As romantic as the idea of freshly fallen snow is, one must always remember such a power of nature can be a double-edged sword. In Red as a Rose, the snow storm raging in the woods is just as life-threatening as it is helpful.

*Excerpt*

Tobias was dying. He knew it just as surely as he knew the snow was cold against his paws and the air grew heavy with the scent of an oncoming blizzard. Both fear and longing filled him at the thought of the snowstorm. There was no way for him to shift and attempt to heal his wounds if he didn’t find shelter before the weather turned bitter. Yet, the blizzard would also cover his tracks, aiding him against those hunting him”” a double-edged sword.

For an hour now, the forest around him had narrowed down to nothing more than a blur of white and green, and blistering, seething pain. Run! Run! Run! He chanted the mantra in his head over and over as he ran wildly, without a thought as to where he was headed. Now his step slowed and he took a moment to scent the air. Where am I?

He turned in a slow circle, trying his best to get an idea of where he was. The smell of snow filled the air, stinging his nostrils. The pain blinded his vision, impairing him more than he wanted to admit. Just as Tobias was about to give up and lay down under the nearest tree to die, the wind shifted, teasing him with a scent he knew.

Rosemary and cinnamon. Scarlet Hood.

Tobias angled his body as he followed his nose. When the scent was the strongest, he forced his exhausted body in the direction. Scarlet Hood was an old woman, a hedge witch, who lived deep in the forest. He’d met her once, long ago, when his mother had suffered a wound from silver. The witch had been able to cleanse the wound before it took his mother’s life. Perhaps she could do the same with the silver-tipped arrow lodged in his ribcage.

A howl filled the air as the wind picked up. Little pellets of ice stung his face and sensitive nose as he trudged through the drifts still on the ground from the previous storm. Tobias wanted desperately to tuck his head against his chest, but he didn’t dare for fear of losing the scent.

The minutes passed, each one ticking by like a drop of sand falling in an hourglass. He had no idea how many more grains of sand were left in the hourglass that measured his life. Just as he began to worry that the scent he followed was an illusion, a flash of red appeared through the trees. Tobias picked up his pace, his ears perking forward. As he broke through, the red ribbons billowing in the wind that denoted this as Scarlet Hood’s cottage filled him with hope and relief. He yipped a greeting while crossing the yard, making sure it was loud enough to be heard over the wind.

No one answered.

Worry replaced the hope. Mayhap she did not hear me. Dizziness and blurriness weaved in and out of his vision as he ambled to the door. Tobias scratched at the door with a paw that shook so hard he took a moment to wonder at it, then followed it with a whine.

Silence met him.

The storm opened around him, letting its wintery wrath free. Hail hit the ground while the snow swirled and coated his fur. He turned his gaze to study the yard, relieved that already his tracks and the steady droplets of blood he’d left in his wake were being covered before his very eyes. If anyone followed him, they would have to give up now and take shelter. When the blizzard passed, there would be nothing left to track.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Tobias. Has curiosity struck your senses? Perhaps you’d like to know what on earth you just read? Ah, I shall supply a blurb to ease your curiosity.

In this sexy retelling of Red Riding Hood, danger abounds. Can a seductive witch save the big bad wolf she finds in her grandmother’s bed? Or will she fall prey not only to the woodsmen that hunt him, but the lure of her own powers?

Tobias, mortally wounded from a silver tipped arrow, seeks healing from the notorious hedge witch, Scarlet Hood. What he doesn’t expect is to find Scarlet has passed away. Her granddaughter, Rose, is everything a big bad wolf could want. With woodsmen hot on his trail, Tobias must decide whether to accept his new life, or die all over again.

Rose didn’t want to take up the red hood her grandmother left her, nor any of the responsibilities that came with it. Wielding a power that loves the dead more than the living, she finds it hard to accept the idea of becoming a healer. When she finds a werewolf in her grandma’s bed, she has to choose between what is right, and what feels right but is so very wrong.

Want to find out more about the the story, as well as the author who just tortured a dying wolf shifter? You can find D. F. Krieger here at her website. Thank you for joining us, and thank you to Coffee Times Romance for allowing Red as a Rose to grace their blog.