The Beast And The Blessed

Twenty-Three: Natalie

Natalie’s P.O.V.

Their low talking could be heard as I rounded the corner, and I felt my stomach tie into a knot as Killian and Princess Charlotte stood waiting for me. I was late, and it was not welcomed based on Killian’s look of disappointment.

My nerves about meeting his sister somehow managed to surpass my anxiety about meeting the king himself. While I was terrified of him for his well-known history of murder and aggression, the stories of her made her all the more fearsome. When her brother took the throne, she took to mercenary work.

The stories of her slaying dragons, sirens, and banshees were known across the world. She was a warrior.

“Here she is now,” Killian said, but the way his eyes narrowed told me that I would be hearing about my late arrival later. “Natalie, this is my sister, Charlotte.”

The young woman turned to face me, and my jaw dropped at the stunning princess. Her hair was a light. brown that fell into perfectly styled ringlets. The bright green of her eyes made what portraits I had seen. of her mother seem dull.

“Please, call me Charlie.” She said as she extended her arm toward me. I moved forward, expecting a dainty shake suitable for a member of the royal family. Instead, I was met with a slightly calloused palm and a firm shake as if we were conducting a business transaction. “I’m really happy Killian found you! He needs someone to knock some sense into him every now and then.”

Oh, I wanted to knock some sense into him alright. But I would start with the long overdue fight we

needed to have.

curtseying to the princess with respect. When I looked up, she was staring at me with

a raised eyebrow, but he shook his head and gestured toward the

dragged it away from the table before taking a seat, making sure to tuck it back in before he could get a single finger on it. He had never pulled my chair out for me before. Why put on a show

front of us. It was not lost on me that the guards had been stationed outside the room for our privacy, and Charlie waited until the servants

what I’ve gathered you are a quick study.” Charlie said as she took a large and improper bite of her roll. “I would

I swallowed my bite before responding, placing my hands back in my lap. “Thank you, your highness. I have heard the stories of your adventures and would also love to know more

attraction at a circus, but I refused to look his way. He wanted me to act as if I were his mate, but he did not want me to actually

leave here. Rumor has it that there has been an

raised her palm in his direction and cut him off before he could protest. “No need to

through their pack link, and I rolled my eyes as I returned back to my food. That was one good thing about not shifting. I wouldn’t need to worry about people interrupting

see her annoyance as Killian placed his fork back down. “I haven’t seen you in months, and you can’t even spend

if you’ll excuse me. I will be right back. Something urgent has come up, but it should only take a minute.” He said as he rose to his feet. I did the same out of respect for his title, but Charlie leaned back against her chair as she glared up at him. Killian moved toward the door, stopping behind me for a quick moment,

peaked even further. As soon as the door *behind Killian,

again with the next course. She gestured with her finger for them to place Killian’s food down before swiping one of the fingerling potatoes from his plate as the staff made their

to cut into my steak. If Killian wanted me to be good, then I

We’re family now.” She insisted as

appropriate given my position,” I said, placing another bite of my dinner in my *and chewing slowly. No matter how many meals I had in the castle, the quality of the food managed to

roll in the juice from her steak. “You have no idea how good this is after living off of jerky and berries for the