Beauty and Her Beastly Love (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 2) (11 page)

The carriage had lurched forward, tilting to one side, then skidded and stopped, but Beauty wasn’t sure why. Beast was not there, welcoming her to the manor. But, Dumas didn’t seem to be there either. He wasn’t banging on the carriage door or trying to pry her out of it.

She wasn’t sure what to do. She opened the carriage blinds and looked out. She recognized the area. They weren’t far from the manor, but they weren’t there either. She wondered why Claude had stopped. She wondered where Dumas was. She sat still and waited. One minute. Then another. Nothing. She opened the carriage door and looked around. She saw no one. Not Beast, not Dumas. She got out, and when she went to the front, she saw the horse, Claude, on the ground, blood gushing from his skull.

“Claude,” she cried out as she looked at him. She started toward the horse, but just then she felt an arm around her waist.

“Got you,” Dumas said, triumphant. “I knew you’d get out, eventually.” He looked around at the dark sky, “But actually I’d like some privacy for this,” he smirked. “Let’s go back in.”

As Dumas pulled Beauty toward the carriage, she made it hard for him, struggling against him, trying to lower herself to the ground so she was all dead weight. They were battling when she heard Beast’s voice. “Let her go,” he growled. Dumas turned, so Beauty was forced to turn with him. Dumas laughed. “You again. I thought I vanquished you once. It was easy enough that I’ll do it again.”

He tossed Beauty to the side, drew his sword and ran toward Beast. Beauty landed with a thud on the ground, but was determined to get up quickly, so she could run toward the manor. Once Dumas discovered Beast was merely a projection again, he would chase her. She was standing up when Dumas reached Beast. This time, Beast grabbed Dumas sword and broke it in half. Dumas stopped in shock.

So did Beauty. This wasn’t possible. He couldn’t leave the grounds of the enchanted manor or he would die. He’d said so in the book, in
Volume 19
. Perhaps that part hadn’t been true, but that was the one part of their story that made sense, the reason he wouldn’t let her leave, because he couldn’t follow her. But here he was — outside the manor. She walked toward the two men, her eyes wide as she watched Beast attack Dumas. Beast lifted Dumas in the air with his right hand and used the other to punch him in the stomach. Dumas let out a whoosh, like he’d had the wind knocked out of him, and then he whimpered. Beast growled, then lifted Dumas to his horse, and said, “Never come back here.”

Beast smacked the horse on the bum, and it sped off, carrying Dumas on its back. Just as the horse strode out of view, Beast plopped down on the ground. Beauty ran over to him, threw her arms around him. “Beast, oh thank God you came.”

Beast’s breathing was heavy, startling her. Yes, he’d been in a fight, but it had seemed one-sided. She had never seen Beast look this exerted, even after chopping firewood. She let go of him to look at him. He looked weak and sick and lay down in the grass, breathing laboriously still.

“Beast,” she cried. “What’s wrong?”

“I left the manor,” he said. “I am dying.”

Beauty shook her head, grabbed hold of his shoulder and tried to get him to sit up. “No, you’ll be OK. You just have to get back. I’ll help you,” she said. She gripped his arm and tried to pull him up to a sitting position, but he was so heavy, nothing happened.

“I am dying, Beauty,” he said. “I left, but the sorceress, I think she allowed me to live long enough to save you, and for that I’m grateful.”

“No, Beast,” she cried. He was wrong. He wasn’t that far from the manor. He’d lived long enough to get to her. He had to be able to live long enough to get back. He had to. “You can’t die,” she said. “I came back to tell you that I love you, that I want to marry you.”

He smiled at her. “It’s kind of you to lie now. But, I heard what you told your father. You were coming back as a promise.”

Horror filled Beauty’s heart. He’d heard that. “Didn’t you hear the rest?”

Beast whispered, “No.”

“I just didn’t want my father to think I wanted to leave him, but I do want to be with you. When my father told me about the inscription in the book, I went and read it. I read everything. I saw all the love you’ve shown for me. I love you, Beast. Please,” she lay her head on his chest. “Please don’t die.”

He coughed, then gasped for air. Beauty lifted her head from his chest and scooped one of his hands into hers. “Please, please, please, Beast, stay with me.”

“Don’t call me,” he whispered, and Beauty realized that it was hard for him to speak, that the air wasn’t coming to him as it should. She felt the tears stream down her cheeks. Just as she had realized that it was him she wanted all along, he was dying. “Not Beast,” he said in gasps. “Call me by my name.”

Beauty shook her head. “I can’t. That will kill you.”

“I know, but I want to hear you say it. I sometimes dreamed of you saying it to me. I want to hear you say it just this once.”

Beauty was still shaking her head, but she could see the light fading from his eyes. She could see he was going. He was going to die, and he had only one wish. She had to grant it. “I love you, Emile.”

Beast was on the ground unmoving, and Beauty lay on his chest, sobbing. She couldn’t believe it. He was gone. Gone. To save her. She cried harder, her tears rolling onto his chest. Then, she heard something. Something she hadn’t expected. She pressed her ear closer to his chest. Was it? Could it be?

A heartbeat.

She sat up, wiped her eyes, and looked at Beast. The hair on his face, his arms, and his fingers was slowly receding, his body, so massive before, was shrinking, and his snout-like mouth was morphing into a normal man’s mouth.

He was becoming a man again. Beauty watched the transformation. She watched the beast she had come to love morph into a man, a man with a slender nose, fine red lips and a mane of thick, curly black hair. His arms and chest were still muscular and toned, but not as broad and bulky as when he was a beast. He still had hair on his chest, only you could see the pale flesh beneath it now. She stared, dumbstruck.

He opened his eyes. “Beauty?” he said, blinking.

“Beast?” she asked.

He nodded, and started to sit up, putting his hand on her leg as he did so. Then he stopped, his eyes widening as he saw his hand. He lifted it closer to his face and examined it. He lifted his other hand and examined it, too. Then he looked down at his feet. He reached up and touched his face. “I’m normal again,” he said, amazement in his voice. He pulled her to him. “I’m normal. You broke the curse, Beauty.”

She felt his arms around her and they were familiar and strange all at once. It was odd to be here with Beast, and have him be so different. He released her and looked at her. “Beauty,” he said. “It’s me. I know I look different, but it’s me, Emile.”

She stared, still feeling awed by the change. Even though he looked different, she wouldn’t call him that. “Beast,” she said. “I won’t say that again. I don’t know that it won’t kill you, or maybe it did kill you, but I can’t risk it again. I won’t say it.”

He smiled, then leaned in and kissed her. His lips were soft and warm, and the way his tongue moved in his mouth was familiar to her. It was him, she was sure, but she wasn’t used to the new him. His lips lingered on hers a little longer than necessary, leaving them warm on this cool evening. Beast looked around.

“We should go inside, in case he comes back,” Beast said, standing. He seemed well now, no signs of the deathly fatigue that had plagued him just moments ago while in his beastly form. “I felt comfortable taking him on without a weapon before. But, I’m not as strong as I used to be.”

He took Beauty’s hand, and they walked briskly toward the manor, shutting the gate behind them. Once inside, Beauty followed Beast, watching him closely. As a man, he was handsome, with symmetrical features anyone would find attractive. And she found that she did. Not quite in the same way she found Beast attractive when he was furry, but still, there was something there. They walked into the main room and sat down. There was no fire now. Beauty wished there was a fire. Suddenly wood appeared in the hearth, and a fire blazed from it.

“The house is still enchanted,” Beauty said, staring at the fire, enjoying its warmth.

He looked at the fireplace, furrowed his brow. “You’ve broken the enchantment on me, but not on the house, it appears.”

“But how?” she said. “How did you become a man again?”

“You read my story?” he asked, then paused. “Our story?”

Beauty nodded.

“I didn’t put it all in the book. I knew you were going to read it, so I didn’t put it all in. The sorceress told me how to break the spell. She said I had to find a maiden who truly loved me. And you do. That’s probably why it was OK for you to say my name, because you said you loved me first, and that broke the curse. Now, I’m free,” he said, breaking into a grin. “We are free. We are not bound here.”

At that moment, they heard the front door creak open. Beast stood and grabbed a poker from the fireplace, prepared to fight. Beauty stood behind him, fearful M. Dumas had returned for her. They were both shocked when a woman in a red cloak entered. They could see nothing of her face, only her glowing red eyes.

Beauty heard the poker clatter to the floor, then saw Beast drop to his knees. “Please,” he said. “The curse is broken. Please do not punish me again.”

A voice floated out from the sorceress. “I am not here to punish you,” she said. “You asked for mercy those seven years ago, and I gave it to you. I find those who ask for mercy actually need it most. I simply came to tell you I am proud of your change, and that you may stay here in this manor. You may also contact your family and use your name again. You have changed and repented, which is all that I wanted.”

The sorceress turned her attention to Beauty, her glowing eyes focusing in on the girl. Beauty shrank back a little, not quite happy for the scrutiny. “And Beauty,” the sorceress said. “My sister Giselle was right. You are a very special girl. When Beast first began writing his stories, I thought he had learned nothing, and simply missed his debauchery. But, I showed them to Giselle, and she said that I had missed the point. Yes, they had sexual fantasy, but that wasn’t what they were about. At their core, they were stories of a man who wanted nothing more than to love a woman and have her return that love. I realized she was right and let her read them each time Beast completed a new one. Little did I know that she had decided a year ago to share the books with you. But, it seems it was for the best.”

Beauty couldn’t move, shocked that her friend Giselle had a sister who was a sorceress.

The woman began speaking again. “I have left the enchantment on the manor for the rest of this evening, but in the morning it will be gone, so get any provisions you need for the next few days. And Beauty, your father is awake now. You may want to use the mirror to talk to him and allay his concerns. Now, I am off. I need to deal with Mr. Dumas.”

Then she vanished.

Beast stood and wrapped his arms around Beauty, and she tried to breathe evenly. It was over, all over. She felt warm in his arms, happy to be there. “Everything is going to be alright,” Beast whispered in her ear. Only his voice was his new voice, his Emile voice. She supposed she should get used to calling him that.

“At least for us,” she said, pulling away from him, and walking toward the stairs. She wanted to get to the mirror and see her father. “I wonder what she’s going to do to Dumas.”

A low, throaty growl escaped Beast. Beauty turned to see whether he still looked like a man. He did, but clearly he had retained some beastly attributes. “Whatever she does to him, he deserves worse.”

They ascended the stairs and found the secret room. Beauty was able to use the mirror to see her father. She wasn’t sure if the sorceress had cast some spell or not, but she was able to project and talk to Pierre. He told her his head hurt, but other than that he seemed well. Beauty said she and Emile would come tomorrow to see him. He seemed he’d be well enough overnight. With that, she ended the conversation, and the mirror returned to its normal reflective surface.

Beauty turned to find her new Beast staring at her with a familiar gleam in his eyes. “What?” she asked.

He gently touched her ear, sliding his fingers down her neck, gliding across her collarbone, down her bosom, where he rubbed his thumb in a circular motion on Beauty’s right breast. She felt warm where he touched her. She looked up and smiled. “I think I know what’s on your mind,” she said.

“I just want to see if this body fits as well with yours as my other one did.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Would you like to see?”

“Yes, Beast,” she said, sliding her hand up his shirt, feeling his stomach muscles and his muscular chest. It was different, but definitely worth exploring.

He lifted Beauty in his arms, and started toward her bedroom. “And definitely call me Beast tonight, because I am going to be one.”

THE END

***Thank you for taking time to read
Beauty & Her Beastly Love
. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a
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Turn the page if you want to read the first chapter of the next book in this series:
Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story
. ***