Page 1 of Falling for the Beast

Prologue

Thaddeus pounded on the door,fury sweeping through him making him quiver. The teenaged daughter answered, wide eyes staring at him.

“I demand to see her. Get her at once!”

The daughter disappeared into the house. The old woman walked up to the door, her lips pinched together, her gray hair pulled tight. “Yes?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know why I’m back.”

“As I recall, you agreed to the terms.”

He clenched his fists. “But you tricked me. And I want it reversed.”

“You must know I can’t do that.”

Thaddeus gritted his teeth and pounded on the door frame, cracking the wood. He grabbed her shirt, pulling her to his face. “Find a way!”

The old woman muttered something under her breath. It sounded like a different language.

“What are you doing?”

She continued speaking, her voice low and monotonous.

A humming started in his ears and grew louder until it screeched. He let go of the woman and fell to his knees, hands over his ears. “Stop!” he yelled.

His vision blurred. Pain filled his entire body. He tried to scream but it came out a roar. His teeth—they were growing. Sharpening. Gasping, he curled up on her porch and waited for it to end.

The old woman stopped speaking and looked at him with disgust.

“What have you done?” he whispered.

“I have only cursed you to be what you already were inside.”

His energy sapped, he could barely get the words out. “What’s that?”

“A beast.”

Chapter 1

Aribelle Cox squirmed in thehard, wooden chair while the woman behind the desk frowned at her application. The nameplate read, ‘Gertrude Woollcott, Accelerated Employment Temp Agency,’ and it fit her perfectly. Thin as a cracker with humongous red glasses perched on the end of her nose. With long red fingernails, Gertrude looked like an exotic bird. She sighed and put the papers on her desk. “You left the spot blank about where you’ve worked previously.”

Aribelle looked down at her lap. “I’ve never had a job.” Wow, she sounded pathetic. Who applied for their first job at age twenty-five? She had to have broken a world record or something.

“What have you done to support yourself?”

How could she explain she’d been taking care of her sick father while taking online classes to earn her degree? There hadn’t been time to work. Thankfully her father’s savings had provided enough for both of them. When he’d passed away two months ago, the little he had left had gone to cover his funeral expenses.

Maybe she should stick to the simple answer. “I was in school.”

Gertrude raised her eyebrows and picked up the application.

“I know my degree isn’t listed, but I’m only a few classes away from my bachelors.” Aribelle stumbled to redeem herself.

“I see. What kind of work are you hoping for?”

Aribelle swallowed hard. Ever since she was a child, all she wanted to do was write. No, nothing respectable like news articles. She wanted to write paranormal novels. She doubted Accelerated Employment would have a job like that. “I’ll take anything.”

Gertrude’s long fingernails clicked on the keyboard as she stared at the screen. “Do you have any experience doing clerical work?”

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