A low rumble penetrated the space, freezing me in place with utter terror. It was here for me. Wanted only me. Tears clogged my throat with fear, air halting in my lungs. Puffs of condensation and ice filled the room, billowing in the air, my heart pounding in my ears.

It was there, its presence behind me. Waiting.

Growls nipped at my heels, panic pounded in my chest, sobs hiccupped in my throat as my little legs ran forward, but I couldn’t run fast enough, my feet stumbling, crashing into the stone.

Grunting and huffing with fury, the monster was getting closer. Run, Dinah! But I couldn’t get up, my muscles locked, my body trembling.

A single claw raked up the back of my neck, and I let out a strangled sob, my lids squeezing tighter. I was going to die.

Hot breath rasped against my ear.

"Little one..."

Chapter 1

The midafternoon light dimmed through the glass, running for the horizon. The thick clouds concealed the sun’s retreat as if it couldn’t wait to get away from this part of the world. The room resisted the early nights with its false glow, outshining nature.

I felt mesmerized by the swaying tree outside the window. Settling in for a cold, long winter, the last leaf was plucked from its branches by the gusts, twisting and turning in its final throes of death before hitting the frozen ground. It hadn’t snowed yet, but winter sniffed at the edges only one day after Thanksgiving, ready to fully consume autumn. Change was coming, colors switching from oranges and browns to the festive lights and decorations of red and green.

Normally I loved this time of year.

Normally.

Dinah? A woman’s voice spoke softly behind me, but it felt distant, as if she were calling me from another room. My head was lost in the flashes of dreams, voices, and moments that hadn’t happened but felt as genuine and vibrant as reality. Fear iced down my spine.

For two years, I’d felt more and more like an outsider—with my family, my boyfriend, and especially myself.

Dinah, don’t you want to sit down? The woman’s voice was smooth and calming, but it only brushed the wrong way up my neck. Talk about why you are here?

Why I was here? I snorted. Because I feel I’m going crazy? Something’s wrong with my brain, and I’m going to become like my sister?

Though she was well now, flourishing in New York with her business and boyfriend, our parents had to put Alice into a facility for her mental health two Christmases ago. The episode in my bedroom where she flipped out, thinking gremlins were attacking her, still haunted me.

Please have a seat. Dr. Bell motioned at the sofa across from her. She was probably in her early sixties, pretty, with short white hair, sharp blue eyes, and a pert nose. Her bright lipstick and thick-rimmed black glasses made her seem a little funky, while her ill-fitted beige suit and brown shoes contradicted it, blending into the same-colored furniture. Don’t think of me as a therapist, but as a friend you can confide in.

I took in the space, not moving. The room was simple, clean, and comfortable with lots of pillows on the sofa and books on the shelves. It was designed to make the patient feel at home. The office was outside downtown Hartford in a newly restored older building, half of it still empty, waiting for tenants.

I had found Dr. Bell from a flyer hung up at the university. It wasn’t the best way to find a therapist, but the offering of the first session free was too good to pass up on my budget. I had researched her, and she had all the credentials and high praise.

Dr. Bell sighed, opening up her folder. It says your sister went into an institution two years ago. She frowned, adjusting her glasses. It doesn’t have the facility name. Do you know? Her blue eyes lifted to mine in hopes I could tell her.

My brain searched for the name, but nothing came to me. I-I don’t remember. It was instant, the pounding in my head, the feeling of exhaustion, like I was trying to grab fog, push against an unseen force until I was limp and defeated. I rubbed my temple, running my hands through the silky brown locks I had let grow way past my shoulders.

In the last two years, lots of things had changed, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when or why. Ever since Alice returned from the ward, something had been off. As if I didn’t exactly fit into the picture anymore. With an analytical brain like mine, I could go mad just trying to find the piece that landed me in the office of a therapist here in Hartford.

All I understood was pre-Alice’s episode, as my mother liked to call it; everything had been perfect. My plan for my future set. Everything in line. My sister had always been impulsive, passionate, artsy, and flighty, but one day things abruptly shifted, and she was seeing make-believe monsters in the dark and hearing Christmas icons talking to her.

Full psychotic breakdown, they called it.

Like the ones you are hearing and seeing? A voice whispered in the back of my head, whipping me back around to the window, my throat bobbing as I stuffed it back. No, this wasn’t the same.

Alice was happy now—disgustingly happy—with hugely successful café/hat shops in the city that kept her busy nonstop, and with the sexiest man I had ever seen in my life for a boyfriend, screwing each other relentlessly like horny rabbits.

Jealous? I felt the voice tug at me, flashing a chiseled face with icy blue eyes and a cruel mouth through my mind.

I folded my arms, shaking the image from my head. He’s not even real. Just some figment of my imagination.

I didn’t even care about pretty faces. Scott wasn’t even in the same hemisphere as Matt Hatter, but he was kind, faithful, and loved me. We met in debate club at school and had been dating since we were fifteen. Now we lived together in a tiny apartment while we attended the university where my father worked.

I know you didn’t come here to stare out my window. Dr. Bell’s voice broke into my reverie, my attention sliding back to her. With an exhale, I sat my five-foot-six-inch frame on the sofa, the pillows almost swallowing me up. I inherited my mother’s petite frame, but while she and Alice had curves, my addiction to running kept mine nonexistent.

Dr. Bell let the silence sit in the space, waiting for me to fill it. Twisting my hands in my lap, I took a deep breath. I feel… My throat tightened. This went against my nature, talking about my feelings. I wanted to solve and cure everything with logic and strategy and wanted her to tell me why I was having these dreams and visions.

What do you feel, Dinah?

Lost. Scared. Unsure.

Um. I tugged my hair behind my ear, glancing up at the light, then over to the shelf. Unsettled.

Unsettled? Dr. Bell’s eyebrows curved up. Peculiar word choice. Why unsettled?

I don’t know. Having strange dreams. Ones I used to have as a child, but they’re different now. I-I just feel off. Like something’s not right. Sometimes I feel I’m being watched, but no one’s there. I squirmed on the sofa, dying to get up and move. You know those times when you feel you’ve forgotten something, but you can’t remember exactly what?

Yes.

It’s how I feel. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. All the time.

When did this feeling start?

Uhhh…about two years ago.

Two years, huh? Dr. Bell replied, her tone leading.

Yeah.

Around the same time your sister went into a mental facility? It must have been quite traumatic for your family.

I licked my lip, staring down at my hands. Traumatic? Yeah, you could say that.

I remembered sirens wailing, my sister screaming, flashes of blue and red lights reflecting off the houses, neighbors milling about in the street. I remembered Alice pinned to the ground, shouting and crying nonsense. And I remembered her talking to Mom and Dad, pleading for them to believe her, that she wasn’t crazy, someone was doing this to her. For the life of me, I couldn’t recall parts of that night, while others were crystal clear, making the night disjointed like a badly edited movie.

I groaned, reaching deeper into my memories, trying to remember. Mom said the trauma we all went through was why we blocked it from our minds, the pain of seeing Alice hurting herself and possibly others. But who called the police? Who found the facility so fast? She was home one minute and, in a blink, locked up. It didn’t make sense they took her straight to a mental ward and not to the hospital.

It all seemed strange.

Memories weren’t reliable and could shift with perception. But I had a tickle at the back of my neck and the feeling of knowing something, but I couldn’t puncture through, letting it gush from my lips. It hovered around me, buzzing and irritating, but never revealing itself.

That had to affect you.

It did. The words croaked from my throat, my head turning to the window.

Here, have some water. Dr. Bell poured a glass from the pitcher on the coffee table, handing it to me. The cool water drizzled down my throat, clearing away the emotions clogging my airways. It was like drinking pure snow; the refreshing taste had me guzzling down the rest.

Thank you. I set down the empty cup, my attention latching to a drop trailing down the side of the glass. We sat in silence for a moment, her regard expectant, waiting for me to speak. My hand brushed over my face, and the instinct to run, to get away from this office, was palpable.

This is silly. Why am I here? I’m not my sister. I’ve had a few bad dreams, making me paranoid.

Can you tell me about the dream you had last night? As if she read my thoughts, Dr. Bell’s voice nipped at my ear.

It’s nothing. I shifted in my seat, my gaze going back outside. The night gobbled up the last of the light, drenching the small enclosed area behind the office in shadows. My stare caught on something next to the tree.

Hot terror wrapped my ribs, filling my stomach, my chest puffing for air.

Dinah? She called my name, but once again it seemed far away, my attention locked on the figure.

Oh god, not again.

Do-do you see it? I pointed. By the tree.

See what? Dr. Bell sat up, squinting to peer into the dark. I don’t see anything.

R-right there, I stammered.

Dinah, nothing is out there.

But I saw it. Deep in the murky shadows, a huge outline of a hooded figure watched me, digging into me. Fear buzzed over my skin, prickling it in goosebumps, freezing me in place. I couldn’t make out any detail from here, but this wasn’t the first time I had seen the hooded figure watching me.

"Dinah…" A man’s voice whispered around me, making me jolt out of my seat with a cry. It’s almost time.

Oh my god. My calves shoved back into the sofa. It had never spoken to me like that.

Dinah? Dr. Bell called for me. My head whipped to her. Her blue eyes filled with worry and confusion. She peered out the window, her brows furrowing.

My attention shot back outside. The spot by the tree was empty. The courtyard was small and fenced. No way someone could have gotten out so quickly without notice.

My nerves trembled, and I felt a sensation of being strangled, the air being pulled from my lungs. My dreams were reaching into the daylight, becoming more and more real.

Are you all right? Dr. Bell reached for my arm. Dinah?

The instant her fingers touched me, panic gripped my throat, needing to escape.

I’ve got to go. I grabbed my bag on the ground. I shouldn’t be here. It was a mistake…

Dinah—

Thanks for your time. I rushed for the door.

Dinah, wait! She jumped up, but I was already out. I jogged down the hall, vacating the three-story brick building and rushing out into the frigid evening.

Bending over, I sucked in deep breaths, my sticky skin relishing the icy temperatures. It would snow soon; I could taste it on my tongue.

Standing up, I took another deep gulp of air.

Buzzzz

My cell vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out, figuring it might be the therapist’s office wondering what the hell just happened. My shoulders sank with relief seeing Gabe’s number.

Hey, boss man. I tried to sound like my cheerful self, but my throat strangled out the greeting.

Oh, I like when you call me that, Liddell Two. Gabe’s raspy smoker’s voice was heavy with innuendo. Even though my sister didn’t work there anymore, he still called me Liddell Two.

Don’t make it gross. I rolled my eyes. The manager of Santa’s Workshop had quit. He and his wife were moving to Hawaii, and Gabe took over the position. Not because he was any good at it, but because it was easy, and he had no motivation to do anything but smoke pot and dress in a Santa suit. What do you want?

What do I want? He snorted. Well, besides piles of money, some tacos, and endless weed, I wouldn’t mind my employee being on time for her first shift this season.

My gaze went to my watch, my mouth gaping. Shit!

Supposed to be here five minutes ago.

Oh, like you were ever on time, I snapped back.

Doesn’t matter, Number Two. I’m the manager now. I can be as late as I want. It’s your job on the line, he replied hotly, but I knew he was full of it. Gabe was all talk. He would never do anything. He knew he was lucky to still have me this year. But rent, food, and books for school were not cheap, and I needed the extra cash. Be here in ten. He hung up.

Asshole, I huffed, heading to my car. The wind whipped through my hair, my bones finally absorbing the chill and revolting against it. I reached my old white Volkswagen Rabbit, pulling the keys from my purse.

"Dinah…" My name growled over the gusty wind, swooping up the back of my neck, icing my skin. My breath hitched, my frame swung around, and my keys were ready to stab the predator. The parking lot was empty of people and had only a few cars. A streetlamp glowed eerily, casting a putrid glow. My eyes shifted around, trying to register any movement.

"Di-nah…" This time the voice was so deep it vibrated against my soul, running up my body like fingers, making me gasp. My heart thudded in my chest, my hands shaking.

Earlier it had also been a man’s voice calling me, but this one was different.

Darker. Deadlier.

It promised my demise in two syllables.

Swiftly, I unlocked my car, sliding in and locking the doors. My pulse throbbed in my ears as I checked my back seat, touching the mace I kept in my cupholder. Dad taught Alice and me how to shoot a gun and had put us in a self-defense class when we hit puberty. As a professor at a university, he saw things happen at frat parties and heard things about girls walking across campus at night. He wanted Alice and me prepared to defend ourselves.

As I pulled out of the lot, my nerves still jumping, I thought I saw something in my peripheral, but when I looked again, nothing was there. I couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching me.

I hit the gas, tearing down the road, heading for the tree lot. I felt with all Dad prepared us for, he didn’t teach us how to defend ourselves when our own minds turned against us.

Chapter 2

The delicious smells of sugar cookies, hot chocolate, cider, and cinnamon wrapped around me like the softest blanket, letting me forget all about the earlier events. My shoulders eased as I hummed to the Christmas music playing softly in the background while I finished hanging candy canes on the tree. The idyllic, little wooden cottage was attached to a tree farm on the outskirts of New Britain, Connecticut. It was owned by a sexist old man who had his five adult sons running it.

I didn’t expect so many tonight. Gabe yanked down his fake beard, popping a joint in his mouth. The dozens of kids wanting to see Santa kept Gabe and me busy for the first four hours. I need a smoke bad. It was getting late, and fewer families were venturing over to the workshop, tucking their kids in for the night instead. The holiday season had officially kicked off with a bang.

Christmas spirit seemed higher in the last two years than normal, bringing in far more people to get trees and see Santa this early. Except for me, it seemed. I had lost most of my cheer.

If you get caught… I flicked my chin at him. Shortest manager job in history. I didn’t understand his constant need to get high. To be fuzzy all the time. I liked being clearheaded and present.

Gabe snorted, but turned, going out the back door to light up. A gust of cold air swept in as he stepped out, instantly pimpling my flesh. Not that I was wearing much. The owner was in his seventies and acted as though women were merely here to be pretty. He clearly had some slutty elf fantasy by the look of our outfits. All the elves he hired were girls, and he had us in exceptionally low-cut, short costumes with red-and-white stockings, green shoes with bells, and a green elf hat.

The number of fathers who brought their kids here multiple times was disturbing. Though Alice had only worked here for one season, dads still came in and asked about her. My sister was stunning—stop-in-the-street beautiful—with the right amount of curves, long, silky, straight, dark hair, dark eyes, and tall. If she and Matt ever had kids, they would be voted the most beautiful babies in the world. It wasn’t until Alice opened her mouth you met the real her. She was blunt, real, witty, and sarcastic. It made me love her more.

Most said we looked alike, but our personalities were total opposites. I was the pros-and-cons girl, while Alice leaped into something with her heart. I would write lists, and Alice would already be out doing it. Even if it failed and she fell on her face, she’d jump back up and try again. I was controlled, guarded, and cautious.

I never envied her until lately. Alice’s life was completely together, while I felt mine was crumbling at the seams. Everything I worked and planned for felt empty and wrong now that I had them. Scott and I worked all the time to be able to afford an apartment in Hartford and a car. We wanted to ensure we could pay the bills, have a cushion in our bank account for an emergency, and save for our future house. We were responsible and determined.

And now we did have an apartment in Hartford, a car, food, money to go out on the weekends, we were going to university…everything I said I wanted. So why did I feel I was living someone else’s life?

A tingling feeling skated down my neck, and I twisted my head around the room, picking up on the utter silence. The music in the cottage was set on repeat, and by the end of the season, you were ready to take a bat to it, but now nothing came from the speakers.

Setting down the box of decorations, I headed for the small employee area, my feet halting at the window. The brightly lit tree lot, usually blinding to look at, was in complete darkness. Like they had closed up and gone home, but I knew they never turned the lights fully off. A few of the brothers had trailers and stayed the season at the lot, next to the father’s house. The tree lot was always lit.

As I looked out, everything was black. Did the electricity go out? Fuse box? The lights were still on in the cottage, though.

Peculiar.

I opened the back door, peering out into the cold, dark night. Gabe? Do you know— I stopped, noticing he was not in his usual spot. Gabe?

A prickle of warning rushed over my shoulders and up my throat, singing with alarm.

There’s a perfectly good explanation, I muttered