title: Freeing the Beast
author: Troyer, Cate
description: Bella is a small-town girl, sleeping with the well-endowed but stupid local farm boy, when her father returns home with shocking news.  She has been traded to a mysterious and hideous lord in return for her father's freedom.  She doesn't know what to think or expect, but invisible servants and a continuing question certainly didn't top the list.  Will Bella ever be able to answer his question, or will the Beast forever be a creature of darkness?
  EXCERPT:
  He patted her head lightly.  “I went inside and found a fire burning in the fireplace with a pot of tea sitting next to an old moth eaten chair covered in a thick warm blanket.  I called out, looking for the owner, but no one appeared, so I sat in the chair, had a cup of tea and dozed off in the warmth and dryness.
  “The next thing I remember, I was lifted in the air by a pair of huge, hideous paws and I looked into the feral eyes of a monster who spoke to me.  He could use civilized words, but he was not a civilized creature.  His skin was heavily coated in wiry fur.  His face resembled that of a wolf, ending in a black, wet nose.  His teeth, Bella…  Oh, his teeth were sharp and yellowed.  He roared in my face, his breath fetid and damp.