The Beast And The Blessed

Eight: Killian

Killian’s P.O.V.

She was here. She was safe. Finding her was no longer a problem.

Yet, I couldn't get her off my mind. I kept thinking about the split in her lip and the bruises on her arm. I wanted to find whoever was responsible and end them for what they did to my mate.

I was livid by the idea that she was in our room hurt, alone, and from what I saw back at her pack…scared. But she managed to wipe away any compassion I had for her when she asked about other women. Either her opinion of me was so low that she thought I kept a collection of concubines around for my pleasure, or she was fishing to see if I was going to be sleeping with other women and, in turn, if she could sleep with other men.

Both thoughts made me not want to be in her presence. It was the exact reason why I didn't want a mate. A soulmate had the power to destroy you and crush your will to live.

If it weren't for Joselin's vision, I would have been happy going on with my life alone. Perhaps one day I would have had to produce an heir but not with a mate. There would have been no need to mark a woman and tie them to me for the rest of my life when they could just as easily have provided me with a child and then stayed out of my way.

But the thought of the woman in our room, possibly in our bed, made my beast happy and, in turn, made me angry. He wanted her, and I despised the thought of her.

I knew the second she left the room and began to wander the halls of our home. When I should have been focusing on the threat at hand and the map in front of me, she had all my attention.

I stood from my chair, sending it flying back onto the floor as I ran my hands through my hair.

"If you are that frustrated, you have a mate now that can help relax you..." Joselin laughed with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows as she picked my chair into an upright position with a flick of her wrist.

out, still all too aware of my mate's presence moving closer. I didn't want to think about her or be focused on her. I had bigger

reports of vampire sightings and attacks were at the top of my list. They had been extinct for over a century. Having them pop up now was worrisome. I needed

we had all thought they had been purged from the Earth. For decades after our victory, there were hunting

were back, and even Joselin, as powerful as she was, couldn't locate them

someone was protecting them, and I needed to find out who and

of my list. Yet, as she approached my office door, her smell had me losing all focus on the task at hand. She smelled like a freshly baked

lured men in, and I wasn't going to fall victim to her charms when I had a duty to put my people

father never considered when he

mischievous smile made my stomach tighten as she jumped from

Joselin stood in front of her, her hand falling slowly

me off behind her back. I let out a low growl that she ignored as she moved to show affection to her latest toy. She had been trying to capture Tobias's attention for years, and I was positive he was about

to my mate and seeing her damp hair and fresh clothes made me swallow hard. Everything about her had been designed to attract me. Knowing she had been in

to push the

she would never control me or drag me down to the depths

plan of action for our patrols

yet," Joselin said, and from the corner of my eye, I could see her pushing my mate toward me. She was close enough as it was. I couldn't think straight with her in the castle, let alone in the same room as me. Her scent was enough to make me drunk with lust and want, but my mind was

me to introduce

my mate, but we didn't need to get to know one another. We certainly didn't need to be anything more than what we had to be. Eventually, the kingdom would expect me to mark her and to make her officially their queen. They

hand and always maintained a high level of respect in public, but in private she went back to being the insane little girl who would turn people's food into worms and