The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne

Thirty-Two: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

Even when I had watched him murder one of my pack members, I had never heard him sound so angry. It put the fear of the Goddess right into me.

“No,” Killian growled out, and I turned to glare at him and his glowing red eyes. He had no right to tell me what to do or where I would sleep. I needed a break. I needed time to myself to get my thoughts together before I went back to being pushed around. “Things were better. I've been trying to make things better.”

The short animalistic way he spoke shocked me, and I stared at him blankly. It was as if his beast was speaking for him.

He looked more hurt than ever before, and I felt a pain in my chest as I realized that I was the one hurting him this time.

A push against my back forced me to take a step toward Killian, and I turned to smack Tobias's giant hand away from me. Tobias dropped his arm back to his side quickly, but held his gaze on the wall in front of him, refusing to make eye contact with me as I glared at him.

The traitor.

“I really don't want to fight anymore, Killian,” I said softly, my shoulders falling as I held my bundle of clothes closer to my chest.

“Then we will talk, but at least give me the chance to explain before you start accusing me.” I narrowed my eyes as I saw Joselin move behind him, and he caught me glancing over his shoulder at her. Why was he allowing her to still be in our room after I told her to leave?

He let out a growl of frustration before looping his arm around the small of my back and dragging me back into the room.

“Seal it.” He demanded as he looked past me to Joselin. I hated having my back to her, especially when she was casting magic. I didn't trust her. At this point, I didnt trust either of them.

I didn't see or hear anything, but I knew she had done what he asked when he relaxed a small amount.

“You're going to hold me prisoner here?” I scoffed as my cheeks finished drying, and my anger came back tenfold. Did his father lock Killian's mother in a room like this or was she locked in the dungeons?

“No, we are going to talk like adults about this, and then if you choose to still leave, I will allow you to sleep in another room.” He said, holding me tightly to his chest as if he were scared I was going to try to get away again.

“Let me go!” I squirmed, hating the fact that I couldnt see Joselin behind me. Killian took in a deep breath before releasing me, and I instantly moved a few steps back until she was in my line of sight. The loss of his touch and his warmth helped me to think clearly again, and I turned to glare at Joselin as she sat back on the arm of the couch with confidence. Her ghostly complexion made me want to cut her skin to see if she even could bleed or if she was as evil as I assumed.

“Look at me,” Killian commanded, and I felt myself instinctively turn to him, like a wolf responding to its alpha’s order. I had no choice. My body and mind responded before I had time to even consider resisting. “What will it take for me to convince you that there is and has never been anything between Joselin and me, Natalie?”

I scoffed at the full use of our names. I was sure that if the three of us were in here under different circumstances, it would be Josie and Little One.

"How am I supposed to believe that when not only are you always together, but you abandon me to go be with her?” My hands were shaking as I tightened my hold on my clothes, refusing to release them as I needed something to hold onto. “You're not even giving me a chance to be your mate!” “I didn’t abandon you to be with her!” He argued back before taking a calming breath and lowering his voice. “She is my advisor and my friend, but nothing more.”

“This wouldn't be happening if you had marked her,” Joselin muttered with disdain and what I could only assume was jealousy. “At least then, she would feel it if you had been unfaithful.”

I wasn't even sure if I wanted the mark anymore. What were the chances of me being able to shift because of it? Slim to none, if I had to guess. Would it do to me what it had done to his parents? Would it destroy me when he chose to *Joselin or any of the other women at court who opened their legs for him?

The idea had been tossed around my head for the past couple of days, wondering if the mark would trigger my shift and whether it was worth it. The more I considered it, the more I thought it was. "So, mark me.” I insisted as I turned my glare from Joselin to stare at a flabbergasted Killian. His beast seemed to have receded, and his jaw was open as he stared at me.

“I'm not going to mark you just so you can know that I am being honest with you.” Killian walked to the couch, falling back into the cushion as he rubbed his forehead. The space between him and Joselin made me happy, but I refused to let it show.

“Well, you don’t seem to want to mark me at all.” I placed one hand on my hip, holding my clothes firmly against my stomach with my other. The fabric of my dress suddenly felt scratchy and far too tight to breathe normally.

"Goddess! You just have a whole list of things you're mad about, don’t you?” Killian groaned as he let his head drop back against the couch.

I stared at him closely, noticing the way that his shoulders were sloped downward and how his eyelids were drooping. This was not the king I knew or the man I knew. He looked exhausted and drained.

"We will talk tomorrow,” Joselin said as she stared directly at me. I tried not to groan in response, but ! knew she saw the displeasure on my face. “You're not royalty yet. You owe me an apology.”

I rolled my eyes as she vanished from the room, knowing that without her here, the spell would remain intact, and I would be stuck here all night.

I probably did owe her an apology, but at the same time, my stubborn pride had taken a hit with her always being with the man that I had grown to care for. Having him publically choose her over me tonight was a huge *. One I wasn't sure when I would come back from.

“I don't have a lot of experience with this,” Killian said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. “We need to talk.”