Sky Wolf

By Paula Cappa

A king in search of a queen, romance and desire, witchcraft and wolves, and a magickal yew tree rule in this wicked little fairy tale of sorcery, magick, and myth.  In a land far, far away, where sorcery has its own kingdom, the brave King of Iceleea laments finding a queen for his kingdom. One night, wind stirring the dark woods, he stumbles upon the Queen of Witches of the Underworld, Hekate, bangled in snake rings and known to make rivers scream in her presence. The witch tempts him with a trade—a promise to issue forth a maiden of imperial qualities. When the beauty arrives riding a strange white wolf out of the deep forest, the king must keep the terms of his bargain to accept her buried past. What mysteries lie within this woman with no name who carries the scent of lusty oak leaves in her hair and a sinister scar on her back? As Hekate's shadow rides the king's mare, the king must discover his own wisdom and choose between his duplicitous queen or risk Hekate's demands to discover the true identity of his queen.

 

Sky Wolf was originally published in Lorelei Signal, January 2023 Issue, WolfSinger Publications. Paula Cappa is a multiple award-winning novelist of The Dazzling Darkness, Night Sea Journey—A Tale of the Supernatural, and Greylock published by Crispin Books, and numerous short stories published in literary magazines.

Editorial Reviews:

"Told in the beautifully lyrical language of fairy tales, you will find yourself entranced by royalty, gods, witches, stars, and of course, wolves. This short read packs in plenty of plot, characters you can empathize with, and that all-important sprinkle of magic." —Deborah Jay, Epic Fantasy author of The Prince's Man (The Five Kingdoms Book 1).

 

"Paula Cappa is a master of the metaphysical mystery genre ... an extraordinary and original storyteller of the first rank." From Midwest Book Review.

 

"Beautiful, Beautiful! A fast-paced highly original fairy tale. With soulful WHITE WOLVES!! So visual." —Cynthia Wetzler, author of Witchy Magic and Me, Maggie.

"Ms. Cappa's style has a luminescent sheen about it that carries you away, but more importantly, carries you INTO the content. This unique fairy tale is a melodic drink of something silky and warm, and will be the best short read you've had in a while. Personally, I think it could make a compelling and dramatic stage play. PS—I'd marry the King!!" —Christa Ross, blogger at Observations From the Outside.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paula Cappa
• Release date: Apr 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224535453

Paula Cappa

Paula Cappa is the recipient of the Gold Medal at Global Book Awards, the Chanticleer Book Award, and American Book Fest's Best Books Award Finalist for her novel Greylock. She also earned the prestigious Eric Hoffer Book Award, The Silver Medal at Global Book Awards, The Readers' Favorite International Bronze Medal for Supernatural Suspense, and is a Gothic Readers Book Club Award Winner in Outstanding Fiction. She is the author of Greylock, The Dazzling Darkness, and Night Sea Journey—print editions published by Crispin Books, Milwaukee WI. Night Sea Journey was featured as an on-air reading at Riverwest Radio, Fearless Reader Radio in Wisconsin. Cappa's short fiction has appeared in ParABnormal Magazine, Coffin Bell Literary Journal, Unfading Daydream, Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, Whistling Shade Literary Journal, SmokeLong Quarterly, Sirens Call Ezine, Every Day Fiction, Fiction365, Twilight Times Ezine, and in anthologies Journals of Horror: Found Fiction, Mystery Time, and Human Writes Literary Journal. She is a freelance copy editor and writes a short story blog, Reading Fiction, at paulacappa.wordpress.com. Paula Cappa is Co-Chair of the Pound Ridge Authors Society in Pound Ridge, NY.

Book preview

Title Page

Copyright

Sky Wolf

Acknowledgment

About Paula Cappa

Sky Wolf

A Fairy Tale

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Paula Cappa

Sky Wolf

By Paula Cappa

© 2023

Cover design & ebook layout:

Craig Gibb, Story Perfect Editing Services

Sky Wolf was originally published in Lorelei Signal, January 2023 Issue, ISSN: 2158-6160, Editor Carol Hightshoe, WolfSinger Publications. The novelette is reprinted here with their permission.

Cover image of the white wolf by permission of wildlife photographer Johanna Kok, the Netherlands.

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, by any information storage and retrieval system, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher or author, except where permitted by law.

No generative AI was used in the conceptualization, planning, drafting, or creative writing of this work. No permission is given for the use of this material for AI training purposes.

Sky Wolf

A Fairy Tale

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In a land far, far away, in the Kingdom of Iceleea lived a valiant king who believed that choice more than chance created destiny. He spent many a fortnight searching for a queen to warm his heart, to reign as companion by his side, and to give him a prince or princess. Both choice and chance failed. So he remained known as the king without a queen.

This king ruled over villages dotting the countryside, protecting the common folk who toiled through bitter winters. Even the most daring of snow fairies declined to fly the whipping snowfalls of Iceleea. Nor did the woodland fairies enchant spring days or dance in the fall leaves. Wizards had long deserted this desolate kingdom, leaving the king without the companionable joys of the magical realm.

Within the royal stone castle of towering turrets among the ice-covered mountains, the king viewed the summits from his bedchamber window, honoring the sun by day and stars by night. Stars were the gems of the heavens, beaming bright as souls.

One evening, as usual, the king dined alone in the great hall, the walls flickering with shadows cast from one high candle. The single scratch, scratch of his fork against the plate drove him to put his fork down. With a heavy sigh, and staring again at that vacant chair opposite him, the king admitted his loneliness.

He likened this melancholy to a dome of dark rain slamming at him on all sides. After so many years, even his heart ached as if rain-choked. Yet, he would not shed tears, for a king who wept revealed weakness.

Casting his brooding aside, and resolute to find a queen, he galloped to the far northern kingdom. He did not ride with his soldiers, for he feared nothing in his woodland. His guide and companion, starry Orion above, had kept him