Page 22 of Beautiful Beasts

“That Dante and I will always be here. We will never leave you, Bella,” he reassures me.

I tilt my head to the side, letting his words sink in. His eyes tell me that he believes his words, and I want to; God knows I want to, and I will try; for him, I will try. I nod slowly, and he stands up, stopping momentarily and looking down at me. He leans down and kisses me on the top of my head. It’s a kind gesture, one that I hadn’t experienced in my life until I was brought here.

Dante and Harley are so much alike, but at the same time, they are so fucking different.

Harley moves back around the counter and sits down to finish drinking his coffee. I shake my head and take a drink of my coffee, turning my head to look out the window. The sky is filled with dark clouds again, and it looks like it’s going to be another rainy, windy day.

There’s no need for me to go out and water the roses, but I’m going to do it anyway. It gets me out of the house, and by taking the long way around from the front, I get to walk and admire the rest of the roses and landscaping surrounding Dante’s mansion. This house is becoming my haven, a place that hasn’t been tainted by the outside world and the men who have taken from me. I never want this place to change; I need the safety. I need the safety the men inside it have brought me.

I know I shouldn’t become co-dependent on two men who have killed more men than anyone else I know, but with them, I feel safe. I feel like I am home.

Beauty has been sucked into a new world of violence, need, desire, and fear.

But in that world, Beauty has found her Beasts. Her safety within their embrace and watchful eyes.

15

Dante

I look out the window one last time as the smell of food fills my office. It’s times like this when the house is filled with people and the smell of food cooking, that reminds me of my mother. Tonight, I asked the staff to prepare all my mother’s favorites. Today is her birthday, and it is the one day a year I refuse to be violent or shed any blood.

So far, I have kept my promise to take her birthday off and to remember her for the kind, gentle, and pure human being she was. Even after everything my father put her through, she remained the same to the very end, which is why she was taken from me. My mother refused to submit to my father in the way he wanted.

My father would never admit it, but he feared my mother because of her strength. He knew that if she could run with me, she would have. If she had had it her way, I would have been a completely different man, living an honest life far away from this place, but then I would have never met Harley or Bella.

I loved my mother with every part of my innocent beating heart, but that boy she knew is gone. He died a long ass time ago, and in his place is a Beast, a man who kills without question, a Beast that would burn it all down to keep Harley and Bella safe.

It’s funny Harley thinks he is the one who is protecting me, but I am the one who is protecting him. I would die for him. He is my brother and is still the one person I trust above all. If anything ever happens to me, I know he will take care of Bella for me.

I see something in his eyes since we brought Bella into our home and lives. He is softer when we speak of her, and he gets a gentle look in his eyes when he watches her on the camera to ensure she is safe. We trust Gus, but at the same time, I don’t think either of us completely trusts anyone with her.

I never thought I would be okay knowing another man is watching over her, but with Harley, it is different; with him, it has always been different. I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I slowly turn around. I can hear the workers in the hallways laughing and making their way downstairs towards the dining hall.

Harley has been talking about Bella more and more. He is becoming obsessed with protecting her, and it makes me happy to know that Bella has been able to help him feel again. The violence, chaos, and darkness I have asked him to enter into have been slowly tearing him apart, and if anyone can help him heal, it is Bella.

She has no idea how much she has already changed our lives, and for the first time in my life, I am looking forward to the future and her being a part of it.

It is time we sit down and have a normal family meal together, whatever the fuck normal means, but I will try to provide it for Harley and now for Bella. Our world is nothing but violence, chaos, and pain. We need some good at the end of it, or why the fuck are we doing all of this? For power? For control?

Fuck, there has to be more than just that.

I walk out of my office and head towards the dining room. The staff is trying to get everything ready quickly. They know how this works and are as much a part of my family as Harley and Bella. My mother made sure that all of these people helped raise me, so my father wasn’t the only one helping me become the man I am today.

The staff did their best, but my father’s darkness ultimately won out. But I will never forget what these people have done for me. They would lay down their lives for me if I asked them to, and I would do the same for them. I might be a Beast, but I do love and care about all of them. That is why they are here in my home; what is mine is also theirs.

I walk into the dining room and lean against the door frame. The staff has started to bring all the food out, and Bella is standing in front of the large window with Harley. He is talking to her as he points at something. I have been watching the cameras, and my Beauty has become more comfortable. She seems to be getting used to the idea of this place being hers, too. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is the most powerful person here.

I push off the door frame and cross the room, stopping behind Bella. Her body stiffens for a moment until I wrap my arms around her and shove my face into the side of her neck, inhaling her calming scent.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” I whisper.

I have never been able to be soft before her, but now it is what I want to be for her. She has made it clear that she accepts me for me, but she makes me want to be more than what I have been my entire life. She makes me want to change. I can be gentle for her, and I can be rough. Without question or second thought, I will be anything and everything she needs me to be.

“Hey back,” she replies softly.

I pull back, rest my chin on her shoulder, and look at Harley. He is holding a beer in his hand as he looks out the window. He slowly turns and looks at me. There is something in his eyes I have never seen before: hope, desire, and longing.

I feel my chest tighten momentarily, but it fades just as quickly. I can’t blame him for developing feelings for Bella, and I can’t blame her either. In this life, we learn to hold onto things that make us feel alive; she has become that for us. I don’t know when it happened for Harley or when she started to feel anything for either of us, but it is not my place to tell them anything. They will figure it out on their own.

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