A Rose for the Beast

An Unexpected Meeting

Rosalie watched in horror as a pack of wolves surrounded her and Bastien. He took out another blade twice the size of the other. It glimmered in a beam of moonlight as he spun, taking stock of his enemies.

But the wolves stayed in a ten foot radius from them, as if waiting for someone, or something, to tell them what to do. She knew the ferocious roar they'd heard couldn't have come from one of the small canines. They stood on all fours, heads lowered and eyes gazing through her. Her brow furrowed as she considered who their target really was.

Rosalie slowly spread her feet and quietly stepped just a foot away. She held her breath when a few of them twisted their heads to observe her movements, but they swiftly turned their gazes back on the hunter.

Her brows raised up in surprise and she glanced at Bastien, who'd been watching Rosalie's impromptu experiment. His eyes narrowed dangerously and he raised the smaller blade in her direction.

"Don't you dare run. If they don't hunt you down, I will," he said, venom laced into every word.

After taking several more steps to distance herself from him, Rosalie smiled triumphantly. Bastien retaliated against her defiance by lifting the blade and drawing back. They both paused when the wolves began growling and moving closer. The hunter turned to reestablish his position, giving her the chance to flee.

She sprinted off away from the trouble, hoping she was headed in the right direction. She planned to run until she found civilization, but an agonized yell halted her steps. Bastien's pain-filled screams echoed off the tree branches, shattering her resolve to escape. As much as she despised him, she couldn't allow a living creature to suffer.

Cursing her moral compass, she raced toward the origin of the screams and found her way back to the fallen log. Rosalie's heart pounded from exertion and dread when she saw Bastien scrambling on the ground. Two wolves had a tight grip on his right leg, their sharp teeth tearing through trousers and flesh with ease.

She studied her surroundings, searching for some form of nonlethal weapon. Deciding on a half-dead tree branch by her foot, she wrapped her hands around it and raised it high.

Rosalie charged forward a few steps and made the most menacing sound she could. Apparently, the scariest noise she could come up with sounded like a dying horse. The wolves peered at her with what seemed like slight amusement. Their ears twitched as they panted happily. At least they weren't chewing on Bastien's leg anymore.

She gradually walked across to kneel in front of the fallen hunter while the wolves backed further away. His hands were clutching his injured leg and he groaned at the pain. She almost pitied him. Almost.

Her apron caught her eye where it sat on the ground just a few feet away. It hadn't moved from the place he'd thrown it after yanking it from her body. Renewed anger filled Rosalie as she snatched the apron to tear away some cloth. After she bandaged Bastien's wound, with more than a little protesting from him, she stood to help lift him off the ground.

Just as he reached his arm around her shoulders for leverage, Rosalie heard the rustling of leaves. Before she could turn, a deep and husky voice spoke from behind them. She'd have thought it sexy, except for his rude insult.

"Lady, you are by far the dumbest female I've ever come across," said the mysterious man.