Page 12 of Beast of Blood and Roses (Dark Ever After Fairytales #1)

Chapter Twelve

Rosalie

I burst through the front door like a woman possessed, my legs pumping faster and faster as gravel crunched beneath my feet.

“No, mademoiselle !” Marcel’s voice rang out behind me, sharp with panic. “It’s dangerous out there!”

I ignored him, terror driving me forward. My lungs burned, but I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop. He might come after me. The beast might?—

Go... Go... Go.

The mantra pounded through my skull in rhythm with my racing heart. Adrenaline flooded my system, making everything hyperreal—the humid air stinging my throat, the Spanish moss brushing my face like ghostly fingers, the squelch of marshy ground beneath my shoes.

The bayou loomed ahead. A hundred yards. Fifty. Twenty.

Three feet away...two feet away...one foot away .

I plunged into the shadowy water without hesitation, branches tearing at my clothes. Better to take my chances with alligators and snakes than face that rage again. The memory of splintering wood and blazing emerald eyes spurred me deeper into the maze of cypress trees.

I rounded a massive oak draped in Spanish moss like a funeral shroud and slammed straight into a wall of black fur. I gasped and jerked backward so violently I nearly fell, adrenaline flooding my system.

The wolf’s growl rumbled through my bones, so deep it seemed to come from the earth itself. My breath caught in my throat as I stumbled backward, only to realize the shadows around me were moving.

Oh god.

I spun in a frantic circle. They emerged from behind every tree, every tangle of roots, massive shapes that made my legs turn to water.

These weren’t wolves. They were the size of black bears, with yellow eyes that gleamed like lanterns in the twilight.

Their lips pulled back to reveal fangs that could crush bone.

I was trapped.

I broke a thick branch off the oak tree and swung it wildly at the black wolf stalking toward me. The makeshift weapon connected with its snout with a satisfying crack.

Big mistake.

The wolf’s lips peeled back in a snarl that made my blood freeze. Its ears flattened against its massive skull, and those yellow eyes blazed with predatory fury. Every muscle in its powerful frame coiled as it crouched low, preparing to spring.

I raised the branch above my head with trembling hands, trying to make myself look bigger, more threatening. But we both knew the truth. I was prey, and it was the apex predator. My pathetic stick wouldn’t save me from jaws that could snap my spine in half.

This was it. I was about to become doggy chow for a pack of supernatural wolves in the middle of a Louisiana bayou.

What a way to go.

The wolf lunged.

I screamed and crashed backward onto the muddy ground, my stick flying from my grip.

That bone-crushing maw snapped inches from my throat, so close I could feel the heat of its breath and see strings of saliva dripping from yellow fangs.

My entire life flashed before my eyes in a desperate slideshow of regret. I wasn’t going to die like this.

Not here.

Not now.

Move. Move. Move.

I rolled frantically to the side, but the beast was faster. Its massive paw slammed down on my back, pinning me face-down in the mud. No, no, no! I clawed at the earth, gasping for air as the weight crushed down on me, trapping me like prey beneath a predator’s hold.

Razor-sharp claws tore through my shirt and bit deep into my skin.

Fire erupted across my shoulders as warm blood soaked through the fabric.

This was it. I was going to die here, torn apart in this godforsaken swamp.

Terror flooded my system as I realized how easily those claws could slice through bone, how quickly this monster could end me.

A chorus of yelps suddenly exploded around us. My heart lurched with desperate hope—were there people nearby? Other creatures? I tried to scream for help, but only a strangled whimper escaped my mud-caked lips .

I managed to twist around frantically, mud smearing my face as I fought to see what was happening.

Something huge crashed into the black wolf with bone-jarring force, sending it flying into the oak tree with a sickening thud.

The beast towered over me, his fur bristling with rage as he snarled at the circling pack. Was he here to help me or kill me?

Ignoring the burning agony across my shoulders, I scrambled to my feet and snatched up my fallen branch. My hands, slicked with my own blood, trembled.

Three wolves attacked him at once; a coordinated assault that made my heart stop.

One lunged for his throat, another seized his leg in crushing jaws, and the third leaped onto his back, claws raking deep furrows through his fur.

The beast’s howl of pain and fury shook the bayou.

The raw anguish in that sound made my chest tighten with unexpected sympathy even as terror kept me frozen.

He twisted and swiped at the wolf on his leg, his claws ripping through flesh like paper.

Blood sprayed in a crimson arc, painting the moss-draped trees.

He clamped his razor-sharp teeth around the wolf attacking his neck and flung it aside with bone-crushing force.

The wolf lay motionless, either dead or stunned.

But there were too many of them. I watched in horror as another wolf leaped onto his back, its teeth sinking deep between his shoulder blades. He was fighting for his life—fighting to save me—and he was losing.

I couldn’t just lie here and watch him die. Not when he’d risked everything to protect me.

I raised my stick and brought it down hard on the snout of the wolf riding his back.

The creature whipped toward me with lightning speed, jaws snapping shut on my makeshift weapon.

I gasped and stumbled backward, my heart thundering as I realized how close those fangs had come to my fingers.

Wood splintered as it wrenched the branch from my grip, the rough bark scraping my palms raw.

Now I had nothing—no weapon, no protection—and the wolf’s yellow eyes fixed on me with predatory hunger.

The beast reached over his shoulder and grabbed the wolf by the back of its neck and tossed it across the bayou, slamming it into another tree. Relief flooded through me even as I shrank back from the casual violence, reminded once again of exactly what he was capable of.

The black wolf rose up and took a step toward the beast. My heart clenched with unexpected fear—not for myself, but for him.

The wolf threw back its head and released a loud, commanding howl that echoed through the bayou.

The black wolf froze, stood at attention, then disappeared into the forest with the others following.

I watched in stunned confusion as they retreated. Was it over? Just like that? My muscles remained coiled with tension, waiting for them to circle back, to attack from another angle. The silence felt too sudden, too easy, like the eye of a storm rather than its end.

Even the wolf that had been motionless struggled to its feet on shaky legs and limped after them.

The beast swayed on his legs, then fell onto his knees.

Panic shot through me. He was hurt, maybe dying, and I had no idea how to help him.

Blood dripped down his back, his throat, and his arms. He gave me a dazed look and collapsed onto the ground.

More howls echoed through the forest, closer this time.

Panic flickered in my chest. I looked wildly over my shoulder but didn’t see anything moving through the trees. But I knew they were there, watching us, ready to attack again.

I rushed over to him. “Beast, you have to get up. They’re coming back. I can’t…I can’t carry you.”

Wolves materialized from the trees like shadows given form. A white wolf led them, massive beyond belief, easily twice the size of the others. Its ice-blue eyes locked onto us with predatory intelligence, and when it pulled back its lips, the rows of gleaming fangs made my knees banged together.

The other wolves fanned out behind their alpha like a well-trained army.

We’re going to die. The thought blew through me like an icy wind. We’re actually going to die out here.

Fear clawed up my throat, but something else rose with it, something hot and desperate that I’d never felt before.

The white wolf snarled and launched itself at us. I raised my trembling arm and thrust my palm forward.

Fire shot up my arm as if lightning had struck me. A transparent shield shimmered into existence between us and the pack—solid as glass, crackling with energy I didn’t understand. The wolves slammed into it with sickening force. I staggered, my vision blurring, but the barrier held.

What is this? How am I…?

My entire body convulsed as if I’d been electrocuted.

Wave after wave of tremors rolled through me, making my bones rattle and my vision blur with the force of it.

The wolves circled us, snarling and clawing at the shield, but they couldn’t break through.

My hands cramped into claws, muscles seizing painfully as whatever power flowed through me demanded its price.

The white wolf’s blue eyes burned with something beyond hunger—recognition? It seemed to know something about me that remained a complete mystery to me.

The distant roar of engines cut through the bayou. Gunfire exploded through the trees. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified. Rescue or another threat? The alpha lifted its massive head, then melted back into the shadows with its pack.

Colette and Marcel burst through the undergrowth on ATVs, rifles in hand. Silver bullets, maybe? Did werewolves really die from silver, or was that just folklore?

My shield flickered and died as if it had a mind of its own.

I didn’t know how I did it or how to bring it back.

Exhaustion crashed over me and drained the last of my strength.

I dropped to my knees like a marionette with cut strings.

Every muscle in my body cramped violently, the spasms so severe I couldn’t tell where one pain ended and another began.

My back arched involuntarily as wave after wave of agony rolled through me.

The beast stared up at me from where he lay crumpled in the mud, bewilderment flickering in his emerald eyes like dying embers. “You…you saved us?”

Pain slammed into me like a sledgehammer, making me double over with a strangled gasp.

My lungs seized, refusing to fill. “I don’t know…

” Another wave of agony tore through my core, and I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

“I don’t know how…” The words came out between gritted teeth as I fought to stay on my knees and not fall over face first. “I don’t know how I did that. I’ve never done that before.”

Colette rushed over to me, her face pale with worry. “ Mademoiselle , are you hurt?”

“No…yes…” My chest felt like it was being crushed in a vise, but that was nothing compared to the fire raging inside me—like my very bones were being reforged.

She slipped her arm around my shoulders, her small frame surprisingly strong as she helped me to my feet then guided me toward the ATV. “Hurry. We’re not safe. They’ll return.”

I nodded weakly and sank onto the seat, my body trembling with exhaustion. Even if I’d wanted to run again, I couldn’t, not when it felt like a thousand fists were pummeling my insides with relentless fury.

It took both Colette and Marcel to haul the beast’s massive frame onto the other ATV.

Every second felt like an eternity as I watched the forest around us, expecting those yellow eyes to reappear at any moment.

They could attack again while he couldn’t defend himself.

He slumped heavily against Marcel’s back, his breathing shallow and labored.

Blood matted his fur in dark, sticky patches.

Marcel glanced over his shoulder, his knuckles white on the handlebars. “ Monsieur , you must put your arms around my waist.”

The beast did as he asked with agonizing slowness, and I could see the tremendous effort it took just to maintain that weak grip. He was barely conscious, swaying dangerously with each bump. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t foolishly run away, none of this would have happened.

Colette slid in front of me and gunned the engine. We tore away from the scene of carnage, mud spraying behind us. I twisted to look back and my blood chilled—something humanoid moved between the trees. Too tall to be a wolf, too predatory to be innocent.

I clung to Colette’s jacket, my fingers digging into the fabric as another spasm wracked my body. My brilliant escape plan lay in tatters. I’d never make it past that supernatural pack, not alive anyway. Once again, I was trapped.

But the beast could have let me die out there. Instead, he’d thrown himself into mortal danger to protect me. My throat tightened with an emotion I couldn’t name. No one had ever risked everything for me before—especially not someone I had every reason to consider was my enemy.