Finding Beauty in the Beast

Chapter 11

The dungeon was dark. It had been a few years since I had been down here. There were cobwebs everywhere and rats scurried around mindlessly. I leaned back against the wall and frowned. I had been down here for two days. They brought me down here after they searched the entire castle. They chained my wrists and ankles to the wall and left me. William comes down every other hour to see if I've shifted yet and I assure him every time that he will know when it happens because no one will be able to come down here. I can feel the twitch starting in my stomach and I know he will get his wish soon. It will only be an hour at the most before the beast makes it's presence known. A pang of sharp pain causes me to grit my teeth. Its presence might be known sooner than expected...

---------------------------------------------------------

Outside the castle, a storm rages on as the sun has set behind the horizon. Flashes of lightning followed by crashes of thunder drown out the sound of Valerie's screams as she shifts. William is waiting in the sitting room in front of the fire when the shouting starts. He jumps up with his hand on his dagger. A loud crashing sound echoes throughout the whole castle and all of his men head towards its source. He runs out of the room and is immediately knocked over by one of his men.

"Watch out!" Someone else yells and the beast jumps over him.

It attacks another man who had just come down the stairs. It lunged at him and bit into his shoulder. It knocked him over and proceeded to rip his throat out. By now, William and the man who knocked him over were standing up. The man had backed away but William stood his ground. He watched in horror as his friend was destroyed. Blood splattered the stairs and the closest wall while a pool of it began to spread out from his body. The growls and snapping sounds sent chills down his spine.

He inched forward, closer to the stairs, using the railing as a barrier between him and the monster. He raises his dagger and prepares to lunge at it when it spins around. The growl it produces shakes the stairs and the feigning courage of his men. It lunges at him and bites into his arm just above the elbow and knocks him over. He cries out in a mixture of pain and surprise as it tears at his arm. One of his men runs forward and stabs it with a spear. It yelps out in pain and releases his arm. It turns it's attention to the man with the spear and attacks. Another man runs forward to William and pulls him up.

"The dining room." He mutters in between grunts.

They shrink away into the dining room while the wolf kills yet another one of his men. Once his life has been taken, it turns to finish William off only to find him gone. It sniffs the air and begins to walk towards the closed doors of the dining room. It stops at the door and presses against it. It's locked. From the other side, the men wait in the soft torchlight with weapons ready at hand. William stands behind them with his pistol drawn. Suddenly the door bursts open and the wolf slides into the room. All of the men closest take their moment and strike with spears. Three of them leave their mark earning a vicious growl. The wolf lunges at a man and instantly breaks his neck with one bite before lunging for another. He swings his sword but only strikes its front leg. The wolf lands on him and tears into his neck.

"Shoot her!" William shouts and the first round of shots rings in everyone's ears.

The wolf releases the man and yelps in pain as one bullet hits it's shoulder, another one grazes its snout and the last one hits left thigh. This only seems to anger it even more as it strikes the closest man in his legs. It moves quickly striking his torso next. Once his stomach it torn wide open, it lunges at the next man. The wolf is tearing into his side as they hurriedly reload their weapons. A few men run forward with swords and swing at the preoccupied beast. One slashes its back causing it to rear back while the next swing leaves a gash from its ear to the shoulder. The wolf attacks the nearest of the two and bites down on his arm. He yells and drops the bloody weapon. The wolf yanks him to the floor and immediately bites his throat leaving him choking on his own blood.