I woke to sunlight and the weight of something around my throat.
My hand flew to my neck. Cold. Smooth. A collar made of tiny black roses linked together, each petal sharp enough to cut. It sat snug against my skin, not tight, but present. Impossible to ignore.
I stumbled to the mirror.
The roses were so dark they looked like holes in reality. They moved. Tiny shifts, petals opening and closing like they were breathing. Living metal.
I tried to pull it off.
It would not budge. No clasp. No seam. Just an endless circle of thorns.
A knock at the door made me jump.
"Miss Marchand?" Lucien's voice. "May I enter?"
I grabbed my robe and tied it tight. "Yes."
He came in carrying a breakfast tray. His eyes went straight to my throat. Something flickered across his face. Not surprise. Satisfaction.
"So he gave it to you."
"What is it?"
"A gift." He set the tray down. "And a leash."
My stomach dropped. "Get it off."
"I cannot. Only he can remove it." Lucien poured tea like we were discussing the weather. "Though I doubt he will. Not for a very long time."
I pulled at it again. The roses tightened, just a little. Just enough to make me stop.
"I would not do that," Lucien said mildly. "It responds to certain things. Resistance. Deception." He stirred sugar into my tea. "Lies."
"What?"
"The collar tightens when you lie. A minor discomfort at first. But continue, and it will choke you unconscious." He handed me the cup. "The master values honesty above all else."
I wanted to throw the tea in his face. I drank it instead because my throat was dry and my hands were shaking.
"This is insane."
"This is the castle." He gestured to the tray. "Eat. You will need your strength."
"For what?"
"He wants to see you after breakfast. In the gardens." Lucien moved toward the door. "Wear the collar. Nothing else."
"Absolutely not."
He paused. "That was not a request, Miss Marchand."
"I am not walking around naked."
"You walked around naked for him last night." His silver eyes were unreadable. "What is the difference?"
"That was in my room. Private."
"Nothing in this castle is private." He opened the door. "The gardens. One hour. Do not make him wait."
He left before I could argue.
I sat on the bed and ate without tasting anything. The collar felt heavier with each bite. I kept touching it, tracing the roses, feeling them shift under my fingers.
When I tried to lie to myself, to say I could refuse, the metal constricted. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to warn.
I finished eating and stared at my wardrobe.
Nothing else.
My face burned.
I could not do this.
The collar tightened.
I gasped and stopped thinking about it.
Apparently I could.
***
The walk through the castle was the longest of my life.
I wrapped myself in a cloak until the last possible moment. My heart hammered against my ribs. Every shadow looked like it was watching. Every creak of floorboards made me flinch.
The garden entrance was a set of glass doors that opened onto a maze of roses. Real ones this time, not carved or magical. Just flowers. Red, black, white. Their scent was overwhelming.
I saw him at the center of the maze.
He stood beside a fountain, facing away. Still huge. Still covered in fur. But in daylight he looked different. More real. Less like a nightmare and more like something beautiful and wrong.
I took off the cloak.
The morning air was cold against my bare skin. I forced myself to walk forward, head high, even though I wanted to run.
He turned when I was ten feet away.
Those golden eyes dragged over every inch of me. Slow. Deliberate. Possessive.
"Beautiful," he said.
The word made my stomach flip.
He gestured to a stone bench beside the fountain. "Sit."
I sat.
He did not move closer. Just looked at me like I was something he had created and could not quite believe was real.
"The collar suits you."
I touched it without meaning to. "I want it off."
"No, you do not."
"Yes, I do."
The collar tightened. I gasped and grabbed at it.
He was beside me in an instant. One clawed hand wrapped around mine, pulling it away from my throat.
"Do not fight it," he said. "It will only get worse."
The pressure eased.
I glared up at him. "You are a monster."
"Yes." No shame in it. No apology. "But you knew that already."
He let go of my hand and stepped back.
"The collar has rules," he continued. "Simple ones. You do not lie to me. You do not hide from me. You do not leave the castle grounds without permission." He tilted his head. "Break any of these, and it tightens until you pass out. Understand?"
"This is slavery."
"This is a contract. One your father signed." His voice went cold. "Would you prefer I collect my payment from him instead? Your sisters are quite lovely. I am sure I could find use for them."
Rage and fear warred in my chest.
"You would not."
"Try me."
I believed him.
I looked away, blinking back tears I refused to let fall.
He sighed. The sound was almost human.
"I do not want to hurt you, Belle."
"Then let me go."
"I cannot."
"Cannot or will not?"
He knelt in front of me. Eye level now. Close enough that I saw flecks of amber in all that gold.
"The curse that made me this way requires a sacrifice. A year of willing service from someone pure." His clawed hand hovered near my face but did not touch. "You are that someone."
"I am not willing."
"But you are here." He finally touched me. One claw traced the line of my jaw. "And you will stay."
"Because you are blackmailing me."
"Because you choose your family over your freedom. That is not blackmail. That is love."
I wanted to argue. I could not.
He was right.
The collar loosened, like it approved of the truth.
He stood and walked back to the fountain. Stared into the water.
"I will not apologize for what I am. For what I need." His tail swayed behind him. "But I will make you a promise."
"What promise?"
"If you serve me faithfully for one year, I will free you. Free your father from his debts. Give you enough money that your sisters never want for anything." He looked back at me. "And I will never contact you again."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because at the end of this year, one of two things will happen." His eyes burned. "Either the curse breaks, or I die."
Silence fell between us.
"What does the curse do?" I asked quietly.
"It made me a monster." He turned fully to face me. "And every day I stay a monster, I lose more of what I was. In one year, there will be nothing human left. Just beast."
"And if the curse breaks?"
"I become a man again." Something haunted crossed his face. "If I can earn it."
"How?"
He did not answer.
The collar stayed loose. He was not lying, but he was not telling me everything either.
I stood up. Walked to him. I was still naked and he was still huge and terrifying, but I needed to see his face when I asked.
"What do you need from me? Really?"
He looked down at me for a long time.
Then he raised one hand and placed it over the collar. His palm was warm. The roses between us pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Everything," he said.
The word hung in the air.
"I need you to choose this. Choose me. Not because of threats or contracts." His thumb brushed the hollow of my throat. "But because you want to stay."
"I do not want to stay."
The collar tightened. I choked.
He removed his hand immediately. "Do not lie."
I gasped for air.
He was right.
Some part of me, some small terrible part, wanted this. Wanted him. Wanted the way he looked at me like I was the only real thing in his world.
"I hate you," I whispered.
The collar stayed loose.
Truth.
"I know," he said. "But you will learn to love me anyway."
"Never."
The collar tightened.
I grabbed my throat and felt the thorns dig in.
He watched me struggle. Did not help. Did not look away.
"Say it true, Belle. Or pass out. Your choice."
I could not breathe.
Spots danced at the edges of my vision.
Finally, I choked out the words.
"Maybe."
The collar loosened.
Air rushed back into my lungs. I fell to my knees on the stone path.
He knelt beside me. Gathered me against his chest. His fur was soft and warm and I hated how safe I felt there.
"Good girl," he murmured into my hair. "We will make a pet of you yet."
I should have fought him.
I did not.
I sat in a monster's arms and let him hold me while I cried.
The collar pulsed against my throat.
Alive.
Waiting.
Hungry for my next lie.