Beast (The Submissively Ever After Series Book 1) (10 page)

I felt so cold, yet I craved water, and drank my fill, then wiped my hand across my mouth. The room was quiet, gone were the heavy breaths of the monster that lived in the dark, now only silence lingered. My bladder was aching. I tried to force the need away, but there was only so long I could hold on. I stared into the darkness and swallowed, turning my back on the beast was a bad move. Still dignity overruled. I turned and faced the wall as I gathered my skirt and dragged my panties down. Humiliation took a second seat as I squatted. The steady stream of urine splashed onto the ground.

That silence followed me, as I stumbled to my bed. I stared into nothing and yet, I felt everything. Every nail of this godforsaken bed, every cold draft of this hell. I closed my eyes and tried to force the horror away and slept.

My dreams were cruel, warm sunshine and food. I woke to cold, shuddering I closed my eyes again. Sleep was easy, taking me under, whispering that everything would be better. But each time I woke I knew they weren’t. There was a harsh wheeze that resounded in my chest. I coughed, forcing the spittle into my mouth before I spat.

Thoughts of the end crowded me. I forced them away. Sleep would help me heal. Sleep was what I needed.

I
woke with a roar, the darkness, the cold shredding what was left of me. My fingers were numb and there was a deep rattle inside my chest. I tried to inhale and coughed, drawing mucus from deep inside. My chest burned. I clutched my body to stop myself coming apart. I gripped my arms and licked my lips. The corners of my mouth burned. Cracks broke through the soft flesh and I tasted my own blood. How long had I been done here? Thanks to the curse on this house, I couldn’t trust my instincts. Could be hours, could be days.

The snap of a lock jolted me from my thought. The hinge squealed as the door opened, and light flooded in. The rattle of a chain next to me sounded like it was my own as I scrambled forward, stopping as Mark barged into the room carting two buckets. I could smell the food and my mouth watered. I swallowed and forced the urge to crawl for the bucket. There was something else I needed more—survival.

"Please, I’ll do anything." My throat was raw, each word brought fresh blood into my mouth. Still, I had to try. "I’ll give you anything. I’ll be anyone. You can call me Belle."

Mark stared down at me as though I was nothing more than a mirage. He blurred with my tears. "You can call me Belle."

The tin bucket scraped along the ground. The chink of the handle tore through the room as Mark straightened. He swept the room with a cold stare, and turned away without a second glance.

I scurried after him, like the rats I’d left upstairs. My fingers grazed the back of his pants, then fell to the ground. The door swung closed behind him. I yanked my hand backward in time for the steel door to slam shut. "You can call me Belle!"

My screams rebounded inside the cellar. I slammed my fist against the door, my throat blazing with the strain as I screamed. "You can call me Belle!"

I listened to the faint sound of his footsteps fade through the door and felt something inside me break. There was no hope, not for me and not for this beast. How long would it take for me to die down here, weeks? Months?

I crawled forward, searching with one hand in the dark, and touched the cold edges of the pail. The rice was soft, barely warm, mixed with something that resembled bits of meat and gravy. I scooped the gruel into my mouth and gulped as the heavy padding of paws stole my attention.

I stopped swallowing, waiting for the animal to react. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew the beast wanted more than just food. My heartbeat was too loud, my breaths too harsh, swallowing even the slightest sound inside the room. The beast could be across the room, or standing right in front of me. There was no way to know. Icy fingers trailed up my spine, standing my hair on end as I lifted my hand. Even blinded in this room I felt his eyes on me, watching my every move.

The slop in my mouth turned tasteless and gluey. I forced a mouthful down, clenching my thighs tight, then pushed the metal pail along the ground toward the beast. "Eat while it’s warm. You’re bigger, and you need the food more than I do."

The empty drum of my chest rattled as I coughed. I fell forward, bracing myself on the ground as the burn spread all the way into my lungs, then used one hand to scoop the frigid water into my mouth.

I wiped my lips and whispered. "I’m not here to hurt you, okay? So, please don’t hurt me."

A whimper came from somewhere in the middle of the room, stilling my hand. My fingers trembled. The quake raced through my body. Then the animal moved, dragging the chain with heavy thuds to stop beside me. Something warm licked my hand, then it was gone...
a tongue?
The pail pinged and scraped as the chain hit the sides. The cellar was filled with the ravenous gulps, and the grating sound of the bucket along the dirt as the animal consumed every last morsel.

I crawled back to my bed as fire burned inside my chest and rubbed away my snot and tears with quaking hands. There had to be a way out of here. Agony was all I felt. There was nothing else for me, not here. Grain by grain, I clawed under the rubble until I wore a hollow against the wall.

The earth refused to move. I speared the dirt with my fingers, hissing as my nails tore free. The animal beside me whimpered, padding toward me.

"I can get us free." I mumbled as my body shook. "I think I can get us out of here."

I clawed the dirt, convinced I could get us free, while part of me whispered there was something wrong, the burn in my chest was dangerous. But I left the human part of me behind in this dark hell. The rumble of the beast flowed through me, became me. The harsh sound tore through my chest, blending with the hacking cough as I scratched.

I collapsed on the ground. My body trembled, my back seized, and the cold seeped into my bones. The hacking cough jerked my aching spine. The spasms drove pain down through my leg. There was blood in my mouth, the scent was all around me.

And if I could smell my blood, so could the beast.

I lay on the floor, shuddering and left the cold behind, feeling the flush spread from my chest. Beads of sweat cooled against my face, but the brief respite wasn’t enough. I was burning. Sleep called. I lifted my arm. The movement, which seemed so effortless minutes ago, was now a strain.

My hand fell to slap my face and I felt the sting in the center of my palm. Blood coated my lips as I used my tongue to probe the wound, but there was nothing I could do as fire raced through me. 

The animal clawed the ground next to me.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

"Please stop." I whispered and closed my eyes.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

I roused enough to feel my dress jerk tight and the ground slide underneath my body. So hot. I shuddered. I needed the cold, craved the cold.

My back seized, wrenching my hips from the ground. Electricity raced through me, stealing my thoughts. That white light was all I saw, blinding me. I slapped the cold dirt as my jaw clenched tight. There was something wrong with me, something really wrong.

A weight pinned my arm to the ground, a whimper echoed somewhere off in the distance. I couldn’t reach that sound agony speared my chest with a hot iron.

The room slipped away until harsh breaths dragged me back.

A soft blanket wrapped around me, smothering me with heat. Something wet lapped my face.
Please, I’m so hot.
I slapped the heat with a weak swipe, pushing it away. The heavy rug never budged. Instead, the thick weave wrapped me tighter. The thudding of a heart was deafening inside my ears. I nestled my head against the fur, listening to that rhythmic sound and slept. The beast’s golden eyes haunted me in my dreams, they followed me everywhere I went. I woke with a harsh cry that tore talons down my throat. The heat was suffocating, still my body trembled, and I slept.

Fragments of my memory came to me, the forest, the ghost—the old green car and sweet tea, tasting faintly bitter. Mark smiled with those soft full lips and he reached for me, dragging me, kicking and screaming, into the darkness.

I caught the dull thud of a door. The blanket was yanked away, leaving me to feel every bump in the hard, icy floor. I swept my tongue through my arid mouth. The flesh was hard. There was no moisture. I opened my mouth, my words no more than a harsh wheeze.

Footsteps sounded, moving closer. The heavy boots stopped no more than an arm-span away, there was a moment of silence before Mark spoke. "Why aren’t you dead yet?"

The cruel question was answered with a warning growl and the scrape of paws as the beast moved between Mark and me.

"It’s been three weeks. I guess this one’s going to last longer than we thought."

His parting remark blended with the agony I felt.
Three weeks.
I’d been down in this hell for three weeks. I turned my face away, as I tracked his heavy steps heading for the door, then the metal clanged and the bolt slid shut, leaving us alone once more.

The scrape of the pail filled the cellar. Inch after inch I listened to the grating sound move to my feet. I could smell the water, cold and crisp, almost sweet. Desperation pulled me to my knees and I crawled on weak arms until I could move no more.

The animal whined. I felt a shove under my arm, urging me to get up and survive. I drew my knee up and propelled my body forward until my fingers touched the metal. My arms shook as I shoved my head from the floor, leaning over the lip I dipped my chin into the water. Icy liquid rushed into my mouth. I took what I could, slowly gulping before I dropped to the ground.

The cold water sat heavy in my stomach, but soon enough I was thirsty again. I lifted my upper body off the ground, this time a little easier and drank, taking long pulls until I was filled once more.

I coughed. The hacking burn was still there, although the fever had broken. But I was weak and weak meant only one thing. "If you’re not going to eat me, then why are you keeping me alive?"

The thunder that tore from the room sent a charge along my skin. In my desperation to live, I forgot he was still a beast and I was at his mercy.
Just don’t panic
. I tensed my stomach, lifting my head from the floor. I scrambled forward, my foot slipped against the ground as a weight fell on my leg, pinning me to the floor.

The ground grazed the skin on my arms as the hold on my leg wrenched me backwards. Tears burned my eyes. I kicked with my other foot, striking something furry and hard. The air vibrated with a warning, the sound feral and dangerous. I clawed the concrete floor. "Let me go!"

The cold gnawed my legs, reaching up to my thighs. The weight shifted. Something heavy pressed against the center of my back.

I waited for death to come.

A sob slipped free. Pain lanced my face as I hit the concrete, tearing through my temple. "Please. No. No. No."

Hot breath flayed the back of my neck, casting strands of hair into my eyes. I could feel the moist heat sliding underneath my collar. Warm, slick. Something wet brushed the back of my neck. I didn’t move.

I love you, Mom.

The beast shifted its feet. I could feel the warmth from its body and the sheer size towering over me. Despite the frigid floor, sweat stung my underarms. My forehead beaded and droplets slid over my brow. My closed eyes warded off the sting. The beast snorted, drawing the scent of my weakness into its body.

A snarl vibrated against my skin and along my spine. I shook with the sign of dominance.

I need.

The pressure on my back eased. I gulped what air I could. The grip on my neck held me to the ground for a second longer, then relaxed.

The beast dropped its head. Spiky fur scratched the side of my face as it sniffed, lowering its head to touch my face. Hot breath filled my ear, followed by one soft lick against my neck.

I flinched and bit my lip. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Something nudged under my arm, sniffing. Paws scraped the ground on either side of my body. Something knocked against my side, sliding lower and across my prone frame to nudge the small of my back.

The hem of my dress hovered at mid-thigh. One hard push shoved the skirt higher. Something wet slid between my thighs. I whimpered. A growl tingled the flesh against my sex and something warm and wet slid along the crack of my ass.

I drew up my legs and curled myself into a ball. The force of his breath blew my hair onto my face. Something touched the back of my neck, the feeling only slight until pointed incisors dug into each side.
Why did you save me?

The question tore through my mind as the sharp ends dug into my flesh. The pain was enough to make me whimper. Fear kept me from moving. I was helpless as the animal shifted. I felt his body probe between my thighs. Something thick and hard speared my thigh. I closed my eyes, now I understood what the beast kept me alive for. "Please, no."

The instantaneous snarl was warning enough, stilling the whimper in my throat. I jerked my head as the door rattled. My heart raced with relief when toughened paws scraped the stone floor, then padded away. I was forgotten, for a moment at least. I shoved my hands against the floor, crawling on hands and knees out of the shadows to collapse on the other side of the room.