A part of me is tempted to toss her, her mouthiness, and her blatant denial off my horse, but a bigger part of me that I can’t explain has been intrigued since the day we met and I can’t bear to let her go.

If only you were the right girl…

The Rules of the Game

Belle

Where the hell am I?

I can feel silk sheets covering my skin and something warm pressed against my forehead. I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids won’t budge.

Breathing slowly, I attempt to sit up, but it’s no use. My legs are numb, and I have no control over my hands.

I’m starting to believe that I’ve ascended into the heavens, and the werewolves devoured me alive.

“She ate a poisoned apple, probably more than one.” Gabriel’s deep voice shatters that idea. “You need to draw the rest of the poison from her stomach by nightfall.”

“I will.” Sola’s voice follows. “Are we still making good time on this trip?”

“Yes, but it’s not thanks to the two of you.” Gabriel heaves a heavy sigh. “Come get me when she’s fully recovered.”

“We’re not leaving her for the wolves when she wakes?”

“We should,” he says. “But no. We’ll camp here in the dwarves’ quarters until she’s better. Lafayette found a new route, so we have a little more time.”

“Good to hear.” She sounds relieved. “That’s very kind of you.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Wait one second, Gabriel.”

“What else do you need?”

“There are two deep red marks on her neck, and others on her chest. I don’t think these came from eating the apples.”

“What’s your point?”

“They look like kisses.” She lowers her voice. “Very passionate, primal kisses.”

“I have no idea how she got those…”

The next time I come to, I’m naked and sitting against the jagged edge of a warm spring. Although the air smells like fresh rain, the sun hangs alone and high in a cloudless sky.

Mint leaves and jasmine blooms are floating in the waters around me, and someone is running a brush through my hair.

“Try not to move too much, Belle.” Sola whispers into my ear. “You haven’t regained all of your strength yet.”

I open my mouth to speak, but my throat aches in pain.

“You shouldn’t try to talk either.” She wades in front of me, completely naked as well.

“Just use your head,” she says. “Do you remember anything about the past five days of traveling? After you were rescued?”

It’s been five days? I shake my head, and she shoots me a sympathetic look.

“Hmmm.” She presses a cloth against my shoulder. “You have to promise to listen to me from here on out, okay?”

I nod.

“You can only eat the green and yellow apples in the forest,” she says. “Never, ever trust the red.”