Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Elle

W e go out to the yard together, both of us bundled in the finest winter clothes I have ever seen. The magic of the castle has provided me with a beautiful, thick, fur-lined, hooded cloak to keep out the cold. The dress I wear underneath is soft, yet sturdy enough to keep me warm. I even have leather boots, also lined with fur that is so luxurious that it feels as though I am walking on a plush indoor rug even as we cross the frost-covered grass.

Tilting my chin up, I look at the clear blue sky, only to have snowflakes land on my eyelashes. This is the first snowfall since I arrived at the beast's castle, and I find myself delighted by it. I always loved the beginning of winter as a girl, though less so as the years went by and it only meant I was in danger of being cold.

Now I am the safest I have ever been from sharp winds. There is a castle to protect me, a prince who lives there, and magic to care for us both. We will be warm all winter, and I can feel the old delight again just as I once did.

It's the start of my happily ever after.

"It is snowing!" I tell the beast, who follows at my side, my hand in his arm. "Look!"

A smile grows as I catch a snowflake on the tip of my nose, and he rumbles a laugh. "If it is snowing, then we should not be outside." It's a sound I've grown to love. A sound I hear more and more with each passing day. Especially now that my father stays with us and the rumors he's spread are now told as truths: an heir to the prince returned and slaughtered the beast.

With that side of him tamed, we are safe. Although the village still fears the magic. We've had visitors and every time I can feel his anxiousness, but not once has the beast betrayed him. The full moon is not a night we have guests though, as that is the night that calls to the beast the most. It is the new moon that the appetite for the prince is most needy. I find myself drawn to my husband most then as well. I glance down at the ring on my finger. One day we may have a grand wedding, but for now, his vows of love spoken late at night to love me forever are all I need.

"I am warm. Are you not?" I ask.

"I'm warm," he admits, and gives me a look that seems to mean that he is warm because he is with me and not because of his fine clothes.

He holds his hand out and I give him mine to hold. The first kiss on the crook of my neck sends a smoldering need through me.

The moment he pulls back I kiss his cheek, his stubble rough against my lips. The pull between us turns hotter. My attraction for him grows more and more with each passing day.

The prince changes direction, taking me behind a large evergreen that grows near the castle wall. His touch is still warm because we have only been outside for a few minutes, and his mouth is even hotter as he kisses me, bracing me against the wall and pushing up my skirts so that he can find his way between my legs and stroke me there.

I have come once already by the time he unlaces his trousers and thrusts his cock inside me. My lips part with a silent cry of ecstasy. If I had ever escaped from the castle, I would have craved the way he fills me and the possessive touch he uses to brace me against the wall. His body is so hot and his need is so all-encompassing that I do not even feel the cool of the bricks as he fucks me ruthlessly. He is the perfect lover.

He kisses the side of my neck, his powerful hands holding me in place, and all I have to do is hold him and take my pleasure from his body.

He finds his release with a growl at the same time I find mine, then covers my mouth with his and kisses me until I have to pull away to catch my breath. He lets me down carefully, placing my boots in the snow, and shakes out my skirts so that they fall around my legs.

"There. Now you do not look as if you have been ravished in the snow," he proclaims, catching his own breath.

"Thank you," I tell him, although he leans down to kiss me before I've finished. My legs are weak, but my prince pulls me closer to his side. He leads me to the swing that I sat on so long ago and brushes the thin layer of snow off the seat.

I sit on it, feeling like a princess. He bends down and kisses my neck, then pulls my cloak into place. He has kissed the spot where the scars from his teeth still remain, but all I feel now is the pleasure of his lips meeting my body. It doesn't matter where he kisses me. Every brush of his lips is like being warmed by the fireplace.

The prince steps behind me, taking the ropes of the swing in his hands, then pushes me lightly on my back. I do not want to swing too high. I want to stay where my prince is, never out of his reach. But it is such a simple pleasure, to be on a swing and remember how the magic lured me to him what seems like an eternity ago.

He pushes me again, and a small laugh escapes me simply from his touch. It is the hand of a prince that gives me a gentle push, not the hand of the beast. Although the beast will return, I have taught him that the prince still lives, and he is mine. I love them both for what they are. Mine to love. Their fate.

The magic of this place, and of the curse, is powerful indeed. But love is more so.

The Witch

The prince seems to love her devoutly. His fated mate. The snow does not bother us as we watch, and Elle and Prince Henry do not give any sign that they know they are being observed.

They are in love. That is plain to see even without any magical ability. It is in the way he looks at her, and she at him. She doesn't fear the beast when he returns either. This is a good sign. "There is hope after all," my sister murmurs and I nod in agreement.

"What shall we call him?" I say to the closest of my sisters.

She watches with narrowed eyes, her quick mind working. The prince brings Elle to a stop and helps her to her feet. They continue their walk around the yard, staying close to one another.

"Werebeast?" my sister offers.

"Werewolf," I suggest.

"Our first of many?" she asks.

"We must." My expression may have been light, watching the prince and Elle, the first successful pairing from the magic, but it was not carefree. Now is not the time for losing track of what we must do. "There are dark forces brewing, and we must do what must be done. Time is not on our side," I remind them.

There is no one else to do what must be done. So often, men and kings believe they are the people who will keep their kingdoms safe, but that is rarely the case. Most men—even kings—do not have the knowledge that is required to fight off forces like the ones that will soon descend on us. On all the world. For beasts in the night are plenty, and the sorcerers have conjured a darkness that sends the coldest of chills to wake me from the nightmares of what will be.

My sister chews at her bottom lip, thinking this over as she watches the prince and Elle. He has gathered snow in his hands to make a snowball, but when he throws it at her, she runs and he misses. She throws one back and it hits his arm. There is so little time left for games like these. They will live to have their happily ever after, as the time of mortals is so short. But their children's children will see the terrors that have been foretold.

"We will need to see what becomes of their children," I remind them.

"How many beasts will it take?"

I take a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "As many as we can. The prince was only the first werewolf. It will take centuries, my sister. Centuries of pain will fall before there will be peace."

"Off to Shadow Falls then?" My sister questions, gathering her cloak, satisfied with what's become of her making.

"All too ready to cast again?" I ask her and all of us smile wickedly. "To Shadow Falls," I whisper in a hiss. And with the flick of my wrist, we leave The Prince and His Beauty…for now.

This world is far from over…in fact this is just the beginning.