The Beast And The Blessed

Seven: Natalie

Natalie’s P.O.V.

Several hours had passed before I had mustered up the courage to help myself to a shower. I was glad that I had my get-a-way bag with me when I was taken from my pack. Clean clothes and a warm shower did wonders for me and my injured arm, and I was ready to test the limits of my new captivity and learn my place.

If I wasn’t allowed to leave ‘our’ bedroom, then I would find out very quickly. I paused at the door briefly, wondering what would happen if he came back and I wasn’t there. What kind of punishments did human breeders get? Were there other human breeders here?

I shook my head, glancing back to the room, admiring the glow of the mid-afternoon sun on the gold detailing that decorated the bedposts. It made me wonder what other beautiful designs were waiting for me to discover in the rest of the castle.

The bronze handle was cold beneath my touch, like a warning that I should just back away and stay where I had been left. Instead, I pulled the door open, jumping at the sight of the large back blocking my exit. The man was easily two heads taller than me and could pass for a giant had I not known he was a Lycan when he wasn’t in his skin.

He moved to the side, turning to face me as he cleared the way for me to exit. He bent at the waist, taking me by surprise as he bowed in his crisp back suit. I didn’t know what to do or how to handle it. But as he straightened back up to his full height and returned his gaze down the hallway, I assumed I was free to roam.

“Hello,” I said softly as I tried to assess the man before me. “Am I allowed to leave the room?”

He glanced down at me with his eyebrows pulled together as if he were confused before looking away again with a quick nod of his head in confirmation. I stared at him for a moment longer, waiting for him to change his mind or report me to the king. When he didn’t move, I turned and made my way down the hallway, very aware of the giant man shadowing me.

as I wasn’t sure in which direction to go, up or down. I glanced over the railing

and I turned in time to see her

was wearing black slacks and a tucked-in black button-up shirt. She held a caddy of cleaning supplies in her left hand. It was the way she addressed me, similar to the man hovering a

Your Highness.

was I under the wrong impression? I had been chosen as a mate. I was not a fated mate. Could a breeder really be placed as queen, or would I only fill the position until he crossed

am going.”

shall be soon. Would you like me to show you to the king’s study, so you may dine together?” She smiled widely, and I placed her at no more than sixteen. She would have shifted by now, which meant that she could also hear my heart hammering in my chest at the mention of the man who had unofficially claimed me as his mate. “If you go down this hallway and make a right into the east wing, his study will be on the left

quite set on seeking out and spending time with the

I should go to him for answers. Leaving me in our bedroom with

expected to do in my pack as an omega. If they thought I

woman curtsied again

and he raised one eyebrow before gesturing with his hand for me to head down the hallway.

entrance of the east wing, the hallway was illuminated by a bright glass mural of all colors. I gaped at the intricate details of the story it displayed of the goddess blessing the wolves

way down the corridor. The double doors on my left stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn’t need Tobias to tell me this was the place. There was a slight pull inside

on the door, flinching when it was ripped open quickly by the pale witch that had participated in my

on Tobias’s chest suggestively. He remained void of expressions, but the slight twitch to his jaw