Jax lets his yo-yo swing from side to side. “Too bad,” he says gleefully. “You’re getting punished!” He clears his throat and chants, “With magic from north, south, west, and east, I shall turn you into a beast!”

I gasp. A beast? Wait! Wait wait wait! “No!” I shout. “Don’t turn me into a beast!”

But it’s too late. I feel tingles all over my body. From my toes to my head to my fingers. And then I feel like I’m stretching. And growing.

Growing hair.

Growing hair?

I’m growing hair! On my hands! I don’t want to grow hair on my hands!

My hands are covered in hair. My arms are covered in hair. My legs are covered in hair. I am still wearing my clothes, but every part of my skin is covered in fur! I am furry!

I hear a loud howling.

Is that me?

With relief, I realize that it isn’t. It’s Prince. He’s looking at me and howling. Which is also pretty alarming.

Jax is laughing hysterically. “You took away my last beast, so now you’re a beast!”

“But I don’t want to be a beast!” I say, and I realize it’s hard to talk around my fangs.

FANGS! Agh!

Jax laughs again. “Tough luck!”

I’m panicking and my heart is racing under my furry chest. “But I have to go back to Smithville tonight! I can’t go back to Smithville as a beast!”

“Too bad!” Jax cackles.

“But there are no beasts in Smithville!”

He hangs upside down so his purple hair flops over. “There will be now!”

I want to cry. I thought I had figured everything out, but now everything is a mess! I am covered in fur. I have to turn back into me.

“Wait!” I shout at Jax. “There has to be a way out. There’s always an out. Right? Mr. Beast had to get someone to marry him. What do I have to do? And it can’t be getting someone to marry me, because I’m only ten!”

Jax snorts. “You want an out? Okay, how’s this? Stop Beauty from marrying Mr. Beast. They don’t really love each other, anyway. If they break their engagement, he’ll turn back into a beast. Forever. But you’ll be free. Good luck! Hah!” He pulls himself up by the branch and disappears right into the tree.

Prince looks up at me. I look down at him.

He barks. Then he whimpers. Then he starts to howl again.

This time I start to howl, too.

Chapter Sixteen: Do Not Look in the Mirror

I run straight back into the house and toward the mirror in the dining room.

I hear gasps all around me as I run.

“An animal broke into the palace!” Beauty cries. “Get it, get it!”

“A-Abby?” Jonah stammers. “Is that you?”

“Oh, no!” screams Mike.