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

Chapter 21- Steven

"Here you are, Dear," Mrs. Perry said, putting the books in front of more stacks of books that hid my mate from view. "Are you sure that you don't need me to take any of these books away?"

"No, Ma'am," my mate replied from behind a pile of books, but my human didn't stir. There was the sound of pen on paper as well as the sound of something being written. "I will be able to put them back. Thank you for getting them for me."

"It's no trouble, Dear," she replied with a soft chuckle. "If you need anything from me, please let me know. Ok? Or if you need to ask me anything, I will answer it to the best of my abilities."

There was a pause in the scratching of the pen against paper and the flipping of the book pages. "So, I just read something about mates..." she said, her voice soft and barely above a whisper.

"Mmmhmmm," Mrs. Perry said. She walked over to where my mate was and knelt by her side while I stayed in my spot, not knowing what to do. "What is it, Dear? What do I need to clarify."

Belle cleared her throat and shifted in her seat while she found what she needed help with. "'A Wolf can have a Human as their mates. Sometimes a Wolf will decide to reject their mate because they are known as the "weaker" species between the two species involved. If that happens, the Human will feel upset, but they will move on. However, there are Humans who are more "attuned" with their natural sides and feel the effects of the rejection, even if they themselves are not rejected.'"

There was a pause, and my mate flipped the page of the book. There was still silence before she cleared her throat again as if she was trying to get ready to read what she had found on the page for Mrs. Perry to clarify.

"'The cause of this type of rejection is severe depression in which the Human doesn't want to do any of the things that they wanted to do or die. These Humans are said to have family members that are Werewolves. However, the gene has been dormant for (there is a list of reasons here, and I am too tired to read them all), but they will have "other" tendencies in which could be linked to being a descendant from a Werewolf.'" There was a pause. "Is that why I feel like crap because His Majesty is my mate, but he doesn't want me for whatever reason, maybe because I am just Human? Or is it because I know what he had done with Peter and took away the only family that I have had contact with besides my dad?"

I stayed silent, but my heart ached because of how tired and alone she felt and sounded. I wanted to say something, to do something, but I stayed silent and in spot, hidden from her like she was hidden from me.

Stupid, Human...

"Why aren't you in contact with your dad's side of the family?" Mrs. Perry asked. She looked at me and scowled, and I dipped my head in shame and didn't watch as she turned her head back to Belle to give her her full attention.

Stop, stupid Human. I don't want to feel like this.

My Human stirred and moved forward. He was annoyed about something, but I could care less while he chose the words that he wanted to say. 'I am not doing anything,' he said finally. 'This is all on you.' And then he went back to sulking, even though we were in her presence, even if we couldn't see her.

This is all on you, his words vibrated around in my mind, and I was shocked and appalled that he thought that way.

'No, this your doing,' I said, denying it. 'I am above emotions like love and shit. I do not need that. I do not need a mate, especially a mate like her.'

But why did my heart hurt when I said that?

"I don't know," my mate mused, breaking me from my thoughts. She cleared her throat, and I had a feeling that she licked her lips. "They had a disagreement about something, and it didn't matter that my dad decided to marry for love instead of keeping our bloodline "pure" whatever that means." She snorted, and I had a feeling that she rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in disgust.

"What is your family's last name?" she asked.

"Lowell," Belle replied. She shrugged. "My dad decided to use my mom's last name instead of his, so he became a Lowell, and so did I." She cleared her throat, and I had a feeling she shrugged again. "And I don't have any contact with them and hadn't, so I could really care less about them.

There was a pause, and Mrs. Perry cleared her throat and drummed her fingers against the table. "What is your dad's "actual" last name, Dear?" Mrs. Perry asked, turning her head towards me again. There was a small edge in her voice, and her gaze was on me, daring me to say something. She was warning me not to do something as if she knew what my mate's family's last name was and knew that the name could piss me off.

"Schmit," my mate replied, confused. I had a feeling that she furrowed her brows and cocked her head, looking like a lost pup and someone gorgeous while she tried to figure out why Mrs. Perry asked for her last name. "I thought we had discussed this before you went to get the other stack of books, Mrs. Perry. Why did you ask me to repeat it?"

"Because," I said, speaking for the first time. I walked over to Mrs. Perry and stared down at her, staring into blue eyes that were wide and filled with shock and fear and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of annoyance.

Fury filled my veins, and I knew that it was because of her bloodline, for the Schmit family had been a group of Hunters that had been a thorn in my side, especially since my pack and I was stuck in this form. I glared and folded my arms across my chest, ignoring Mrs. Perry's click of the tongue and growl of annoyance. "I had not heard it yet."