The botanist and the bea.., p.1
The Botanist and the Beast, page 1
The Botanist and The Beast
Viola Vines
Published by Viola Vines, 2025.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE BOTANIST AND THE BEAST
First edition. January 3, 2025.
Copyright © 2025 Viola Vines.
Written by Viola Vines.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Content Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Epilogue
Bonus erotica chapters coming soon!
Other Works by Viola Vines
Acknowledgements
About the Author
For the readers who like their fairy tales to have some bite.
Content Note
The Botanist and the Beast is a romance novel that contains: A beastly prince with animalistic features, biting, light bondage, primal play, knotting, D/s dynamics, and more. If you feel that any of the previously listed subjects are upsetting, please protect your peace.
Chapter One
"Too bad he's stained by the veil. He's got such a pretty face."
"It's probably for the best otherwise he'd have his pick of everyone."
"Shush! He'll hear you."
Theo heard these whispers about himself a thousand times. Quinlan was a small village that he would describe as painfully plain. The grassy flat landscape, the shops, and homes were all some shade of beige.
He did his best to ignore the group of twentysomethings sitting on the ledge of the trickling fountain across the way and finished his final sale for the day. His last customer was a decent looking man he had been spending his free nights with named John.
He handed John two small tea bags. One was letting out a thick ribbon of lavender smoke that smelled like plums and cloves as it drifted up to the darkening sky. "You'll want to have your mom drink a fourth cup of the smoky one, to ease the pain. It may give her a small euphoric feeling, so don't give her more than half a cup. Then she needs to drink a full cup of ginger tea to reduce the fever."
"Thanks, Theo. You're a life saver," he said, clutching the small bag.
As he turned to go, Theo held up a hand. "Wait, I got you something."
"You did?" John flicked his eyes around nervously.
"The other night, you mentioned getting hurt when logging. So, I thought this would help." He handed him a small jar of crushed powder from a lower compartment. "In the future use this enchanted white yarrow and press it into the wound or rub it on top of stitches. It'll clot blood faster."
"Oh." He took the jar then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Theo, this is really sweet and I'm grateful. And I like... well, I really like what we do together."
"Having sex, you mean," Theo said simply. The panic in John's eyes was evident. People are predictable as always. "Don't worry. I'm not giving you this because I want more from you. I just had extra."
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I do want to keep... um, sleeping together. But I don't want anyone to know because you're—I mean... I'm private about this type of thing."
"Because I'm stained?" John didn't deny it and Theo rolled his eyes. "I told you I could keep this casual, and I meant it. I gave extra tea to Mrs. Hathaway, and I gave the kids some glowing camellias to play with, too." He nodded to some children who ran across the cobblestones holding flowers that grew brighter as the sun steadily set behind the shops. "I like to give things away sometimes. Surely you know that."
"Right," he said with a sigh of relief. "Um, could you come by my place tonight? It's been a few days."
"I have plans, sorry." Theo forced a smile. "Have a good night."
"Are your plans with someone else?" When Theo only smiled in response, John's hands tightened around the jar. "Who is it? Is it Victor?"
"You aren't the only person keeping me a secret. I won't tell anyone about us, and I won't tell you about them. It's better that way, right?"
"But I thought—"
"Thought I'd stay exclusively your dirty secret? And what's in that for me?" John was silent, and Theo looked past him at the group lounging on the fountain edge. He flashed a smile and tossed a wave in their direction. Instantly, the group was all swoons, pink cheeks, and hushed arguments about who he was waving it. He glanced back at John and nodded up the road. "You should head home before the wind comes. Have a good night."
He left in a huff and Theo busied himself counting his profits. As the sky grew dimmer, everyone began to rush out of the square. The shops were locked up tight and carts were wheeled off toward the quiet cottages in the east. There was a silent understanding that being out here once the sunset was dangerous. Theo was the only one not in a hurry.
As he set a stack of bronze coins aside, a subtle green light spread over his cart.
Those who interacted with the veil were stained with a bioluminescent glow and believed to be carrying some of the veil's dark magic. There were rumors of others in different towns with a smear of glowing green behind their ear or permanent glowing dust under their fingernails. Theo's mark was not subtle. It couldn't be hidden with gloves or wearing his hair long.
Since he was a teenager, Theo had bold streaks that started on his right shoulder, traveled diagonally across his abdomen, and branched out asymmetrically like angry lightning bolts. It stood out bright on his brown skin all the time, but the moment the sun sunk in the sky, his scars turned him into an icy blue-green beacon of light. Some days it was more turquoise or teal. Others more cyan or sea foam. But it was always radiant.
More than once, he heard he was a waste when people thought he was out of earshot. “A great catch if only he wasn't stained.” “So handsome but I've never seen someone so deeply stained.”
Many were willing to kiss him in the dark, but by day they'd beg to keep their dalliances a secret. No one would actually court or marry someone stained. It used to cut Theo deep, but after hearing countless people ask him to pretend their time together never happened, he was numb to it. Now he treated flirting and sex with others as meaningless fun and accepted romance wasn't in the cards for him. He was far too busy for love anyway.
Only moderately satisfied with his profit, Theo packed up his cart for the night, but he didn't follow the rest of the merchants heading east towards the rows of sleepy identical cottages. Instead, Theo wandered west, across the empty fields to the forest.
No one else ventured into the western forest on a spring night if they could help it. In fact, in the spring most of Quinlan's inhabitants wouldn't even let their gaze move towards the tree at night until the first day of summer.
Despite all of that, Theo pressed forward, guided by the crescent moon and his own scars. He weaved through the densely packed pines and firs.
With every step he took over roots and across the pine needle dusted floor, his anticipation grew. He could find his destination with his eyes closed. There was an invisible constant pull in his chest that guided him to it for years. All year round he heard a call, but in the spring the call became a scream.
Five miles deep in the trees, Theo finally arrived.
In the middle of the forest was across a wall of fog so dense there was no seeing through it. The white cloud stretched endlessly upward toward the sky and slowly flowed downward like a waterfall of honey.
Theo grabbed his bow and arrows off the cart, strapped them to his back, took a breath, and stepped into the white.
The fog vibrated against his cart, making it rattle. The clouds had a light salty taste as if they rolled in off some mysterious coast. The air was thin as if he was climbing a mountain too rapidly. Just as the burn in his lungs was unbearable, the fog dissipated. There were no more pine trees, but trees flush with bright flowers, ripe fruits, and rich, green leaves.
The moon in the veil was always full and always hung low. Theo swore if he reached far enough, he could pluck it from the stars and pocket its pale light for later. The low heartbeat of the veil thumped in sync with Theo's heart, and all his muscles
Despite it being comforting, Theo knew better than to let his guard down. Nearly everything in the veil could make humans violently ill or send them to the grave if not handled with care.
A manchineel tree up ahead oozed toxic golden sap and poison ivy sprawled out across the forest floor. The soft winds rustled the white and pink petals of the lethal oleander and foxgloves.
On top of that, every living thing, toxic or not, was enchanted. The ivy crawled slowly over Theo's boots like caterpillars, yellow and white daffodils chimed like little bells as he walked past them, and the songbirds that flitted overhead giggled between their songs as if the spirits of lost children were tucked between their rainbow feathers.
The veil was beauty and death in an endless embrace.
And Theo loved it.
Chapter Two
After a short walk, he parked the cart and walked onward until he came to a gravestone. It read Ophelia and Cyrus Rhodes in blocky script. Theo had carved each letter himself one painful night, and he could see his youth in the uneven letters. White roses sprouted up out of the earth at the grave site and glowed as if the light of the moon was pouring out of their petals.
"Hey Mom. Hey Dad. Hope you're resting easy," he said, sitting down in front of them. "The girls are good. You'd be so proud of them. Coralie is still interested in fish these days. She came home with a koi fish somehow. So now, she has a pet. Luna, as you know, always has her head in the clouds. She reads endless books on astronomy and she's always reading the stars for people. I'm hoping to send them off to school or an apprenticeship somewhere so they can learn more." He paused and thought of the lack of money he made today. "It'll be costly but. I'll figure it out, though. I always do. I can always get back into working parties again."
A sharp snap rang out and he bolted upright. There was a menacing growl and with his bow in hand, he pressed his back to the tombstone. Fearful that his glowing skin may draw too much attention, he sank down and went still, hoping to be mistaken as a large bioluminescent plant among the white flowers. He didn't blink or breathe. Creatures of the veil were the reason his parents were buried six feet deep beneath his feet, so he knew better than to draw their attention.
The brush rustled and then a massive crocodile came lumbering through the forest. Its menacing teeth were stained with rich red blood. Theo had seen pictures of crocodiles in books but, like most living things that dwelled here, this one had unique features that made it clear it was a creature of the veil. Its scales weren't the typical color that mimicked murky waters but a rich indigo with a spray of little white dots like the starry sky above. Its massive tail it dragged along crushed the plants.
Thankfully it didn't stop its journey and passed by Theo in search of water to slither into. After a few minutes, Theo got up, said his goodbyes to his parents, and headed off deeper into the veil.
He approached a break in the trees. There was a small pond surrounded by bushes on all sides. He pulled his notebook off the cart and flipped a few pages to a sketch of a rose bush with pastel blue blooms and pearly white leaves. The page next to it had a list of rumored requirements he gathered over the years.
Bathed in moonlight at night, near a water source. Check and check. No other roses for five miles. Check. Birds with blue feathers nest in its proximity and other blue flowers will grow nearby. He scanned the area carefully and perked up when he saw graceful blue herons with cerulean feathers and glittery silver beaks like a fishing lure nesting on the water's edge. Another check. Bit more exploring and he found cornflowers with baby blue petals swaying in the warm foggy air. And check. This place is hospitable at the very least. Hopefully it's here.
Meticulously he walked around the pond and examined every bush. Unfortunately, only green leaves greeted him, and there wasn't a bone white leaf to be found. He knew there were no guarantees, but it still stung a little when it felt right in reach.
Refusing to waste the night, he took his shovel in hand and dug up some new flowers and some he knew sold well. White yarrow, light purple opium poppies that emitted a thin wisp of smoke into the sky, enchanted camellias with gorgeous pink blooms that glowed and made good night lights for anxious children, and dark green cattails that ignited when smacked hard enough against a palm. He dug through the night then heard leaves rustling. He paused, wondering if the crocodile had circled back. Then he felt eyes on him somewhere in the dark.
He gripped his shovel and searched for a predator coming to the water's edge to drink, but there were only herons stalking through the water. He was going to brush it off as the forest playing tricks on him, but then he heard a small laugh.
"Hello?" He spun around and lifted his shovel up like a bat. His heart pounded in his ears. "Anyone out there?"
In his periphery someone passed by, disappearing into the trees, and his blood ran cold. His eyes darted around the space. Whoever they were, they were gone or hiding. Theo's mind drifted to tales of vicious fae, trickster sprites, and angry centaurs. "I saw you. Whoever you are, stay away from me."
No one answered, but the forest rumbled. Normally he was disappointed when this happened but now, he was relieved. He had no interest in meeting who or whatever was watching him.
Theo grabbed a cattail he collected and smacked his hand. It ignited in orange flames, and he quickly burned a small circle around his cart and waited in the center. The rumble of the veil grew louder until it came from all sides.
A flurry of blossoms and dust swirled around him and then the fog came rolling towards him. It rushed past, making his clothes flutter as if he stood near a stampede of horses. His flaming cattail and burning circle were snuffed out. The lake, the full moon, the birds, and the magical flowers were gone. In their place were the quiet pines, the pale blue sky hinting at the rising sun, and a fading crescent moon.
Theo looked over his shoulder as the fog rushed back into the dark as if being ripped away by the hand of some invisible god. The roar faded into the distance, and Theo was left in silence. The only proof he had been in the veil at all was his heavy cart full of shimmering, enchanted plants.
He lugged the cart out of the woods and up the back road. With every step, there was a part of him that yearned to turn and chase the fog into the trees, but he had responsibilities here in Quinlan, so he forced himself not to look back.
Chapter Three
While the rest of Quinlan lived on the eastern side of the town to stay away from the veil, Theo lived in a quiet cottage on its western edge. His home was in the middle of a grassy field, but the acre he lived on was spilling over with flowers his parents planted.
Their garden was lush with roses, jasmine, snapdragons, and more that swayed in the morning breeze. Small fruit trees dotted the yard as well, obscuring the windows. Some of the foliage was from the human world, some from the veil, and some crossbred creations. All would be used for his medicines, teas, food, and decorations he sold in town.
In the back corner of the yard behind their house was a small, dilapidated shed where Theo worked. It was full of gardening tools, dust, and junk. Theo dreamed of working in a greenhouse instead, but he knew that day wouldn't come. Money was far too tight.
Sleepily he brought in a few plants he had never seen before, set them on the table, and pulled out his notebook again. He flipped to a blank page and began sketching. He always added new flowers to his notes even if he was exhausted because it cleared his head of the lingering grief he felt after visiting his parents’ grave.
He was sure to get the curl of their vines, the shade of the petals, and texture of the leaves just right. He'd list any initial magical properties he observed and the environment they grew, and a list of plants it shared multiple properties with. Then he'd spend a few days to weeks trying to discover any medicinal or novel properties that people may see as valuable. It was a tedious art and science with lots of dead ends, but he didn't mind. The moment he made a breakthrough, it was all worth it.
Absentmindedly, he flipped back in his notebook at he stared at the elusive blue rose he had been hunting for. It was so rare most didn't think it existed in their world or the veil, but if he found it, they'd be financially set. Many wealthy people wanted it simply to brag about such a rarity in their possession, but it was also alleged that the blue petals had medicinal properties that could cure most illnesses. Maybe I need to walk further into the veil or travel to the southern summer door. All at once the door flew open, making him jump.
