Hunted: An Erotic Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (An Adult Fairy Tale Novel)

by du Lys, Cerys

  I kind of wanted to mix the two with this. I don't like sad or dark endings very much, but I like the idea of darker fairy tales. I like the idea of some romance and fantasy mixed in, too. The setting is otherwise relatively ordinary, except... then there's a witch. And a man cursed to look like a beast. A magical rose appears, and we learn that Everett's servants are trapped within various items in his mansion. More and more, onwards, Pinem'e the fallen angel, plus Alena becoming a succubus, another witch, and finally Horatio is revealed as the Timekeeper.

  You might have noticed, but this story has a lot of sex, too. I'm going to be honest and say this is probably the most sex-filled story I've ever written. A lot of that stems from there being multiple characters, mostly in the form of Danya and Alena. I can't really just abandon one of them, you know? While the story is mostly about Danya and her situation, Alena plays an important role in that. It's kind of about both of them in a lot of ways, and their similarities and differences. They both feel trapped and stuck in life, but neither of them really realizes it, you know? Danya thinks that Alena's life is a lot more carefree and easy, while Alena wishes for the exact same things that her sister does.

  I liked the parallel of Dante and Everett, too. They have a similar situation going on among them that Danya and Alena have, but in a different sort of way. It worked out well, I think. Dante just kind of shows up on the scene all of a sudden, seemingly, but I really enjoy the allusion of more, too. Dante does appear more through the story, and he's got to be the one who Horatio mentioned earlier (when he said that someone put a pitcher of water on the table, remember?), but he's scared of what's going to happen, and so he hides himself away in his room.

  I think Alena is similar. Early on we see her hiding behind a silly facade, but that's how Danya sees her, right? When we get into Alena's mind, we see something more.

  In a lot of ways, this made the story a little more difficult to tell. More detailed and intricate, at least. You sort of have to take everything into consideration there. Danya might perceive something as one way, but if we get into the mind of a different character at another point in time, we see something else entirely, you know? Which is correct? Or are they both correct in their own ways? Perhaps they're both wrong, too.

  I enjoy the concept of unreliable narrators like that. I think it's a lot of fun and an interesting idea to explore.

  Anyways! I hope you enjoyed this story. It's got some romantic aspects to it, but it's a different sort of romance, too. I know that some of it isn't exactly what people think is typical, but I hope you're willing to suspend some of your traditional values and enjoy the fairy tale aspects for what they are, too. It's hard to delve into the darker side of myths and legends without adding some taboo and forbidden types of situations along the way, right?

  If you enjoyed this story, please know that I plan on writing some more erotic fairy tale re-imaginings in the future. Currently I have a Red Riding Hood retelling titled Bargain with the Wolf. This is only available as an e-book at the moment, and it's shorter, but it tells the story of a woman named Scarlet who makes a deal with a man who was cursed by a witch to look like a wolf. Conner runs a magical sort of store where he can sell anything, and in the context of the story, well... Scarlet is looking for a way to cure her grandmother's illness, and...

  It's a fun story, and if you enjoyed this one, I think you'll enjoy Bargain with the Wolf, too. I'll have more in the future, also.

  If you prefer to read paperbacks, I have a few of those, but nothing quite like this at the moment. I'd love if you checked them out, though. The Billionaire's Ultimatum is a contemporary erotic romance, while Princess Miri: An Erotic Coming of Age Monster Romance is more of a fun and silly medieval fantasy (with a bratty, sexy princess and her forbidden, taboo romance with her hulking brute of a monster troll servant). The former is more serious, while the latter is more silly, but both of them are a lot of fun.

  I'll have more paperbacks in the future, too, but a majority of my books are available mostly as e-books for the time being. If you'd like to check those out, I'd highly suggest The Monster Within series, as it's somewhat similar to this one, though more sweet and less dark. My Soulless series is more on the paranormal side, dystopian apocalypse kind of thing, and a bit darker, but also a sweet and nice erotic romance. If you're looking for something with a lot of sex, well... lots of my shorter works fit the bill more. Sex Kitten in particular might fit your tastes wonderfully.

  And that's about it! I like writing these notes. They're a lot of fun and you get to see inside a little of what I'm thinking.

  If you enjoyed this book, I'd love if you rated and reviewed it. It helps me out a lot and I really appreciate it. As an indie author, I do a majority of this by myself, and my readers (you!) and word of mouth. I read every review and I'll reply if you have any questions, so just know that it means a lot to me if you help me out like that. Thank you, too!

  Thanks very much for taking a chance on my book! Bye for now!

  ~Cerys

  Sample (Spice)

  Please enjoy this sample from the erotic fairy tale novelette, "Bargain with the Wolf," a re-imagining of the classic story of Red Riding Hood, by Cerys du Lys

  ~*~

  "So," Konner said. "You're welcome to look around if you'd like, but shall we get down to business? What exactly are the terms you're looking to set up?"

  Scarlet blinked. "Terms?"

  "Yes, well—" He went behind his counter and retrieved a large book, then carried it over to the dining table. "Sit, sit. This might seem difficult, but it's very easy. There's no need to be anxious."

  Scarlet sat primly at the dining table. "Alright."

  Konner eyed her, one brow raised. "You can't really see anything if you're that far away."

  She blushed, then got up and sat in the chair next to him instead of the one four chairs away. "Sorry."

  "Quite alright. But, anyways—" He flipped through the book, going to a certain page without bothering to check the index. "There's a few ways we can go about this. How long do you want her saved for?"

  "Hm?"

  "She's sick, right? Once she's not sick, how much longer do you want her to live? I can cure her illness right now, for practically nothing, but she could catch a cold and die from it tomorrow. What's the use of that?"

  "No, no, I wouldn't like that," Scarlet said, shaking her head.

  "Do you just want another week? Some time to say good bye?" Konner ran his finger over the options on the page, showing her.

  "I'd like more than a week," Scarlet said timidly.

  "More than a week? Hrm." Konner nodded. He took out a pair of eyeglasses from his suit jacket's breast pocket and put them on. "Well, the other options are a month, a year, or ten years. There's nothing in between that. Will one of those do?"

  "Ten," Scarlet said immediately. "I want that one." She pointed to the option in the book for emphasis. "Yes."

  "Ten..." Wolfe hesitated. "Yes, well, my dear, that's quite expensive. The cost is high."

  "Oh." Scarlet frowned. "I don't have a lot of money."

  "Ha!" Konner laughed. "Money? No, no. Money's for small trinkets and baubles and the like. For something like this we don't deal in money. Rarities, favors, souls, things like that."

  "Um, what?"

  Konner sighed. "The text is very small. Let me read it aloud for you." He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "The price for extending a life for a definite ten extra years is... Oh, that's not as bad as I thought. Only your first-born child. I haven't had one of those in a long while, so that will be nice."

  "You want to eat my first-born child?" Scarlet asked, incredulous.

  Konner looked at her, shocked. "What? No! I don't eat children. That's absurd. In fact, I'll take quite good care of him or her. I'll raise them as my little merchant attendant and one day they'll take over my business. Not for a long time still, but it won't be bad. I'm very fair and equitable. I follow all applicable labor laws."
r />   "Look, I—" Scarlet frowned, trying to figure this out. "I don't even know when I'll become pregnant. It might not be a long time."

  "Let's see." Konner sniffed at the air. "Ah, yes. We can definitely resolve that worry of yours, too. From what I can tell, you're ready to breed any time now. Shall we arrange for that along with curing your grandmother? I can add a few extras into the deal for your benefit, if so."

  "If—wait, what do you mean?" According to the calendar and the midwife's predictions, she was definitely within the time period for when she could become pregnant, but how would he know that?

  "Sign right here and everything will be set," Wolfe said with a grin that complemented his fierce looks. He pulled a document from out of nowhere and placed it in front of her, along with a quill pen and ink pot, then tapped a claw next to an "X" at the bottom.

  Scarlet perused the document quickly. It was confusing, and she didn't quite understand most of it, but he seemed so adamant about her signing and she really did want to save her grandmother. Also, maybe she could visit her first-born child? It was only like an apprenticeship, right? It wasn't as if she were losing her son or daughter forever. Many mothers would have loved to know their child had a guaranteed and prosperous future. She should appreciate this.

  She signed the line alongside the "X" at the bottom.

  "Also, initial and date here," Konner said, pointing to another spot.

  She did that, too.

  "And I'll sign here... and... done! Shall we get started, then? Head on over to the bed and undress at your leisure. I'm going to have a shot of whiskey before we start."

  She blinked. "What?"

  "Sex? How do you expect to become pregnant without it?"

  "Uh..."

  ~*~

  (You can find the rest of this story here: Bargain with the Wolf )

  Sample (Sweet)

  Please enjoy this sample from the medieval fantasy erotic romance, "Spark of Hope," the first in the Monster Within series, by Cerys du Lys

  ~*~

  "It's happening soon," Thomas said. He was the little Miller boy, and on an errand from his parents to get his church pants stitched. "That's what they say, at least. Have you seen it before, Solace?"

  "You shouldn't act too friendly with me," she said. "Remember what happened last time?"

  Thomas winced. Once before, he'd helped Solace pick up some tatters of cloth she'd dropped on her way to the tailors and his parents had spanked him so hard for it that he couldn't sit for a week. "Yeah, well, you won't tell anyone, will you?"

  She laughed, a quiet, gentle titter. "I won't, but if someone overhears..."

  "I don't know why everyone hates you, anyways," Thomas said, growing bolder. "You ain't never done nothing wrong, right? Did you steal or do a crime or something? I think you're real nice, Solace, and you're always happy, so I don't get it."

  "I'm not so useful," she said. "I mess up a lot of things. I try very hard, but trying isn't enough sometimes. I do manage to get by and that's good enough for me for now, though. Some day..."

  "I'll marry you," Thomas said, all of a sudden. "Then if anyone says something mean, I'll punch 'em! Beat them up good so they never do it again."

  Solace laughed. "Will you? I'm almost twice as old as you. I don't think it'll work out."

  "I'm turning twelve in a month," Thomas said, matter-of-factly.

  "I'll bake you a cake."

  "No, actually, you won't." A man entered the church stables where she was doing her mending and sneered at her. "Take your pants and go, boy, before I tell your parents you were talking with this wretched whore."

  "She's not a whore!" Thomas said.

  The man, Levi, stared at Thomas for half a second before bringing his arm back and smacking the boy upside the head.

  "No!" Solace said. "It's true, Thomas. I am. That's why Father William lets me stay here in the stables. I take care of the horses very well." She nodded fast when Levi started to grin. "Here are your pants," she said, handing them to Thomas. "You're free to go now. No charge, since I'm sure the mending isn't very good."

  "But..." Thomas took the pants from her, holding them in one shaky fist.

  "No, nothing. Out. I'm done. Go away now. Go." She shooed him towards the stable entrance, pushing him along the first step of the way. Gentle, yet firm, until he continued on his own, walking off, quiet and confused.

  Once Thomas was out of sight, Levi leered at her. "I've heard that's why Father William keeps you around. I'd love to see it sometime. What do you say? A copper for a show? I'll give you two if it's good and you let the stallion mount you. Maybe I'll even fuck you myself after, so you know what a real man's cock is like for once."

  "The horses are out for the day," Solace said. "Father William wouldn't allow it, either. I can't, Levi."

  The man scrunched up his brow, looking furious. She knew he wanted to press the matter, to force her to fuck the beasts in front of him, except he wouldn't. A good thing, too, since she'd never done it and never planned to, but Father William wouldn't allow Levi to force her into it, either. In Glenwood, the word of the church was practically the law, so someone like Levi wouldn't go against a priest even if Father William was a senile old man.

  "Fine," he said. "For now. Actually, maybe it's for the best, anyways. Here. This is for you."

  He shoved a piece of rolled up parchment into her hands, grinning.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "Read it," he said. "Or should I read it for you? I don't expect someone like you knows more than a few simple words. Unroll it and I'll do that. Be quick. I don't have all day."

  She stood up and unrolled the parchment, eying it over. Of course she could read, but she didn't want Levi knowing that. The townspeople already called her enough mean names, and she didn't want "witch" added to the lot. If they had any excuse to tie rocks to her feet and drown her, they might take it.

  He stepped behind her and pressed his body close to hers. She could feel the hardness and length of his manhood beneath his clothes, pushing against her firm rear. Leaning over her shoulder, breathing hard against her neck, he smacked one hand on her stomach while the other roamed across her breasts. As he read aloud from the parchment, he fondled and groped her.

  She tried to ignore him, reading along too to see if he would lie to her, but he wouldn't stop touching her.

  "The Glenwood high council," he said, squeezing her left breast, "must soon send an eligible woman into the Forest of Sacrifice as a bride for the Demon King. This is a tradition that has continued—" He emphasized the last word by twisting her hardened nipple. "—for centuries and is necessary in order to retain peace with the monstrous host."

  When Levi paused, focusing more on molesting her chest than on reading the parchment, Solace cleared her throat. "What else?"

  "Hold on, slut. It's not like you have anywhere to go, do you? Or are you excited for the horses to return?"

  "No, but—"

  "But what?" he asked, his voice harsh and demanding. Without warning, he shoved her to the ground. Not hard, but enough to startle her. Her knees scraped against the rough, straw covered dirt and she dropped the parchment. "You think you're too good for me, Solace? Is that it? You want to know what the rest of this parchment says, do you? Here's what it says. We're sending you as the damn bride for that sick demon fuck, and there's nothing you can do about it."

  "I wasn't..." She backed away, offering him a reluctant smile. "It's alright, Levi. I just wanted to know."

  "You know what it means to be his bride? It's not some special wonderful marriage filled with love and happiness, Solace. It's awful pain and hurt. Every hundred years this happens, and the council knows it's awful, but they do it anyways. What's one useless woman's pain compared to peace for the whole town? Nothing, that's what. The Demon King's going to fuck you raw and fill your belly with some monster baby. Except it's not birth you go through, it's being eaten from the inside out. That demonspawn's going to gnaw at your insides o
nce it grows. Slow at first, until it gets hungrier and hungrier, then it's going to pop out one day, eat right through your stomach, and devour the rest of you as its first meal. What do you think of that?"

  Solace shivered. It sounded awful, but it was just a story, right? She didn't now much about the Demon King or the monstrous host, but she'd read a little about them in the church library books. Every so often an ogre or a troll wandered into Glenwood and wanted to purchase something from the market, too. All the townspeople quieted, trying to pretend they weren't scared, but it was so easy to see through their act. Solace might have been scared, too, but the monsters looked so fascinating. Once, except she probably imagined it, she even thought one smiled at her. A crooked, wicked smile, but not altogether unpleasant. A friendly gesture from a creature completely unused to friendliness. Or that's what she wanted to think.

  "If I want to take you right here and now, by force or whatever, I could, you know?" Levi said, ignoring her shaking. "It's not like anyone cares, anyways. If I raped you, so what? They're sending you to the Demon King, so you're as good as dead already."

  He loomed over her, pressing closer. His boots crunched against the brittle straw with every step he took, ominous and dark. He stared down at her, his expression a mix of taboo excitement and fierce anger.

  "I think I'm gonna do it," he said. "I'll fuck you so hard you won't have room in your belly for any demonspawn. And you know what? He'll just try all the harder, over and over, and you'll scream. I'll listen for it, Solace. When the wind blows on a quiet night, I'll listen for your screams from their underground city and I'll smile."

  "No," she said, smiling at him, trying to be happy. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she shook her head. "You don't mean that, Levi. I'm so happy, though. Really, I am. I'm so happy that I can help Glenwood. I'll gladly go to the Demon King for everyone. I want to help."