The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series)

Chapter 4- Steven

"Your Majesty," my Beta, Cameron, said, coming into my room, followed by my Gamma. They bowed their heads when I growled at them. Cameron cleared his throat and fidgeted. "Another person has entered your castle."

"It is a girl, Your Majesty," my Gamma, Louis, said. "What if she is the one?"

I growled at my Gamma. I lost hope in finding my mate and having her accept me looking like this. There was no way of getting someone to love a Beast like me. "Why did you let a girl in?" I asked growling. "Why was I not told that she was even on my land?"

"The link between the kingdom has been severed, Your Majesty," my Gamma replied. "We caught sight of her making her way down to the cellar where the other prisoner is in."

"And who kept the cellar unlocked. I thought I ordered you two to lock it," I roared, banging my fist against my desk. The sound of crashing glass filled my ears, but I ignored whatever been broken.

"W-w-w-we. I- I mean-" my Beta stuttered. He fidgeted, his tail tucking underneath his legs.

"We did, Your Majesty," my Gamma said, calmer than Cameron. "She just... unlocked with a lockpick."

"Then why didn't you stop her?"

"You told, excuse me, ordered us not to interfere with whoever came into the castle. You said that you would handle it," Louis replied.

"Are you getting smart with me?" I roared, getting in the face of my Gamma. I snarled, and he looked down and submitted.

"No, Your Majesty," he replied.

"Make sure that she doesn't escape," I snarled. I started to walk that way when I felt my human start to move in the confines of our mind.

'Don't fuck this up. I've learned my lesson,' he said.

'If you didn't do this, then we wouldn't be in this position,' I reminded him.

He huffed but didn't say a word.

***

"Leave, Belle," the old man said. "Please, there are monsters here. Beasts that are coveted in all fur. They will kill you."

"I can't lose you, Papa," a female said. There were some fiddling and a soft curse. "I am not going to leave you here to die."

"Then you can get killed yourself. I am old, and my time has come. I have accepted the fact that I will die."

"No, i-" She stopped when the dog barked. "Who's there?" she asked her voice level and firm. "Show yourself."

I chuckled darkly. "You will be afraid as he was," I replied. I took a deep breath, and from the musty scent of the cellar, I smelt this beautiful scent that smelled like some girly perfume.

'It's lavender, Stupid,' my Human said. 'And she is our mate, so don't fuck up. I already did enough for both of us.' Guilt filled him, and I scoffed and blocked him out of our shared mind.

She was silent, and a snap and that Goddess awful barking stopped. "I probably have seen worse," she replied. There was a pause. "I am armed, so don't try anything stupid."

"I would suggest that you didn't try anything stupid," I said, stepping into her line of sight. My ears twitched on the top of my head, and a part of me was stunned when I did not hear three raised heartbeats. I just heard the male's and the dog's heartbeat go faster.

The female, whose heart did not beat faster, held the knife higher. Her eyes were trained on me, but she didn't look me in the eye. "Let him out. He did nothing wrong."

"He trespassed onto my property," I growled. I took a menacing step forward, and the knife rose higher. I could see that it was made of pure silver, and I couldn't help but wonder how she had gotten it. "He will be killed."

"For what? For getting lost? Don't you think that is a bit extreme?" she asked. "This is our first day here. My father was trying to find his way to the university that he will be working."

"It will be done." I glared at my two companions when Louis cleared his throat. A snarl appeared on my face when Louis tried to mouth 'mate.' I did not know that he would have known that she was my mate. Unless... the Moon Goddess had made sure that I would be able to find my mate and the whole Wolf population would know of their future queen.

The girl sighed, and I looked at her. She had lowered her arm, and the knife dropped from her hand. Her head was down with a strand of brown hair falling into her face. "Take me instead. Let him go. If you want to, then kill me."

"And what about your life? Don't you value that?" I asked.

She shook her head and looked up at me. "If I valued my life, I wouldn't have said for you to take me." She held her hand, probably silencing the old man. "He deserves to be happy and be at that house. He shouldn't have to worry about me."

If I was honest with myself, I was shocked to hear her not be afraid to die. What was a bit odd was that she looked as if she was ready to take his place. "Fine," I said, and the father muttered a soft, "no." "You will stay here as my prisoner. He will be free. If he tells anyone what he sees, he will die, and so will you. Do you understand?"

The female nodded her head. Her shoulders sagged a bit with relief as she turned around and clutched the bars putting her hand over his. Her finger twitched, and I didn't understand what she was doing. "You have to trust me, Papa," she said, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "Amara is waiting for you. Take her and go home. I will see you when I can."

"Not going to happen," I snarled. I grabbed her by the hair and threw her into a different cell, followed by the dog. I growled when it growled at me and kicked it into the cell. I closed the cell and turned to look at my Beta and Gamma. "Take him and make sure that he leaves this place. Don't come back until it is done."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said and started to do what I had told them to do.

I looked at my mate and growled. "I hope you know what you have done."

She looked at me from rubbing her head, her eyes cold. "I know what I had done. I saved a life."