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.

I growled 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

my list. They had been extinct for over a century. Having them pop up now was worrisome. I needed

had all thought they had been purged from the Earth. For

even Joselin, as powerful as she was, couldn't locate

was protecting them, and I needed to find out who and how so I could take down the threat to

a mate was the least of my worries and should have been at the bottom of my list. Yet, as she approached my office door, her smell had me losing all focus on the task

how they lured men in, and I wasn't going to fall victim to her

considered when he ended his

contact with me as she sensed my mate approaching. Her mischievous smile made my stomach tighten as she jumped from her chair and pulled the hardwood door open only a breath after my

Joselin stood in front of her, her hand falling slowly

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 crack. The mute giant was a force to be reckoned with,

and seeing her damp hair and fresh clothes made me swallow hard. Everything about her had been designed to attract me.

I had to push the thought

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

the best plan of action for our patrols to sweep for

take it you two haven't actually met 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 strong enough to know that nothing good would come from giving in. She was here for one thing and one thing only. When the battle came, she would fight alongside me, and she would be the reason I would live another day. I would honor and respect her for

to introduce

we had to be. Eventually, the kingdom would expect me to mark her and to make her officially their queen.

but