Page 14 of Beast

She’s not lying. My head is pounding.

I bring my hand to my forehead. That’s when I realize I’m chained to the bed. My wrist is bound by an iron shackle and a heavy chain bolted to the floor. “What the fuck?”

“Oh, that’s there for your own good.”

“My own good?”

“On account of your concussion. If you went wandering, you could get hurt. This place is big and there are lots of places you could disappear into. If you hurt yourself, it could take a while to find you.”

“Surely a lock on the door would suffice?”

“Beast said this was the best way. And we always do what Beast says.” Dimples press into her cheeks when she smiles. “Here, let me take care of those for you.”

She produces an intricate iron key from the tiny pair of shorts she’s wearing and unlocks the shackle. It clicks and pops open.

“Thanks,” I say, rubbing my wrist.

She tucks the key back into her shorts and settles on the edge of the bed. “My name is Mya.”

“Belle.”

“I know. You’re the talk of the club since Beast brought you in.”

“I’m in the clubhouse?”

Everyone in St. Boniface knows about the old ruins perched on the hill overlooking the town. Its where the Knights of St. Boniface motorcycle club live and run the town and surrounding counties. At night, you can look out your window from anywhere in town and see the glowing lights in the looming ruins. The castle is as old as the town. Built by a filthy rich founder back in the seventeenth century, it was abandoned and left to ruin when the Spanish flu swept through the town in the early 1900s and claimed the lives of almost everyone who resided there.

Left to rot and ruin in the rain and sun, the Knights purchased it in a mysterious deal when the club emerged out of the shadows of WWI.

“What happened?” I ask, rubbing my aching jaw. It feels like I was hit in the face by a sledgehammer.

“Beast didn’t say much when he brought you here. But that’s typical of our prez. He doesn’t say a lot.”

I frown, trying to peel back the layers of memory. The last thing I remember is Gaston and his men breaking into my house.

I sit up with a rush.

“Uncle Maurice!” My eyes dart to Mya. “Where is my uncle?”

She looks concerned and fear snowballs in my chest.

“I’m sorry, Belle. You’ll have to speak to Beast about that. He didn’t tell me.”

“Then take me to Beast,” I say, trying to climb off the bed. But a wave of nausea hits me and I have to steady myself against the dizziness that crashes into me.

Mya grabs a glass of water from the bedside table. “Here, drink this.”

I gulp down a mouthful before I realize it isn’t normal water. It tastes of citrus and berries, with a hint of something earthy. It’s delicious.

“What is this?”

“It’s phantasia water. Sophia, one of the other club girls makes it with fruit and herbs from the garden.”

“Club girl?”

“We look after the Knights. We keep it real around here, Belle. The Knights like to fuck, and we are here to fuck them.” She smiles sweetly. “But it’s more than that. We’re a family.”

I remember talk in town when I was growing up. About the women who reside with the Knights, catering to their every need. Beautiful women who live in perpetual bliss as they are looked after and fucked by the legendary motorcycle men. They rarely come to town which only fuels the rumors about them more.

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