The Beast And The Blessed

Twenty-Two: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

Of all the inconceivable requests Aurora could have made, this one was the most irksome.I had more important things to do than trampling through the forest, looking for some creature she wanted to collect, like prized cattle.

'Find him.Convince him to come here"

Her vague instructions then included no more than to tell me I had to do this without using magic and I had to go alone.

I had yet to determine if I would be capturing a human, a troll, or a dragon.

All I knew was that she was wasting my time, trying to get me to prove myself to her before she would accept the offer to be my pledge.It was infuriating...and fun.

I loved a good challenge, and whatever game Aurora was playing, I wanted to win.It was almost a sickness, the need to excel at everything and prove myself as the best.

What frustrated me the most was the time it would take.

The thought that this was a trap to get me away from the castle while the threat closed in on my people, my family, was brief.

Aurora was a descendant of the Moon Goddess, and I had faith in Her.I had to trust that she wouldn't and hadn't turned her back on the Goddess or her daughter.So, I had to weigh my options.

Do I risk another getting a permanent spot on the council by staying to protect my people, or do I inform the others of the threat and have them look out for it while I am gone? It wouldn't be such a hard decision if I knew how long I would be gone.I would go, in a heartbeat, to keep the council trustworthy if it was only a few days.But I had no idea what was in store for me or how long I would be away.I was sulking and lost in thought as I stormed toward the dining hall.

If I was going to make a rational decision, I needed food.Aurora was already sitting at the head table with Henry and Holden.

Holden looked amused and slightly disgusted, sitting next to the mushy couple as Henry kissed Aurora's knuckles before whispering something in her ear that made her cheeks turn the darkest shade of red I had ever seen.

My usual seat to Natalie's left was still open, but her chair remained empty.She had probably taken lunch in Killian's study as they preferred.

Holden sat to my left, and he smiled brightly when he saw me approaching.I felt eyes burning into the side of my head.

The way my body lit up to alert me of his presence told me exactly who it was.His brown eyes bore into mine from where he sat at the long stretch of the table, and butterflies filled my stomach when I saw him glance from me to Holden.He was still jealous, that foolish man.He should know by now that I was his and had been for years.

I glanced back to Holden, trying not to flinch when I saw how his mouth turned down, and he nodded in acceptance.I would have to make time for him as a friend, but this choice was more important to my future than anything.My feet carried me forward, and I watched as the corner of Tobias's mouth twitched as he tried to hide his smile.

seat next to Tobias.His hand landed on my thigh, and he squeezed it once, but I could practically hear him silently praising

result in

me sitting among the pack.It was customary for our plates to be put together by the chef and served to us while the rest of the pack ate buffet style.It was so we could reduce the risk of contaminated or poisoned

no problem making his plate, and I wrinkled my nose at the large amount of green beans he

everything about this morning but

about as if my choice of seat

a long while and could only form a

at me before leaning

up his sandwich, and he began to eat, rubbing his other

against the skin, and I pressed my leg closer to him,

but I did

in a conversation with Aurora, not looking in our direction, I felt my chest tighten when I realized Tobias did it because he was

to me and

lunch? I want to

throughout the room as several people started making suggestive comments or whistling.I would have blushed if it wasn't followed by someone saying,

growl as I stood up,

taken for granted the ability to

curse over him.He

hundred times

didn't have to

They chose to.

one was forced to attend, even

could eat at any one of the inns or restaurants, or they

pack mentality made them want to come here

they craved the company of other their

man began clawing at his face, trying to open his mouth before racing out

would go to the healers, but

but relaxed as I sat back down, and Tobias watched me with amusement.I waited for another comment or

would have been amusing to watch him mime for me to fix him, and I was very disappointed that he didn't.By

out of the castle and to the familiar house on the outskirts of the town.It looked run down and forgotten, unlike the place I once

would occasionally bring me here,

would stay in the forest