“Junhyung what have you done!?” Kikwang snarled, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and pinning him to wall, “She was probably our last chance and now you’ve ruined it for all of us” he growled as he tossed Junhyung across the room sending him crashing into a wardrobe.

What surprised all of the beasts was that he didn’t even fight back.

“Enough” roared Doojoon “We have to find her, its cold and snowing outside not to mention the wolves. She could be hurt or worse”. With a final glare in Junhyung’s direction every beast left the room with the exception of Hyunseung and Junhyung who was looking dejectedly at the floor, regretting his actions immensely. He hadn’t meant to frighten you; his anger just got the better of him sometimes.

“For your sake I hope she’s still alive” Junhyung looked up at Hyunseung who was standing a few feet away.

“What do you mean by that?”

“If she doesn’t come back, I’m going to kill you”.

And with that Hyunseung left the room, hurriedly running to catch up with his brothers leaving Junhyung alone to regret his actions even more.

~~~~

‘I should’ve grabbed a coat’ you thought as you jogged through the layer of snow that was beginning to build up, but in your haste to escape you hadn’t thought of grabbing one nor getting Philippe but you had no idea where she was or even if she was even still at the castle and too afraid to see if a beast was coming after you, you simply ran.

You spurred yourself to go faster and you pulled the thin cardigan you had on tighter around you in an attempt to keep somewhat warm. A growl caused you to stop in shock and fright. Turning around you had expected to find a beast, come to fetch you back in order for you to keep your promise but what you saw was, somewhat, worse.

Wolves.

You immediately turned tail and ran, even faster from when you fled from the castle for these weren’t enchanted beings; they were hungry animals in need of food and you were on the menu.

You could hear the growls getting closer as you jumped over a log, you continued to run trying not to fall over but your eyes widened as you noticed more silhouettes ahead speeding towards you. You quickly turned right and ran into the forest, away from the path in which you had attempted to stay on. Branches ripped your clothes and you could feel the stinging pain of cuts on your body as you desperately attempted to escape your predators.

You screamed in pain as a body collided with yours, claws dug into your back and you were catapulted forward into the snow with a wolf on your back. You managed to shake the wolf off and you continued to run, glancing back you saw the same wolf right on your tail with the rest of its pack not too far behind but due to the snow and the fact that yours eyes were watering due to the powerful wind slapping against your face, you failed to noticed the hill which you promptly tripped and rolled down, landing with a painful thud on your back at the bottom.

You were so tired and your whole body ached, you thought for a horrific moment that maybe you should just lay here and wait for them to finish you off but the thought of your father caused you to sit up despite your back’s protests. The wolves were attempting to climb down the hill safely due to its steepness which gave you a bit of time to find a weapon. Not being able to see anything nearby you carried on running, attempting to look for anything to defend yourself with.

By now your hair had come loose and was billowing wildly in the wind and you were forced to dodge trees as you continued to run. Finally you came across a rather large, thick stick that you could easily wield and you quickly whirled it around as you heard a growl and smashed it into a wolf’s face, making it fly a few feet away.

There was no time to celebrate though as another wolf pounced and you managed to avoid it in time with a shriek, you quickly moved your left leg as another wolf attempted to bite it. Whirling in a circle your heart dropped into your stomach when you saw that you were surrounded and that the wolves were slowly closing in. You swung the stick, furiously attempting to ward them off but to no avail, one wolf bit down on the stick and ripped it away from your hands. Just as they were about to pounce five humongous roars filled the night sky.

Terrified both you and the wolves stood still but when nothing happened the wolves turned their attention back to you. One of them pounced and you shut your eyes waiting for death to come, but instead all you heard was another growl, closer by this time, followed by a whimper. Opening your eyes you were shocked to see a beast, protectively standing in front of you. Your eyes met for a brief moment before another voice growled “Down!”

You were shoved into the snow by another beast as another wolf pounced. You curled into a foetal position, listening and wincing at the numerous growls and whimpers around you. Lifting your head up slightly you noticed, five of the beasts stood not too far off, fighting with the wolves all to keep you safe; the thought caused your heart to flutter somewhat, to think that they would follow and then protect you.

A small movement not too far away caused you to turn your head to the wolf that lay in the snow, it was slowly standing back up, blood dripping from its forehead, you both met eyes for several seconds before the wolf growled and charged.

Shrieking you scrambled up and attempted to look for your stick but you couldn’t find it within the snow so you found yourself running once again. Your body screamed in protest and you were out of breath, your breaths coming in pants causing your lungs to burn painfully due to the cold air. You glanced back and noticed the wolf wasn’t moving that fast most likely because it was hurt.

You stopped though when you noticed a monstrous figure in the distance, even though the wolf was still pursuing you, you couldn’t help but stop and tilt your head slightly. Was that a beast?

The wolf suddenly collided with you, causing you to scream and fall to the floor, you rolled around but the wolf pinned you down underneath its body and just as it opened its mouth to take a bite out of you it was roughly pulled off of you. You once again curled up to wait for it to be over, you were too mentally and physically tired to go any further.   

You were still lying in the snow when the beasts found you; they all surrounded you and gasped as they noticed your blood against the snow, not even caring about their own injuries. Doojoon quickly took charge and wrapped you up in his t-shirt he was wearing; he scooped you up into his arms and cradled you close, attempting to keep you warm. With a growl to the others they immediately began running back to the castle, the sight of your unconscious body and blood a sight none of them would ever forget.

~~~~

You awoke not too long later to loud booming voices; the only voice prominently sticking out was Jihyun’s. A warm wet cloth being gently dabbed across your face. You didn’t let out a sound nor moved and simply listened to the angry voices.

“What did we say master? To control your temper and look what it did”

“I just cannot believe you would do something like that hyung, it was obviously an accident”

“You really need to get your anger under control”

“You’re just lucky that I didn’t kill you”

The last voice made you shudder slightly, the cloth on your face disappeared and you shifted slightly however the movement caused pain to go shooting up your back causing you to groan in pain.

Immediately the voices stopped and you heard several pairs of feet come closer to you. You felt breath on your face and you slowly opened your eyes only to come face to face with a beast which caused you to scream and attempted to scramble away which only caused you to scream more due to the pain in your back.

“Belle calm down” Jihyun said as large paws, gently pulled you back and laid you back down.

You met eyes with the same beast that saved you the first time as he pulled the covers over you and stepped back.

You realised that you were back in your room at the castle, in your bed surrounded by the beasts; four of them were rather close whilst another two, one of them simply standing slightly behind the others but you recognised the other one who was sitting in the corner as having scared you away.

“Um… how are you feeling?” one of them asked.

“Sore” you replied as you attempted to sit up. One of them reached forward to help you and you smiled slightly in thanks as he stood back.

“You sure did give us a scare” he said.

“Indeed, you had quite a few injuries dear” Jihyun said as she jumped from the bedside table to your bed and into your lap, “There was quite a lot of blood”.

“Really?” you asked.

“You got cut along your back from where one of the wolves tackled you; you also have several cuts and bruises as well” one of them said.

Despite your back feeling somewhat sore and the fact that you were really tired you felt fine. Looking down at you arms you noticed a few rather nasty red lines from where you had been scratched.

“Well you insisted that you stay until she woke up now off the living room with you so we can clean your wounds” Jihyun commanded already making her way across your room to the door.

Some of the beasts protested but still did what the teacup said and began to make their way out of your room. As you got out of bed to follow though one of them immediately protested.

“No no no, you have to stay here and rest” he said as he made his way back over in attempt to put you back in bed.

“Please I’m fine I want to help it’s the least I can do” you said.

The beast looked back at the other beasts who stood in the doorway, “Doojoon hyung?” he asked. The one who you presumed was Doojoon only nodded his head, “Okay but carry her”. Before you could protest you were scooped up off the bed by the beast and carried down the hallway.

The living room was a rather large room with several plush armchairs and sofas scattered around. There was a TV hanging on the wall opposite a window and a large fire crackled in the corner emitting a soft glow around the room. The beast that was carrying you carefully placed you in an armchair before he was directed by Jihyun to sit with the others on separate chairs whilst several objects attended to them Ilhoon, Eunkwang and Hyuna included. 

There were no serious injuries just a few scratches however when you heard Jihyun gasp in shock your attention that was previously on the fire was drawn to the beast which had scared you off in the first place.

“Goodness me that is rather deep cut” Jihyun commented.

You shakily stood up and wandered over, peering over Jihyun to look at the deep red slash on the beasts arm. “Would you mind fetching me a cloth please Jihyun?” you simply asked.

She looked at you, shocked before nodding and brought one over to you as well as some warm water and a few bandages. The beasts simply looked on, some in envy others in curiosity as you wet the cloth and tentatively moved closer and reached for the beasts arm, “Here just hold still”.

As you placed the cloth onto the cut the beast immediately pulled it away and growled causing the hair to fly off your face, “That hurts” he growls.

Every other beast immediately stood to their feet but they were shocked when you yelled back, “Well it wouldn’t hurt so much if you hold still” you said attempting to reach for his arm again only to have him pull it away.

“Well if you hadn’t have run away this wouldn’t have happened”.

“If you hadn’t of frightened me I wouldn’t have run away” you exploded, causing the beast to open his mouth but for no words to come out.

“Well you shouldn’t have been in the West Wing” he said.

“And maybe you should learn to control your temper” you suggested which caused him to shut his mouth. All the other beasts as well as the enchanted objects watched on with amusement and shock. Nobody ever really stood up to Junhyung besides his brothers so to see you; a rather small girl to do it was rather amusing.

“Now hold still” you said before grabbing his arm and pulling it towards you, “This will sting a little” as you placed the cloth down onto his cut. The beast slightly growled in discomfit but didn’t pull away.

After cleaning it and wrapping it in bandages you stepped away and sat back down in your seat. An awkward atmosphere followed, before Ilhoon knocked Doojoon on the back of his head and gestured to you; you were still dressed in your shredded clothes staring aimlessly into the fire.

“Perhaps we should start again” Doojoon said, you looked over to him, “We all kind of got off on the wrong foot, I’m Doojoon” he stood up and offered his hand to shake which you took, he was the largest of the beasts, the one who had spoken to you whilst you were being shown to your room, the leader.

“Hyunseung” the second largest one said the one who you believed to second in command.

“I’m Yoseob” the cute one said, you recognised him  as the one who carried you down to the living room and the one with the spring in his step as he too came over and did a little bow, which caused you to giggle slightly. 

“The names Kikwang” this one was slightly more defined in the muscle department and took your hand from where it lay in your lap and kissed it ever so lightly which caused you to blush.

“Dongwoon” was all the other one said, and you noticed him to be the silent one who you had frequently met eyes with. He didn’t approach and only nodded his head.

You looked over to where the last one sat, the one with the anger issues as he will now be known, expecting him to introduce himself.

“Junhyung” he grumbled, not looking over at you as he held his bandaged arm.

“And what’s your name?” Doojoon asked.

“I’m Belle” you replied. Some of them repeated it, testing it out.

“What a pretty name for such a pretty girl” Kikwang winked before being shoved away from you by Yoseob.

You smiled slightly, looking down in embarrassment before you noticed you’re scratches again.

“Did you clean my scratches?” you asked.

“Err… yes we did, we didn’t want them to become infected so…” Doojoon said trailing off at the end.

“And my back?” you asked.

Doojoon coughed before answering, “We didn’t clean it properly, we just attempted to clean the blood up but it was kinda of difficult with a shirt on but we didn’t want to you know…” he trailed off again causing you to giggle and cover your mouth with your hand.

Each of the beasts couldn’t help but smile slightly hearing your giggle.

“I hate to interrupt but Belle my dear you’d best cleaned up and get into some new clothes” Jihyun commented hopping up onto the sofa beside you.

“Of course” you said before attempting to stand up.

Yoseob reached for you but you brushed him off, “It’s okay Yoseob-sshi, I can manage” you said before slowly walking towards the door with Jihyun and Hyuna following close behind.

“Thank you” a gruff voice called. You turned back to see Junhyung standing up, still clutching his arm, he nodded his head as your eyes met and you nodded slightly back in return.

Each of the beasts watched you as you headed for the door but as you reached the doorway you stopped and turned back, “And thank you all, for saving my life” you said with a small smile before biting your lip, turning and walking out of the room, closing the door silently behind you.

~~~~

You were showered and dressed in a pair of cotton pyjamas courtesy of Gayoon, and was sitting at the vanity table in your room allowing a rather cheeky hairbrush called Minhyuk to softly untangle the knots in your hair. When you locked yourself in your room before you didn’t pay attention to what was actually in your room, so now you took the time to notice all the details about it.

It was a large yet luxurious room (just imagine it bigger and white and blue^^) decorated with soft blue and white wallpaper on two walls whilst the other two were plain white. A small white chandelier hung from the ceiling and a large, soft, fluffy rug lay on the floor.  There was a large queen sized bed with blue and white pillows and blankets with a white canopy against one wall, facing a fireplace that was currently being lit by Jihyun, a small table and two soft armchairs sat in front of it. Next to the fireplace was a door which led into your bathroom.

You had a vanity table, which you were currently sitting at against the wall with your door, of course you had Gayoon for your clothes who generally resided next to your bedside table by the bed but she would constantly wander around as she pleased. Lastly the balcony doors finished the whole room off with long white curtains hanging down on the doors, the view outside was breathtaking giving you a view of the forest and you could just catch a glimpse of the lake in the distance.

It was a very beautiful room but there was just one thing missing if it would truly be like home; the picture of you and your mother which you always kept beside you as you slept and of course your bookshelves filled with books. You sighed as you thought about it, not noticing that Minhyuk had stopped brushing your hair and was sitting on the table looking at you.

“What are you thinking about Miss Belle?” he asked.

You sighed before answering, “Home”.

“Don’t worry Miss Belle, soon this will feel like home in no time” Minhyuk replied.

“I certainly hope so. And please stop with the ‘Miss Belle’ it’s just Belle” you smiled.

You were surprised by a knock at the door. You walked over and opened the door slightly so you could peek outside but you didn’t see anyone. Looking down to see if it was any enchanted objects you were surprised and touched at the same time to find a glass of milk and a little plate of cookies. Opening the door further you looked down the hallway but saw no one, you smiled softly as you picked up both the glass and plate and brought them back inside your room.

“Who was is dear?” asked Jihyun who was now sitting next to Minhyuk on the vanity table.

“Nobody” you replied as you sat down at the small table in front of the fire, placing the milk and biscuits on the table and brining your knees up and resting your chin on them, still smiling slightly.

You just happened to miss the secretive smile Jihyun gave Minhyuk.

‘I wonder who left that there, Eunkwang, Ilhoon… or maybe one of the beasts?’

Whoever it was though you would find out and thank them, but you were too tired to track down the culprit now so you proceeded to eat the cookies and drink the milk, chatting to Minhyuk and Jihyun as you did so.

Eventually you fell asleep in your chair watching the fire which had now been reduced to ashes, limiting the amount of light in the room, Jihyun having disappeared back to the kitchen and Minhyuk back to the vanity table along with the make-up brushes long before.

Your door silently opened and a beast entered, noticing that you weren’t in your bed he panicked slightly until he noticed your figure in the chair by the fireplace. Wandering over he saw how you shivered slightly and looked very un-comftable with the way you were sitting so he carefully pulled you into his arms, holding his breath as you stirred slightly.

He placed you into your bed, pulling the blankets over you and gently brushing a few strands of hair from your face. The balcony’s curtains were still open so the moon’s reflection shined in and lit up your face. To the beast he had never seen anyone as beautiful as you and he simply stayed and watched as you slept until you groaned and rolled over, tearing him from his reverie.

And with a quick glance back at you, he left as silently as he entered.

~~~~

Woo new update, see I'm getting better^^

Anyway I'm off to bed now as it is midnight and I haven't studied for my psychology test tomorrow as I was writing this update...