Hidden Beast

Prologue

Pyrope

Scanning the forest as I walked I looked for something edible. Mom was sick and couldn't work and dad didn't earn enough to buy us food so now we were starving, again.

I don't now what my older siblings were doing about it but clearly it didn't work as we didn't get any food and I couldn't see my younger siblings starve so I decided to walk out here.

Trying to find something, anything, just so we can fight back the hunger a lite bit longer.

I'm not good at plants tough and I don't know what is dangerous and what's not. I can't hunt either so I will just try to find something I recognize and hope it will do.

Finding a couple of decent looking mushrooms I bend down and begin filling my basket, hopefully mom can tell if we can eat them or not.

The sound of twigs snapping and the sudden violent rustle of leaves make me look up, trying to find the sounds source.

Loud thumping against the forest floor and the barks of dogs makes me rise in alarm. What is happening?

Slowly I back away from the direction the sound is coming from, should I run or hide?

I didn't get time to decide what I should do as a massive big brown form barged from the bushes.

Screaming I began running, not even thinking things trough, the monster panted and I heard the thumping following me.

I panted and pushed my legs faster, it burned and my lungs hurt but I didn't stop running. I can't die like this, would my family mourn my loss or would they be grateful to get one less mouth to feed? Probably the later.

The monster was right at my heels now I heard it, almost felt it. That's when I knew I was dead but I kept running.

The trees disappeared in my vision, only a blur as I run as fast as I could. Not fast enough tough.

Suddenly a loud thump was heard directly behind me but I didn't dare look back.

Shouting was heard but the thumping stopped. Suddenly a pearcing pain was felt in my leg and I screamed as I stumbled to the ground.

A growl was heard and more shouting flooded trough my ears as I felt blood oozing out from my wound at my heal.

My damaged shoes didn't held against the beasts. I turned onto my back and looked at the...dog?

A dog held onto my leg and growled at me, where did the monster go? I saw men in armor on horses and there it was. The big beast laid one the side in front if me and some of the men was overlooking it.

"You will need to apologize us, we didn't now someone would be here and the hunt dragged us too close too the village" a man said. He had left the horse and walked to me with an apologetic look. He barked a command and the dog immediately backed away and sat down, obeying the man's orders.

"You okay, I hope you aren't hurt?" the man said and I looked back too him. Our gazes locked together and I felt something click inside me. Mate, he was my mate.

Quickly I looked him over, he seemed wealthy and had the royal emblem on his chest armor. He will never want me, he would probably see how vulnerable I was and reject me right away.

He reached a gloved hand out to me and I hesitantly took it. Waiting for the moment he rejected me. He dragged me up and the pain shooting from my ankle made me fall again. He caught me and when I saw his worried expression my breath almost stopped. He didn't look disgusted by me, he seemed...worried.

"You're hurt, we will help you and then we will escort you to your family" he said and I couldn't look him in the eyes, instead I looked down to the ground and nodded.

That's when he would reject me and we will never meet again, he would wait until I was healed before he left me. Did he now he let me heal only to brake me again?

I always wanted a mate too like me and take care of me, I had always taken care of my family even if I broke too and I had hoped my mate would take care of me, now it seems like it was just my silly dreams again.

He held me up as I limped to his men. "What's your name?" he asked me as he handed me over to a healer.

"Pyrope" I said. "Pyrope Johnson" I told him and he nodded. "I'm Garnet Williams" he said and winked at me.

I stared wide eyed at him, he is my king. He is married to the queen, no way he will divorce to be with me his lowlife mate.

The healer had placed me in a bed and was taking care of my foot. The king bended over me, his breath fanned against my ear and my heartbeat stopped.

"I may be married but you're my mate and I'm not giving you up so fast" he whispered to me and I stared after him in disbelief when he left the tent.

I was soon to see how true he was to his words.