“I think that’s more than obvious…”

He narrows his eyes at me, and I narrow mine in return.

“Here’s the thing, Belle.” He lowers his voice and grabs me by the waist, stilling me in place. “You belong to me now. You’re one-hundred-percent mine, until I get what I need in exchange for you.”

“Let go of me,” I try to pull away from him, but he only tightens his grip.

“If I tell you to do something from here on out, you’ll do it without hesitation,” he whispers into my ear. “If you try to run away from me again, I’ll order my men to shoot you in the back.”

“Tell them to do it now,” I say. “I fully intend to slash you in your sleep.”

“Good to know, since I’ll never let you see that.” He tightens his grip even more, stealing my breath. “Say, ‘I belong to you, Gabriel.’”

“Never.”

“I’ll give you one more chance to obey me.”

“Give me a million and the results will be the same.”

“Belle—”

“I left that ‘Fuck You’ note behind for a reason.” I spit on his hand, and he lets me go. “Did you have a problem reading it, or do you struggle with comprehension?”

“I see how you’re going to be.” He clenches his jaw. “You’ll walk for this entire journey unless you come to your goddamn senses. Everyone else rides on horseback…”

A Daunting Journey

Gabriel

Later that Night

Werewolves howl in anguish from afar, warning weary travelers to stay on the protected paths that glimmer with moon dust. They’re hungry and searching for fresh flesh tonight, but I’m not concerned about being their prey.

I’ve never been their type.

“Hey, uh, Boss,” Lafayette whispers from his horse. “It’s almost been a full day.”

“And?”

“Don’t you think you should, um… Let our lady prisoner onto a horse now?”

I look over my shoulder, spotting Belle walking between two of my most trusted riders. She hasn’t lost a step the entire day, and while a few of my men have requested that we take brief breaks for relief, she hasn’t begged for anything once.

Sensing my stare, her emerald green eyes meet mine.

She lifts an imaginary dagger to her throat, mouthing, “Don’t sleep.”

I smile as she mimes other threats, and I can’t help but notice how other men are stealing glimpses of her, too.

Her mouth is definitely going to be a problem for me, but I can’t deny that her beauty is utterly unparalleled.

“I think she’s more than fine,” I say, turning around again. “When she stops being defiant and tells me who she belongs to, I’ll let her onto a horse.”

“But Boss—”

“She’s fine.” I refuse to entertain the subject anymore. “Drop it.”

“Okay…” He twiddles his thumbs. “Well, um, how many days do you think it’ll take us to get to the castle this time?”

“Depends,” I say. “We need to catch Mr. Arwyn and Isabelle first. I don’t believe either of them got that far.”