The Beast

3

☾ LORD RONAN ☾

I stand so quickly that my hoodie nearly falls off my head. I knock the drugged cup away and pin the trafficker down. Then I lean in and sneer at the little maid.

She must have scurried out of a wall in the mansion. She's a little mouse. Brown hair and eyes, a slight tremor in her petite body.

She's mine. I can recognize all of my servants from a mile away. She's not particularly good at hiding, either. That's why the trafficker stalked her. He knew she was fresh, vulnerable meat.

What the fuck is she doing out here in this wasteland?

"That's not water, naïve girl. And that's not a waiter. Go home. You should have never left the estate."

She flinches because she wasn't expecting to get caught.

I drag the trafficker outside, feeling more angry at him than at the rogue servant that broke the single most important rule in the estate: don't leave.

I memorize her small round face. It's not a hard thing to do.

Then I hand the criminal to my guards waiting in the shadows and I make my exit. I've revealed enough of myself already.

I could have told the girl then and there to not bother returning to my estate. I'm unsure why I didn't, and that's a problem.

There have only been two other breakers of this rule in my fifteen years as lord of the estate. Middle aged men. One that had a family he wanted to find. Another bored and tired of his duties. Both were banished for jumping the wall. This girl should be, too.

But I let her go because I was shocked to see someone so small and defenseless dare to wander into this dangerous land. She is too adventurous. Reckless. I've never seen anything like her before.

Surely she won't sleep tonight at the thought of being banished the next morning. That is, if she's not caught by the guards on her way back to the estate.

I push the ordeal aside. After the scare she got in the bar, I doubt she will be sneaking out again or breaking any more rules. There's nothing like a trafficker and a freak in a hoodie to put the fear of god into you.

I head home, done with my work in town for the day. Now I must report to the estate and ensure everything is running properly. Dozens of lives are in my hands.

Two of my men follow me. Although I wear a hoodie to conceal my face, my identity and wealth is known across the land. I have plenty of enemies.

We walk through the gates, and my eyes scan the walls, searching for ways that girl could have escaped.

Today, the servants are free to roam the halls until late at night, so her absence was likely not questioned. I wonder if she's back in her bed, trembling under her sheets. Brown eyes wide and staring at the door, waiting for the big bad wolf to come get her.

I chuckle. I doubt she made the connection. She can't know I'm the lord of the estate if she hasn't seen my face before.

On my way to the office, I see Sebrina. She's a second-tier maid that often warms my bed. I walk right past her. There is too much to do tonight. I finally got a lead on my investigation.

Sex to release my anger will have to wait. Besides, the release only makes me angrier. Because as I fuck these women in the dark with my face hidden, as they moan, I feel more like a monster. There is no intimacy between us. They love my thick cock and the power I offer. Nothing more. It's impossible to love a masked stranger.

In my office, I call Walker. He's another lord, in a different estate. There are only three of us. The government thought they could buy our silence after they fucked us over. Pumped us with experimental drugs that made us more beast than men. They caused the civil war that wrecked the country. They are the reason I keep my servants behind the wall. Because outside is anarchy.

I call walker. It takes a minute for him to pick up. I still remember him as the young, lanky recruit that would run around base delivering equipment. He was one of the first to sign up for the drug experiment. He wanted the muscles, the power, the bullying to stop.

I used to pick on him until I realized he joined the military because he wanted to become big enough to beat his stepfather, who enjoyed throwing his mother around. I respected that.

"Hello?" He answers, coughing.

The man is a heavy smoker. I think that's how he deals with the loneliness. With having to hide his ugly fucking face just like I do.

I've got one blue eye and one hazel one. A few stark veins on the left side of my face. Scars. The experimental drugs expanded our muscles and stamina but left their mark.

"I got a small lead about a weapon manufacturer. I'll send you the details."

After we exchange a few more words, I hang up. My eyes keep finding the windows as I think of the girl and her escape. The blinds are drawn. They always are. But tonight, I draw the curtains too. The less reminders I have of the daring maid that I met in town, the better.

— —

The following morning, I think of all the things I must do today. A ridiculous thought crosses me: finding the file of the girl and her family.

Not to punish her. Just to sate my curiosity.

I quickly decide that's a dangerous idea and focus on my work. I don't go to town today. There is too much to do around the estate, too many orders to write and send to officers. I don't meet my servants face to face, so written communication is the only way to reach them.

Hours later, I've gotten plenty done and had my meals. I wondered if the girl cooked anything I ate. What are her jobs?

I scowl.

Knowing that I need to release some tension, I decide to walk the halls.

Today, servants are required to retire early. The halls are off-limit except for a few individuals, including the few maids that frequent my bed.

I walk down the dark halls. My hoodie is off, and only small stripes of moonlight light my way. This is the only time I can walk freely in my home. The halls have been emptied, lights exhausted and curtains drawn as I commanded. I'm a ghost king.

I come across Sebrina again. She greets me, but I remain silent as usual.

I reach for her hand, requesting her presence. She eagerly clutches onto me. I wrap my free arm around the small of her back and lower my face to kiss her.

Her back presses against the wood panel and she arcs herself, offering her body to me.

I grip her skirt, ready to lift it, when I see a shadow move at the end of the hall. I know all the shadows in the estate. I've wandered these grounds for so long that I've become one with the darkness. That's why I can tell when something is out of place.

I release Sebrina and dash for the onlooker. I hear a gasp before I grip a familiar thin wrist.

It's her again. The runaway maid. She has broken another fucking rule: no wandering the halls after eight.

I lean in, keenly aware that I have no hoodie on. My only mask is the darkness that could easily be spooked away.

"You," I say, deepening my voice so she can't recognize it from earlier. "What are you doing here?"