Beauty of the Beast

#5

Recap:

"Yes, it was just an accident, I can be so clumsy." Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sadie forced herself to spit out the agreement.

"You should learn to be more careful. Can't have you hurting yourself, can we?" Balthazar admonished her as though speaking to a child.

"Sorry." Head hung low; she deliberately kept eye contact with the deranged shifter female in the room.

"Yes we can't have Sadie getting hurt." Blue smirked at her. "She means too much to us all."

Chapter 5

'She means too much to us all.'

Although it had been a few days since the incident, the words kept floating around her brain, stealing from her any and all peace of mind. What was the matter with the shifter female? Why did she insist on hating her so much? Was it even hate? Or was it a fierce desire to protect the man she called brother? Or did she want Balthazar for herself and somehow felt threatened by her?

All those thoughts and speculations had begun to make her head ache. Her mind was a whirlpool of emotions, should she tell Balthazar about Blue and her demonic actions, or should she keep a lid over it?

Options. Options.

Letting out a heartfelt sigh, Sadie gathered her coat and shoes,  heading for the forest outside. Even though she knew that if and when Balthazar found out, he would crush her like an ant, she needed to escape the confines of the house and be among nature. As she made her way into the forest, the beauty of the forest and the freshness of the air cleared her head, cleansing her mind and soul.

The protagonist of her life problems surfaced in the whirlpool of her thoughts, Balthazar. No matter how long they lived under the same roof, Sadie had an inkling that the man would always remain a mystery to her. Even after all time they had lived together, she had been unable to learn more than a few basic things about him. He kept to himself, didn't converse with her much, every time they were in the same room, he always seemed to be straining against something, perhaps the urge to kill her?

Regardless, she was unable to figure out the Chieftain of the shifters, and that fact irked her relentlessly. Over the weeks, she had grown to become fond of the man, for reasons she couldn't fathom, she had developed a sort of affection for the large warrior. He had an unyielding sense of honour and a code he lived his life by, and she respected that wholeheartedly. She may not agree with a few of his opinions and thoughts, but she could definitely respect a man with that much self control and honour. Too much of a coward to further analyse the thoughts and emotions regarding this rather unwanted affection or attraction to the man, she quickly diverted her attention elsewhere.

Ignorance was a blessing after all.

How is it that the homeland to such beasts and monsters of nature, can manage to be so peaceful and entrancing in its tranquility? For long, solitary hours, Sadie found herself roaming about the vast expanse of the land, lost in thought. Eventually, tired from the day's events, she decided to head back to the secluded cabin she had begun to call home, but just then realised that she'd been so caught up in enjoying the surroundings and nature, that she'd completely lost her way. For about an hour, she roamed about the leafy shadows lost and alone, fear sinking its claws deeper within her with each passing moment.

"Does Balthazar know you're out here without a guard or escort?" A voice sounded behind her.

A shrill squeak escaped as she swirled about to look at the owner of the voice, who was none other than the manifestation of her deepest, darkest nightmares, Blue. But even then she couldn't help the flow of relief through her veins.