-ROYCE-
After leaving Arabella, I headed straight down to the dungeons. Some of the guards had happily escorted the attacker to his new home and taken the liberty of inflicting some pain on the dirty scum that dared force himself on a woman against her will. I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips when I saw him hunched over in the back corner of his cell, his skin covered in bruises and blood. “It’s not nice having someone attack you is it?”, I asked as I stepped to the door, “You can leave,” I ordered the guards, waving them away. They both bowed silently and left, not questioning their Alpha. I pulled the door open and stepped into the cell. “Well?” I asked, kneeling down beside him. He lifted his head to look at me, his face was badly swollen and I doubted he could even see me properly through his left eye that was completely closed over. “I’ve never seen you before, I’ve not done anything to you,
This story- although a fairy-tale- doesn’t begin with once upon a time nor does it end in happily ever after. No, our story begins in a small town- not too far from here- where an ambitious young girl called Arabella lives with her widowed father, Abraham. Arabella doesn’t come from a large or rich family, it is just her and her alcoholic father that live in the small two-bedroom townhouse in the middle of the small, yet quaint township of Redwood.Arabella’s mother passed away when she was but a baby, though her father never told her the exact story behind it. He brought Arabella to Redwood shortly after, and began their new life. When Arabella was seven years old, she began to notice her father’s strange behaviour and that he spent an awful lot of his time at the local tavern, drowning his sorrows at the bar.At the age of ten, Arabella had her first experience with the cruelty that her father had bottled up inside of him. That night, she push
-ARABELLA-“Good morning Arabella, I trust you enjoyed last night’s reading”, Finnigan greeted me as I wandered into the library. “It was quite enlightening my dear Finnigan, but I wonder if there might be something more-“ I paused, trying to find the appropriate way to word my question, “involved, for me to read?”, I asked, smiling at the look on his face as he realised what I was asking.“Well, this one here is a little more in the genre that you’re wanting, but other than this, I’m afraid I don’t have anything else that will satiate your needs young Arabella”, he frowned, handing me the book in question. I sighed when I read the title. “I know you’ve already read it once or twice, but it really is all I have that is even close to what you’re looking for. Maybe when I’m in one of the larger towns I can see what I can muster up for you?”, he said, shrugging slightly.
-ROYCE-For so long I have been on my own, wallowing in my eternal misery. My mind drifted to my beautiful wife and the son that I lost all those years ago, wondering if they were at peace wherever they were. The horrific images of that fateful night flashed before my eyes, causing my heart to accelerate and my senses to heighten. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat and took a deep breath, fighting for control against the beast inside of me. I looked down at my hands, realising that I had pulverised the cup that I was holding.“Sebastian?!”, I called out. “Yes sire”, he answered, poking his head around the door. “Fetch me another cup please, I’m afraid this one is quite useless now”, I ordered then dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Sebastian nodded hastily and then pulled the door closed. My servants came in handy most of the time, although at times I wished that I had someone to talk to, someone to share my life wi
-ROYCE-I paced the halls, awaiting Helena’s mind-link. I’d heard from her not five minutes earlier when she let me know that they had managed to pick up the foul man’s scent, but that he had been all over the town in the last day. I prayed that they would find him soon, I didn’t know how long I could keep my beast tamed now that Arabella was awake and overtaking every sense within me.“I will let you know as soon as we find him, sire”, Helena mind-linked, “Get some rest.” I nodded to myself and made my way to my sleeping quarters. My room was magnificent, with a wall of bookshelves covering the north wall, a luxurious hand-carved king-sized bed complete with bear skin blankets and the softest woven silk sheets. The walls were adorned with paintings that my wife had collected and portraits that she insisted we had commissioned. Although the room was large and full, it felt unsurprisingly hollow; empty. My mind couldn&rsqu
-ARABELLA-My eyes fluttered open and were immediately drawn to a tall, gangly man, his hair as red as a raging inferno. “Who are you?”, I managed to ask, my voice sounding hoarse and dry. His ocean blue eyes fell on me and a small smile pulled at the side of his lips, “It’s good to see you awake, Miss. The healer was unsure if his remedy would bring you out of your slumber.”“And how long have I been asleep for?”, I asked cautiously, my eyes assessing this strange man with the fiery hair sitting messily atop his head. I had never seen anyone with hair such a brilliant shade of crimson, I doubt anybody in my town had either; everyone was so plain there. “Two days, Miss”, he answered carefully, entwining his long slender fingers, “Is there anything I can fetch for you? Water and a bite to eat perhaps?”Although I was unsure of my whereabouts and alone in a room with a complete stranger, I felt an o
-ARABELLA- *FLASHBACK* (Ten years earlier) “Where are we going?”, Arabella asked her father as he pulled her roughly towards the town square. “The king has an announcement to make and has ordered all the townsfolk to attend”, he replied gruffly, tightening his hold on her wrist and quickening his steps. Arabella remembered seeing the king once or twice before; he had always seemed grouchy and displeased. When they arrived, the town square was crowded and the hum of conversation filled the air. Arabella noticed a large wooden stage had been erected by the fountain and at least twenty men surrounded it, their eyes focussed on the ever-growing crowd. Arabella’s father came to a stop when they were but a few feet away from the stage and finally released her now throbbing wrist from his grasp. Arabella looked around nervously and spotted her new friend Finnigan standing nearby. She smiled when he gave her a small wave. Finnigan had been teaching Arabella h
-ROYCE-After leaving Arabella, I headed straight down to the dungeons. Some of the guards had happily escorted the attacker to his new home and taken the liberty of inflicting some pain on the dirty scum that dared force himself on a woman against her will. I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips when I saw him hunched over in the back corner of his cell, his skin covered in bruises and blood. “It’s not nice having someone attack you is it?”, I asked as I stepped to the door, “You can leave,” I ordered the guards, waving them away. They both bowed silently and left, not questioning their Alpha. I pulled the door open and stepped into the cell. “Well?” I asked, kneeling down beside him. He lifted his head to look at me, his face was badly swollen and I doubted he could even see me properly through his left eye that was completely closed over. “I’ve never seen you before, I’ve not done anything to you,
-ARABELLA- *FLASHBACK* (Ten years earlier) “Where are we going?”, Arabella asked her father as he pulled her roughly towards the town square. “The king has an announcement to make and has ordered all the townsfolk to attend”, he replied gruffly, tightening his hold on her wrist and quickening his steps. Arabella remembered seeing the king once or twice before; he had always seemed grouchy and displeased. When they arrived, the town square was crowded and the hum of conversation filled the air. Arabella noticed a large wooden stage had been erected by the fountain and at least twenty men surrounded it, their eyes focussed on the ever-growing crowd. Arabella’s father came to a stop when they were but a few feet away from the stage and finally released her now throbbing wrist from his grasp. Arabella looked around nervously and spotted her new friend Finnigan standing nearby. She smiled when he gave her a small wave. Finnigan had been teaching Arabella h
-ARABELLA-My eyes fluttered open and were immediately drawn to a tall, gangly man, his hair as red as a raging inferno. “Who are you?”, I managed to ask, my voice sounding hoarse and dry. His ocean blue eyes fell on me and a small smile pulled at the side of his lips, “It’s good to see you awake, Miss. The healer was unsure if his remedy would bring you out of your slumber.”“And how long have I been asleep for?”, I asked cautiously, my eyes assessing this strange man with the fiery hair sitting messily atop his head. I had never seen anyone with hair such a brilliant shade of crimson, I doubt anybody in my town had either; everyone was so plain there. “Two days, Miss”, he answered carefully, entwining his long slender fingers, “Is there anything I can fetch for you? Water and a bite to eat perhaps?”Although I was unsure of my whereabouts and alone in a room with a complete stranger, I felt an o
-ROYCE-I paced the halls, awaiting Helena’s mind-link. I’d heard from her not five minutes earlier when she let me know that they had managed to pick up the foul man’s scent, but that he had been all over the town in the last day. I prayed that they would find him soon, I didn’t know how long I could keep my beast tamed now that Arabella was awake and overtaking every sense within me.“I will let you know as soon as we find him, sire”, Helena mind-linked, “Get some rest.” I nodded to myself and made my way to my sleeping quarters. My room was magnificent, with a wall of bookshelves covering the north wall, a luxurious hand-carved king-sized bed complete with bear skin blankets and the softest woven silk sheets. The walls were adorned with paintings that my wife had collected and portraits that she insisted we had commissioned. Although the room was large and full, it felt unsurprisingly hollow; empty. My mind couldn&rsqu
-ROYCE-For so long I have been on my own, wallowing in my eternal misery. My mind drifted to my beautiful wife and the son that I lost all those years ago, wondering if they were at peace wherever they were. The horrific images of that fateful night flashed before my eyes, causing my heart to accelerate and my senses to heighten. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat and took a deep breath, fighting for control against the beast inside of me. I looked down at my hands, realising that I had pulverised the cup that I was holding.“Sebastian?!”, I called out. “Yes sire”, he answered, poking his head around the door. “Fetch me another cup please, I’m afraid this one is quite useless now”, I ordered then dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Sebastian nodded hastily and then pulled the door closed. My servants came in handy most of the time, although at times I wished that I had someone to talk to, someone to share my life wi
-ARABELLA-“Good morning Arabella, I trust you enjoyed last night’s reading”, Finnigan greeted me as I wandered into the library. “It was quite enlightening my dear Finnigan, but I wonder if there might be something more-“ I paused, trying to find the appropriate way to word my question, “involved, for me to read?”, I asked, smiling at the look on his face as he realised what I was asking.“Well, this one here is a little more in the genre that you’re wanting, but other than this, I’m afraid I don’t have anything else that will satiate your needs young Arabella”, he frowned, handing me the book in question. I sighed when I read the title. “I know you’ve already read it once or twice, but it really is all I have that is even close to what you’re looking for. Maybe when I’m in one of the larger towns I can see what I can muster up for you?”, he said, shrugging slightly.
This story- although a fairy-tale- doesn’t begin with once upon a time nor does it end in happily ever after. No, our story begins in a small town- not too far from here- where an ambitious young girl called Arabella lives with her widowed father, Abraham. Arabella doesn’t come from a large or rich family, it is just her and her alcoholic father that live in the small two-bedroom townhouse in the middle of the small, yet quaint township of Redwood.Arabella’s mother passed away when she was but a baby, though her father never told her the exact story behind it. He brought Arabella to Redwood shortly after, and began their new life. When Arabella was seven years old, she began to notice her father’s strange behaviour and that he spent an awful lot of his time at the local tavern, drowning his sorrows at the bar.At the age of ten, Arabella had her first experience with the cruelty that her father had bottled up inside of him. That night, she push