Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (53 page)

“But I must agree to it.” Beauty looked at him. He didn’t
seem like someone who was used to waiting for permission.

“Yes,” he said. “Or the curse cannot be broken.”

“I am sorry for your suffering,” said Beauty, quietly. “But
I cannot grant you such a thing.”

The beast raised his head and looked at her.

“I have gold,” he said. “Gold and silver. Jewels. Anything
you could possibly want.”

Beauty shook her head.

The beast stood to his full, impressive height, raised his
head, and let out a blood-curdling howl. Beauty cowered on the floor, her hands
clamped over her ears, until he stormed out, slamming and locking the door
behind him.

-

As she slept on the cold stone floor, Beauty had a dream.

It began much the same as her real life encounter with the
beast had - riding alone through the dark forest, fear coursing through her
veins. But when the beast appeared, rather than knocking her unconscious, he
snatched her up off the horse and threw her onto the soft, mossy earth. He
loomed over her, and she felt every hot, heavy breath on her face.

As she lay under him, quivering, he lifted one paw and
ripped her dress off of her body in a single motion. She felt goose bumps rise
on her exposed skin in the cold night air, her nipples hardening as she
shivered.

The beast leaned in closer. His breath warmed her as he
lowered his head down to her chest, his long tongue snaking out to lick the
hard pink nubs at the peaks of her breasts. She squirmed, feeling a strange
tingling sensation grow between her legs. He licked again and again, sending
tendrils of pleasure through her body, until she felt herself grow damp and
swollen in her most private place. She’d never felt like this before, but she
understood what it meant - she was ready to become his mate.

She saw it then, between his haunches - his massive member,
growing long and hard, straining upwards. With a growl, he pushed her legs
apart and slid inside of her. Beauty screamed, feeling as if he were splitting
her open, stretching her more than she could possibly bear. Tears leaked out of
the corners of her eyes as he thrust inside of her again and again, his rod
growing ever larger, until, with a mighty roar, he spilled burst after massive
burst of his seed into her channel.

Beauty awoke to a wave of ecstasy coursing through her,
exploding through her body with an almost unbearable intensity. She stayed on
the floor for a moment, spent and panting, her mind fuzzy with pleasure.

Her back and neck ached when she stood, but she forced
herself to stretch her muscles and walk the length of the room a few times. Her
legs were still slightly rubbery and her whole body felt strangely pleasant, in
spite of her soreness - relaxed, and satisfied. It was unlike any feeling she’d
experienced before.

Beauty saw a pinpoint of light coming towards her once
again. It was the beast. Beauty smoothed her dress, suddenly feeling
self-conscious, mindful of the sweet, musky smell that still wafted from
between her legs.

The beast unlocked the door and entered the room wordlessly.
He went to the sconce on the wall and took the torch out of it.

“Come,” he said, and Beauty followed him down the hallway
and up the massive stone staircase, because what choice did she have?

His body seemed even more massive than before, now that she
was looking up at it. His grand tail swished back and forth as he walked.
Beauty found herself wondering what he’d looked like as a man. Was he as grand
and tall as the monster? Dark and serious, with a violent streak? Or had he
been more gentle?

She followed him up the stairs for what felt like an eternity.
Her breaths were getting short by the time they reached what she judged to be
the main floor.

It was massive - and it had once been beautiful, she was
sure. Torn, dusty tapestries covered the walls, along with huge paintings of
people who were long dead. For one wild moment she considered running for the
huge wooden doors, but she knew she wouldn’t even be able to lift the huge
board that was holding them shut before the beast would be on her.

So he followed him to the foot of the next staircase, bravely
struggling up the next few steps before she had to stop to try and catch her
breath. The beast didn’t notice at first, but after a moment he stopped and
turned, seeing her sagging there, her cheeks pink with exertion.

He leapt down the steps that were separating them, and
before she had a chance to even realize what was happening, he scooped her up
in one arm and began to carry her.

Beauty squealed in protest, but the beast was deaf to it,
taking the remaining stairs in leaps and bounds while Beauty clung to his fur.
He finally came to a stop at the doorway to a room.

There was a fire roaring inside, and a large, plush bed with
magnificent curtains in the center. The beast made a gesture, indicating she
should go inside.

“Your room,” he said.

“Oh,” said Beauty. “…thank you?”

“Is it to your liking?”

“I prefer my own room,” said Beauty. “At home.”

The beast let out a low growl, and her heart stopped for a
moment before she realized it was a laugh. “And have you come back with your
entire village armed with pitchforks and torches? I’m afraid not.”

Beauty’s heart sank. “Are you really planning on holding me
captive until I agree to…help you?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it.

“I don’t expect you to change your mind,” said the beast.
Then, he was gone, dropped to all fours and leaping across the hallway and down
the stairs.

He wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave the door unguarded,
would he?

Beauty quietly made her way across the hallway, creeping
down the stairs one at a time until she reached the grand foyer. It was poorly
lit, and every flickering shadow made her jump, but she was finally able to
lift the barricade and push one of the heavy doors open.

It was damp and gloomy outside, the garden overgrown with
weeds and brambles. Beauty followed the path, glancing over her shoulder,
mindful of the fact that the beast might be watching through any of the
castle’s windows. The pathway was long and winding, but it finally opened up
into a clearing…revealing the highest, most forbidding wrought iron fence that
Beauty had ever seen.

The gates were wrapped in heavy chains, fixed with a rusted
lock. There was no way out.

Beauty collapsed on the ground and, for the first time since
her capture, she let herself cry.

At some point she became aware that the beast was watching
her, but she no longer cared. When her tears had finally dried, she looked up
at him, sitting there, watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Just let me go home,” she said, her voice thick from
crying. “I promise I won’t tell them about you. I promise.”

The beast snorted. He stood, twisting his body around,
pointing at a spot on his ribcage. For the first time, Beauty noticed a long
stretch where the fur grew in a different direction, as if on a scar.

“Years ago,” said the beast. “I thought I’d found my
salvation. A woman of…ill repute. Surely, she would agree to have my child for
the right amount of gold. We struck an agreement, but on the night before we
were to consummate the deal, she returned with a mob. I barely survived. They
nearly took my dear old nursemaid, the only person left in the world who cares
about me. The woman was an outcast, like me - I never thought she’d betray me,
but she thought nothing of it. Why should I trust
you
?”

Beauty sniffed. “You didn’t have to bring me here in the
first place.”

“Ask yourself what you would do, if you were in my place,”
said the beast, standing and turning back towards the castle. “Supper is nearly
ready. I would be honored if you’d join me in the dining room.”

Beauty was angry, but she was hungry, too, so she followed
him back inside. As she walked past the gardens again she tried to picture what
the place must have looked like before the curse; the bushes carved into
elaborate topiaries, the fountains running. She tried to imagine being cursed
into a beastly form. What would she do? She couldn’t quite picture herself
resorting to kidnapping, but then again, she’d never thought she would have a
dream about mating with a beast.

The dining hall was on the first floor of the castle, and it
was a grand sight. Two fireplaces blazing, candles lit all along the sides of
the room, and a veritable feast laid out on the long table. Beauty’s stomach
growled. The beast pulled out a chair for her with a flourish, and she almost
had to laugh. He hadn’t
completely
forgotten how to be human.

They sat across from each other at the grand table. The
beast ate with his hands, watching her as she cleaned her plate of roasted bird
and potatoes and pudding. She drank of the sweet spiced wine that the old woman
poured for her, sparingly, she thought, but soon her head felt light and she
was finishing her glass and pouring more.

By the time the meal was finished, she was unsteady on her
feet. The beast picked her up again, and she didn’t bother to protest when he
carried her gently up the stairs to her room and laid her out on the bed. He
stayed there, crouched on the floor beside her, still watching.

Memories of the dream came back to her, and she realized how
easy it would be for him to climb atop her and take her virtue. She wouldn’t
have the strength to fight him, even if she wanted to. Lost halfway between
reality and her dream, she reached out and stroked his fur, hearing him let out
a low noise that was almost a purr.

“I’m sorry,” she heard herself murmur. “But what would you
do, if you were me?”

The beast reached out and touched the side of her face with
the smooth curve of his claw, a strangely gentle caress. “I would protect my
virtue at all costs.”

Beauty smiled.

The same tingling heat from her dream was coming back. Her
body responded without her permission, her hips rolling and her thighs parting
as the beast’s claw travelled down the side of her neck and along the curve of
her breast. She felt her nipple pucker and harden as he brushed past it, travelling
down to her stomach before hesitating just over her navel.

Beauty sighed, her legs spreading further apart as she let
her eyes fall closed and forgot where she was.

He’d pushed her dress up to her waist. The soft back side of
his paw rested gently against her mound. She bucked her hips upwards, pressing
her aching flesh harder against it. She moaned softly.

The beast let out a low, growling chuckle. She felt the
mattress dip down as he climbed onto it. She had to open her eyes then, only to
see him crouching there between her legs.

His member didn’t look anything like she’d imagined in her
dream. It looked, she supposed, more like a man’s than a beast’s - limited
though her experience was. It was long and thick, curving up towards his soft
underbelly. Beauty felt her chest constrict, but she knew she wouldn’t have the
self-control to protest if he plunged it inside her now, thrust it into her
virgin channel until he filled her up with his seed. He stayed there for a
moment, as if ready to pounce, and she really thought he would do it.

But instead, he leaned his head forward, bringing his face
down close to her womanhood. She could feel that she was hot and swollen there,
those same sticky juices from her dream leaking out of her. The beast closed
his eyes and breathed in her scent.

Her mound was throbbing, needing so badly to be touched, but
the beast didn’t seem to be in any hurry. She felt each hot breath gusting over
her needy flesh.

“Please,” she whispered.

She’d let her eyes fall closed again, but they shot open
when she felt something warm and wet caress her intimately. The beast’s face
was buried between her legs, and he was lapping at her with his tongue, slow
and gentle at first, then faster, as she moaned and felt little ripples of
pleasure coursing through her. It was completely unlike any feeling she could
have imagined. She felt her inner muscles pulsing and quivering, building up
with some unbearable tension, and then, a burst of incredible ecstasy and
relief filled every nerve in her body. She cried out, shaking, her juices
gushing over his tongue.

A wave of delicious exhaustion came over her. She lay on the
bed, flirting with the edges of sleep, as the beast stood and slipped quietly
from the room.

-

Beauty awoke in the middle of the night to a slight noise in
her room. She turned, her head still slightly fuzzy from the wine, to see the
beast standing in the doorway, bathed in the light of the lantern he carried.
There was a small bundle of fabric under his arm.

He came up to the bed, laid the bundle beside her, and set
the lantern on the floor.

Beauty looked at him in confusion. She picked up the bundle
and unrolled it; it was her travelling cloak, with her coin purse wrapped up
inside.

“Go,” said the beast. His voice sounded even gruffer than
usual.

“What?” Beauty whispered, disbelieving.

“Go,” the beast growled, louder. “Before I change my mind.”

He bounded out of the room before she had a chance to reply.
Shaking, she lifted the lantern and ran down the stairs, to find the front door
of the castle already open. She ran down the pathway. The grand gate was open,
and there was André, his reins tied to one of the bars. He whinnied when he saw
her.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Beauty said, rubbing his muzzle.
She turned and looked at the castle. The beast was sitting in one of the
massive windows , his whole body sagging as if he carried a great burden.

Something tugged at her heart. But she unlashed André’s
reins, jumped atop him, and sent him galloping back into the forest.