Chapter 7 Beast
Seven
Beast
I stand at the gates long after Belle’s disappeared into the forest, long after the sound of hoofbeats has faded, long after any sane person would have gone back inside. But I’m not sane. I’m a Beast who just let his mate walk away.
“Sire?” Gideon’s voice comes from behind me. “Perhaps you should come inside.”
“No.”
“She said she’ll come back. She said, she loves you.”
I still don’t move.
“Sire…”
“Leave me alone, Gideon.”
For once, he listens.
I don’t know how long I stand there. Hours maybe. Until the sun sets and the air grows cold. Until our bond starts to ache from her absence.
Finally, I turn and walk back into the castle.
It feels empty without her. So damn empty…
* * *
The first day, I tell myself she’ll be back soon. A day, maybe two. Just long enough to check on her father. I can handle that.
I spend most of it in our library, surrounded by her scent. My little omega was so happy here, so excited by all the books. The memory makes my chest tight.
“She’s coming back,” I say out loud, just to hear the words.
By evening, Louise brings me food to the library.
“You need to eat, sire,” she says gently.
I look at the tray. There’s bread, meat, cheese, and fruit. All the things Belle likes. My stomach turns.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Sire…”
“I said I’m not hungry!” I below.
The teapot rattles on her tray, and I feel even more like shit.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I’m sorry, Louise. I just…”
“I know.” Her voice softens. “But you still need to eat. For when she comes back.”
When. Not if.
I force down some bread to make her happy, but it tastes like ash.
That night, I sleep in our bed. Well, my bed now, I suppose. Belle’s scent is everywhere. On the pillows, the sheets, soaked into the mattress from days of heat and claiming .
I bury my face in her pillow and try not to think about how empty everything feels without her.
* * *
The second day gets worse.
I wake up reaching for her, and the crushing disappointment when I only find an empty spot by my side nearly breaks me.
The bond has gone from an ache to a constant pull, urging me to go after my mate to bring her back. To claim her again and never let her leave.
But I can’t, because she didn’t want to stay. That thought sits heavy in my gut.
“She wanted to help her father,” Rosalie tries when she finds me pacing the throne room. “That’s all. It doesn’t mean…”
“It means she chose him over me.”
“That’s not…”
“It is.” I round on the mirror. “She chose her old life. Her family. Her village. Everything that isn’t… this.” I gesture at myself. “Isn’t me.”
“You’re being dramatic.”
“I’m being realistic.” I slump on my throne, the same one where I fucked her just days ago, where she rode me and screamed my name. “The curse said she had to choose me. She didn’t.”
“She said, she loves you.”
“Words are easy.” My voice cracks.
Rosalie is quiet for a beat. Then she adds, “Give her time, sire. She’ll come back.”
But her voice lacks conviction.
I don’t eat that day. Can’t stomach the thought of food.
That night, I can’t sleep in our bed. Can’t stand the ghost of her scent, the memory of her warmth.
I end up in the rose garden instead, among the thorns and petals where this all started.
And that’s when I notice it. The enchanted rose, the one the enchantress left me, the one tied to the curse, is sitting on its pedestal under glass. It’s been glowing softly red for decades, unchanged. But now, one petal looks… duller.
I stare at it, cold dread spreading in my stomach.
“No,” I whisper.
The curse. The rose. They’re connected to the hope that love will break the spell. And if Belle doesn’t come back…
Another petal fades as I watch.
“Fuck.”
* * *
The next day, I stop pretending. She’s not coming back. Three days is more than long enough to check on an old man, make sure he’s good, and set up help. If she was coming back, she’d be here by now.
The bond has gone from pulling to screaming. It’s constant agony, like something vital inside me is being ripped away.
“Sire, please.” Louise finds me in the rose garden again, staring at the dying rose. Three petals have faded now. “You have to eat something. You’re getting weak.”
“Good.”
“That’s not…”
“I said good!” I roar, and she startles. “Let the curse finish what it started. Let it all end. What’s the fucking point anymore?”
“The point is, Ms. Belle might still come back…”
“She’s not coming back!” The words tear out of me. “She chose her family. Her village. Her life without a monster. And I don’t blame her. Why would she come back to this? To me?”
I gesture at myself… the fur, the fangs and claws, the beast that no amount of love could ever make handsome.
“Because she’s your mate,” Louise says quietly.
My laugh is bitter. “The curse said she had to choose me. Not just accept our bond. She didn’t.”
Another petal fades. That’s four now.
“How many are left?” I ask hoarsely.
“Sire…”
“How many, Louise?”
“Six,” she whispers.
Six petals until the curse becomes permanent. Until I’m trapped in this form forever, alone in my castle with my eternal regrets. And maybe that’s all I deserve.
“Leave me,” I tell Louise.
“But…”
“Please.”
She finally goes, and I’m alone with the dying rose and my dying hope.
* * *
I don’t bother leaving the garden anymore. Can’t see the point.
The servants try. They all try. Gideon, as a true soldier, lectures me about giving up. Rosalie tries gentle encouragement. Adrien rambles about true love conquering all.
I ignore them all.
The bond feels like someone’s trying to rip my heart out through my ribs. Every breath hurts. Every moment without her is torture.
I should go after her. Some part of me knows that. Storm into that village and throw my mate over my shoulder. Claim her all over again. And keep her forever. But I can’t. If I force her… if I take away her choice… then I’m still the monster I was all those years ago.
So, I lie in my garden and watch my enchanted rose die.
There are five petals gone now. And five left.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to no one. To her, maybe, wherever she is. “I’m sorry I wasn’t enough.”
The bond doesn’t answer. Just pulls and aches, slowly tearing me apart.
* * *
Then that night, I feel it. A sharp, sudden pain in my chest. Like our bond is being torn from my chest. Breaking.
I curl into myself with a sound that’s half roar, half sob.
She’s not coming back.
The knowledge settles into my bones, heavy and final.
I’ll die here, in this garden, surrounded by my roses and endless regrets. The curse will claim me. The castle will fade. My poor servants will stay trapped here forever because I couldn’t be someone worth choosing.
Another petal fades.
* * *
The next morning, I stop moving. I’m sprawled in the garden, barely conscious, when I hear footsteps.
“Sire.” Rosalie’s voice sounds far away. “Sire, please. You have to get up.”
“Why?”
“Because giving up isn’t who you are.”
“I don’t know who I am anymore, Rosalie.”
“I’ve known you since you were born,” she says firmly. “And you’re not a quitter. You’re proud, stubborn, and way too determined to let anything beat you. Even something as big as this.”
My voice is barely a whisper. “She chose to leave.”
“She chose to help her father. That’s different.”
“Is it?”
Rosalie is quiet. Because we both know the truth. If Belle wanted to come back, she would have by now. But she hasn’t.
“The rose,” I manage. “How many…”
“Three petals left, sire.”
Three. I close my eyes. At least it’ll be over soon.
The bond gives another sharp tug, and I choke with the pain of it.
“I love you,” I whisper into the darkness, hoping she can hear me somewhere in the space between our souls. Hoping the bond carries my words even as it breaks. “I love you, Belle. And I understand. I do. You deserve better than a Beast.”
Another petal falls. Only two left now. I can feel myself fading. The edges of my consciousness blurring. Everything going dark, distant, cold. And maybe it’s better this way. Maybe…
Then I hear a sound. It’s faint, distant, but there. Are those… hoofbeats?
I try to lift my head, but I can’t. I can barely breathe.
I feel our bond pulse again; it feels different this time. Reaching.
“Pierre!” Oh my God, it’s her voice! “Pierre, where are you?”
I must be hallucinating. Dying. Because she’s not here. She’s home with her father, where she belongs, where she chose to be.
“The garden!” Someone else calls from near me…Rosalie? “He’s in the rose garden! Hurry!”
I hear footsteps. Running. I try to open my eyes, but everything’s just so heavy.
“No. No, no, no…” My omega’s voice is closer now. “Pierre! Pierre, wake up!”
Her hand touches my face. It feels warm and gentle.
Belle. It’s Belle. My beauty has returned!
I force my eyes open, and there she is. Kneeling by my side. Tears streaming down her perfect face, her soft hands on my face.
“You came back,” I rasp weakly.
“Of course, I came back!” She’s crying hard. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I took so long, my Beast. Please, Pierre, please don’t leave me…”
Behind her, I can see the rose. One petal left. The last one, and then…
“I love you,” I whisper. “Even if it’s too late. Even if I’m not enough. I love you, Belle.”
“You are enough!” She leans down, pressing her lips to mine. “You’re everything. And I love you. I choose you. Do you hear me? I choose you, Beast. I choose…”
The last petal falls. And everything goes white.