The Fairy Tales Collection Read online

  THE FAIRY TALES COLLECTION

  BEAUTY

  (Book One)

  By Elizabeth Kelly

  Copyright 2016 Elizabeth Kelly

  This book is the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, scanned or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content is allowed.

  Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Adult Reading Material

  Cover art by The Final Wrap

  BEAUTY

  Mirabelle Vale, library assistant, bookworm, and downright dangerous with a slingshot, knows exactly who sends her a single red rose every year – Bennett Saxby. After saving her life when they were children, he disappeared and the yearly rose is the only proof of his existence. When her childhood crush returns home – all grown up and a positive beast of a man – Mirabelle is eager to have the man of her dreams. But Bennett’s hiding his true nature and wants to keep his “Belle” from discovering the truth.

  * * *

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Prologue

  He wanted to shift. He needed to shift – it was the only way to defeat them – but thinking that way was madness. Better to take the beating than expose who he really was.

  His bear growled angrily at the thought and for one brief, heart-thudding moment, it nearly broke free of its bonds. He held it back grimly as the boys above him punched and kicked mercilessly. He curled into a ball, trying his best to protect his head and bit back his grunt of pain when the ringleader delivered a heavy kick to his ribs.

  Tears streamed down his face and his bear howled with rage. It tore through his thin barrier of control and the shift began to happen. He was losing control, his bear’s instinct to survive was too strong and he moaned helplessly as one of the boys brayed shrill laughter.

  “Look, Kevin! He’s cryin’! Crybaby! I told you he wasn’t so tough!”

  Hair was beginning to sprout on his arms and legs and he growled deep in his throat. The sound was lost in the shouts and laughter of the boys standing above him in a tight circle. His shift was interrupted by the scream of one of the smaller of his tormentors.

  A soft whistling noise followed by another scream of pain and outrage and the tormentor danced away, holding the side of his head as blood dripped through his fingers. The others were looking around cautiously now and he raised his head and sniffed the air. A scent drifted to him, a wonderful scent of books and cinnamon, and his bear made a low whimper of happiness before subsiding.

  “What’s wrong with you, Tim?”

  The largest of the boys, already tall for his age, scowled as the boy moaned again and stared wide-eyed at him.

  “Somethin’ hit me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Tim showed him his bloody hand as more blood dripped from his scalp. “Somethin’ hit me, I said!”

  “What do you – “

  Kevin gave his own scream of pain and grabbed his leg as the other boys backed away uneasily.

  He sat up, holding his ribs and panting harshly as the scent grew stronger. It made him feel safe, it made him forget the pain in his body and he watched eagerly as the bushes parted and a girl stepped out.

  She was tall – much taller than him – and she was dressed in jean shorts and a t-shirt. Her long dark hair hung in two messy braids down her back and her glasses had slid down to the end of her nose. Her bright blue eyes studied the circle of boys, ignoring him completely, as he stared at the slingshot in her hand. She had it pulled back and aimed at Kevin and he sneered at her.

  “Well look who it is – fatty four-eyes! Get out of here!”

  “Get away from him,” she said.

  “Mind your own business, dummy!” Kevin snapped. “Go home before we beat you up too!”

  “Kevin, we can’t beat up a girl,” one of the other boys said nervously. “My mama says you ain’t never supposed to hit a girl.”

  “Shut up, Marty! Besides, Belle ain’t no girl. She’s a fat pig. Isn’t that right, fatty?”

  Kevin screwed up his face and made oinking noises. The girl flushed and without saying another word, let the stone fly from her slingshot. It hit Kevin in the chest and the oinking noises cut out with a harsh wheeze as he grabbed his chest.

  “That hurt!” He squealed, sounding remarkably piggish himself, as the girl grinned fearlessly at him and deftly loaded another smooth stone into the slingshot.

  “Get lost, Kevin. Or I’ll knock out your front teeth.”

  “There’s only one of you and seven of us,” Kevin sneered. “And you’re just a stupid, fat pig, who don’t know – “

  He howled with pain when she shot him again. This time the stone hit him in the jaw and he danced around, howling and squealing as tears poured down his face. Quick as a snake, she loaded another stone and shot one of the other boys in the arm. He turned and ran as she popped a stone into the slingshot and aimed it at another. He ran and with a wild grin on her face, she aimed and shot the stone into his ass. He shrieked with pain, grabbing at his butt as he disappeared through the trees. She laughed hysterically as the other boys ran too, ducking and running for cover.

  She aimed her slingshot at Kevin’s crotch and the boy’s face paled before he chased after his companions. She watched them go, holding her slingshot with the steady hand of a predator until the noise of their retreat had disappeared.

  She lowered her weapon and smiled at him. He stared silently at her as she sat down on the ground beside him. Her legs were covered in scrapes and scratches and she itched absentmindedly at a bug bite before pushing her glasses up her nose.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded and she patted his arm tentatively. “They’re jerks and they don’t fight fair.”

  He remained silent and she cocked her head and stared at him before smiling. “My name’s Mirabelle but everyone just calls me Belle. What’s your name?”

  He wanted to reply but he was mesmerised by the gleam of her dark hair, overwhelmed by the perfect blue of her eyes, drowning in her intoxicating scent.

  “Hey, what’s your name?”

  He opened his mouth and she nodded encouragingly. When there was only silence, she frowned and leaned a little closer. “Can’t you talk?”

  “Bennett,” he whispered. “My name is Bennett.”

  “Bennett.” She spoke it softly, tasted it on her tongue before grinning. “That’s a funny name. I like it though. It’s,” she struggled for a moment to find the right word, “unique.”

  “How old are you?” He asked.

  “I’m seven. How old are you?”

  “Nine.”

  He struggled to his feet, holding his throbbing ribs. She popped up beside him, dusting off the seat of her jean shorts with one hand before shoving her slingshot into the front pocket. He was oddly embarrassed to see that she was a foot taller than him and probably outweighed him by thirty pounds. She was big for a girl but it didn’t negate the fact that he was small. Hell, he was small for a human boy - as a bear shifter he was downright tiny. His father was worried. He could see it in the way he looked at him sometime
s and he was constantly plying him with raw meat, but his mother brushed off his father’s concerns.

  “Don’t you worry, my love,” she always said, “you’ll grow big and strong soon enough.”

  He realized that Belle was speaking to him and he cleared his throat. “What?”

  “I said I’ve seen you at school before. You play with that big blond boy. I forget his name.”

  “Duncan,” he said as he rubbed at his ribs. Already the pain was beginning to fade.

  “You live in that giant house on the hill, right?”

  He nodded and she grinned happily. “It’s kind of a creepy looking house. I live in the trailer park over on Compton Avenue. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

  “No,” he said.

  “Me either,” she said. “It’s just my dad and me.”

  She lapsed into silence and he scuffed a bit of dirt with the toe of his sneaker before mumbling, “Thanks for helping me.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said. “It wasn’t a fair fight.”

  “Where did you learn to do that?” He pointed to the slingshot poking out of her pocket.

  “From a book,” she said. “I like to read. Do you?”

  He shrugged and she grinned again at him. “I go to the library almost every day. It doesn’t cost any money to borrow the books and it’s like being in a different world. You can escape, you know?”

  “Why do you want to escape?” He asked.

  She bit at her bottom lip. “I – sometimes being in this world isn’t much fun.”

  He stared at the freckles scattered across her cheeks as she sighed loudly. “I guess I should go. Do you need me to walk you home in case those boys come back?”

  He glared at her, his nine-year-old pride roaring to life. “I’m not afraid of them.”

  “I know but they might come after you again and you’re not very big.”

  She spoke in a matter of fact tone but it still made him scowl. “I’m big enough. They just took me by surprise.”

  “Right.”

  She continued to stand next to him and he hesitated a moment before saying, “You wanna see something cool?”

  “Sure! Hold on a sec.” She disappeared into the trees before reappearing with a blue backpack. She slung it across her back and grinned at him. “What is it?”

  “You’ll see.”

  She followed him deeper into the woods and kept up a steady stream of chatter. He didn’t mind. He was naturally quiet and it was nice to listen to her talk. By the time they had reached the large oak tree, she was breathless from the quick pace and he waited patiently as she caught her breath.

  “You gotta go through these bushes.” He pointed at the large cluster of bushes behind the tree and she peered at them before glancing around.

  “I’ve never been this deep in the forest before,” she said. “Is it safe?”

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he proclaimed.

  She studied him carefully before nodding and they squirmed their way past the thick bushes, arms thrown over their faces to protect them from the heavy branches.

  “Almost there,” he grunted. He wished he could change into his bear form, the thick fur would protect him, but humans had no idea shifters existed and it needed to stay that way. He’d lost track of how many times his father had lectured him to always stay in his human form when around humans. If they discovered their existence they’d take him away from his family to a lab and poke him with needles and cut open his stomach to look at his insides. He shivered all over at the thought.

  “Hey, you okay?” Belle asked.

  She placed her hand on his back and another tremble went through him at her touch.

  “Yeah,” he muttered. He pushed through the last of the bushes and jerked with surprise when Belle grabbed his hand.

  “Help me, Bennett,” she puffed.

  He tugged firmly and she popped free of the bushes with a muffled grunt. He hesitated and then pulled out the twigs that were entangled in her braids.

  “Thanks.” She grinned cheerfully at him.

  He blushed a little before stepping aside. Belle’s eyes widened and the look of pure delight on her face brought a surge of happiness to his belly.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s so pretty,” she whispered.

  She took a couple steps forward and stared wide-eyed at the rose bush. The bush was large, nearly ten feet tall, and it was covered from top to bottom in bright crimson flowers. She reached out and touched one of the flowers delicately.

  “So soft,” she whispered again.

  “Do you like it?” He asked eagerly.

  “I love it,” she breathed. “The flowers are perfect, aren’t they?”

  He nodded and when she sank to the ground and stared at the roses, he sat beside her.

  “My daddy used to give my mama flowers,” she said. “It made her so happy. He gave her flowers almost every week. She would have loved these roses. They were her favourite.”

  “You could take one back to her,” he said.

  She shook her head. “Mama died last year in a car accident.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She smiled at him but he could see tears glistening in her bright blue eyes. “I miss her a lot. Daddy does too. He won’t say that he does but he cries when he thinks I can’t hear him and now he – he drinks a lot.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said again. He felt helpless and stupid. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned forward and tore a rose from the bush, ignoring the thorns that pricked his fingers. He handed it to her and she brought the flower to her nose, inhaling deeply, before smiling at him.

  “It smells wonderful.”

  She smelled wonderful and he leaned a little closer, inhaling the warm scent of old books and cinnamon as she held the rose carefully.

  “You’re bleeding!” There was a note of alarm in her voice and he stared at the blood dripping from his fingertip.

  “You shouldn’t have picked the flower,” she scolded gently as she took his hand. Using the edge of her t-shirt, she wiped away the blood. Another drop of blood welled up and she frowned before pressing her shirt against his fingers. “Stupid thorns.”

  They sat silently for a moment and she smiled happily when she checked his fingers again and no blood appeared. His fingertip had healed completely and she gave him a curious look. “You’re a fast healer, huh?”

  “Uh, yeah,” he said before snatching his hand back.

  “Thank you for bringing me here, Ben.”

  He wondered if he should tell her that it was Bennett not Ben but decided he liked the way she shortened his name. “You’re welcome, Mirabelle.”

  She giggled. “No one calls me Mirabelle, remember?”

  “I like Mirabelle better,” he said. “It’s pretty.” He stared at the ground before mumbling, “You’re pretty.”

  “No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m too fat to be pretty. My best friend Rowan is really pretty because she’s got red hair and is skinny. But me and Ella are too fat.”

  “Who’s Ella?”

  “She’s my other best friend,” Belle said. “She lives in the trailer park where I do. Her mama died when she was just a baby and then her dad died just a couple months ago but she has a step-mom. She’s kind of mean though. She makes Ella do a bunch of chores and stuff, and sometimes she even makes her go to other people’s houses and clean.”

  She sighed and stared at the rose bush again.

  “My best friend is Duncan. He’s a li – “

  He shut his mouth with a snap and Belle gave him a curious look. “He’s a what?”

  “Uh, he’s a nice guy.”

  She frowned but let it go and he released his breath in a harsh rush. What was wrong with him? He had almost told her that Duncan was a lion shifter.

  “I should go. It’s getting late,” she suddenly said before climbing to her feet.

  “Will your dad be worried?” He asked.

  She shook her head. “No. He was drinking when I
left so he won’t even notice I’m gone but I told Ella I would meet her later.”

  She stared a final time at the rose bush before squirming through the thick bushes. He followed her and she smiled at him when they reached the other side. “Thanks again for showing me the rose bush, Ben. I really liked it.”

  He nodded and his heart sped up when she said, “Maybe we could hang out again sometime?”

  He hesitated. Although technically he wasn’t forbidden to play with human children, his father strongly encouraged him to stay away from them. He watched as Belle’s face flushed.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “What do you mean?” He touched her shoulder before she could walk away.

  She shrugged and twirled the rose gently between her fingertips. “Boys don’t like playing with me. They only like playing with pretty girls.”

  “I think you’re pretty,” he said again.

  Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses and she patted his arm tentatively. “I think you’re pretty too, Ben.”

  She stared at the oak tree. “Maybe we could hang out tomorrow. We could meet in the forest again if you… what’s wrong?”

  Bennett, his body tense, lifted his head and inhaled again. His eyes widened at the scent he caught and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. “We have to go. Right now.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “C’mon!” He hissed. Before he could lead her away a soft growling came from their right and he froze as his bear made a grumbling noise of warning.

  “Ben?” Mirabelle whispered. “What – what is that?”

  The growling intensified and her eyes widened when the cougar stepped out from the trees. Her hand tightened on his and she made a low moan of fear as the cougar stalked forward.

  “Ben,” she whispered again. “Wh-what do we do?”

  There was no reply and she glanced at him, a small squeak of surprise emerging from her throat.

  The shift was happening, his bear reacting to the threat, and he dropped Belle’s hand as fur sprouted on his face and arms.