How Does 'The Beast Within' Explore The Theme Of Duality?

For thousands of years, the tale of the Lycan beast who lurked the forbidden forest had been told. Every five hundred years, six females were allegedly sacrificed from the wolf village to the beast and it was rumoured that their bodies were left to rot at the entrance of the forest for all to see. Many times, this tale was retold to scare the young wolves from venturing into the forest and keep them in check, because no one wanted to be a scapegoat in the hands of the unforgiving and murderous beast. Nola Reynolds has always been a headstrong fiery pure blood who has always believed there was no Lycan beast and all the tales about him were just made up myths and fairy tales, aimed at scaring the younger ones. Little does she know that one night was all it was going to take to change her life forever. Things take an unsettling turn for Nola when she, alongside five other girls, are chosen on the night of the full moon. She is faced with the most shocking revelation of her life standing before her, in flesh and blood— The Lycan Beast. Is it her fate to run away and free herself from the hands of the predator, or does she have to give in to her sweet, twisted story of beauty and the beast?

I met evil when I was a teenager. It never left me after that, hovered over me like a dark cloud, followed me everywhere. When I least expected, he barged into my life like he owned it. Kidnapped and vulnerable, I am trapped on a stranded island with no way out. There's nowhere I can hide. I am afraid. I fear his gentleness more than his cruelity. I don't know if I can survive this but I do know that one of us will be ruined by the time this ends. Every princess dreams about meeting a prince charming. I don't get the prince, I get the King who wants to rule over everything. He's a Beast but I am no Belle. The Beauty changed the beast. The Beast fell in love with her. A beautiful fairytale it was. The Beast doesn't love me, I can't tame him. This isn't a love story. It's a story of obsession. 18+. Not your traditional Mafia Romance. Proceed with Caution.

Shea Vestine was an orphan who grew up to be an innocent and kind lady in the Riverstone Pack. She was a servant omega who just wanted to find her mate before her eighteenth birthday – hoping that it would be a strong one and could save her weak wolf. However, if not, they will have to move to the South Side for a month to prove that they belong to the pack. Unfortunately, no one ever goes back to the South Side. Because it was where the ruthless rogues, the wicked half-blooded werewolves, and a lot of bad blood were located. But here comes the newly assigned Alpha of their pack, Denvereaux Thorne. Shea instantly felt their connection. She couldn’t believe that the kind and gentle Alpha of their pack would be her mate! Denver proposed to her, and they got married. Everything seemed surreal for Shea. She felt like the happiest woman in the world. But would that be the case if she discovered the darkest secret of her husband? Would she still fight for her love even when Denver was a beast? Could she possibly tame the beast within him?

A wolf in hunter's clothing. Belle is a rare and odd beauty among her pack. Unlike the lycans in her pack who can combine themselves with their wolves when they shift, she can only become a full wolf or a full human. She is different, but that does not mean that she is weak. With her being the newly appointed beta of the pack, the alpha assigned her a mission to watch over a human child. Belle did not like the idea of using a kid for their plans to take down the humans, so she helped the girl escape. Because of saving the child she was adopted by the humans, allowing her to enroll to their academy and learn their secrets to compensate to her pack for letting the child escape. But the more she learns, the more she realizes she is siding with the wrong people. Mysteries emerge as she learns that she is not the only lycan who can shift between human and wolf, or otherwise known as werewolves. Whenever she tries to learn about these creatures like her, she is always hampered by Ajax Finnegan, another hunter in training at the academy who is just as strong as she is. To Ajax, he feels like Belle is hiding something. He can sense that she's too different - too special, to be just an ordinary human. She's a beauty with the strength of a beast. Will Belle continue to side with the lycans, or will she continue her search for answers about these so called werewolves? Can Ajax figure out the beauty's secret?

The cautious and routine-filled werewolf, Luke Sager, is plagued with fear of being discovered, of separation and death when he knows his real identity. His relationship with his not-so-close younger twin brother, Leo, is a rollercoaster while living within human society. Their species' security is the priority but it is in great danger when an ancient curse falls down on the Sager family. Will their cooperation with an organization be able to stop it? Or will the future of their species come to an end?

When Selene Vireaux, a rogue werewolf, arrives in Chicago to disappear into the noise of the city, she expected loneliness. But then she sees him. Lucas Carter is everything Selene shouldn't want — human, innocent, young, soft — but the moment their eyes meet across a rain-slicked street, something ancient awakens inside her. It's not hunger. It's not instinct. It's need. She stalks him through alleys, watches him in silence, memorizes his every movement from the shadows. But when a violent attack leaves Lucas bleeding in the dark, Selene breaks her vow of distance and reveals herself — beautiful, feral, inhuman — to save him. Now bound by blood, danger, and a connection neither of them can understand, Selene must decide if she’s willing to destroy the fragile peace she’s built just to keep Lucas for herself… and Lucas must choose whether to run from the monster who saved him, or fall into the fire of something far more dangerous than love. Obsession burns. And under the full moon, nothing stays human for long.