The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series)

Chapter 49- Belle's POV

I didn't know where my father was and if he was still alive, but I didn't care while I rode my horse, trusting that he would know where he was and praying that my father was still alive.

Sweat gleaned from across my forehead, and my whole body was tense while we went in this direction, praying that we were going in the right direction so that I could save him and then get back to my kingdom and mate before it was too late.

We were running out of time too fast for my liking...

And even, I knew that.

My heart ached and became filled with guilt and pain while I rode my horse toward wherever my father was at, and I prayed that he wouldn't be dead or injured and that he would let me go back to the king before it was too late to save him.

I wanted to save him just as much as I wanted to save my father...

My horse snorted and shook his head before he started to walk instead of galloping like I wanted him to, breaking me from my thoughts. He flicked his tail and snorted before he shook his head again.

I blinked and blinked again, stirring myself from my thoughts and looked at my horse whose ears were pricked forward. "What the fuck, Riser?" I asked, seething slightly. I nudged my horse's sides to get him to start running again, but he didn't do what I wanted him to do, for some reason. "Would you start running, again, Riser!?" I whisper hissed and squeezed him tighter at his sides while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "We are running out of time."

My horse rolled his eyes and shook his head, snorting, his mane flying from side to side. He flicked his tail in impatience but didn't pick up his pace like I wanted him to.

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound fast and hard in my chest. "Are there people ahead of us?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and he nodded and flicked his tail again.

Oh, Goddess...

I breathed a small, nervous sigh and wrapped my reins a little around the saddle horn before I took my bow off of my back and pulled an arrow out from my quiver. "Do you think they know we are here?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

My horse snorted and flicked his tail. He didn't say a word, like he could actually talk, but he didn't give me any indication that they knew we were there or coming toward them.

My heart skipped a beat before it started to pound fast and hard in my chest, leaping into my throat every so often, and I stayed silent while we drew closer to whatever my horse heard.

Laughter filled the air around us, and I had to bite my lip hard to keep myself from gasping out in shock and fear because I knew that laugh.

Oh, Goddess. He found me...

How did he find me..?

Again, there was another burst of laughter, this one more maniacal and evil than the last, and I flinched and grabbed my bow tighter.

Gavin...

My heart skipped another beat and pounded harder and faster in my chest, jumping into my throat every once in a while.

Goddess, please keep me safe...

My hands shook a little when an image of him shifting into his wolf form flashed through my mind, his eyes holding no compassion, no nothing but straight up murder as if the only thing on his mind was murder.

My side ached, and I could still remember his claws digging into my skin while he loomed over me, the hunter becoming the hunted.

He had almost killed me that day only to be stopped by someone unexpected because of how close they were to each other and how much that he respected him.