Beast Lord: (Beauty and the Beast) (Tangled Tales Book 3) Read Online Free

laughed.
    “Or fleas,” Stefan added, and that shut Wolf up too.
    “Hey, I wasn’t a frog for that long,” said Arnon in his defense. “I spent more time as a wolf, and I was a much better looking wolf than Hugh.” Hecuba’s curses took a toll on the brothers, and while Arnon had been cursed twice, he no longer carried either of his curses. Wolf, however, wasn’t so lucky.
    “Not so,” rallied Wolf with a slight growl that sounded vaguely canine. “And for the record, I’ve never had fleas.” He scratched an itch at the back of his neck as he said it, and that made MacKay bust out laughing.
    “I’m just glad I haven’t been cursed by Hecuba,” MacKay told them.
    “Don’t say that too loud.” Their father looked over his shoulder. “You never know where – or what she is. She could be listening right now. You don’t want to tempt her.”
    “Tempt her?” Stefan threw down the empty bottle and the glass smashed against the cold stone floor. “If I ever see that witch again, I’ll strangle her with my bare hands. It’s her fault I look like this, and I’ll never forget it.”
    “And it’s your fault my men are dead,” added Wolf. “I can’t forget that either.”
    “Boys, stop the quarreling,” ordered Lucio. “We need to find out why that band of men attacked, and who they were. We need to be ready to fight them off if they should decide to return.”
    “They were after something,” said Wolf. “But what?”
    “We can’t even ask the men of the castle,” said Stefan’s squire. “It seems the ones that weren’t dead ran in fear thinking we were going to kill them.”
    “Then maybe we can ask the servants,” said MacKay. “Some of them are emerging from their hiding places now that the battle is over.”
    “Have my men burned the dead bodies yet?” asked Lucio. “With that many, there was no way to bury them all.”
    “They have,” answered Arnon. “But the strangest part is that we didn’t find anyone amongst the dead that looked to be the ruler of the castle.”
    “I think I can answer that,” said Stefan. “The bastard who hacked at my face took the ruler of the castle with him.”
    “Question the servants at once,” said Lucio. “We need to find out if the attacker could be holding him for ransom for some reason.”
    “I’ll post some more men at the gate and as lookouts atop the battlements,” said Wolf.
    “Maybe I can have some of my men fix up this deathtrap before anyone gets hurt,” added Arnon.
    As the men all discussed their plans, Stefan felt disgust growing within him. His head pounded and his stomach churned, and the amount of whiskey he’d downed made his tongue loose enough to say what needed to be said.
    “Nay!” He stood up and almost fell over from being so dizzy. Grabbing on to the edge of the wooden trestle table, he steadied himself.
    “Sit down, Son,” said Lucio. “I’ll transport back to Tavistock and get the healer and be right back.”
    “I said, nay!” he shouted, his jaw clenched so hard that he could feel the blood pounding through his veins. “This is my castle now, and you will all leave and not return unless invited.”
    “Brother, you’re not thinking with a clear head,” said Arnon.
    “I’m serious. I don’t need your help, your men or your comments. You all have castles and domains of your own, now go back to them and leave me be.” A sharp pain went through the back of his head, and when he touched it, blood saturated his hand.
    “I think he’s serious,” said Wolf.
    “You’re damned right I am.”
    “If we leave you here alone, you’ll die,” said his father.
    “Then so be it,” he growled. “I said go! And take your men with you.”
    “Stefan, why don’t you lie down and rest and we’ll talk about this later,” said Arnon.
    Anger filled his pores and Stefan felt that beast inside him coming to life once again. He reached out and flipped the heavy trestle table over and it clattered to the