Edward
After my breakfast and I had made sure that Bella was safely back in my chambers, I sought out Arnold. He needs to be made to understand that Bella is off-limits. She is my mate, though I am not sure how. The curse gave me ultimate power but at the cost of never finding love again. At the time, I was so sure that Ara was my mate and my chance at love died when my father killed her, but what if I was wrong?
I snarled at my uncertainty. Ara was my world in the light. Her death allowed me to embrace the shadows and summon The Darkness. Had she not been my Fated, there's no way I could have summoned it. All Fae were stripped of that power centuries ago when one of us tried to wipe out humanity during the Dark Age.
I shifted into The Beast as I drew my dagger across Arnold's abdomen again, anger over the past making me an even more formidable opponent today. I wanted him to know that I could obliterate his soul, but not just yet. So I put it back into its magic sheath that molded into my body. I drew my sword, and as I lunged at him again, he barely managed to spin away from me enough that my sword barely grazed him so I pivoted with him, slashing through the air repeatedly, cutting into his back so rapidly that before he had hit the ground, I had sliced him several times before I pulled my arm back. I glared at him as I balanced the heavy blade for a moment in the air before plunging it into his shoulder. My lips curled up in a silent snarl as I pushed the blade deeper, making him fall forward to the ground as the sword became embedded in the dirt below him.
The curse had made me The Beast, and with it, made me the ultimate warrior. I would never be held at bay again, nor would I allow anyone to take what is mine! Rage coursed through my body, making every blood vessel almost throb with the need. But I won't allow the bloodlust to take over as it did when I killed my father and all of his supporters. Instead, I want Arnold to fear me and know that no matter where he went, he was going to die at my hands, while I stalked him like the predator that I now am. My father created The Beast when he took my life, my heart, and my very soul from me as I watched Ara die. I will not allow Arnold to do the same. Bella is mine!
I yanked my blade out of Arnold, relishing his whimper of pain before wiping his blood off of it and onto his shirt. When my sword was as clean as it was going to get, I spun away from him and sheathed it. "On your feet!" I demanded. "I'm not done with you!"
"Ed," he said as he held his side, "We need to talk! I want the girl!" He must be dumber than I thought. Did he not know that this fight was about the girl?
I let out a rabid roar as I walked toward him, sliding the sword out of its scabbard. I swung it at him quickly, backing him up against the wall. When his back hit it, I thrust the tip of the blade into the wall before moving the hilt to the left to press the sword against his throat. I bared my teeth at him as I glared at it. "YOU CANNOT HAVE THE GIRL!" I yelled. "SHE IS MINE! MINE! NOT YOURS!"
I took several deep breaths to calm my frustration before pulling the blade out of the wall and stepping away from him. I couldn't afford to lose the one person who was on my side, who knew all the ways our family fought and how I became The Beast. I let out a shaky breath as I paced away from him. As much as I needed him on my side, I wanted to kill him for even thinking he could have her. He reminded me of my father. Always wanting what he couldn't have. Ara had told me that my father had repeatedly tried to pursue her. His infatuation with her was why we eloped in the human world. It was also the night she became pregnant.
We had to keep everything hidden until our wedding in the Fae Realm and our coronation. But my father, in his desperate grasp for power, murdered her before we could be crowned. He clung to his Kingship long past his time, eliminating anyone who dared to challenge him. I, too, waited patiently, always striving to uphold justice. However, her memory haunted my dreams relentlessly, until I could bear it no longer.
One day, I stumbled upon ancient scrolls in a cave on Earth, near a beach that Ara and I often visited. Ara, who delighted in pretending to be human, had always puzzled me. It wasn't until I met Bella that I began to understand.
Bella, with her innocent presence, has stirred something within me. She has me questioning everything - my past, my dark Fae nature, the atrocities I committed under The Darkness's influence. Despite my initial intentions, I find myself drawn to her, unable to resist her magnetic pull.
"Ed?"
I whirled around, fixing him with a fierce glare. "WHAT?!"
"Your skin, it's changing," he whispered, his eyes fixed on my wrist. I glanced down in disbelief, only to see patches of ivory flesh amidst my once darkened skin. I raised my hand, the light revealing the transformation that was slowly overtaking me, turning my arm from fingertips to elbow almost completely ivory. I watched in awe as the change reversed, my skin returning to its familiar tan hue. I shook my head, attributing the anomaly to the tension between Bella and me.
For centuries, I had existed in my dark Fae form, with dark skin, hair, and eyes. The Beast within me manifested with rough, scarred skin and horns, its red eyes capable of penetrating the depths of one's soul. In stark contrast, my light Fae form allowed me to blend in with humans, save for the tattooed wings on my back that once bore shimmering feathers. The choice was clear as I locked eyes with Arnold, my weight shifting nervously between my feet.
"You can't have her. Choose another. I won't warn you again." My voice carried a warning, a promise of consequences should he dare to defy me.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself before turning away from him. As I walked, my body slowly began to shift into my dark Fae form. He called out, his voice filled with desperation, "She is not Ara, Edward! She will never be Ara!"
I clenched my jaw, feeling a surge of anger. "No, and perhaps that is why I refuse to let another claim her..." I growled fiercely as I stomped away. I needed to understand his obsession with Bella, as it reminded me of my father's unhealthy fixation on Ara. The two women were complete opposites, the only connection between them being me. Was my only friend trying to sabotage my chance at happiness?
The air crackled with tension as I pondered these thoughts, my mind racing with questions and doubts. The weight of the situation pressed down on me, threatening to consume me. I knew I had to confront this issue head-on, for the sake of my sanity and the future I hoped to build.