A Rose for the Beast

Questionable Choices

"What do you mean," Rosalie asked in a taut voice.

She stood across from him, utterly alone in a densely wooded forest in the middle of the night. Something told her she may have made a mistake in dealing with this stranger, now known as Michel.

"The conditions, explain them," he demanded.

Michel crossed his arms and gave her a nod, prompting her to speak. His arrogance annoyed her. His last name sounded like nobility, but it didn't ring any bells in her mind. She'd never cared much for the politics of government or those involved. Their names couldn't have mattered less to her.

"First, I make my own decisions and you cannot force me to do anything I don't want to," she answered him, pausing to catch his affirming nod, "Second, I need you to return me home tomorrow evening--"

"No," he said flatly.

Rosalies brows lowered and she frowned, "I have chores that need tending to and animals to take care of."

If she neglected her errands, the entire household would fall apart, especially with her father's absence.

"I'll deal with that," he said simply.

She gazed at him skeptically, wondering how long her conversation had been with the wolf. How had Michel arrived back so soon? She began doubting him, concerned that he may have left Bastien to bleed out in the forest somewhere and worried that she'd willingly placed herself in danger for nothing.

"Where is Bastien?," she asked.

"The hunter? I took him to your village, like I said I would. I left him by a drinking hall he frequents. Plenty of people there, I'm sure someone will notice him."

Rosalie jaw fell open, astounded by the fact that he had made the trip in under an hour without any loss of breath and thst he knew Bastien's routines and the location of his favorite tavern. Had he been spying from the forest?

"Why do you know so much about the village? How did you get there and back so quickly? Are you an infiltrator from some foreign country? Do you plan to attack my home?," the questions poured out of her before she could help it.

Michel uncrossed his arms and trekked toward her to stand just in front of her. He peered deeply into her eyes, causing a slight chill to pass Rosalie's skin. She blamed it on the wind. Instead of being even more afraid of him than before, she welcomed his presence. Enigmatic and mysterious, how could she not be interested in knowing more about him? She felt her cheeks heat with his close proximity. His scent oddly calmed her, the smell of pine and ocean invading her senses.

"You're a curious one, little Rose. That's a dangerous quality to have," his husky voice purred.

She leaned in closer involuntarily, viewing his facial features more closely. She realized the oversized hood had been hiding the most impeccable male form she'd ever seen. His eyes were strikingly blue. His prominent nose slid down to meet smooth, full lips. The dark stubble marking the lower half of his face added to his wild allure. When Rosalie looked up into his crystal blue eyes, she couldn't help the smile spreading across her face.

She'd somehow found herself in a forest she swore she'd never enter with a man she should never have met. Was this the beginning of an adventure? The kind of journey she'd always dreamt of?

Michel smiled back and chuckled. She shifted her head in a questioning manner.

"What's so funny?," she asked, delighting in the sudden change in atmosphere and in his demeanor.

Michel, still grinning from laughter, gestured to his teeth before pointing at her mouth.

"You've got something orange in your teeth, there."