The Beast And The Blessed

Twenty-Two: Natalie

Natalie’s P.O.V.

Even after a cold shower, I was fuming. I wanted to give Killian an earful and make sure that he understood just how damaging last night had been to our relationship… whatever relationship we had.

I knew he wouldn’t care, but that didn’t stop me. My first stop had been his office, but when I found that empty, I tried every common room that I knew of, including the gym and the training field. Yet, he was nowhere to be found.

It was like he knew I was on a warpath, and he vanished.

Although the rational side of my brain told me that he wouldn’t be scared of me, a human. Perhaps he was trying to save me from publically embarrassing myself further after I had shamelessly thrown myself at him last night. It was bad enough that the servants would be seeing the blood on the sheets from when his claws had punctured my hips and the proof that we had not been trying for the heir that the kingdom was expecting.

When it was discovered that I wasn’t pregnant and that I didn’t bare their king’s mark, I would be seen as a failure.

I stopped in the middle of the garden, glancing around the grounds and ignoring the eyes on me. There were hundreds of people that I had seen in the past hour, but none of them belonged to my alleged mate.

I turned to Tobias, lowering my voice even though there was no one in my immediate vicinity. “He is hiding. Is he not?”

My bodyguard smirked as he stared at me, refusing to give away any information on his beloved king.

thought back to where he might be. I had the feeling it was where I would find him, but I really didn’t want to be right. To have him go there after the night we had together felt like it would be the final *to my already beaten confidence. It would destroy

the mystery door. I was terrified of

could feel the hurt in my chest as I worked myself up to open the door. Would he be on the other side, sleeping in someone else’s bed? Would she be wrapped in his arms the same as how he held me while

handle. This was the one place I didn’t want to find him. It was the only bedroom I had seen him sneaking out of, but it didn’t

was brightly lit as I pushed the door open, so I knew he wouldn’t be asleep, but he wasn’t there. It was the woman lying in the bed that took my breath away. Her chest rose and fell slowly in time with the machine next to her. The low beeping of the monitor showing her steady heartbeat, made me freeze. I had seen portraits of her before,

would. She was supposed to be

her head, and she was wrapped up in

air, a darkness that felt suffocating, and I knew that she was closer to

been moving closer to the comatose queen. The young healer who had helped me with my ribs several days before stood

I didn’t want to ask the question that was at the forefront of my mind, but I was sure it was as clear

her as much as we can. Her wolf is gone, and her soul has suffered a great deal with the loss of her mate. Even we cannot treat the soul.”

with her

throat made me turn to the doorway, and I watched as Tobias raised his eyebrows at me before taking his place back against the wall. It was only seconds later that the familiar sight of the king rounded the entrance and

glanced from her and back to me. “Natalie, what are you

ready to yell and fight with him until I got the answers that I deserved. But he sounded defeated as he

didn’t realize this was your mother’s room,” I said, not answering his question but also not needing to.