"ALEC!" Terence gasped, now walking over to him and gently shaking his grandson.

"Grandpa! Is he dead?!" Ellie gasped.

"I think so. Alec, c'mon son, wake up!" Terence gently leaned over him and shook him a bit harder.

Alec's eyes slowly began to open and he looked around in confusion.

"What happened?"

"You fainted." Terence said, now grinning, his jagged teeth bared.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Alec screamed, now about to jump out of the bed and run for it.

"Alec! Come back!" Ellie said, now pouncing on him and trying to keep him down.

"Ellie! We've got to get out of here! This place is haunted!"

"Now calm down Alec," Terence said, now approaching his grandson.

"This has to be a crazy dream! I'm not a beast! I'm not a beast!"

"Alec, will you calm down?!" Terence said, now getting on the bed and grabbing his ankle.

"Let go of me! You can't be grandpa either! He isn't a monster!"

Terence's eyes narrowed and he let out a snarl.

"First of all, I am your grandpa. And second, I am NOT A MONSTER!" He roared, now making the room shake.

That did it. Alec let out a large scream that made both Ellie and Terence cover their ears. Alec then jumped from the bed and began running out the doorway.

"ALEC! GET BACK HERE!" Terence ordered, now running on all fours after his grandson.

"Alec wait!" Ellie begged, now chasing after her brother. But Alec was beyond afraid! He was already frightened by the dream and now he had a large beast after him! He began to pant and sweat and began stumbling as he tripped on his large feet. Terence smirked and began to gain on him.

"Gotcha!" Terence said, now pouncing and the two went rolling down the hallway. After a few moments, they stopped in front of Terence's door and Terence picked him up. "Now Alec…"

"P-Put me down!"

"Oh no you don't. You and I need to have a talk."

And with that, he took him into the room and placed him on the bed. Alec immediately curled up, trying to prevent himself from fainting again.

"Alec. I did not mean to frighten you. Now how about uncurling so we can talk." Terence said gently. Alec slowly began unfurling and Ellie joined him on the bed.

Terence gently ruffled his hair and gave him a grin. "Now then, let me start from the beginning. Centuries ago, there was a handsome prince who lived in a huge castle..."

"Ooh! Ooh! I know where this is going!" Ellie interrupted. "An ugly old lady came to the castle, but the prince refused and turned him into a beast!"

"Uh, well, not exactly." Terence said. "Let me finish. It was a rainy night and a mysterious stranger wanted shelter, but the prince turned her away. But the woman was an evil fairy who punished him by turning him into a beast."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Alec cut off. "This sounds like that one movie..."

"Beauty and the Beast?" Terence raised an extra-hairy eyebrow. "Well, the story is different from the movie. For starters, the tale Beauty and the Beast...is real."

Alec could barely hide his shock. He wanted to deny it, but the proof was sitting right before him.

In fact, he was proof himself! He was a beast for crying out loud!

"You see, Alec. The prince was under the Beast curse for a long time. And when someone is inflicted with a curse for a long period of time, some of it's magic is passed down genetically. Therefore, we are the actual descendants of the Beast."

"B-B-Beast?!" Alec gulped. He looked at his huge paws. They were terrifying.

He was terrifying.

Terence stood up. "Let's see..." He examined Alec closely.

Light brown fur on his face, a dark brown mane of hair, a long snout like a dog's, and of course a visible increase in size and strength. "You've got my fur coloring when I was a lad, but you've got your Uncle Horace's snout."

He laughed. It sounded like a grizzly bear with a sore throat.

Ellie looked at her brother. He looked ready to pass out again. "Wow! This is sooooo cool, Alec! You're a beast! And so is grandpa! You are so lucky!"

"Lucky?! LUCKY?! Ellie! This is not normal! None of this is normal! Grandpa! How do I change back?!"

Terence smiled. "I'm glad you asked." His fur grew back into his skin, his size becoming smaller.

He was back to his human form.

"You see, Alec. With the proper training, you will be able to morph from beast to man." He switched back to his beast form. "And I will be your coach."

Alec was completely floored.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he asked.

Terence put a paw on his grandson's shoulder. "Alec, this isn't something I'm doing to you. This is who you are. It's how you were born, with a gift, a very special gift. And I'm here to help you control it. Come with me so we can begin your training."

"Can I come too, Grandpa?!" Ellie asked.

"Of course, dear. Follow me, children."

The kids followed Terence to his bedroom. He approached a large stone mirror that was bolted to the wall. "Ready?"

Ellie nodded eagerly. Alec nodded meekly.

The beastly grandfather put his paw against the glass and it glowed yellow.

Before Alec knew it, the mirror sucked him and his family into the mirror.

"Here we are!" Terence said.

Alex opened his eyes and saw the strangest looking castle he had ever seen in his life.

One side of the castle was royally exquisite. It was white with gold roofed turrets and had a huge garden filled with lush, green grass and bushes.

And the other side was dark and gloomy, made of grey stone with black, pointed towers. Dead, gnarled trees were placed upon the dead grass.

"WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!" Alec blurted out.

"This is Beast Castle." Terence said proudly. "It's been in our family for generations, known to have both sides of beauty and beast."

It was. Beast Castle was a beautiful and creepy castle at the same time. It was like it had a double "face."

"Wait. Are we still at the castle, Grandpa?" asked Alec. "I mean, are we still in Europe?"

Terence shook his head. "No, we're in another realm where members of the Beast family train." He looked at Alec. "I knew this day would come, Alec. That's why I had your parents bring you here for the summer, to begin your beast training."

Alec looked at his furry arms. "Will it make me human again?"

"Absolutely." Terence patted him on the shoulder. "But first, let's get some rest. You've had quite a night."

"No kidding..." Alec muttered.

Terence showed Alec to his room. The walls were green and he had a purple rose decorated bed.

"This will be your room, my boy." Terence said. He picked up Ellie and put her on his shoulders. "To your room, Ellie! Let's get there by piggy-back beast!"

"YAY!" Ellie was about enjoy piggy-back bats until Alec spoke up.

"Grandpa."

"Hm?"

Alec tightened his paws. "Am I...really going to be okay? I mean, this whole beast thing..."

Terence gave his grandson an understanding smile. "I promise you're going to be fine, Alec."

"Yeah! This is gonna be great!" Ellie added.

Alec looked at his sister. "I'm just amazed that you're taking this all so well."

"Dude, ever since we were little, you've always wanted to have adventure in your life. Something more. Well, wish granted." Ellie smiled. "And having beasts in our family is the coolest thing ever!"

Alec thought back to how he loved adventure when he was younger. But a story he grew, he lost that passion.

And now, this outrageous adventure was happening now.

"Alright, enough chit-chat." Terence said. "Time for bed."

He took Ellie to her room, leaving Alec once again alone in his room.

Alec looked at the rose framed mirror hanging on the wall.

He looked at his beastly self. Then sighed and shuffled into his bed. Alec closed his eyes.

He was so mentally exhausted he fell asleep instantly.

newbienovelistRD: Let's talk on the next chapter elsewhere, guestsurprise! ;)