Belle’s Quest (Fairytale Bureau #3)

Chapter 10

10

I stared in horror at my bloody claws. Murdering paws. Even worse, I’d exulted while in the midst of battle.

I’m a monster.

Not according to the prince. “Now, now, don’t you dare get mopey on me. You were incredible.”

“I killed them with my bare hands,” I whispered, my voice the gruffer version of itself.

“You protected yourself.”

How to explain that, while it began that way, I’d felt a rush as I fought and won.

Gerome barked, “Out of this room in case there’s more coming.” As we hustled into the main hall, Gerome bellowed, “Hannah!”

She must have been nearby because she came skidding into view. Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and she muttered, “Holy shit. What the fuck happened?”

“Birds. Training room. Broke through the window.”

Clive arrived to hear the latter and uttered, “Impossible. The manor is…” His words trailed off and his eyes widened at the sight of me. “Where did this beast come from?”

“Hey, Clive. Don’t panic. It’s me, Belle.” I waved a furry paw.

“You were saying?” Killian redirected Clive’s attention.

“Uh, I was saying the manor is protected from incursion.”

“Is it? Or has it simply never been tested?” Killian spoke more seriously than I was used to hearing.

Clive’s mouth opened and shut before he shook his head. “Perhaps we assumed wrong.”

“I need somewhere safe to bring my wife that she might clean herself up. Preferably a bathroom with no window.” Killian made the demand, and Clive started to shake his head before grimacing.

“Only one room with running water and no windows. But it’s in the basement.”

“Perfect,” Killian exclaimed.

Clive’s lips pursed. “I should warn you, it’s not exactly nice. ”

“We don’t need nice. We need safe. Show us.” Killian didn’t ask, he ordered, and Clive led the way.

In shock, I could do nothing but numbly follow, big hairy feet plodding, the socks I’d been wearing stretched to their new size. Clothes, too. Guess the beast thing would be a recurring part of my life now. I’d not even realized the day had gotten so late. I wonder how the bird fight would have ended had I not shifted. Possibly with me lacking eyes. I’d heard ravens liked to pluck them.

The stairs down from the main level to the basement were made of stone, worn in the middle to form a dip on each step. The lighting proved harsh, single bulbs hung on a wire at intervals in a space that would have been pitch-black without since, as promised, the basement lacked windows.

The chamber Clive led us to turned out to be a bathroom, one not used in a long time judging by the brown ring inside the toilet and the dust and cobwebs stretched across the chipped, claw foot tub. No shower, though.

“Thank you. Leave us alone.” Killian waved his hand. Clive left, but Gerome and Hannah stood just within the door, which led to my husband snapping, “A bit of privacy please.”

“We’ll be in the hall.” Hannah grabbed Gerome and yanked him out with her .

“Let’s get these clothes off you,” Killian murmured, which was when I finally reacted, slapping his hand.

“I can undress myself. Turn around.” I didn’t want him seeing me naked for the first time like this. My beast shape still had boobs, covered in hair, no tail at least, but a furry ass and a coochie that would have cost me a fortune if I’d gone to an esthetician for a Brazilian.

The prince gave me his back, and I undressed with shaking hands, er, paws. My clothes hit the floor, and I approached the tub and turned on both faucets. Rusty brown water gushed out, mixing with the dust before swirling down the drain. The water remained cold, despite me having opened both taps. I girded myself for the chill as I stepped into the tub, my toes curling at the freezing water. No showerhead meant I had to crouch, rinsing my hands under the stream then splashing it on my face. I kept my eyes closed to ignore the dirty pink scuzz that sluiced from my fur.

I quickly went numb, not just in body but spirit. Odd how the dragon attacks hadn’t traumatized me, but embracing my beast side, using it to kill, did. Would the daily flip into monster mode change me? I’d seen it happen before.

“How’s it going?” Killian asked.

“Fine.” A soft reply .

“You did nothing wrong.”

“Tell that to my shaking hands,” I replied with a tremor in my voice.

“You fought to save yourself.”

“It’s not the fight so much as the rush I got.” The truth slipped out because that was probably the most horrifying part. I’d reveled in prevailing. Found joy in killing the ravens.

“When in life-or-death situations, that kind of adrenaline is normal. When it’s you against adversity, it’s okay to feel good about winning.”

“Then why do I feel so bad?” I whispered.

I never heard him move, but suddenly he was in the tub with me, his arms wrapping me from behind. “Because you’re a good person.”

I snorted. “Am I?”

“Yes.” He squeezed me. “A bad person wouldn’t give a damn about what they did. Wouldn’t question their own morality.”

“I’m afraid,” I admitted.

“That’s okay too. You’re dealing with a sudden change. The curse is actively targeting you. You’d be a fool to be blasé about it.”

“Maybe this trip was a bad idea.”

“Say the word and I’ll whisk you away.”

I craned to see him. “You’d do that?”

“Yes. In a heartbeat. ”

“Why does it feel like there’s a but?”

“How long before you regret giving up? Before you take a look at our evolving world and the increasing curses and wish you’d persevered?”

“The curse doesn’t want me looking for answers.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to keep going? It’s frightened of you. Why else would it be trying so hard?”

“Scared of me?” I couldn’t help a rough chuckle. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for, and even if I find something, what if I can’t figure out how to stop it?”

“Then at least we’ll have tried.”

We. He liked to use that word. Acted as if we were already a couple. “You know, it would be simpler and safer for you to walk away.”

“I thought we’d already determined I can’t say no to a challenge.”

“Exactly. I’m putting you in danger with my crazy idea.”

“It’s not crazy to want to act,” his soft reply.

“How about at the very least I shouldn’t be dragging others along with me.”

“You’re not dragging me, wifey-poo. I’m as determined as you to see this through.”

“Hannah and Gerome didn’t exactly have a choice,” my low mutter .

“Do you really think either of them would walk away?”

“Like fuck!” Hannah yelled from the hall, showing she listened.

I ducked my head into my bent knees. “It feels so overwhelming.” What seemed like such a novel and simple idea, find the source of the Grimm Effect, had snowballed into so much more.

“You’re not alone.” He hugged me tight. “Now, let’s get you out of this tub and dried off before you start shaking wildly and flinging water everywhere.”

“I’m not a dog,” my tart reply.

“Nope, you’re a sexy kitty. Rawr .” He mock-roared as he stood, pulling me up with him. “Hannah, did Clive fetch some towels?”

“Bringing them in,” she stated. “And don’t worry Belle, I won’t peek. I’ve no interest in seeing your naked kitty.”

In short order, Killian had me wrapped in a towel. Only then did I turn to face him and saw his soaked clothing, a result of him comforting me. “You’re wet too.”

“Yup.” He stripped the shirt, and I got a peek at my husband’s chest. Lean and muscled. Tanned as well. I could do way worse. But good looks weren’t the only thing I wanted in a marriage.

He toweled his upper body off then tossed me a grin as he said, “Let me say right now, it’s the cold water’s fault.”

I didn’t grasp what he meant until he grabbed his pants and pulled them down.

A proper person would have turned away to give him privacy. I gaped. I mean, for a guy blaming cold water for his size, he still seemed rather impressive.

And it got bigger the longer I stared.

When it pointed in my direction, I turned my head, and what do you know, a beast could blush.

“Told you we had chemistry,” his soft murmur.

“Speak for yourself.” Couldn’t have said why I lied.

He chuckled. “You seem to forget how often you blush.”

Hold on, he’d noticed?

Dammit.

“I’m decent.”

Not really. He wore a towel sarong-style around his waist, leaving his chest bare.

And tempting.

Good thing I wasn’t myself or I might have mauled him.

I still might.

I did the only thing I could think of to distract him. “I’m hungry. Think we can scrounge some food?”

His expression turned even more bright. “Dinner time! Hell yeah. ”

Only they wouldn’t allow me upstairs to eat. Every room had a window. Barred, but now that we’d had one attack, everyone feared another.

It led to me grumbling to Hannah, “You’re supposed to be guarding the prince, not me.”

“You’re now royalty, too, and the one who is being targeted, so suck it up, princess.”

I grimaced in her direction. We sat in another basement room, quickly swept clean by Killian, while Gerome brought down a table and chairs for us to use. Me? I got relegated to sitting and compiling a report because, despite my having fat furry fingers, apparently I still remained the most adept with a computer.

The bureau would want to hear about the incidents. The dragons. The ravens. Never mind the fact we’d embarked on an unsanctioned mission. Agents and Knights had been involved in attacks. A crown prince imperiled. Add in the fact that I now found myself in a twisted version of my Beauty and the Beast curse, there was much to report.

By the time I finished and ran a spell checker for my chunky finger mistakes, a feast had been cobbled together, as well as clothing and weapons. A set of daggers on a cross-body harness for me, plus an ankle strap, a sword, and another dagger for Killian.

We dined on crusty bread, slabs of roast beef, horseradish, pickles—which Killian couldn’t get enough of—and water. No wine, not with everyone wanting a clear head for the night ahead, a time when the curse seemed to thrive.

For bedtime, Gerome and Clive dragged down some mattresses and bedding. Two sets to be exact. Hannah took one, as she and Gerome would be taking turns on guard. The larger one was for me to share with the prince. For first watch, Gerome stood guard outside the chamber, while Clive kept an eye and ear open on the main floor. Not a large group if we came under concentrated attack, however, a call had been put out to bring more Knights. If they could get away from their current missions.

Apparently, in the last few hours, things had gone haywire. Inanimate objects coming to life and chasing their owners. A broom actually beat the woman who usually wielded it. We had a pied piper stealing children in Padstow and a myriad of other mischievous characters running agents and Knights ragged. A bakery in London had an entire batch of gingerbread men suddenly come to life to cause havoc.

It didn’t take a genius to realize the curse did its best to prevent reinforcements. I lay on the mattress facing the wall, and Killian tucked in behind me. Despite being new to this kind of intimacy, I enjoyed the snuggling.

The proximity reminded me of our earlier conversation. His suggestion we remain married. I could see the benefits but also the problems. For one, I had no interest in being a princess or eventually a queen. Although the library he’d mentioned did tempt.

What about love, though? I liked the prince, no denying that, but like wasn’t love. Not yet, at any rate. That might change, however. The man might be a joker, yet at the same time, he had a sweet side. A caring side. Look at how he’d taken care of me when I’d been in shock. How he snuggled me now despite my monster shape.

Would being his wife be so bad?

What if I ruined him with a kiss? He might be nonchalant about the curse turning him into a beast. However, the reality might hit him harder than he realized.

If the curse infected him. With me already being furry, would it still try and change him too? I wish I had a way of knowing for sure.

I fell asleep and had vivid dreams, of me, in beast form, chasing Killian through the woods. I eventually caught him and ate him but not in a way he complained about. On the contrary, he groaned in pleasure and… Let’s just say we did things people shouldn’t, especially when one wasn’t herself.

I woke to find myself still wrapped in Killian’s arms.

It would be nice to have this every night. At the same time, if we halted the Grimm Effect, he’d have no reason to stay married to me, a thought that saddened and sobered. It appeared I might already be losing my heart.