Beauty of the Beast

#3

Recap:

                 

"So, as a human you are at a constant disadvantage, you're weaker than us, some might even force you into a claiming. I cannot help you if you bear a male's scent and mark. Therefore I have come up with the perfect solution."

"Which is?" Although thoroughly dreading the answer, Sadie could not stop herself from the need to know what the powerful man in front of her had decided for her.

"You, Sadie Kingston, are coming to live with me in my residence."

Chapter 3:

                 

Utterly astounded, surprise and shock consumed her senses as Sadie sat looking at the formidable chieftain in front of her. What would possess him to propose such an arrangement? She knew very well that the rest of the hostages or 'peace offerings' were being housed in this very building. And to her knowledge none of them had been offered the choice of going to live in the home of the resident leader. Forehead creased in frustration as she turned the situation this way and that in her mind in order to get a better understanding of the motives behind such an offer.

"Why?" she found herself uttering.

"Why? I just told you why." He huffed in irritation.

"I just can't understand why you would ask that of me."

"You are the sole human female in the mountain regions at this very moment, I do not want ill to befall you in future encounter with any of the resident shifters. You may have spent all your life in a wolf pack, but this is nowhere near what you are accustomed to. Low landers, in general are more accepting of humans, and tend to fit in well with them. The breeds raised in the mountains are harsh and hostile, if a male likes you, he will take you, regardless of your wish and seduce you till you don't want to leave."

"But-" Sadie protested.

"I know my people. I know what will become of you. You are small and easier to subdue than the shifter females. Gather your clothing, I will escort you to the house." The chieftain cut in. On seeing her mutinous expression, he let out a small growl, which had Sadie running to gather her clothes into one of the delivery bags they'd been brought in earlier.

Balthazar kept a constant watch on her, silently observing her every movement. He could see the way her hands shook as she valiantly struggled to fit all the bundles of clothing into the small bag. What had overcome him to take this step, even he knew not. Never before had he been seized by a curiosity this alluring and powerful, all he wanted to do was investigate the human. Being brought up the way he had, he'd had little – to none at all-contact with most of the shifter breeds themselves, let alone the weaker human race. His had been a life wrought with hardship and turmoil, but he never found himself craving for normalcy, for this was all he knew. He had never had the opportunity to see life like the others in the tribe. Balthazar was fascinated by the human as he had never in his thirty-three summers, known a human female. The males of this species were odd, obsessed with material and monetary gain, but from what he had seen so far, this female was content with the very basic of necessities and did not seem to want riches and glory. But who was he to know, he was a mere observer, and had barely spent a half hour in her presence.

"Quicken your pace if you want us to reach my home before nightfall." He did not know whether humans were able to see as well as shifters in the dark of the night, but was not willing to take a chance at the moment.

Sadie Kingston, posed a problem to his sanity, she had managed to rouse the monster he kept tightly leashed; his curiosity. How, or when? He knew not.