The Beast And The Blessed by Ashley Breanne
Chapter 35
Natalie’s P.O.V.
I had woken up alone before. I had woken up with him holding me. But this morning, I woke up to a gentle kiss on my lips as he whispered goodbye. My sleepy heart began to race instantly, hammering away in my chest at the sweet moment.
When he wanted to be, the man could be smooth. I would give him that. I cracked my eyes open and watched him walk out of the room. Only this time, his shoulders looked lighter as he left to complete his royal duties. It made me happy to see that our conversation over the past two nights had been beneficial.
There were things that I needed to change and things that he needed to change. But overall, the changes, were happening, and they were positive.
It made me smile as I considered stopping by his office later to see him. Perhaps I would bring him food, or maybe I would be the food.
I pictured him laying me down on his desk, falling between my legs, and taking me to new heights as I moaned out his name. Yes, visiting him at work sounded like a great idea.
The loud banging on my bedroom door was familiar, and I knew I was safe, but the feeling of dread washed over me when I realized I still needed to swallow my pride and apologize to Joselin. I still didn’t like that she had tried to invade my mind, but at least she wasn’t sleeping with Killian.
“Come in!” I shouted as I crawled out of bed, instantly missing its warmth. The door opened silently, as the witch walked in. I was cautious as I turned to the side to grab my clothes from my dresser, not quite trusting her enough to turn my back to her by going into the closet.
When I looked up, she was leaning against the door frame that led from the sitting room to the bedroom with her arms crossed, and her hip c*oc*ked out.
“You owe me an apology. I know you didn’t like me from the moment you met me, but I don’t appreciate the way you’ve been treating me.” The sudden and aggressive way she greeted me this morning was. warranted, but still took me by surprise. I had grown used to people walking on eggshells around me and treating me with respect, at least they did to my face. It was something I needed to make sure I did for them as well. They deserved to be treated with respect
“You’re right,” I said, turning to face her fully. “I am sorry. I a*s*sumed the worst, and I had no right to do that. I was jealous of how much time you spend with Killian and how close you two are. You didn’t deserve me taking out my insecurities on you.”
Her eyebrows raised as I spoke, “I was expecting this to be a lot more difficult. I had plans to make your shower water turn to blood and for your food to turn to dust every time it touched your tongue until you finally apologized.”
I choked on a laugh as I stared at her with bewilderment. “You have an interesting way of interacting with people.”
She shrugged as she flicked her long white hair over her shoulder. While her back was straight and she. looked as fierce and terrifying as always, I could see in the way her head tipped forward as she fidgeted with her hair that she was embarra*s*sed. “I’ve never had a lot of experience with it. Men love to sleep with me because of my looks and power. They think of me as some trophy, but we don’t talk. When I saw you in that vision, I was excited that…”
“And then I acted like a jealous b*itc*h and ruined it.” I finished for her as she trailed off, noticing as the lines on her skin seemed to slow and still. They were fascinating.
She followed my gaze down to her arms before letting out a dark laugh that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.
“You know, people have never liked me. They fear me.” She said as she looked up at me with a blank expression. “When I was born with white eyes to human parents, they lost their minds. They spent years, keeping me tied up and calling in every exorcist and doctor they could to heal me. It wasn’t until I was eleven that I got my abilities.”
My mouth dropped open, surprised that she was telling me her story. “It’s ironic, really. They hated me for being different. They didn’t want me to be supernatural but they were willing to push aside their hatred for my kind long enough to hire other witches to try and turn me into a human. They seemed to agree that they would need to bleed me out during a ritual under the full moon to do it. I remember as they chained me down, carved these runes into my skin, and chanted to the Goddess to rid me of my powers. Really, they were trying to absorb my powers for themselves. Those f*uc*king idiots.”
Joselin shook her head. “They had no idea how powerful I was, even that young. Once they had tethered my magic to theirs, I was able to drain them of everything they had, killing them in the process. Their magic now belongs to me. My parents were horrified when I got myself free. I killed them too. Killian’s father found me while he was on a hunt with his guard and took me in.”
The lack of emotions in her voice was alarming, and I watched her closely. “I don’t tell a lot of people my story.” She said as she stared deadly daggers at me. “I’m telling you now so you understand. I can either be friend or foe.”
I swallowed hard. It would take time to get used to her. But as she was Killian’s best friend and advisor, she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Then again, neither was I.
“As long as you don’t try to invade my mind again, I would love to be friends,” I said as I grabbed my workout clothes. I wanted to improve myself, so I would be ready to defend myself and save Killian when the time came. After last night and this morning, I was more determined than ever.
“Good. Agreed.” She said curtly, but the corner of her lips twitched as she bit back a smile.
“You enjoy intimidating people, don’t you?” I called out as I narrowed my eyes at her on my way to the bathroom.
“Yes.”
I nodded to myself as I closed the door to get ready for the day.
As I was pulling my shirt on, the silver lines on my sides caught my attention, and I turned my body to look, over my shoulder at my back. I had healed more than any human would, leaving only faint lines across my skin. Killian hadn’t seemed to mind or notice, even during my heat, but I hated them with a passion.
I was grateful that Killian had killed my Alpha. He had unknowingly fought my demons before he event knew I had them.