The Beast And The Blessed

Forty-Four: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

The castle was oddly empty, even for the middle of the week. I felt like there were eyes on me everywhere I went, but then I would turn, and the room or hallways would be empty beyond my new collection of guards.

I had asked for one extra. Tobias had responded with two.

There was no arguing with a man who refused to talk back. He won almost everytime.

The pack was steering clear of the possibly infectious Lycans that were chained up and sedated in the infirmary. I hadn't even seen Charlie around since the incident, but I knew she wasn't far. Every so often, I would see one of her wild men either in the castle or on the training field.

So far, no one else had shown any signs of the curse or disease, but it was wise of our people to steer clear of the area for the time being.

What wasn't wise was that I kept trying to get closer to them. I would make it to the end of the hallway and would stare down the long corridor. The desire to check on them and support them through their healing was masked by the fear that settled its way into my bones after the first visit.

What if there weren't enough people to hold them down, and they managed to get out of the reinforced chains? Surely, the healers were keeping them sedated still, but we still had no idea what magic was at play.

on the verge of a breakdown while she tried to dissect the

the infirmary at one in the morning. From what Killian told me when he returned to our room, she had sliced

stunned, but then uncontrollable laughter forced its way free as I

to see him that way. After he let me explore his Lycan, he shut down. He tried to hide it. He

we slept, and said goodbye in the morning with a heart-stopping, toe-curling kiss. But the look in his eyes was distant. He was distracted and had the right

didn't

wrong, the least I

time I brought her up Tobias would shift his weight. He seemed to be just as worried about her as I was. Killian just seemed annoyed by her antics. If going to see her would ease some of Killian's frustrations and put Tobias at

to see the pale-haired woman. I bit back a smile as

black door covered in hand-drawn white and

she had also been a bit preoccupied, and I was almost positive that she wouldn't hear me if I had gone as far as to

thickened in the doorway. It wasn’t unpleasant, but the several inches of what I assumed were magic was not enjoyable. I had no clue what I had just walked

did catch their attention was the high-pitched scream of frustration followed

bland. My finger ran along the thin layer of dust covering a console table against

an irritated groan echoed down the

of stairs. The black, round table in the center of the room was filled with dancing shadows as