The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series) (Completed)

Chapter 56- Reif's POV

I was walking outside with Pippa at my side the following morning, and my heart ached and was filled with a sense of longing and pain because I was losing hope that I wasn't going to be making it out of this alive.

I was out of time, or at least close to it, for my birthday was tomorrow, and my mate was nowhere to be seen with or without her father. I had no hope in breaking this curse and had failed, even though it had seemed like I had gotten so close to breaking it, closer than even I had expected to be.

Dark clouds loomed over my head, matching the darkness inside of my heart, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was what my life was going to be like, where my kingdom was going to have to find a new king or at least have Belle lead whenever she came back.

If she came back...

My heart ached and yearned for my mate to come riding on Riser's back with a look of determination and content on her face. I yearned for her to tell me that she loved me and break this stupid curse that I had on me and then help those that she cared about, including her cousin.

She had been our only hope...

"Your Majesty?" someone asked from behind me, and I turned that way to see an Omega coming toward us, looking very concerned and nervous.

"Yes? What is it?" I asked and started to walk over to him, and my mate's dog followed me. I frowned and cocked my head while I stared at him, growing very concerned and worried. "What's wrong? What happened?"

The Omega bowed and cleared his throat while he stopped in front of me. "The queen is back, Your Majesty, but there is something wrong with her." He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "She's passed out on the back of her horse, and there is a man passed out next to her, but he is on a different horse."

He paused and cleared his throat while he bowed lower before he stood and looked at me. "There is a pack of wolves surrounding them, and one of them wants to see you. It's the Alpha of that pack that has called for you, Your Majesty."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up at attention, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound faster and harder in my chest. Worry and fear filled my chest, and I couldn't help but feel very worried and afraid of her. "Take me to her, please," I said, and the Omega nodded and bowed.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Omega said and started to walk that way.

I was about to follow him but paused when I remembered the dog, and I looked at her to see that she was already looking at me with one paw lifted and looked like she was going to follow me. "Go to the castle, Pip," I said and gestured that way. "Stay at the door."

Pippa whined, and her tail tucked closer to her body. She looked toward the way that the Omega was going before she looked at me.

I scowled and narrowed my eyes while I pointed toward the castle again. "Go, Pippa," I said. "If something happens to you, and Belle finds out about it, then she will hurt me."

Pippa whined but did what I told her to do and ran toward the palace before I turned around and ran in the direction that the Omega had gone, praying that my mate would be alive and well.

The Omega had paused and waited for me to catch before he started to walk again. He didn't say another word, and I could tell that we were running out of time, but this time it wasn't just my clock ticking but something else, something more.

"Pick up your pace," I said, and the Omega nodded and did just that, picking up his pace until he was running in the direction he had seen my mate in, and I followed, praying that I wasn't too late.

'How did they find us?' Steven asked, anxiously, and I had a feeling that he was talking about the pack that had captured Belle and her father. 'How did they even get in here? I thought the Moon Goddess had said that we were protected...'

I didn't say a word, not knowing if it was true or not, and wondered if it was because we were almost out of time and that was the reason why they were there.

Or it could be because they had Belle in their grasps...

My heart ached and became filled with pain when I thought about her and prayed that she was still alive even if she had been knocked out and was put on her horse in a way that she normally wouldn't be on.

The Omega stopped and moved out of my way, bowing when we were about to make it to the other side of the castle, and I stopped, biting back an annoyed growl but stopped so that I could hear what he had to say.

The Omega cleared his throat and bowed deeper as if he knew that I was annoyed at him. "They are waiting for you behind the wall, Your Majesty," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "There are some Warriors waiting for you as well as Peter, the Beta, and Gamma," he said.

I set my jaw and nodded. "See if you can't find any other Warriors and send them this way," I said. "Also, make sure that everyone else is inside and in the safe rooms with all doors locked until either the Queen and I tell someone to unlock it or unlock it ourselves."

The Omega bowed deeper. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said. He paused and cleared his throat, shifting on his feet. "I will also make sure that Pippa is inside, too."

I breathed a small sigh of relief and nodded. "Good, you are dismissed."

The Omega bowed deeper and nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Excuse me."

And with that, he left, going to do what I told him to do while I took a deep breath and made my way around the corner, not knowing what I was going to find, but not expecting to see this.

My mate was on her horse passed out with her hands tied behind her back and her legs tied at the ankles. Her whole body was slouched across her horse's back in the most uncomfortable position I had ever seen her in, and I couldn't help but be worried about her.

An older man was also passed out on a different horse, and like my mate, his hands were tied behind his back, and his legs were tied at the ankles. He was also knocked out, and neither of them seemed to stir, and I couldn't help but become very worried because I had no idea if they were alive or not.

Two men were standing near the horses, and one of them kept looking at me before looking away, his head bowed while he tried to do... something, even though I had no idea what he was trying to do.

Someone cleared their throat, and I looked that way to see a gangly looking Alpha with a sneer on his face. He bowed mockingly, and I bit back a small growl and narrowed my eyes, not liking the way that he acted and not trusting him at all.

"Hello, Your Majesty," he said and bowed mockingly again, earning a small growl from me and my pack. "It is so nice for you to join us and for me to meet you. What was taking you so long to get here? Were you screwing another girl or killing someone else?"

"Who are you?" I asked and growled, baring my teeth and narrowing my eyes in warning. I took a threatening step toward him, earning a huge grin from this man as if he was happy that she was there. "What do you want and how did you get here?"

"Answer my questions and I will answer yours," he said with a sneer on his face and narrowed his eyes. "Were you in the process of killing someone or were you screwing a female like the nasty dog you are?"

I growled and narrowed my eyes, baring my teeth in warning. I didn't say a word while I stared at him, not knowing why he thought that I would be doing those things.

The Alpha chuckled and seemed to know that I wasn't going to answer any of his stupid questions. "Well," he said and clapped his hands together while he stood with a sneer. "My name is Gavin Nelson, and I am the Alpha of the Riverhurst Pack in America, and I am here to claim the throne with or without getting through you first."