Alexandre was huddled in the corner of a cell. Fever racked his body and sweat glistened atop his pale skin. He had been given a bed of hay and blankets to keep warm, but his body felt cold. Felt cold as death as he trembled beneath the wool blanket. He felt searing pain across his backside from where the wolves had snatched at him with their claws. Claws. Talons similar to the beast that lurked in this very castle. The beast that roared at him to hurry into those giant wrought iron gates. He didn't know if letting the wolves feast on him would be a more pleasant death than the beast that crouched on the other side of the castles threshold. He only thought of his daughter Colette and wanting to see her face again before taking the latter.
One look at the beast had him fainting and when he awoke he found himself in this cell, linen cloth wrapped around his abdomen and backside. A platter of food and a pitcher of water laid beside him on the ground. A single sconce was lit above him on the wall. The flame didn't do much to disperse the damp, darkness of the cell.
He groveled over to the bucket of water that had been placed inside and pulled the rag out from it to wipe at his face. Pain raced up his back and he fought the urge to vomit.
How could he have been so careless? He did not think to carry a gun with him while traveling. He hardly ever came across any dangerous animals in his previous travels, but he somehow lost their way through the thicket this time and now the consequences laid heavy on his body.
He pulled aside the blanket to examine his wooden leg. Half of it had been torn off by one of the wolves and he vaguely remembered launching for it and bringing the splintered end into the side of a thick, white neck. The wolfs yelp sent him scrambling through the brush, frantically crawling on his hands and knees before spilling out of the trees into an open area. There he was, three- four meters away from the gates of a castle.
Hope racketed through his wounded body as he dragged himself towards it. He could hear the rustle of twigs and leaves as the wolves neared him, catching onto his bloody scent as they found their way out of the woods. He didn't know if he would have enough time to reach the stone fortress.
A fierce roar sounded over the towering stone walls as he fought against muddy earth towards the sound. It did not sound wholly animal and perhaps that was enough motivation for him to continue to crawl.
He was two meters away from the gates when they swung open and a large black beast with horns protruding from its head kneeled on the other side of it.
The breathe left his body as he beheld the beast. It's striking orange eyes, the shiny black mane that poured around its human like face, aside from the rounded snout and glistening canines. It wore a loose collard shirt that hung past it's waist.
"Hurry," it growled, ushering him to crawl faster with its mighty paw and razor sharp talons.
Alexandre looked over his shoulder to see the wolves bounding towards him.
He didn't waste any time as he mustered what strength he had left in him to pull himself onto his knees and hurriedly crawl toward the gates.
"Faster," the beast seethed. Tendrils of smoke curled from out of its mouth.
Would his death be quicker than that of the wolves, Alexandre thought as he flung himself at the feet of the beast and the gates behind him swung closed with a loud ring.
He looked up into the beast fiery gaze and saw a flicker of something human before blacking out.
YOU ARE READING
Beastly Desires
RomanceNo. It couldn't be. Why would she desire him and in that way specifically? He was a beast. He wasn't entirely human. He was going to let her father die in a cell. He mared Aarvas face. He stole Celeste's maidenhead. There were plenty of reasons to h...
