Free Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Collection) by Jenni James

found for her the last time she had met him as a wolf, as well as a simple note from himself. The prince was not sure if he would tell her about the hidden compartment, wondering if she would find it herself. He decided it was best to see how she accepted the gift of the necklace first. He tucked the heart under a small patch of clover for the perfect opportunity to reveal it to her.
    “So, you did not bring a book today?” she asked as she approached and settled herself upon the rock.
    “No. I brought something better.” He was again waiting for her on the other side of the brook, lying on his stomach.
    “It is something I can hit you with?” she smiled as she said it, but there was a certain gleam in her eye in the moonlight.
    He tilted his head. “Perhaps, though I believe you won’t find it as satisfying as a book would have been.”
    “Pity.”
    “Are you very angry with me, then?”
    Cecelia brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. “You could describe my emotions as such.”
    The beast sighed and laid his head upon his paws. “Out with it, we might as well get this over with now.”
    She opened her mouth to speak, but caught a glimpse of his dark brown eyes looking up from his dejected position. “Oh, goodness, do not look at me like that. How am I supposed to reprimand you when you use those eyes on me?”
    “What? What am I doing?” Alexander titled his head and made his expression even more forlorn.
    Cecelia laughed and threw a tuft of grass at him across the water. “It will not do. You cannot make me laugh; I must say these things to you.”
    The wolf chuckled into his paws. “No one is stopping you.”
    “Argh.” She made a very unladylike grunt, promptly got up, and cautiously stepped over the stream, then without further ado curled up against his side and snuggled into his soft fur. “You are the most incorrigible monster that has ever roamed this land.”
    “I know,” he said softly, loving the feel of her warmth beside him.
    “Hmm…” Her soft muffled words could barely be heard. “Horrendous beast, I should beat you to a pulp right now.”
    “Yes, you should.”
    “Merk.” She rolled to her back against his and looked up at the twinkling stars. “Do not agree with me. It takes all the fun out of arguing.”
    “Should I not?”
    “No, you shouldn’t.”
    He smiled. “What ought I to do then? Listen patiently?”
    “Well, yes.” She giggled. “Or defend yourself—but not until I’m done telling you what you’ve done wrong.”
    “But no agreeing?”
    “None at all.”
    “What if I feel bad for being so horrid and want to beg for forgiveness?”
    She sighed and rolled over on her side again, burying her face within his comforting fur and changed the subject completely. “I’ve thought of a few names for you.”
    He chuckled. “Do they involve death threats?”
    “You mean perhaps, Slain or Target?”
    “Those would work, though perchance you should consider Clown or Moron.”
    Cecelia laughed. “No, no, no. I’ve thought of much better names.”
    “Oh, dear, do I want to hear them?”
    He could feel her shrug against him. “I don’t know. You may consider me silly, but I was thinking along the lines of Apollo, or Beau, or Calixto.”
    Alexander stopped breathing. It was a full minute before he could speak again in a ragged hushed tone. “But those names—they all mean handsome or beautiful.”
    “Yes, they do. It’s why I chose them.”
    He had no idea in that moment a wolf could become choked up. How did he never see the splendor that was this girl before now? How had his life become so vain and foolish and reckless that he never stopped to see the great tower of strength she was? The wisdom and kindness of her heart completely undid him. Alexander had to blink several times, before he asked, “Why?”
    She buried herself deeper against his side. “Because you are beautiful.”
    “No, I’m an ugly beast who has unwittingly ruined your