Beauty and the Rose

One night changed everything.... Daphne’s a beauty who doesn’t know it. A wallflower blossoming into the belle of the ball. A beautiful lie. My lifelong obsession. Her father stole from me and now I’ll have my revenge. I’ll steal her away, take her to my castle. Lock her in my tower. Make her a captive to her passions. She’ll crave the one who keeps her. She’ll crave me. I’m the masked phantom in the shadows. The Minotaur in the labyrinth. The danger her father warned her about. More monster than man. She’s Beauty, and I’m the Beast.

I never thought I'd see him again. My first love, back from the grave. My captor and tormentor. He holds my past, present, and future in his scarred hands. He owns me. No matter how far I run, my path leads me back to that lonely castle. Back into the arms of the Beast.

They say the gods will accept no small sacrifice. To appease them you must give your all. I’ve sacrificed everything. Lived through loss, and learned to love. To take the beauty with the pain. The rose with the thorns. This love story isn’t perfect, but it’s ours. We’ll hold onto it forever. And hope our forever is longer than a day.