The Beast And The Blessed

Thirty-Nine: Killian

Killian’s P.O.V.

Her heartbeat was slow, slower than I had expected as I approached the car with my suit jacket over my arm. The bloody handprints left by her mother as she begged for death were sure to stain, but I would burn the fabric later.

I had learned long ago not to let anyone get a hold of my personal belongings. That was like giving a kid a piece of candy. Witches ate that shit up like they were addicted. If you ever wanted to get on their good side, a guaranteed way was to give them something that belonged to one of their enemies. The curses and spells they could cast from that were endless.

Natalie was staring blankly ahead at the headrest of the front passenger seat. The driver was in the car, ready to go, but her guards were standing outside of the vehicle.

"King Killian, we didn't get a chance to talk.’ The alpha called out as he jogged behind me.

"Not now,” I said, dismissing the young alpha as I kept my gaze locked on the SUV where my mourning queen was sitting.

"But what about the vampires? What do I do?" He called out, sounding lost and overwhelmed.

I stopped, scoffing at how weak he was. He was not prepared to lead, and that was my fault for killing his disrespectful father. But he needed to step up. "Lead your people!' I snapped, spinning around to face him. "Review border patrols, care for the injured, train harder, and step up!"

hatch, placing my suit jacket inside so Natalie wouldn't have to see it when I got in to sit next to her. Her body was stiff and unmoving as I

not prepared for vampires." The young alpha

pinched the bridge of my nose as I let out a breath of frustration. "Then you know

skins waited until I was seated next to my mate before climbing into the other cars. The rest shifted

getting away from the offensively

Natalie's cheek as I watched her from the corner of my eye. Her hands were clasped together on

to move forward, she didn't bother to look out the window at her previous

startle her from her trance. Her skin was pale as she turned to me slowly. Her eyes filled with water. As a king, I had only ever apologized once, and it was to her. I would only ever apologize to her. Last time, she didn't believe me, and I prayed to the Goddess that she would this time. "I'm

seemed to crumble at my words. I watched as her chin quivered before she turned

around and grabbed her hip, taking her from her seat in the car and turning her until I could pull her into my lap. Her side was against my torso, with her feet on the seat she

shirt while she cried into my neck. She shouldn't want to touch me, let alone seek comfort from me when I had

bond pulling

to talk to Joselin about. She had mentioned a confusing vision about Natalie's birth. At the time, I had refused to listen, wanting nothing to do with the

wanted