Page 66 of Red's Beast

She lets out a sigh. “I’m saying that if you accept him and he marks you, you won’t be able to kill him, but he also won’t be able to hurt you, either. Your wolf may hate his guts, but you’d be safe and maybe help the pack. That is the only benefit of mating with him. If you choose the other route, you can’t let him mark you because, like I said, you won’t be able to kill him.”

Of all the things that could happen to me, this just complicated things even further. I can't kill him if he becomes my mate. My wolf won't allow it.

Days. All I have are days until the ceremony. I try to rub my hand across my face, but the cuffs dig into my skin, making me hiss.

"Stop doing that. You're going to scar around your wrists with how much you yank those."

I lean against the wall as the tears flow freely down my face. How am I supposed to get out of this? "It doesn't matter. Corbin will not care if my wrists are scarred. He just wants my power and the control he thinks I hold over the beast."

"He's going to be in for a surprise when he realizes you do not control the beast. That little monster does whatever he wants from within the woods."

I chuckle to myself. "It's not like he hasn’t been warned. We better get some sleep."

As I move to the bed, I curl up into a ball on the thin mattress and grab the sheet. It's not much, but it protects me from the chill in the night air. The dungeon doesn't have the best heaters.

My eyes slide close, but I can't fall asleep. Everything is in the forefront of my mind and keeps me from falling asleep.

Grandmother falls into a deep sleep almost immediately. Her snores are the only way I know she's alive and well. I try shutting my eyes again, but it escapes me.

The beast's deep voice startles me.Are you having trouble sleeping, little wolf?

I sigh and roll to my side to face the wall without making my cuffs push into my skin.It's been a few days, and he hasn't let me go. I don't know what to do. Grandmother says if he marks me, I won't be able to kill him. I mean, I can save the pack from him, but it means a life of torture for me.

A low growl comes through the bond, his voice becoming guttural.Why are you talking like you've given up?

Because this is how my life is. I'm between a rock and a hard place.Suddenly, I feel him poking around in my mind.What are you doing?

You have all the answers you need to defeat him. Why can't you see that?

I hear his growl of frustration, but I'm not even sure what answers he thinks I have.Theories are all I have and I'm not sure how accurate they are. You and Grandmother both swear it's a decision I have to make, or I know the answer, but you neither can give me any more information. The only thing she could confirm is that the story I told you is about you and that the witch who cursed you did so because her magic didn’t work on you. That is all the strength I have left, beast. I need to sleep.

Shutting the bond closed, I can feel his minor panic as it snaps shut. I'm tired and all I want is to sleep. Honestly, I'd rather wake up and this all be a nightmare, but I'm not that lucky. When I wake up, I will still be here in this dungeon, facing the same nightmare I am going through right now. Nothing will change because I have slept.

Finally, I fall into a restless sleep. Images haunt me of Corbin chasing me through the woods, but I'm not sure why. All I know is that I have to keep moving, just a few more steps, then all goes dark before the next dream takes over.

I see this man I've never seen before standing before a stream. He's drenched in sweat from running, but I can't see what he had been trying to escape until this woman steps out from the trees. "Natalia, you can't do this," he says.

“Oh, but I can. You are mine,” she says in a sultry voice as she strokes her fingers down her side.”

“You are not my fated mate, Natalia. I don’t feel the bond between us, so I can’t be yours.”

"Is that your final answer?"

"Natalia, it can never be." He looks sincere, but takes another step back as he prepares for an attack from her.

She laughs. "Then I curse you to roam these woods that you tried to escape me in. You will forever be a beast, and there is only one way to end it."

"No, don't do this, please." He holds his hands up, but she blasts him with magic.

As she stalks closer, she leans over him with a wicked smile. "The only way to break it is -"

Beast

I've relived that same nightmare for years when Lily hasn’t visited me in my dreams. Waking with a jolt, I realize I'm lying in the woods. The very ones I was cursed to roam all those years ago.

Since connecting with Lily, the dreams have stopped, but with her shutting the bond between us, they have returned. I feel unsettled as I look up at the night sky. The stars don't seem to shine as brightly as they normally do.

That wicked woman. All because I didn't love her, so she puts a ridiculous stipulation in it on how I could break it. The girl wasn't even my mate, but she swore she was the love of my life. Not to mention she hated the white wolves with a passion for some odd reason.

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