They warned me.

They told me the fables about the beast who’d come every winter and steal one of the fair maidens away. That the maiden would disappear and never come back. They tried to keep the beast away but he had some kind of power to disguise himself as human. So there was no way of telling until the beast struck.

I didn’t believe the stories, they were silly fairytales told to keep ladies away from the men. I just wanted to have my perfect season debut that night. Naturally I wanted to be wooed, and charmed by my future husband. I wanted to have children and be the perfect wife. I knew I could be, at least in physical terms I was pretty enough to get attention. I had dark brown hair and greenish yellow eyes. Petite, polite, prepared.

My mother repeated these words to me growing up until now and I could never forget. Being the eldest of three girls, there was a lot of pressure for me to perform well this debut season. My younger sister Elena was two years younger, and my youngest sister Celine was four years younger. At eighteen, I looked the part, but on the inside I still felt like a youngling.

As I got ready, Elena sat on my bed, testing the springiness of the mattress.

She spoke, “Sister, are you sure you want to do this? Surely you’re afraid of the beast? Florence said her sister knew the girl who was taken last winter. Horrid affair.”

I bit my lip, trying to keep from bursting in my irritation.

“If all you’re going to talk about is that silly beast then I prefer you do not talk at all.” I told her, as one of my maid servants did my hair.

My sister shut her mouth, going back to reading her book. It was a book called Miss Gowns Rules of Etiquette. God knew that my sister hated learning how to be petite, polite, and prepared. So my mother made her read all the time, or else she’d punish her with a slap or two.

There was one imperfection about me that I hid from everyone. Nobody knew except my maidservants, and I was more afraid of people finding out, than of the so-called beast. The story that he came back to the same place every year just did not make sense. Why would a beast come to the same place and take a woman each year? If he were truly dissatisfied he would not come back at all. That must mean he needed someone to satisfy him and therefore kept looking for a new woman. But there were other kingdoms, other places to go. Why would this beast only go to one place?

That one place was the Grand Hall in the center of Belle.

We had a king and queen, but they went on an expedition ten years ago and never returned. So there was a big argument of sorts, and then the next in lines became king and queen.

Duke Joseph of Harcourt was having a ball for his fifth wedding anniversary with his duchess Elizabeth. They were family friends of my parents, so this was going to be the night for me to debut. Duke Joseph and Duchess Elizabeth owned the Grand Hall, which was rumored to be home to mystic creatures in the past. The Grand Hall was shut down for renovation and only recently opened again.

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My dress was the most beautiful royal blue. Coupled with sapphire earrings, a thin pearl necklace, and a pair of sparkling blue glass slippers, I was ready for the ball after hours of preparation. On the carriage ride, I wrung my hands together in my lap, anxiety began to play on my mind.

“What’s the matter, my Ree? Are you well?” My father asked.

“Yes, yes she’s fine. It’s most likely first season jitters. I got them too,” My mother dismissed.

My father agreed with her but still kept a close eye on me. They didn’t even give me a chance to say anything, so I tried my best to keep my eyes down, posture straight, dress neat and everything tidy.

We arrived.

My father beckoned me to take his hand and we started moving. I was feeling petrified, the feeling crept its way onto my skin and settled on my chest and throat. Everything felt so tight, and constricted.

Oh, no. I couldn’t do this.

I wasn’t good enough. I did not have the body of a goddess, I did not have the mannerisms of a princess, I would never be the perfect wife. How could I think for one moment that anyone would ever...

As I was considering running away from the Hall right at the top of those steps, I made eye contact with a dashing gentleman standing with a glass of wine in his hands.

He wore blue and gold, and I couldn’t entirely put a name to it, but he reminded me of the night sky. Like the canvas of the sky and the stars as the subject on the canvas. His face-perfect in every way. Muscly veins stretching on the side of his temple, angular jawline, round lips, and a smoky enticing look in his blue eyes.

Our clothes matched in color and style. He was tall, heavens. Almost one and a half heads taller than me. I considered myself tall already. He smiled and the smile dancing on his lips pulled me forward. Yet I noticed a despondent quality ghosted his features, the way he stood, the way he moved with tense broad shoulders. As if he knew grief, as if he knew what imperfection does to a soul.

I was smitten. I continued descending the stairs with my father. My father was relieved that I didn’t make a run for it, and I could tell because of the stronger hold he had on my arm, as if trying to keep me from running away for good.

The gentleman stopped right in front of me and my father.

“To whom do I owe the pleasure?” He asked, kissing my hand.

I was about to reply when an electric current traveled between his lips, his hand, and my hand. I had never felt anything like it. Exquisite, intense tremors spread from the tips of my fingers to my belly and downwards, fissioning into parts all over my body.

We froze, and the moment in time suspended.

“Mate,” he whispered.

I stared, not comprehending his words. But I understood, when he bared his teeth to others around us, revealing a set of fangs. I realized his hand was extremely cold to touch, and his skin was quite pale compared to everyone else.

Murmurs of surprise and gossip around us morphed into fearful shouts and screams of desperation.

“It’s the beast! Run!” Someone said, as they pushed aside others to escape. The Grand Hall became a human stampede with everyone trying to get out of the Hall.

“Rhea!” My father called my name, reaching out for me.

“Stay back!” This man, no, the beast-hissed.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and suddenly we weren’t in the Grand Hall anymore. A warm fire crackled in front of us. The beast let go of me in haste, like he couldn’t stand to be touching me.

“Dry off. The servants will show you to your room. You may go anywhere except the North wing of the castle.”

I sank to the ground in shock as the beast started walking away from the fire.

They warned me about the beast, but I didn’t listen.