Page 12 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

“What did you do? Roll in the mud?” I asked.

He glared at me.

“I know, I’m so hilarious,” I said.

He grunted.

I escorted him back into my cabin and struck a fire in the fireplace. After washing up and grabbing a glass of Picon, I settled in front of the fire with Moon lying in my lap. I sipped on my drink as I mulled over everything I had learned tonight and my attraction to the girl. More so her attraction to me.

Moon whined, sensing my unease.

“Don’t worry,” I said and gave him a few good pats on his side. “I’m not going to do anything brash.”

He sat up and settled his yellow eyes on mine.

I sighed. Of course, he would want me to continue.

“Gunnar is going to mess things up. I can feel it,” I said.

Moon yelped at me.

I glared at him. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you suggesting I’m risking everything as well?”

He groaned.

“You bastard,” I said.

Moon and I understood each other simply on the basis that I was part wolf too. But I was a half-blood. My mother was a human. My father was a shifter. I was born a black mark. Regardless, Moon and I had a connection. He’s my best friend, and I was feeling a bit called out by his brash awareness of the situation.

He let out a short growl and laid down in front of the fireplace.

“What, giving up already? I didn’t say you were wrong, you realize,” I said.

He ignored me.

I groaned. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

He looked up at me and huffed before laying his head back down on his arms.

“Fine, I’ll figure this out all on my own then,” I said and knocked back the last of my drink before staring at the fire. “You weren’t exactly helpful to begin with.”

Moon was right, though. I was in over my head. I recognized that the moment I laid eyes on the girl, even if I was hesitant to acknowledge it. I couldn’t figure out how Gunnar was too blind to notice the same for him.

If we weren’t careful, we would likely force King deeper into the bowels of the castle rather than into her arms. Whatever our next steps were, we had to be careful. Neither of us could afford to fall in love with her.

5

ALLANA

I sat in the office, stewing over the past few days. Already I had been here for almost a week, and I felt like I was getting the hang of things as far as the business was concerned. But I remained perplexed over how my first night ended.

From the moment I stepped off the carriage, I was in awe. Then I met Declan, and I was struck by his gorgeous features as well. Especially his eyes. I had never seen eyes like his before. They were like ice, but with a hint of the lightest shade of blue I had ever seen. They penetrated my soul and made my arousal hike ten-fold.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the tour. Graciously, Gunnar escorted me to my room. I peeked inside at the lavish suite and my breath was stolen from me. It was too much, and I couldn’t wait to get settled, but I also couldn’t allow myself to go inside and do that yet.

Gunnar, the gentleman that he was, remained outside of my room. He had opened the door for me, and I stood in the doorway, staring up at him. I knew he was attracted to me. He acted as much. So, I waited for him to kiss me. When he didn’t, I lifted up on my toes and kissed him.

The feel of his lips against mine shook the exhaustion from my body. My nerves blazed and my arousal flooded the space between my legs.

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