All Chapters of Beauty and the Alpha Beast: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

KaelI already know I’m dreaming when my eyes catch on rays of milky sunlight. Soft, white curtains dance in a warm breeze scented with salt and ozone, like a storm is passing over the mountaintops. Shadows dance through the beams, the familiar, yet dreamlike, room all around me fading into temporary darkness as the heavy clouds drift in front of the sun, but the air is warm and inviting as I sit up, smoothing the satin duvet over my lap, and turn toward the piano. I’ve had this dream enough times to know what I’m looking for and where to find it–to find her. Her thin fingers brush over the keys, plucking and grazing through each soft, echoing note of a song I know by heart but can never remember when I wake up. Golden blonde hair tumbles down her back, vibrating with each faint, practiced movement of her wrists and fingers, her narrow shoulders loose as she sways with the music, playing like the notes are coming from a place deep within her–her heart–her very soul. Sometimes I tel

MaxianaThe world is hazy and dark as I move through water so shallow it barely brushes my ankles. It ripples with each step I take, disturbing the millions of stars reflected on its surface. It’s totally dark here save for the stars hanging overhead, and silent, even as I splash through the water. I have no idea how I got here, but I feel like I’ve been stuck in an endless, watery, starlit loop for hours now. My long, white slip of a dress floats on the surface, gathered around my ankles, as I move through the nothingness, wondering when it’s going to end. Soft, whispered voices drift around me–unfamiliar and tangled, like they’re speaking underwater. I must be dreaming, right? There’s no way this is real. This endless, shallow ocean of stars is a figment of my mind, my too-active imagination. It has to be. I pause, squinting into the dizzying starlight. A small rise is just visible in the distance, I believe. An island cloaked in shadow and mist, but there is, in fact, land. My

KaelTerminus is always cloaked in storms. The raging, jagged mountain peaks shine white with every burst of lightning as I soar into Ashton’s territory, parting the angry clouds and sending thick mist coiling around my dragon body as I tuck in my wings and spiral down into the shadowed valley of his territory. Ashton’s expecting me, which means I’m not bombarded by his guards as I glide onto a landing platform and slide to a stop near a set of massive iron doors guarding the mouth of his fortress. Unlike Starfall, the largest city in my territory of the Emerald Coast, Terminus is built entirely within the mountains under Ashton’s rule. Tunnels pass between the mountains, connecting his cities while protecting his people from the unforgiving elements. I shake ice from my wings before shifting back to my human form, breathing deeply past the stretch and pull of the transformation to fill my lungs with crisp, frigid air. The massive doors open, and Ashton steps out, flanked by guards

KaelI wake in one of Ashton’s sprawling guest rooms in the early hours of the morning. It’s a clear day, for once. Sunlight drifts through the arching windows lining the entire far wall, making the creamy white tiles glow as I sit up, running my hand down my face. I groan into my hand, cursing myself for giving into Ashton’s wine and the feast. I didn’t dream last night, which feels like a night wasted. I don’t have much time to spend feeling disappointed, if not desperate, about it. I dress quickly, running my fingers through my hair to tame the curls before striding out into his maze of a palace. Women dressed in silken finery pass me with smug, seductive smiles, batting their eyelashes at me. Ashton offered to find me some company last night, but I refused. I admit, in another time, another circumstance, I would have given in. But I haven’t been with another woman since the first, clear dream I had about my mate at the piano. There were times when I could have given in, led a wo

MaxianaI’m on the beach again–the beach of gems and starlight. I’m not sure where I go when I’m not here, but I think I might be… dying, to be totally, completely honest. I can’t find my way out of this place. The beach is endless. The water remains shallow and still with no current driving it. I must be on an island, trapped on all sides, and the sun doesn’t rise or fall. I am just languishing in the dark, slowly forgetting who I am. I can’t even remember my own name. Isn’t that insane? I roll a polished sapphire between my fingers, curling my digits around it, letting it warm in my hand before throwing it as hard as I can into the water. It silently skips across the glassy surface then disappears without a sound. I close my eyes, wondering if another vision will find me. Praying the man returns to at least keep me company… but I haven’t seen him in a long time, I think. I’m not sure if he’s real or if he’s a figment of whatever dreamscape I’m trapped in. I’m not sure if he exist