Page 26 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

Gunnar shrugged. “Would you blame her if she was?”

“No, but I think we could salvage this,” I said.

Gunnar laughed sarcastically. “Oh, this I have got to hear.”

“Tell King,” I said. “Give Allana time to cool down and King the chance to woo her. With time, I’m sure we won’t lose her completely.”

Gunnar stared at me like I had grown a second head.

“I’m serious,” I added.

“Were you not here just now? We lost the only woman we cared about. Or did you already forget how telling Allana ended up? How well do you honestly think King is going to react when he finds out we have been trying to set him up this entire time?”

“At this point, do we really have a choice?” I asked.

Gunnar shook his head and leaned back in his seat. “No.”

“Then we’re doomed regardless, my friend,” I said and stood from my seat.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“If she’s gone, and you refuse to own up to your mistake, I have no choice but to leave as well.”

Gunnar growled. “If I’m doing this, you are coming with me.”

I nodded. “Fine, but you’re doing the talking.”

He leveled his gaze on me again. I shrugged and turned around to head back toward the castle. After a few steps, I turned around and faced him, still sitting in his seat.

“Are you coming or not?” I asked.

He groaned but stood from his seat. However, reluctantly, he slowly followed behind me.

11

ALLANA

I was fuming. I could spit, I was so mad.

As I made my way toward my room, the only thing I could think of was how badly I wanted to leave this place. I wanted no more to do with those men, regardless of how great they were at kissing, how much they were just trying to help their friend, or how badly they needed me to set the business back on track.

I wasn’t a toy. I certainly wasn’t a thing to pawn off on just any man.

Hell no.

If that was all they thought of me, then I had no reason to waste any more of my time. But as I made my way to my room to pack, I caught a glimpse of King’s form disappearing down the hall that led to the east wing.

I stopped in my tracks and considered running after him to find out if he knew about the little deal Gunnar and Declan had going on. He had to have known. And if he did, I would say my goodbye and cut my losses as they were.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I followed him, driven by answers and a twisted sort of curiosity.

I turned toward the hall, finding King’s form disappearing behind the long curtain. I pressed my lips together and moved my feet faster. I didn’t have a clue what lay beyond that curtain, but if it was anything like the rest of the castle, it would be a maze and I didn’t want to get lost in my hunt.

Once I arrived at the curtain, I tossed the fabric to the side and kept going without so much as a pause in my steps.

It didn’t take me long to realize I had gone too far and was in over my head. For the most part, this side of the castle was like stepping back in time. Paintings of various figures decorated the walls, covered in a thin layer of dust, blurring the images and making it impossible to pick out any discernible features, not without the aid of candle light, of which I didn’t have.

Extravagant arches marked the halls, and it was every bit of the maze as I had expected. Intricate carved statues and busts lined the walls. A dust-covered carpet lined the center of the marble floors, torn from age and neglect.

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