Free Beast Lord: (Beauty and the Beast) (Tangled Tales Book 3) by Elizabeth Rose

stones getting closer and closer. And then she felt a cold hand grab her around her wrist and heard someone say her name.
    “Bonnibel,” the low voice whispered, and she screamed.  In the darkness she thought she saw the hollow, dark eyes of a monster beneath a hooded black robe. Now she remembered why she’d never come through the hidden passageway since she was a child. Because of the monster that hid in the walls. Her mind must have been so frightened that she’d blocked it out, but this is what happened so long ago as well.
    “Let go of me,” she said, pulling out of the man’s grasp, and running through the dark as fast as she could, trying to find her way back to her room.
     
    Stefan cocked his head and listened intently, sure he heard a woman’s muffled scream. He walked toward the far wall of the tower room, listening, but heard nothing more. Then he walked over to the window and yanked at the wooden shutters that was bolted closed, ripping one of them off the wall. It fell to the floor with a loud bang. He just stood and stared, then looked at his hand, wondering when he’d become so strong. He’d barely touched the shutter, and it was pulled from the hinges as if he forcefully tore it down.
    Glancing out the window, he looked down at the courtyard wondering if a male servant were accosting a washwoman. He saw nothing. Ever since he’d told Trumble that he didn’t want the servants to look at him, they’d all stayed hidden somehow. And with no guards under his command, the courtyard was deserted.
    A stray black cat ran across the crumbling cobbled stones toward the old well, and a shiver ran up Stefan’s spine. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Then he heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching the castle. From up in the tower room he was high enough to see an entourage of men riding toward the drawbridge. At first he feared it was the same men who had attacked the castle and he cursed his temper and stupid decision to send every able-bodied soldier away.
    But then he saw his brother, MacKay, sitting atop his horse, leading a dozen soldiers on horseback and what looked like another dozen mercenaries who travelled by foot. They headed over the drawbridge and into the courtyard of Castle Breckenridge.
    Trumble appeared from the stables and greeted the men. Stefan knew he had to go down there. After replacing his sword in his sheath, he ran a hand over the side of his face, not wanting to appear before his brother or the mercenaries like this, but he realized he had no choice. If he wanted these mercenaries under his command and this castle to be his own, then he would have to show his face and hope for the best.
    He stepped over the rose petal on the floor and looked back to the rose where another petal was already drooping. He thought about the witch’s warning. A few days had passed since she’d told him he would turn into a beast if he couldn’t learn to love and have someone love him in return. Two petals had already fallen. He felt different already, and the menacing feeling gnawing at his gut was getting stronger each day. Was he truly turning into a beast? Sure, he looked like one, but would he start acting like one as well? He hoped not. He had always been the calmest and most cautious of all his brothers. He didn’t know how to be anything else. These mood swigs were foreign to him and made him feel like he no longer knew who he was.
    He headed out the door, feeling so miserable right now that love was the furthest thing from his mind. Making his way to the courtyard, he appeared before the men. They all gathered around and just stared.
    “What are you all looking at?” he growled, feeling like taking off the head of any man who looked cross-eyed at him.
    “Stefan, Brother, you look . . . different.” MacKay said from atop his horse, surveying his brother.
    “Aye, Brother, you look even uglier than the last time I saw you,” came another voice.
    Stefan’s