"Belle"

My name is Belle, and I was looking forward to finding my mate at the annual Shifter’s Ball. Unfortunately, my petty side had to strike out at a homely patron who was not dressed for a ball. She looked more like the one hired to pick up after the horses. And I said so, loudly, as my friends snickered at my dark wit. That’s when karma struck. That homely patron wasn’t as she seemed. She was a powerful sorceress who laid a vanity curse on me, which made me partially shift into this monstrosity that pulls screams from grown men and cringes from my family and friends. If I had just kept my cruel words to myself, I would not be exiled to my grandfather’s dilapidated estate, searching for a way to break this curse without getting killed in the process.