“Hello?” I ask. “Hello?”

The figure doesn’t turn its head to answer, and I move closer, halting when the moonlight shows his full form.

A beast.

He throws his head back and roars.

The wind stops, leaving me bereft of any help, exposed and defenseless.

The ground cracks under my feet, and I look down to see that I’m standing atop a frozen lake.

It cracks again and the snapping echoes across the silent night, forcing the beast to turn around.

His wild and rage-filled eyes meet mine and I stumble backward. I rush to my feet and run as fast as I can.

It’s no use.

The beast tackles me from behind and my face hits the ground.

He growls against my back, and I scream.

“Let me go!” The ice continues to crack beneath us. “Please let me go!”

He flips me over, and I prepare to face death all over again.

“Why are you out of your room at night?” Gabriel’s voice falls from the beast’s lips. “I told you never to roam the outdoors unless it was daylight.”

“Gabriel?”

“Why do you make things so fucking difficult, Belle?”

My response is swallowed by the lake as I’m pulled under.

Cruel Intentions

Belle

When I regain consciousness, I’m sitting in front of a stone hearth. My foot is loosely bandaged and propped on a stool. A tray of biscuits and tea await on my right.

Sola and Lafayette stand far away from me, their faces expressionless.

“Do you think she saw him?” Sola whispers.

“Of course, she saw him.” Lafayette scoffs. “I should’ve known this plan would never work from the start.”

“You helped him to write it…”

“What exactly is he planning to do with her now?” He shakes his head. “Her family clearly doesn’t love her enough to care about getting her back, and now that she knows what he is, she’ll definitely run again. We’re double screwed.”

“Don’t say that…You don’t know that for sure. Wait, what was that about her family?”

While they whisper, I attempt to lift my right arm, but it’s far too heavy. I look at it, swallowing in horror at how swollen and raised my skin is.

My left arm looks even worse.

“I need you two to leave Belle and I alone for a moment.” Gabriel’s voice is suddenly behind me. “We need to talk.”

“At this point, do we really need to leave?” Lafayette crosses his arms. “Why can’t we all sit around and listen?”

Gabriel lets out a soft growl, and Lafayette quickly scurries from the room.

Sola walks over to me, adjusting the blanket before leaving us alone.

His footsteps hit the floor and he steps in front of me.

As a beast. Not Gabriel.

“You really are a beast.” I croak, taking in the sight of him. “How can you be…How is it possible?”

He ignores my comment and sits on the stool in front of me.