Page 57 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

“This is him,” Collin said over his shoulder. “He is the one that attacked me in my room!”

“Oh,” I said. “So, that is the story you used to get a bunch of people to follow you. You really don’t care about other people, do you?”

“Don’t you dare speak to me, beast!” Collin spat as he spoke.

I stared at him. “If I recall correctly,” I added, “You threatened the woman that I cared about and the wellbeing of her father, which prompted me to react. I might be an animal, but you’re the only beast I see.”

The man shook with anger. “Lies!”

I shrugged and looked toward King and Gunnar. King shook his head and stepped forward.

“You are trespassing along with the people that are standing behind you,” King said. “If you leave now, I will not be forced to see you as a threat and defend my home.”

“You can’t do anything to me or these people,” Collin said, sounding a bit too sure of himself.

“You need to leave,”King warned. “Now.”

“You’re all monsters, hiding in this so-called hotel,” Collin said. “None of you deserve to live. You should be smitten from the land like the plague you are.”

I shook my head and stifled a chuckle. He really didn’t know how far over his head he was.

King snapped. “We have never hidden what we are, nor have we hurt anyone either. You have done more than your fair share of inflicting pain. Now, I suggest you leave. Because there’s something else about us you should know. We also won’t shy away from a fight brought to our door.”

“No, but you hold prisoners against their will!” Collin pointed a finger.

“No one is being held prisoner here, you nimwit,” I said. “Allana is here on her own free will. Her father too.”

“Prove it!” Collin demanded.

“Or what?” I asked. “You’re going to remove the rest of the door from the hinges?”

Collin’s face turned a deep shade of red. A couple more people shook their heads, clearly wisening up to what was really going on here.

Gunnar snorted and then glared at the man. “Seems to me like you are only powerful and courageous when you have people backing you.”

Collin looked behind him at the remaining people who backed him. He shrugged and returned his attention to us. “We’re not leaving without Allana.”

“You mean Allana, the witch?” Gunnar said, accusingly. “How many more stories are you going to make up before you can’t tell the difference between what's true and what’s not?”

“I do not have to answer to you,” Collin snapped.

I turned a questioning gaze toward him. Gunnar held up a finger and turned around, heading for the hall adjacent to the foyer. A brief moment later, Gunnar dragged Bastian behind him. He tossed the man to Collin’s feet. He had a stream of dried blood staining his shirt. Judging by his face, he had his nose broken not too long ago. I wondered how that transpired but before I could find out, Gunnar spoke again.

“I believe you two know each other,” Gunnar said.

Collin barely glanced at the man cowering at his feet. I stared in shock. I mean, the guy was a total dick, but I had no idea he had it in him to betray King like this.

“You’re kidding?” I asked. “No one sees the irony in this?”

I shrugged when no one answered.

“I’m so sorry, sir,” Bastian mumbled as he crawled along the floor at Collin’s feet. “I tried everything.”

Collin ignored the man. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Gunnar asked.“Why don’t you tell the people who blindly followed you here, the truth about everything, huh? Or are you convinced in that twisted head of yours that this is really all justified. ”

“I owe you no explanation,” Collin said. “I am here for Allana and I refuse to leave without her.”

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