A/N: Thanks again for your patience.

Belle POV:

The birds' chirping rings in my ears as though they are right next to me. I stir awake, snuggling into the comfortable warmth that surrounds me. As I become more alert, I realize that the warmth is coming from Red, whose arms are wrapped around me. I can't help but smile at the feel of her naked body against mine and the memories of our love making into the night. I snuggle into her, feeling our bond course through my veins. I have never been closer to another person and I shudder with excitement and anticipation.

I lay next to my mate in silence, savoring the moments. The chirping of the birds still rings in my ears. I hear the footsteps of someone walking by the room, a sound I rarely heard before. I realize with a jolt that my senses are starting to enhance. The wolf is starting to manifest in me and will become a part of me by the next wolfstime. A thrill shoots down my spine at the idea.

I feel Rose stir awake next to me. "Good morning," I say softly. Her hair is disheveled and the slight bags under her eyes are evidence of how little we slept last night, but she still manages to look gorgeous.

"Morning," she replies sleepily. She yawns and asks, "How are you feeling?"

I yawn before replying, "Tired, but amazing."

She smiles at my answer, but her expression turns serious quickly. "Any regrets?"

I lean forward and kiss her lips. "None," I reassure her. I love her so much that I don't know how I didn't realize how I felt sooner.

Her face lights up and I can tell that this is the happiest she's been in a long time. I feel a sense of pride that I'm the one to make her feel this way. That I'm the one she loves. I take a deep breath and her enticing scent overwhelms my senses.

My stomach growls and I realize how hungry I am. I peck her lips before untangling myself from her. She groans from the loss of contact, but she soon forces herself out of bed, and starts putting on her clothes from the previous night. I put on a fresh set of clothes from the wardrobe and comb my hair.

As soon as we are presentable, I take her hand in mine as we make our way down to the kitchen. Before we reach the kitchen, the scent of delicious food wafts through my nostrils. My sense of smell is stronger than it has ever been.

We are greeted by Snow and David, the six remaining dwarfs, and Granny, who are all sitting around the table. They turn to look at us as we walk in and Granny smirks at Red upon seeing her in last night's clothes. "I take it the evening went well," she says and I look down at my feet as a blush creeps onto my face. The rest don't hesitate in asking us questions about last night. I can't help but gush about our romantic evening, leaving the details of the events after our dance out of my story.

Soon, breakfast is done and Red and I head up to the library. I choose a book from the pile of books where I stacked all of the books I want to read. Red listens intently as I read to her. The rest of the day goes by our normal routine, but the night ends with us back in my bed.

Our bond strengthens over the next few days, allowing me to know how Red is feeling at all times and the same for her as well. It's a little scary to feel that close to another person, but overall I enjoy it. I also feel my senses continue to enhance. My body feels strange as I feel my wolf side start to take shape inside of me.

The week before wolfstime is when I truly feel the wolf fighting to break free. I start to feel restless and I know that Red feels the same way. Our need to touch each other overtakes everything else and I spend most of the week entwined with her. We try to maintain a normal routine but it's not long before we're in bed together fucking each other like our life depends on it. Sometimes we don't make it to a bed as we use the castle's numerous surfaces.

The night of the full moon arrives faster than I thought it would. My body shakes with nerves as I follow Red deep into the woods, her magic cloak draped around my shoulders. Rose senses my nerves and clasps her hand in mine. "It's going to be okay," she reassures me.

"Is it going to hurt?" My voice trembles.

She nods, "A little. Since it's your first change and you didn't grow up with the wolf." She squeezes my hand, "After the first time it will become second nature to you."

I am calmed by her words, but the pounding in my chest overwhelms my senses. "W-Will I be in control?"

"Not at first," Rose admits, "But I'll be by your side every step of the way to teach you." She senses my trepidation. "Do you trust me?"

I look into her eyes and nod, "Absolutely." After a couple of deep breaths, I feel my heart rate return to normal.

We step into clearing of Red's favorite spot. The light of the full moon hits me and I feel the wolf's restlessness. I carefully pull off the cloak and hand it to Red.

The change begins instantly as soon as the cloak is off. I feel a sharp pain ripple through my body as I feel my bones start to contort. I scream and curse as I fight the excruciating pain.

"Don't fight it," Rose murmurs behind me, "It'll be over much sooner." It's easy for her to say. She's never had a transition like this, the wolf had always been a part of her. "It'll be over soon Belle."

I try to ignore the pain as I fall to the ground. Writhing, I feel the beast start to overtake me. I follow Red's advice and try to relax. It seems to do the trick as I feel the transformation complete.

Gingerly, I stand up and realize that I'm now standing on four legs instead of two. I see Red standing in front of me and the wolf starts to move toward her. The wolf wants to mate and I am helpless to stop it.

Red sees my struggle and pleads, "Belle, you need to learn to control the wolf. Use my voice as an anchor."

My wolf continues its approach but I start to fight it. We are locked in a heated struggle, but I slowly start to win as I focus on the sound of my mate's voice. Soon I am able to win and the wolf settles down.

Red pulls the cloak off and transforms into the wolf. We sit in the clearing, taking each other in as the night moves around us. I take a couple of tentative steps toward her. She closes the gap and our wolves nuzzle each other.

Soon, she pulls away and gestures to the lake. I follow her and look down at my reflection. The face of a light brown wolf stares back at me. The difference in my reflection is a little jarring at first, but the familiar sight of my bright blue eyes helps me accept it. Red steps next to me and nuzzles me as her wolf's way of saying, "You're beautiful."

She begins to run through the woods and I chase her. I dodge several trees as I run, my speed increasing. I feel the wind whip through my fur, and I feel truly alive as the adrenaline pumps through me. Soon, I catch up to Red and we run together.

We reach the top of a hill and I look down at the sleeping town below. The brightness of the full moon shines down on us and I feel myself drawn to it. Red starts howling at the moon and I follow purely by instinct. We spend the evening running through the forest together. The sensation of being a wolf is strange, but it feels right. I know that I have a lot to learn about the wolf and how to control it, but I'm excited by the prospect.

As the sun starts to emerge, I feel myself transform back into a human. I am surprised that despite my transformation, my clothes are as they were before the transformation. I look over at Red who is smiling at me. "How was it?"

I try to find a word best to describe how I'm feeling. I finally settle on, "Liberating." I've never felt freer than last night as I ran through the forest with my mate by my side.

"I'm glad," Red says, "I was worried that you wouldn't like it."

I respond by kissing her, "I loved it." I kiss her again. "I love you."

She kisses me back, "I love you too." Her fingers lace in mine and I grin at how perfectly they fit together. "I always will." The admission makes my heart swell.

We walk back up to the castle, both exhausted by our run. We crash on my bed, our arms wrapped around each other as we drift into a peaceful sleep.

Red POV:

By the next wolfstime, Belle gets a good handle on controlling the wolf. We run together every night and for the first time, I truly love being the wolf. She seems to like it as well and I fall in love with her a little more every day.

As morning comes at the end of our second wolfstime together, I slowly untangle myself from Belle. She sleepily tries to pull me in closer and I reluctantly untangle myself from her. I get dressed and sneak down the hall to the library. I look though the shelves, trying to find the book that I need. A couple of rows back I find the copy of "The Knight's Rescue" resting on the shelf. It was the first book Belle had ever read to me, her favorite book.

I sit down and flip to the end of the book. I read and reread the passage where the knight proposes to his princess, determined to memorize the speech the knight gives as he gets down on one knee. The speech is very wordy, but I keep reading it until the words are burned into my memory.

Belle comes into the library and I shut the book quickly. "Morning," I say quickly.

She looks at me curiously, "Doing some reading of your own?" I nod and hold up the book. Her eyes light up, "I love that one."

"Me too," I say, "I loved when you read it to me on your first day here."

She smiles fondly at the memory. "We've come a long way since then, haven't we?"

"We have," I nod in agreement. I put down the book on the table, "Care to join me for breakfast?"

She nods and we head down to the kitchen. After breakfast, I say goodbye to her with a kiss in front of the library and head down to see Granny. She is busy knitting a sweater for Emma, but she smiles as I come into the room. "Red, nice to see you separate yourself from Belle for a minute."

"Sorry, Granny," my face flushes. "I'm actually here about Belle though."

"What's wrong?"

I shake my head, "Nothing's wrong. I'm thinking of asking her to marry me."

Granny grins, "I was wondering when you would ask. I like Belle, I look forward to having her as a granddaughter-in-law."

"I'm glad you approve," I say, "But I don't know if she'll say yes."

"She will," Granny says confidently. She walks over to her dresser and pulls a small ring. A sparkling diamond sits on the center of the ring, the band set with little rubies. It was Granny's mother's ring, and she kept it after all of these years. It was one of the few things she had to remember her by. She holds out the ring to me, "I want you to have this."

I shake my head, "It's your mother's. I can't take it from you."

She pushes it towards me. "Take it. It'll look better on Belle's finger than collecting dust in my dresser."

Carefully, I take the ring from her. My heart beats with nervousness and excitement at the thought of my proposal. "Thank you, Granny."

Granny smiles, "Good luck Red." We hug before I leave her to her knitting.

I go to see Snow next. She is in the nursery where Emma is crawling around on the floor and saying the word, "Swan," over and over again. Emma speaking is a new development. Snow barged into the library a couple of days ago while Belle and I were having tea, excited about how their daughter had finally said her first word a couple of days ago. I know Snow is a little disappointed that Emma's first word isn't "Mom," but "Swan" isn't a bad first word.

Upon seeing me, Snow picks up Emma and puts her in her crib. "Hello Red," she smiles as Emma starts hugging her toy swan, "How are you? How's Belle?"

"She's good," I say. Cutting to the chase, I say, "I need your help." I take a deep breath. "I want to propose to Belle."

Snow starts to shriek, and wraps her arms around me. Emma starts crying at the noise and Snow picks her up to calm her down. Soon Emma calms down again, and Snow puts her back in her crib. We step outside and walk to the courtyard. "I'm so happy for you."

"I haven't even asked her yet," I point out.

"She's going to say yes. I know she will," Snow replied, "What do you need?"

"I need you to tell Belle to come to our spot by the river," I say, "Also, a suit of armor." Snow looks at me in confusion and I explain my plan to recreate the proposal from Belle's favorite book.

As I finish explaining the details of the proposal, Snow says, "All of that and you doubt whether she's going to say yes."

"It's not just the proposal I'm worried about," I explain, "It's the fairies." One of the fairies' main responsibilities is to bless the marriage with fairy magic to validate the marriage. The fairies have never blessed a wedding between two partners of the same sex. Belle and I are technically married in the eyes of nature by our mate bond, but I know how important the idea of marriage and having a wedding is to her. We've talked about it a couple of times over the past couple of months. There's also the issue of Belle's father, but I don't know how to solve that problem yet.

Snow's eyes narrow, "I see your point." She pauses to think. "I can summon the fairies here and we can try to reason with them, see if they we can change their mind on their archaic views of sexuality."

"Thank you," I say before hugging her, "Your support means a lot."

"Can I see the ring?" Snow asks.

I reach into my pocket and pull the ring out of my pocket. "It's beautiful," Snow squeals.

"Thank you," I say, "I plan to propose to her tomorrow morning."

"I'll have David bring the suit of armor to your room tomorrow and I'll tell Belle to meet you at your spot when you're ready."

I pull Snow into a hug, "Thank you."

The next morning, I feel myself shaking as I wake up and get dressed. Belle asks me what's wrong, but I say that I'm fine. I'm too nervous to eat, so I tell Belle to go ahead without me. I go into my old room, the one I haven't slept in for months, and find a suit of armor lying on the bed. I attempt to put on the armor, having to take it off and put it back on a few times to get all of the pieces in the right place. I leave the headpiece on the bed, as I feel that I do not need it.

When I am satisfied with it, I walk downstairs, making sure Belle does not spot me. I pass by Snow, and she gives me an encouraging smile. I make my way to the clearing and sit down on the rock. I pull the ring out and admire it in my hand as it glimmers in the sunlight. The suit of armor is hot and heavy and I feel myself sweating like crazy.

I hear footsteps and I look up to see Belle step into the clearing. She gasps as she sees me and I stand up. Walking up to her, I take her hand in mind. "Fair maiden," I say as I try to recite the speech from memory, "In all of my years of living, I have never found anyone I have loved as much as I love you."

I struggle to get down on one knee, as the armor restricts my movement. When I am comfortably on my knee, I pull out the ring and look up at her. She is smiling, but her eyes lack the sense of surprise that I was hoping for. "You don't seem surprised," I say.

Her face falls at my disappointment, "I might have pressed Snow too hard when she asked me to come here and meet you and she told me you were going to propose."

I sigh in frustration, "That woman can't keep a secret."

"I'm sorry," Belle says, "If it makes you feel any better, she didn't tell me any of the details."

I take a deep breath and continue, "Princess Belle, it would be the greatest honor if you would…"

Before I can finish my speech, Belle interrupts me excitedly, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you!" She realizes that she has interrupted me and says, "I'm sorry. You can continue."

Holding out the ring, I finish my speech, "It would be the greatest honor if you would allow me to marry you. Will you, Princess Belle, marry me?"

"Yes," Belle says again. She helps me stand up and I slip the ring onto her finger. She admires it and smiles up at me. "I will marry you."

My heart swells at the realization that Belle has said yes to my proposal. I wrap my arms around her and pull her in for a kiss. She puts her hand on my cheek and we kiss as the sun shines down on us. She says, "I love you, Rose," and I tell her that I love her back.

Our moment is interrupted by a shout and a rock whizzing by my head. Belle and I dodge the rock and I turn to face the man who threw it. He is a short, richly dressed man who has an expression that can only be classified as murderous. I turn to look at Belle, who has gone pale at the sight of him. She finally manages to get out, "F-Father?" I turn to look back at the man, scared for both my life and my relationship with Belle.