beauty and the beast

Amara Eldwood

My eyes narrowed on the circling beam of a fluorescent searchlight that panned over and past my small balcony.

I had gotten weaker and weaker in the hours following the news of Ma’s passing.

The thin silk dress I was wearing was a deep midnight black, with tender lace around its cups and thin nylon straps.

It felt like it had gotten tighter around my chest when I crouched low, waiting until the beam had passed before hooking my legs over the cold iron railings.

A shifter would have dropped from that height easily, but my knees wobbled, and my thighs exploded with pain when I hit the ground.

White hot aches flashed behind my eyes and my view of the fortress darkened for a beat before I pushed myself to my feet, grateful that I had only torn a muscle.

“Come on, Mara,” I hissed, limping into a shadowed alleyway just before the pan of searchlights passed over the foot of my quarters.

The royal chambers, it was the first place I needed to go if I had any hope of getting out of this.

My heartbeat echoed loudly in my ears the closer I made it to the towering dome-shaped building with slick black walls and glossy gold pillars that stretched up into the fog.

So this was where the great king of the fortress slept?

It was breathtaking in its view, but whatever emotions I had felt like they’d been sapped raw after Adrien’s letter.

Red-uniformed guards stood lined on either side of the stone steps with a neat line string just in front of the stones.

“State your business, Miss,” one of the guards demanded when I tried to pass and just like that, the metallic clash of silver spears cries-crossing echoed in my ears.

My stomach heaved uneasily and I forced some moisture into my mouth, determined not to be turned away so easily by the rude resolve of the soldiers. 

“The Alpha. I need to see the Alpha, its important, my mother—” I started, hating the pathetic way I stammered with their beady eyes pinned on my face before one of the stout men cut in.

“The Alpha sees no one, miss. Not without his summons. Wait until he is at court,” The wolf barked coldly and I resisted the urge to pound my fists into his metal chest plate, certain that all I would end up doing was hurting myself.

“Please, I just—” I croaked, gasping when he shoved me back in the blink of an eye and I was staring down the razor-sharp end of his spear.

“Back. We have orders to forcefully remove any pushback,” the hook-nosed guard warbled, his beady eyes fierce behind the thick black helmet he wore.

I could hear some of the servants and groundsmen whispering viciously behind me and shame thawed in my spine.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? 

The wall guards at the gates wouldn't let any non-royal in or out without a permit.

Just how cruel could the moon goddess make my fate?

“Whatever,” I spat, but the words didn't have nearly as much of a sting as I would have hoped.

I backed away with my heart racing in my chest, shivering when the whistling of the wind in the scenic square grew to deafening syllables.

“Cabbages ere! Tomatoes ere! Get your fresh pumpkin seeds ere!” 

The din of the small fortress market as I passed by women and disgruntled-looking men with their barrows heaped with fruits was somewhat soothing.

I couldn't just go back, not like this. 

An idea fizzled through my mind and I stopped mid-walk, dipping my head just after a large drunk wolf smashed into my back.

“Watch where yer going lady! Freaking ‘ell!” He cursed, shouldering past me roughly after I’d mumbled my apologies.

A thin wispy fog had rolled down into the square, making it hard to distinguish which of the looming towers belonged to the old Beta until I was right in front of the huge red door.

#

It creaked open before I had even touched it, and large balls of cold sweat collided on the back of my neck.

“Hello?” my voice echoed back to me in the impenetrable darkness and I jumped when a strong wind made the door clap shut behind me.

My palms itched, sweaty from the tension I could feel stabbing into my body from all sides.

“Heavens!” I gasped, clutching the pounding in my chest when the whoosh of fire torches lighting up illuminated the long snakey corridor that branched off into several others.

The walls were an off-white stone, with creeping vines and brambles that gave off a slightly earthy scent.

“S-Sir Winters? I need to speak to you—” I called out again, taking a tentative step forward before pausing when I got the distinct feeling I was being watched.

I spun on my heel, my breath catching when I could see nothing beyond the dark mouth of the other corridors surrounding me.

The torches flickered, and I wisely stayed out of the darkness, following the light before pausing when I noted the large red door up ahead.

“Calm down, Mara, its just a bit dark is all. If you spook yourself like this how on earth are you going to survive the dark woods?” I cursed inwardly, gritting my jaw and pushing forward when my body reflexively slammed to a stop.

The noise of a low guttural moan made the hairs on the back of my neck stick up straight but I fought the urge to run.

Was there an animal on the loose in the former Beta’s tower?

I glanced around the shadowy hallways furtively, hardly trusting myself to breathe and taking another tentative step forward.

I would not turn back. I couldn't. 

Not after I’d come this far!

My wolf tugged me on, 

“Hello? Sir Winters? Is that you? Th-This isn't funny—” 

My rasp was barely above a whisper, but the growling coming from deep within the corridors ceased immediately.

Something was wrong…very wrong.

“Maybe it would be best to come back another time?” I said carefully, but my fingers were already pushing the large wooden door at the end of the main hall open an inch.

Caius’ minty scent swept me up so completely that I swayed on my feet, tracing my hands over the silk-white walls.

His chamber was beautiful. With each counter and tabletop wiped clean of any spot.

Large open windows yawned in chilly air that stabbed into my sides like a pitchfork and I paused over the large center table with the shadow of flames from the fireplace casting shadows beneath it.

Where had he gone off to? 

The room was so empty that for a second, I considered diving for the king-sized bed beneath the window and rolling around in his scent.

Sparse furnishings like a deep blood-red sofa parked into the far end, providing some pop of color.

The tugging in my chest had gotten stronger now. Caius was close, wherever he was, my heartbeat had begun to go all haywire.

A low, growling sound came from just outside the door and I whirled back in horror, stopping myself just short of calling out when I saw the skewered shadow it cast on the floor.

“Oh my goodness,” I breathed, my fingers numb and cool when I brought them to my lips before the sound of wood shattering followed the complete darkness that engulfed the hallway.

That was NOT the old Beta…it was something else…something from The Darkness!

I scrambled under the table faster than I thought my body could move.

“Oh goddess, please, please don't let me die here,” I stuttered, blinking back tears from my eyes and tucking in my feet just before the bang of the door hitting the wall made me jump.

A whimper fogged my throat when its wet, heavy footsteps seemed to shake the entire room, rattling even the glass cups and papers on the table above me.

Splat…splat…pause.

What was it doing?

My ears perked up and I turned slowly to catch the sepia light of the moon seeping from the big window.

Too far. I would never make it in time. Not when I couldn't shake the feeling the dark monster could move lightning-fast, despite its size.

I was going to die here, the thought struck me with such force that my belly cramped up and my entire body shook.

I’d been so determined to find a way out of the fortress and now it seemed that death had answered my prayers.

“I smell you…pretty girl…smells like dinner,” the disembodied voice snarled, its hoarse, broken baritone sounding like it was unused to speaking.

No…no, this couldn't be his wolf. I’d seen Caius’ wolf with its bright full blond fur and body riddled with muscles.

Whatever this was looked like it had been mangled, with throbbing black veins squirming under its pasty furless skin like thick, blood-filled leeches.

“Goddess, goddess please,” I stammered inwardly, cupping my heart to my mouth to rein back my scream when it suddenly pounded its fist down into the table above me and a wooden creak echoed.

No…no, the last thing I needed now was for this table to break and completely blow my cover and life!

There was no doubt in my mind whatever it was must have gotten in during the last ambush!

I needed to get out of here and warn Caius…warn the others.

The monster’s rage was palpable as he paced the quiet room, and I watched with cracked lips as he threw the large king-sized bed to the side, snarling when only dust greeted him.

“Where are you? You can't hide sweet pie,” It rattled again, the foreign voice sending a wave of shivers down my spine as a whimper died in my throat.

I could see the large dark brown of its clawed feet as it came only inches away from the table, before it roared loudly, smashing something that scattered against the wall.

Noises of its rampage seemed to shake the entire room but I gritted my teeth, not daring to breathe until the heavy footfalls faded.

Silence. 

There was no sound coming from the room for so long that I dared to release my head from my hands, scanning for its big clawed feet from under the table and finding nothing.

“Please, please let him be gone—” I breathed, whimpering when I dragged myself out from underneath the table to blink around the room.

Large claw marks almost as big as the entire bed were now etched on the white cotton duvet, with clumps of mud and rot stuck to it.

“No!” I wheezed, resisting the urge to vomit when my foot slipped in one of its footprints, the gooey wetness seeping in through my boots.

Gone. It was gone, just like that, so why was my heart still hammering in my ears?

Every inch of my body willed me to risk broken bones and death and dive through the large windows if it meant never running into that thing again.

“Enough, Mara. Please just calm down,” I hissed inwardly, shaking the notion that I had imagined the beast when evidence of its existence lay in the wreckage surrounding me.

I had never seen a dark wolf before…never gotten as close as I had now, even during my time in the shadow pack.

But mother did. She’d faced a dark wolf and survived. 

“You must stay out of The Darkness at all costs, Mara. At least until you get mated and get your wolf.” the memory of her voice as she stood on the threshold to my attic room swept through my mind.

I’d been hunched over the triangle-shaped window, watching the Shadow Alpha’s guards drag one of the caged beasts through a cheering crowd.

“See that mama? They caught one! Word is the Alpha is going to have our foragers examine it—” I rasped excitedly, but my mother’s dull green eyes only stared back at me emotionlessly.

“You must stay out of all this, Mara. Promise me. The Darkness takes something from us all. A girl as bright as you are…it would seek to consume you whole.” She’d hissed, gnashing her teeth as her eyes took on a faraway look and I frowned.

“Ma? Is…Is everything alright? You don't look too well…you’re not drinking again, are you?”

Her eyes sharpened to slits then, a hint of her wolf peeking through her pupils before she scowled, snapping away from me.