The Beast And The Blessed

Sixteen: Natalie

Natalie’s P.O.V.

After collecting myself, I tried to leave the room, only to find the door sealed *. Joselin was surely the culprit, and I *cursed the witch. I could flick the lock back and forth and even turn the knob, but the door wouldn’t budge.

When I knocked on it and received a rhythmic tapping in return, I knew Tobias was at least out there, guarding me still. It helped me to feel like I wasn’t completely alone.

After the first two hours, I accepted that it was going to be a long night. I wasn’t sure when dinner would be arriving or if it would at all, and I could only hope that *an would at least make it home at a reasonable time.

After a long, hot shower, the sound of the bedroom door being slammed *made me jump, and I wrapped the towel around me in a hurry. I could hear things being thrown around the room, and I tiptoed to the door, peering out through the crack into the bedroom. *an stood with his hands gripping the edge of the dresser. The muscles in his back were moving, coiling, and tensing as he appeared to be fighting off the shift.

I had seen him angry before, but not like this. His reflection in the mirror showed that he was absolutely livid. His glowing red eyes were burning into the wood of the dresser top. I flinched as his arm swung out, and he knocked the candle from the wooden surface, the glass shattering as it collided with the wall next to my side of the bed.

The loud roar of anger that followed shook me to my core, but I wasn’t scared. I was deeply worried for him. All rational thought to escape the violent and angered beast vanished from my mind, and I pulled the bathroom door open and rushed toward him.

“*,” I called out softly, only an arm’s length away.

He didn’t have to say anything as he turned to face me, I stood there in my towel with my hair dripping on the floor, but he never looked away from my eyes. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his hands were clenched in fists.

it clearer now that I was so close. He wasn’t just angry.

I needed to swallow back my last bit of hesitation, and I moved forward to wrap my

start to slow the longer I held him. I squeezed my eyes *as I waited for the moment he would *down and push me off him. Instead, I let out the

happened?” I whispered, scared that I would ruin the moment if I spoke too loudly, but he didn’t

my men.” His voice dropped as he picked me up, my feet swaying beneath me as he moved. I pushed my chest

out to fix the bottom of my towel as he turned me sideways with my legs over the arm of the chair. But I paused as *adjusted it for me, pulling

“Is he okay?”

placed my head on his chest while my hands rested over his on my

hand tightened

thought they were extinct. The Great War and the aftermath of the battle had made sure of that. Those poisonous leeches *the life

of all species, chained up for their clans to feed from freely. The pleasure of being fed from them was rumored to be addicting, but the poison that sank into their victim’s bloodstream would

were still discovering the remains of those establishments as the abandoned cities were

My question was followed by a shiver, and *pulled me in tighter as he dropped his head against the back

I found myself placing it over his heart. The pounding beneath his ribs was soothing but far too

never expected I would be able to do that to him, but I also never expected that his touch would be able to keep me calm. It was

time with mine, sliding up and down over the towel on