Facing A Beast
874 Words
Lydia
I took a step back. And then another before I turned on my heels and sprinted down the stairs to the servant’s quarters.
A beast. A hairy, rabid beast with black eyes and teeth coated in saliva.
My heart was beating frantically as I slammed the door behind me, locking the various locks as well as bolting it. Once I was done, I leaned my back against the wooden door, giving myself a moment to catch my breath again.
Harper, Reyna, Suni and Jena were staring at me with wide eyes as I stood there panting like I had just been chased by a predator.
When nobody said anything and I could breathe properly again, I forced myself to move forward, making them part for me to be able to reach my bed.
I placed my shoes by the foot of the bed and folded my apron before changing into my attire for the night. Meanwhile, my eyes were locked on the silvery light gleaming through the drawn curtains.
Was the beast out there? My head snapped towards the door, wondering if he was searching for me to punish me for my disrespect. I shook my head before crawling under the thick, downy duvet.
“Are you alright? What happened?” Questions came as I heard the girls making their way towards my bed. I could sense their worry, the air thick with pity and concern as all of them tried to soothe me.
I didn’t need soothing, though. I just wanted to erase the image of him looking so… Dangerous and vicious.
Also, I wanted them to scold me for disobeying Jena’s order, because, now, I was a lost cause.
He was a beast. A real, terrifying monster. Yet, I couldn’t ignore the way my heart still pounded in my chest, and it wasn’t only out of fear. I wanted to help him through his suffering.
I was drawn to him and the dark pits of his eyes. The thin white scar still visible in his left one indicating that he was the very same man I met in the kitchen some time ago.
I closed my eyes as I remembered how he had taken care of me and my injury, and I couldn’t help but compare the two impressions I had of him. One was calm and caring, the other vicious and dangerous.
My fingers dug into the downy fabric, pulling it impossibly closer to my face as I tried to hide the tears threatening to spill. Why was I even crying!? Out of frustration or fear?
“I just want to sleep.” I managed to murmur out from beneath the duvet. Before I could even begin to answer any questions the girls might have, I needed to collect my thoughts. From the conversation I had heard, to my encounter with whom I presumed to be the Rogue Alpha himself…
The soft, thudding sound of feet crossing the wooden floor told me the girls had decided to respect my wish to be alone with my thoughts.
My mind raced with all kinds of thoughts... Of him as his scowling human self with his dark blue eyes. While his presence somewhat terrified me, I couldn't deny the sense of contentment I felt when he had treated my nose with the utmost care. No beast would do that? Right?
But then flashes of him, partly turned into a beast, appeared behind my closed eyes. Patches of dark fur. Long and deathly canines dripping with saliva. And those sharp claws that could literally tear my heart out... A shiver went down my spine as I thought of it.
But why were my mind and body so conflicted about him? The most sensible part of me wanted to stay clear of his path and never gaze into his eyes again. But another part of me wanted to keep pushing against him. To show him that I could help him through his curse. Strangely enough, that very same part of me believed that he would let me...
I was not ready to leave Duragh yet. I'd been given a new chance in life. A chance to blossom, to learn and develop, and I wanted to hold onto that chance with whatever strength I had. I wanted to make my mother and Cameron proud of me, and hopefully, one day, I would be able to tell them of my accomplishments myself.
But one nagging question reappeared in my mind, again and again... If I chose to help the alpha, would he send me back home as punishment? I prayed not, because it seemed that I was ready to fight for my new life. The alpha had to stay sane in order for me to stay in Duragh.
Something within me told me that he wasn't as vile as the rumors described him to be. He might be a beast, but I had seen glimpses of a man capable of showing empathy.
That was the hope I was grasping at.
That was the memory I would remind myself of every time I would be scared of him in the future.
How gently he treated me and how his dark eyes seemed to stare into my very soul.
- Writer
