Seven Beasts_Reverse Harem Romance

by Kelli Callahan

  “Then we march.” I turned to my knights. “Tomorrow, we start our march to Camlann and when we arrive in three days time, we end this once and for all.”

  “Yes, sire!” Percival nodded enthusiastically and clenched the hilt of his sword in his scabbard.

  It had been two years since my wedding. I was anxious for an heir, but Guinevere hadn’t been bestowed with the gift of motherhood, despite our attempts. It was putting pressure on us and as much as I loved her, I wasn’t anxious to return to our chamber after meeting with the war council. I knew I should. It could be weeks before the battle was done and we were reunited again, but our relationship had gotten strained due to our struggles to produce an heir. I decided to stay with my knights. I poured drinks once the battle strategy was done and we sat the round table drinking, talking about the upcoming battle. Lancelot was normally the one to drink us all under the table, but he wasn’t feeling it that night, so he decided to retire early. Once my vision was blurry and my words were slurred, I decided it was time to sleep it off. The other knights elected to stay behind, anxious to see who could last the longest without Lancelot at the table. I walked down the hallway to the northern wing of the castle, pausing to hold the wall when the buzz got too strong. When I got close to my room, I heard the sounds of heavy breathing and moaning. That snapped me right back to sobriety and I pushed the door open in confusion.

  “Oh, Lancelot—harder!” I heard my wife’s words.

  “I love you...” The man on top of her muttered.

  “What the bloody hell...” I stared at the sight and my eyes opened wide. “You’ve betrayed me—you’ve both betrayed me!”

  “Sire!” Lancelot immediately jumped to his feet with fear in his eyes. “I...”

  “Guards!” My voice echoed down the hallway and I heard the sound of armor on stone as they approached. “Arrest Sir Lancelot—he has defiled the queen!”

  “Yes, sire!” The guards entered the room and took Lancelot into custody.

  “Arthur, I’m sorry...” Lancelot looked at me and shook his head as he was escorted out of my chamber.

  “Have I really failed you this badly? Do you want an heir to this kingdom so much that you would invite my most loyal knight into your bed?” I glared at Guinevere as she wrapped a sheet around her body.

  “Arthur...” Her lips trembled. “I’m in love with Lancelot. I know I’m supposed to love you—you’re my husband—you’re my king. I can’t help what my heart wants. I care deeply for both of you.”

  “That won’t be a problem tomorrow.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Lancelot will be executed at sunrise for his crime.”

  “Arthur, no!” Guinevere ran towards me, her emerald eyes gushing with tears. “Please don’t do this—please, I love him.”

  “You should be happy that your head will not join his in the dirt.” I pushed her away.

  LANCELOT’S DEATH DID more than simply end his life. It soured my soul. When I took his head, Excalibur turned on me. It fell from my hand and sank into the stone . No matter how much I tried, I could not pull it free again. The sword had been my protector since the day I pulled it from the stone and I felt a sickness inside of me when it left me. I had no choice but to leave it there. I was forced to go to Camlann without my legendary sword and when I faced Mordred on the battlefield, I knew it would cost me my life. His magic was strong, but my determination was stronger—it would be my downfall. No matter how many times he struck me down, I refused to give up. I kept fighting until there was nothing left. Mordred died at my hand, but he ran a spear through my ribs before he drew his last breath. We were victorious, but I was mortally wounded. I was taken back to Camelot where I lay in my bed for weeks battling fever and infection. I knew my life would soon be over and I would join my ancestors in the afterlife. That was how my story should have ended, but it wasn’t the end I received.

  “Death is coming for you, my love.” I knew the voice belonged to Guinevere even before I saw her emerald eyes staring at me.

  “Yes.” I let out a sigh and winced from the pain. “My end is coming.”

  “No.” She laughed. “Death is coming for you, but I made a deal to save your life.”

  “What?” I turned my head towards her. “What do you mean?”

  “You will not die today—or tomorrow—or ever. You will live your life in eternal torment for what you did to Lancelot.” She sat down on the edge of my bed. “You became a beast the day you swung Excalibur in anger and executed my beloved—that is the only fate you will ever know.”

  “Just let me die.” I let out a sigh and turned away from her. “I don’t need your words to know I will suffer an eternity of torment for what I have done.”

  “Your body will not die, but everything you love will. This castle, your legacy—they will be erased from history. I made a deal with the devil himself and the power—it is unlike anything you can imagine.” She laughed and when I looked back to her I saw her body erupt in a green glow.

  Chapter 18: Anabelle

  “The witch is Guinevere?” My eyes were wide with shock as Arthur told us his story.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “The witch is my wife, or what is left of her. I don’t think the woman I loved still exists. Our love was broken long before she laid with Lancelot. Maybe it was never more than lust for the girl I thought I cared about. Obviously, she didn’t feel the same way I did. She desperately wanted to give me an heir, but I think that was more out of duty than love.”

  “That explains a lot.” Shane let out a long sigh. “She’s been searching for love. My brother and I are here because we murdered someone she loved.”

  “Me too...” Boone shook his head in agreement.

  “And I didn’t want to be that man, which is how I ended up here.” Gill rubbed his fingers across his eyes as if he was contemplating what was said.

  “The only thing in this world powerful enough to defeat that kind of magic is Excalibur. Her power far exceeds that of Mordred and I’m not even sure Merlin would have been a match for her without some assistance.” Arthur sighed deeply. “My decision to swing Excalibur in the name of vengeance instead of glory severed my tie with the sword and without it, there no way to defeat the witch.”

  “So we’re trapped in this curse...” Alexander blinked a couple of times. “There’s no way out.”

  “Maybe the deal she struck has her locked in a curse as well.” Randall shrugged as sadness swept over his face. “She’s sought loved for thousands of years...”

  “Even if she found it,” Arthur looked around the room, “she wouldn’t be able to keep it. She would outlive anyone she fell in love with.”

  “Maybe she has...” I looked at Arthur and nodded. “I’m sure some of the beasts that you killed and some that took their own lives played similar roles in her grief. Somewhere in there though—she had to have found something or else the castle would be overflowing with beasts.”

  “Perhaps.” Arthur shrugged. “I don’t claim to know the answer, I only know what I have seen in the mirrors.”

  “Mirrors?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “Merlin’s mirrors. He used them to watch the world—the past, present and future all at the same time. I was forced to watch everyone I knew die through them. When she cast the curse, she sent Camelot here and the people that remained were cast to the wind. In time, Camelot became nothing more than a legend.” Arthur sighed and shook his head. “Just like me.”

  WE WERE ONCE AGAIN trapped in the castle with little hope of leaving. Even if I was able to leave on my own at that point, I had no idea if the wolves would come for me. Seeing them also made me worry about my father. He had left the castle, but I had no idea if he made it home. I assumed he had based on what I had heard about men coming to the area and searching, but there was no guarantee they were actually searching for me. My ankle was sore for several days, but the six original men took care of me. They bathed me, massaged me, and helped me get around without putting support on it. Even in th
e midst of the curse and the loss of our one plan, we seemed to find a way to persevere.

  The newest addition to our group seemed to be distant and didn’t spend much time with us after he saved us. He returned to the northern wing, but he didn’t conceal the entrance behind the false wall like he had before he revealed himself. He would join us for meals sometimes, but he never ate. It seemed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders anytime he entered a room. The one way to defeat the witch was the very thing he used to create her. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling with that burden hanging on him. After a couple of weeks, I was mobile again and walking around the castle. I had a plan to try and bring Arthur back from the brink of his despair—if it worked for the others, then maybe I could help him find the man behind the beast as well.

  “Wow, you really kept the best stuff hidden away.” I walked into his room in the north wing of the castle which was filled with lavish jewels, gold, and weapons.

  “It was a necessity, I’m afraid.” He turned towards me as I entered the room. “Some of the beasts that came let their greed get the best of them. They would accept my hospitality and then try to steal from me. They could have it for all I cared, but the curse killed them before they could get far.”

  “And the others tried to kill you?” I walked over to a large portrait that appeared to be of Arthur and the witch, but the faces had been ripped out.

  “Aye...” He sighed deeply. “It didn’t make sense for me to show myself to the beasts she sent to torment me. Once they realized it was my castle, they were ready to lay the blame at my feet. It was well placed, but I grew weary of being a butcher.”

  “Is that...” I tilted my head and looked into the side room where a large block of stone rested with a beautiful sword extending up out of it.

  “That is Excalibur.” He nodded and walked to where it was resting. “It took me nearly two years to carve the stone around from the ground and bring it up here. For a while, I checked it every day—just hoping that it would finally forgive me. I think that is a fool’s quest now.”

  “The legend say it was bound to your bloodline.” I walked over to it and put my hand on the hilt. “Only a Pendragon could pull it free.”

  “I wish. There is more to it than that. It isn’t my bloodline that allowed me to pull it free, it was the purity inside me. It responds to those who intend to use it for the best of intentions.” He gave it a tug. “Which isn’t me anymore.”

  “Yeah.” I gripped the sword and pulled on it—perhaps it was a foolish thought. I wasn’t surprised when it didn’t respond to my touch.

  “I wish I could be that man again.” He let out a sigh and started to walk away.

  “Wait...” I walked up behind him and took his hand. “You’re a beast because of the curse. I helped the others in this castle remember the men they used to be. Maybe I could do the same for you and it would somehow reunite you with it. It could be the key to saving us all.”

  “I know what you did for the others. Don’t think that I haven’t thought about it. You’re the first woman I’ve laid eyes on since the curse put me here, but I know I don’t deserve you.” He turned towards me. “I don’t deserve anything but the purgatory I was cursed to endure.”

  “It isn’t about what you deserve.” I looked up into his shimmering blue eyes. “I’m face to face with King Arthur, a literal legend come to life, and I can’t imagine any woman on earth that wouldn’t be thinking the things going through my head. I have six men who have come back from their beastly ways in my arms—you could be number seven.”

  Everyone knew where we were headed when I walked back into the main part of the castle holding hands with Arthur. They nodded in approval as we walked towards the room I had discovered. Arthur hesitated when we got to the room. He took a step in and his eyes started to scan it with a bit of concern. It started to make sense in my head—it was Guinevere’s room. He finally relented to my touch and let me start to remove his armor. He assisted with the heavy pieces until he was nothing but a mass of muscles underneath an old tunic and a pair of pants. I pulled his shirt over his head and felt my body getting warm at the sight of his gorgeous body. I couldn’t imagine any woman giving that up for someone else. The others brought water into the room and filled the tub, which Arthur climbed into once his pants were removed. His beard and hair were the worst of any of them. They practically engulfed his face like a vine and was thick around his ears. I had to spend a considerable amount of time just cutting it away before I could start shaving him, but when it was gone, the legendary face was so handsome it was almost breathtaking.

  “This feels good. I never really enjoyed baths much—they just took time that could be devoted to strategy and war. After being without one for so long, it’s like a slice of heaven.” A long sigh slid from his throat as I started washing what remained of his hair.

  “This night belongs to us. I know that what you witnessed between Lancelot and Guinevere was heartbreaking, but in order for this to work, you have to be willing to accept that a woman can care for more than one man.” I ran my hand across his chest and into the water, lathering his torso as I did.

  “I’ve thought about that a million times and questioned how I could have handled it differently. I was possessive and cruel. I believed that by taking Lancelot’s head, I could put my family back together, but I was wrong. I should have just let them both go.” He looked to me. “Maybe if you would have been in Camelot then, there would have never been a Guinevere.”

  “Let’s not dwell on that.” I ran my hand down his torso again and started stroking his cock under the water.

  I finished Arthur’s bath and when he stepped out of the tub, his cock was already hard from the attention I had given it. Arthur was no longer a beast. He was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on with a body that was so delicious I could practically feel the heat radiating from my pussy as I watched him dry off. The others would have a place in my life no matter what, but Arthur would be part of the group. He needed his humanity back more than any of them did. He needed to remember himself as the strong king that toppled tyrants and led Camelot into a golden age.

  When he was finished drying off, he approached me and I felt myself melt in his gaze. He put his arms around me and pulled our bodies together as our lips colliding. There was passion and heat between us before I felt his kiss, but his lips were like embers and his kiss was like liquid fire. His tongue ravaged my mouth as he started to kiss me and I practically boiling with my desire for his embrace. We crashed into the bed with our bodies intertwined and his lips continued to build up my desires as he let them linger against mine. They paused for a brief moment as we both caught our breath and then he pressed them to mine again, only breaking the seal to draw more breath into his lungs.

  “I never thought I would feel this again.” His hands ran along my body and squeezed my breasts. “You’re absolutely beautiful.”

  “Show me how much you want me.” I looked into his eyes and let my hands rest on his shoulders.

  Arthur’s hands moved down to my hips and he lifted my legs as he slid between my thighs. His cock pressed against my pussy and I was so wet with my desire that it didn’t have to linger there for long. A gasp rushed from his lips as he started to push himself inside of me and I reacted with one of my own when his cock passed my labia. He pulled back briefly and then plunged himself inside of me, going a little deeper than he did the first time. My pussy was still tight even if I wasn’t a virgin, and it took him some time to get me to the point where he could slide into my wetness with ease. He leaned forward and kissed my neck while he worked his cock further into my pussy. I wanted to feel him deep inside of me where we would both feel the ultimate form of pleasure.

  He pulled back and pushed deeper, each thrust getting him a little further into my pussy. I shifted my hips as much as I could but the burning tease of his kiss was keeping me entranced in the fury of his lust. I turned my head and kissed his neck as well,
running my tongue along his ear and sucking on it when I got the lobe. He shuddered for a moment and then started to pick up the pace of his thrusts, finally reaching the point where our hips became connected.

  “You’re waking up desires I thought were dead.” He slowly pulled back and pushed his cock into me again.

  “They were never dead—they were just forgotten due to the curse.” I kissed his ear again. “Show me how bad you want me.”

  His muscled hips kept my legs pushed far apart and he started to pound himself into me. The gasps of pleasure seemed to flow from him each time he went deep and my g-spot roared when he started to massage it as he chased the excitement of our embrace. The heat between us was almost intoxicating as it simmered across our bodies. Despite being without a woman’s touch for longer than I could even comprehend in my thoughts, he didn’t rush towards the release his body was craving. He took his slow, with steady thrusts that never missed their target. He was never distracted from showing my body attention with his hands and his lips, which made the feeling inside of me even more intense as he stimulated every inch of my pussy. I felt like I was tangled in his arms with our bodies fueling the sweltering passion. He got a little faster as the minutes passed, but it was still a steady rhythm that stoked the orgasm to life. His body satisfied an ache I didn’t even know I had—the sensuality of lovemaking with a man that wanted me to feel his need as he brought mine to the surface. It was different with him. He was tender while he created pleasure for the both of us, but the thirst was clearly in his eyes.

  “You’re amazing, Anabelle. You give yourself so freely—in a different time I would have coveted you and never let you out of my sight.” He leaned against my ear and kissed my neck. “I’m going to make you feel pleasure you didn’t even know was possible.”