PW #313: Young Adult Fantasy: FOR THE WOLF

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Monica M. Hoffman

Mentee Name: Hannah Whitten

Title: FOR THE WOLF

Category: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy

Word Count: 94,000

Pitch:

Plagued by frightening power she can’t control, Red is almost relieved to be sent as a sacrifice to the Wolf. But the magic she thought was a curse is the only thing that can save her kingdom—and the Wolf himself—from a growing evil beyond the Wood.

Excerpt:

The crimson gown cast a bloody sheen on Neve’s pale face as she straightened her sister’s train, summoning a tentative smile. “Red for Redarys.”

Red’s expression in the mirror was closer to a grimace than a grin, teeth bared with no emotion behind them. The words of the Amalthecron echoed through her head, an endless litany.

The First Daughter is for the throne. The Second Daughter is for the Wolf.

Neve’s smile faltered. She reached for Red’s hand, gripping it like a vice. “I meant what I told you earlier,” she whispered. “I’ll cover for you, if you run.”

“And I meant what I told you. The Wolf will only trap the darkness beyond the Wood if we pay the price.” Red’s voice sounded hollow, the phrase’s meaning lost by endless repetition. She didn’t look at her sister in the mirror, instead focusing on the smooth fabric of her skirt beneath her fingers. “I have to go.”

Neve let go of her hand. “Do you want to leave us that badly?”

“You know that’s not it.” Not all of it.

“We don’t even know if it’s true.” Neve’s voice dropped to barely a whisper, though she and Red were alone in the room. The words amounted to heresy, and even the First Daughter wasn’t exempt from punishment. “All that about the Wolf and the darkness.”

Red didn’t respond. They’d been over this countless times, a familiar call and response of rote arguments and half-hearted excuses.