Edward
I knew that Bella was going to be a pain in my ass since the day she touched my face. I knew the humans would consider her drop-dead gorgeous. She was no comparison to my Ara. Her beauty isn't what spared her that day. It was the fire mixed with tenderness that I saw in her eyes. She had Ara's tender grace but possessed an intensity that Ara lacked.
As I was reliving that moment my dream plagued me and was confusing as it didn't conform to all of them before. This dream transported me back to them selecting Bella and how she reacted as the spell was performed. She almost welcomed my presence. That made me curious about her. I chuckled to myself. Hell, it made me claim her and bind her soul to mine. Suddenly the dream shifted. Nights had always been restless even before I became The Beast. Dreams were never just dreams for me. They served as glimpses of a past I could never escape, fragments of a life stolen too soon.
My mind drifted elsewhere, dragged down by the echoes of a nightmare I had not revisited in years. The shadows of goodbye were haunting me again, but why? My vision displayed a ballroom alive with music, laughter, and the glimmer of chandeliers above. I stood tall, my hand resting on hers as we twirled across the marble floor. Ara was radiant, her beauty was unmatched. Her laughter was a melody I would never forget. Her eyes sparkled brighter than any jewel as I spun her, her gown swirling like ripples on a calm lake. Everything was perfect, just as it should have been.
"Are you happy, my love?" I asked, my voice warm and soft. I was a different man then. I was full of hope and filled with a love more precious than life itself.
"Always," she whispered, her lips curving into a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts as her eyes beamed brighter than any star to light the darkest of souls. I kissed her then, a kiss full of promises. It was a promise of forever. Forever was an illusion, and then the dream turned dark, as it always did.
My father's voice rang out like a thunderclap. "Get off my throne, you disgrace!" He towered over her, a fury burning in his eyes that I could never understand. Ara tried to reason with him, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. His hands yanked her from the throne, his cruelty on full display.
"Father, please!" I yelled, rushing forward, but the guards restrained me, their grip ironclad. I struggled, desperation coursing through me as he struck her, his blows merciless. Then he drew his magical dagger. The dagger that I now possess, the one that will obliterate a Fae's soul. "NO!" My scream tore through the dream, my voice hoarse and broken.
I watched as the blade fell, her final words piercing me deeper than any weapon ever could.
"I love you, Edward. I will never say goodbye."
The blood pooled around her as her lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Her emerald eyes, once so full of life, stared blankly back at me. I could not breathe. I could not move. The love of my life was stolen from me in a matter of seconds. Then I woke up.
I bolted upright, my chest heaving as though I had been drowning. My shadow stretched long across the room, grotesque in the dim light. For a moment, I thought I was not alone. My hands trembled as I pressed them against my face, trying to shake the image of Ara's lifeless form from my mind. It was futile, I knew that.
I rose, my movements stiff and mechanical. I made my way to the adjoining room. Bella was still asleep. The faint scent of her lingered in the air, sweet and earthy. It both grounded and unsettled me. She has mended me in a way and this curse can't be what brought her to me. That notion is the unsettling part.
When Bella stumbled into the dining hall, her face was pale and her breath came in short, panicked gasps. I knew she had been running. She froze when she saw me, her wide eyes locked onto mine as though she expected me to lunge at her. "King Edward," she stammered, falling to her knees before me. "I am so sorry. I will not be late again. Please, spare me."
Her words were a knife to the heart. She thought I was going to kill her. Perhaps I would have, had the curse not tethered me to her in ways she could not yet comprehend. In ways I could not comprehend. I suddenly realized that I was too harsh with her to teach her where she belonged. I did that to keep myself from feeling, but it obviously backfired. She is more than a means to an end, but I still don't know the details. I sighed, setting my breakfast aside, and pulled her to her feet. She flinched under my touch, her trembling more pronounced.
"Bella," I said softly, my tone holding a weariness I could not disguise. "Enough of this." I pulled her onto my lap, ignoring her gasp of surprise. Brushing her hair aside, I let my instincts take over, my lips grazing her neck before my teeth sank into her skin. She stiffened at first but quickly melted against me, her body yielding as the euphoria of my bite overtook her. Her blood was warm and sweet, and it hummed with a power I could not place. I tried to ignore the small moans that escaped her lips. As I drank, her memories slipped through my mind, a rush of fear, confusion, and something else. Admiration?
But how could she admire me? I have done terrible things as I got my revenge for Ara's death. I gave my soul to The Darkness and became The Beast. A Beast that must kill humans, beings I once valued and admired when I was a light Fae. She can't admire the monster who has made her his servant to use her to end his curse. Yes, I claimed her but it should not affect her as it was only meant to display to other beings that she is my property.
I released her before I took too much, my lips brushing her neck as I murmured, "You are safe with me, Bella. For now." Drinking from her just now, confirmed how much I need her. I have not needed anyone since Ara. Why Bella? She's human even though she doesn't taste human. She doesn't taste like a Fae either because I know from drinking the blood out of my father's black heart.
She barely heard me, her head lolling against my shoulder as she drifted into a dazed stupor. I cradled her there for a moment longer, my mind racing with questions I could not yet answer. Why had the curse chosen her? Why did her blood feel so different? The weight of Ara's memory lingered, but Bella's presence was beginning to eclipse it. That terrified me more than any dream ever could.