by D L Goddard
He swore to himself that if his beloved died, Savage would follow her shortly after. As soon as Anya began to keep a small amount of fluid down, the Beast began feeding her from himself. He cut his wrist and made her drink, barely a mouthful at first, but as days passed and she grew stronger, he fed a cupful of himself each day. Because they were soul joined, she would not know it was his blood only that it tasted like life and home. She became noticeably stronger each time and developed a healthy rosiness to her cheeks. Elated, he kept it up until she could actually swallow and chew. Then a dawn finally broke when the Beast knew his lady was going to recover and live.
But then, Savage took her from him and he felt her loss like a hole in his heart, unable to fill it with anything else. Instead … he worked on his body, sweating his turmoil out on the overhanging bars, trying to find some peace enabling him to sleep without her. ‘Where had he taken her?’ Her scent had grown stale and old in the cell and the Beast mourned her loss.
The one bright moment had been a face at his window, fleeting and familiar that whispered a hurried … “I can’t talk now, but I will bring you news of Anya.” Then she was gone. The blonde had helped him once before, maybe he could trust her to help him once again. ‘Did Anya send her? Was his lady imprisoned?’ All he could pick up from his soul mate was confusion, pain then, surprising joy. Something was happening to her, but he had no idea what. He sent all his love to her while she was sleeping and his fear that without her he would lose himself. He knew he could get truly sick if they were parted too long, but then, so could she. They had to be together at times or it would be painful for them both.
Then, one night a young woman was thrust into his cell. Savage had grown annoyed with the beast’s listlessness and hoped a pretty girl would brighten him up. The beast would be useless to him if he stopped caring about everything. ‘Had he done the wrong thing by taking Anya from him?’ He wasn’t sure but Adam hoped the company of another pretty woman would spike the beast’s interest. It certainly seemed as if she was interested in the beast because Adam had caught her sneaking around the new cell peeping in at the prisoner twice now. Lord Savage noticed the beast certainly seemed inquisitive and didn’t back away from the woman when she was tossed into the cell.
It was totally crazy the care and effort he was expending on the animal. He changed cells to a larger more spacious one where the beast could exercise in comfort and even had a proper straw mattress with warm clean blankets. Savage even had the cell scrubbed before the beast was placed into it. Finally, Savage had tossed some soap and a bucket with a scrubbing brush into the cell and had turned the hose on the beast. The creature seemed to revel in the act of cleaning itself, scrubbing until it seemed as if it would scrub its skin raw.
Surprisingly, the beast looked almost humanly ‘handsome’ if it wasn’t for its strange eyes and ears, and the ridiculous mane of course. The beast used its talons to comb the tangles out of its mane, ‘brushing’ the hair until it looked like silk. Adam was surprised when it pulled a thick straw from the bedding pile, carefully shaped the end effectively turning it into an efficient toothbrush. As soon as the beast opened its mouth and extended the deadly fangs, Savage took his words back; there was nothing even remotely human about that mouth and those teeth. Feeling totally unsettled watching the delicacy with which the beast cleaned its long deadly incisors, Savage left the cell.
The Beast was amazed. He was clean, feeling better than he had since he had been captured. The cell he had been moved to was deeper in the warren that Savage had under his mansion. But there was a slight fresh breeze coming from somewhere and he inhaled deeply getting his first whiff of outside in months. Immediately he knew what it was like outside; he was obviously on a vast estate with a large forest farther back on the land. He could even faintly scent the city smells, the unmistakable scent of many humans living crowded together a goodly distance away. But it seemed there were several vast estates before the city was reached. He laughed; he was in the open countryside surrounded by forests and rolling hills. He felt hope rise up in his heart for the first time in a very long time.
Then, without any warning of his intentions, Savage shoved a struggling young woman into the cell with the beast.
“I hope this will cheer you up … you seem to be missing feminine company, so I have given you some. You have two days before I come and collect her. Good night, sleep well.”
Savage laughed as he heard the banging on the cell door as the servant pleaded with him to let her out. Lord Savage wasn’t bothered in the slightest. The visits with the beast were a sufficient threat in keeping his young women in line. As soon as he saw one of his prospective bed partners getting out of hand, he could always put them in here. It solved two problems in one go. As he walked through the corridors, there was a jaunty swing in his step and he couldn’t stop smiling. His buxom blonde with the enticing sway to her walk was going to be more amenable after her ‘visit’.
The blonde waited until her master’s footsteps couldn’t be heard any longer. She turned around and suddenly stepped back; the Beast was right behind her. She swallowed nervously; it was fine passing the creature things for Anya and whispering words she wasn’t even sure it would understand. It was quite another to be given to the creature for its bodily needs. Especially as the huge animal was standing less than a foot from her and while it … no … it was definitely a he … she amended … and while he was clean and tidy, he was only wearing a small pair of cut off shorts that barely covered what they were supposed to and right at this moment, the Beast was very, very interested in what he could see. The master had intentionally torn the blouse of her uniform to expose her curves to the Beast and he was definitely excited about the dark nipples that suddenly hardened as she felt his gaze fixed upon them.
Suddenly she was pulled up against him, her blouse was wrenched from her shoulders and she was stripped to the waist. His mouth came down hard on hers as his hands stroked and caressed her naked skin. The kiss was so incredible that she found her arms around his neck and crushed her naked breasts against him. She rubbed up against his chest, burning holes in what little control he had left. Lifting her up into his arms, he supported her body, cupped in his big hands. Her long legs wrapped themselves around his waist pressing against his urgent need for her. She was rubbing against his erection as his hands slid under the petticoats, feeling the smooth skin of a firm shapely backside.
He knew she wasn’t Anya, knew he should stop … but he was starving for feminine company. He hadn’t even felt the lack until Anya had entered his life. Since they had joined and had made wild passionate love, his Beast had craved Anya’s body like a drug. He was addicted to her body, to being inside her and he had to have her, they were joined. But it had been at least a month since he had felt the touch of her smooth silken skin and he felt as if he was going out of his mind.
When Savage had tossed the blonde in with him … his Beast had taken over. The animal inside his skin wanted this woman no matter who she was, how old she was or even how she looked. None of that mattered to the Beast inside. He was not going to let his humanity get in the way. So before he even had a chance to warn the young lovely servant, he was literally tearing at her clothes. His body was so hard and rigid; he knew if he didn’t get rid of the tension inside, he would explode.
He slammed her against the wall of the cell, knocking all the air out of her lungs. As she gasped for breath, he sucked at her mouth, cutting her lips, feeding on the blood and cutting along her neck, licking the blood there too. He couldn’t explain what was happening to him, he just needed to feed, to have sex. It wasn’t kind or gentle; he was rough and violent as he took her even though a part of him was trying to tone down how aggressive he was, but it took all his control not to hurt her.
The servant was lost in a world of wild sensations, but the strangest of all was she thought she heard the creature whispering to her. He kept saying, “Don’t be afraid … I will not hurt you … I just can’t h
elp myself … it has been too long.”
It didn’t matter to her if she heard him or not, whatever he was doing was so unbelievable, she felt his hunger like a primitive instinct and realized it wasn’t about anything but pure sexual need.
The Beast grabbed her long hair, licking the blood along her neck as she gasped, not in fear or pain but in undeniable lust. She was so excited and aroused, she encouraged him to take her anyway he chose. It made it very difficult for the Beast to behave. Rumbling in his throat, he dropped his pants and she felt him pressing against her. Maneuvering herself into position she rubbed against him. The intimacy of her touch tipped the Beast completely over the edge. He slammed into her body as her head was flung backward. The Beast thrust inside her as hard and as fast as he could, using the wall as her support, he pushed himself harder and deeper until she was gasping, finding herself lost in a wanton whirlwind.
Suddenly he bit down on her breast licking the blood, sucking and teasing her until she felt her body clench in anticipation. One last thrust sent them spiraling out of control. His mighty roar reverberated all through the cellars as their orgasm pulled them into its grip. They shook and shuddered, collapsing helpless as they finally couldn’t stand any longer. Still together, joined most intimately, he began to laugh, and then cry. He felt he had betrayed his lady love. She found herself doing the same, unsure if she had even had sex with a man or a beast, but thrilled to the core with what her body had just felt. Whatever he was … he was absolutely amazing.
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Chapter Six
Anya had spent the last two weeks cloistered with her two master’s learning all about their history and the truth of who they were. She learned that they definitely weren’t human and were several millennia old. They wouldn’t tell her what they were except they appeared humanoid when they wanted to blend in. They had abilities humans did not have, including the ability to feed on pain and to replace it with a sense of objectiveness while the other found the joy in lives and grew the emotion to fill in the gaps where pain had damaged the heart. It enabled someone suffering from soul destroying trauma to heal without drowning in the negative emotions that always accompanied great harm. The twins had always worked as a team in this respect and rarely were able to do all they could to truly heal, they glowed when they fully healed and they were very reluctant to show this side of themselves. But in Anya’s case, they trusted her not to speak of what she had seen. She felt humbled by the faith they had placed in her.
They weren’t of her world but had come through something called a ‘gateway’ to speak to the ‘Keeper’. But when they entered the living center of the hub where all gateways become one, the Keeper was missing. Such a thing had never happened in living memory before. The Keeper had to live within the castle, leaving its confines for a short while to visit family or friends and to spend a time walking the soil of his homeland. But never for more than part of a day as the castle’s magic depended on him.
He gave the magic direction, channeling it into the pathways keeping them whole and strengthening the hub. He ensured the magic prevented entry to those that wanted to harm the lands and their peoples. The magic truly was a living thing and had created the castle to house the Living Light enabling the one who guarded it to live in a lifestyle few ever dreamed in payment for the restrictions being the Keeper placed on their lives.
The castle protected the gateways from unwanted intrusion and the Keeper monitored those entering, testing the truth of their reasons for crossing over; it was his gifts as the guardian of the Living Light. The Keeper could sense good or evil, truth from even the most cleverly concealed lies ensuring no malevolence entered the worlds attached to the gateways. But, the Keeper was absent from his post, having guarded the castle for several millennia.
They explained why the Keeper had isolated himself from the world and those he cared about; assuming they all felt he was too horrible for any society because of the Enchantress’ curse. He had been so unbelievably handsome before and she turned him into a monster. Sadly, many shunned him, frightened and repelled about the supposed terrifying curse she had placed on him, he was so gracious and decent; no amount of disfigurement could detract from the beauty of his soul. He was a truly honorable and noble man and that could never be changed no matter the outward disfigurement.
But the strange thing was how the castle affected the curse. While he was in the confines of the magic, he was himself inside a strange face, but he realized the magic kept him truly who he was. He discovered that if he was away from the magic for long, he became more the beast his face represented. It seemed that the castle’s influence was keeping the full curse from him. The twins worried that if he was away too long, he truly would become the monster the Enchantress wanted him to be. He had turned her down seeing the corruption in her soul in spite of the exquisite beauty of her outward appearance. She hated him for his denial of her and she cursed him until he wanted her as she hungered for him.
Val was excited as he turned to Anya holding her hands.
“But … we have looked for the Keeper for months, traveling everywhere he could have been and had found no sign of him. But then, you walked in the room and smelled of his people. You must have been in contact with someone who knows where he is.”
Anya looked into the hopeful faces of her masters, depression filling her as she realized she did know where their Keeper was hidden. ‘But would it mean she would lose him forever? Would the Beast leave her to serve once more leaving her alone?’
Anya looked up, determination on her face. She knew even if it meant she would lose her Beast forever, he needed to be in the castle or more than their love would be lost.
“I think I know where the Keeper is?”
Mir stood quickly and pulled her up, excitement warring with caution.
“Please Anya … if you know anything that will help our people, please tell us.”
Anya stood on tip toe and kissed Mir lightly on his lips.
“It’s alright my Lord. I will tell you all I know, which unfortunately isn’t much.”
Anya thought on what she actually did know of Lord Savage’s mysterious prisoner.
“I had been indentured to Lord Savage since my twelfth birthday. All I knew was my future was servitude to a master who was brutal and unforgiving. I knew on my eighteenth birthday, Lord Savage would take me into his bed as he had done with all the others and I would have his brats to heel while I served in the manor until he tired of me. About ten months ago now rumors about a mysterious animal the master had caught while out hunting in the remotest of our neighboring allies began to be gossiped about.
I took little notice, but the talk persisted and Lord Savage began buying clean straw and ordering food plates to be delivered to him at certain times for his ‘guest’. Then he would smirk and walk off with the plate of food to the cellars. He often came back with blood on his hands and he always carried a whip which was also covered in blood. It wasn’t his; there were no marks on him. It had to be our unknown prisoner.
I must admit to hearing moans and weeping occasionally when I ventured down to the cellar for wine and brandy for the master. I never knew where it came from but the despair in the sounds made me weep as well. This went on for quite some time until about two months ago.
You see … it was nearly my eighteenth birthday and I was terrified at the prospect of Lord Savage teaching me about the ‘delights of the flesh’ as he put it to me one morning. He caught me in the spare bedroom putting fresh sheets on the bed. The master cornered me and began groping my body. I tried not to fight, to let it just happen, but he repelled me … I loathed him and couldn’t bring myself to accept the idea that he would take my virginity and I would have no voice in the matter.
When he placed my hand on the crotch of his pants so I could feel how big he was and how hard and ready he had become just by touching me, he decided he wouldn’t wait any longer. After all … I belonged to him and I would just have to get used
to the idea. But something snapped inside me when he made me touch him … I pulled my hand away and slapped him across the face as hard as I could, just as he was bending to kiss me.
He was furious but he smiled strangely and I watched as his cheek got redder and redder. Not long after, I was told to take a very special meal to the prisoner in the cell; I was bringing a very special reward to the creature for its good behavior. He told me nothing of the creature, only saying it responded to the tone of my voice. I was terrified, but I was told not to return until the prisoner had enjoyed its reward. I think I must be the most naïve woman in the world at times. I hadn’t even thought the ‘reward’ was me.
But the strangest thing was when I saw the creature; he wasn’t a monster. He spoke well, obviously well-educated and behaved like a gentleman. And in spite of the initial terror I felt over his appearance, I realized he was wild and very beautiful and he didn’t frighten me anymore. I fact … I felt as if I knew him … as if my heart knew him. He felt it too using almost the exact same words. We made love then, and over most of the next two days. It was as if we knew this was all the time we had and he had to be with me as often as possible.
Something happened though when we were making love; I felt myself take his seed, nurturing our son in my womb and at the exact same moment he threw back his head and made the most terrifying roar that echoed all through the cells and up into the house. But instead of being frightened, I felt … triumphant.”
