AN: Thank you so much for the increasing amount of love for this story. Please keep the reviews coming. Also, just to clarify since I was asked, this story is "loosely" based around the Disney version of Beauty & the Beast; not the CW version. I only watched the first episode of that show and didn't like it very much so I don't really know the exact story line for that version.

Chapter 3

"How dare you come into my home?" He barked.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Fear. That's all she could feel at the moment. People in town had always spoken of the woods as dangerous and forbidden place beyond a certain point. Now she understood why it was highly unthinkable to come out this far and at night. A monster lived here and she wondered if the town's people knew of him.

Appalling and grotesque, he stayed motionless staring at her. The shade of red his eyes glowed to be were the strangest color she had ever seen. The way his mouth was deformed and ready to attack was unlike any monster she had ever read about. He was terrifying.

"The night has been fortunate enough to give me one soul. I didn't expect another." He hissed and licked his teeth.

"Don't hurt her!" Alaric shouted from behind struggling to move. "It's me you want. Not her."

Elena turned to face him even still trapped under the monster's gaze. The blood was still fresh on his body and he needed medical attention. There was no way she was going to leave him. She had to fight back. She had to find a way to get Alaric out of here.

"You fool." The monster yelped and stood up. "Both of you."

"Let her go." Ric continued to plead for her life. "I'm the one you found outside your property. She was just trying to find me. Please, I beg you."

His life had been torn apart because of her. He had given up everything to make sure she was all right and had someone looking after her at all times. She never asked for him to do any of this, but that was the sort of person he was. Elena couldn't bear to watch someone else she loved and cared for be ripped away from her. She had to do something. A wild thought popped into her head.

"No!" Elena firmly stated. "Take me."

The beast of a man cocked his head to the side watching her intently, but listening closely.

"Take me instead. I'll be your prisoner if that's what you want." She explained shaking. "Just let him go. He doesn't deserve this."

"Elena, no." Alaric found the strength to yell.

"You?" The monstrous man questioned her bargaining deal. His hunched back straightened and his features softened. "You would exchange yourself for him?"

"Yes." She exhaled.

For an instance, she saw the monster, the beast become a man. He stared at her confused by her suggestion. In the light, she tried to make out his face better. The shadows of the basement made him appeared more frightful and disturbing. How did one turn into something like that?

But her eyes had deceived her. His harsh ridges returned and his eyes pulsed blood red. Heavy breathing and the bitter sound of hisses came from him. He lunged forward and a high pitch scream escaped her. It vibrations of her cry for mercy echoed off the walls leaving her nearly deaf. She waited for the pain and the horror that she feared this beast could ensue, but it never came.

Uncovering her shielded eyes, she heard the chained door to the room Alaric was in break open. The yelps and groans followed as the deformed man yanked him under his arm made her alert.

"Follow me." He demanded through his teeth and she struggled to her feet.

His steps were thuds and he grunted as he pulled Alaric behind him. Elena wanted to reach out to him, but knew better not to. She trailed them up the spiraling stairs and back into the entrance hallway where she had come from originally. The man flung Alaric to the ground and hovered over him.

"You will leave this place." He said firmly and gripping his shoulder. The whimpers from Alaric made the tears flow even harder. She knew what was happening. The beast had accepted her offer and was setting Alaric free, but at a price. "You will run home and you will go on living your daily life. You will not come back and whatever you do, you will NOT come back for HER!"

Alaric glanced at her terrified and Elena gave him a small nod.

Stumbling to his feet and clenching his side, Alaric gave Elena one last pleading look and ran. His feet stomped against the marble floor and she couldn't control her emotions.

"Stop crying!" He spat as the doors slammed and she knew Alaric was really gone.

A cold draft sent shivers down her spine and her gaze fell upon him. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His monstrous form still consumed him and he made his way toward her. Just like Alaric he grabbed her under the arm and dragged her up the stairs.

Tripping and crying, Elena sniffled as she took in the dark shadows of the place she would have to call home now. It was no home to her, it never would be. Her desperate attempt to help Alaric and free him of this nightmare had worked. She couldn't understand why the man forcing her along with him down the hall didn't take them both though.

"You let him go." She spoke shaking.

"Would you rather he stayed?!" He asked aggressively. Stopping dead in his tracks he glared at her and she turned her head away from him. "Didn't think so."

Tugging on her arm that was leaving a bruise, she moved quickly along with him. They stopped at the end of the hall and he pushed open a door. The force of her falling to the ground made her shout with agony. He stood in the doorway with his chest heaving and his head bowed.

"You will stay here. This is your home now." The sound of his voice hissing between syllables made her cringe. She tried to push herself up and take in her surroundings. This was no dungeon. This was a room, a bedroom.

"You're not keeping me down there?" She questioned him.

"Would you like to stay down there?" He asked in a cruel tone.

"No." Elena answered quietly.

"This wing of the house is yours." The man said as if he was becoming calmer. She still could see his red eyes glow in the dark and the white outlines of his mouth. "The west wing is forbidden."

"What's in the west wing?" The question leaked out before she could think. He was at her side within seconds salivating and breathing heavily.

"It's forbidden." He repeated not giving up any hints to what may be in this forbidden wing. Elena knew her curiosity was rising. She enjoyed a mystery and now she had one. She also enjoyed adventures, suspense, and drama, but confided on to thick white pages that belonged in books. This was real life and now she was living out a story in the making.

Moving away, he wiped his mouth again and scanned the room. He turned on his heel and closed the doors abruptly behind him. It shook the room and instantly Elena began to sob. She leaned on the bed and pulled her knees up to her chest.

What had she done?