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

one in the morning. From what Killian told me when he returned to our room, she had sliced Heath's arm right open let him bleed into a bowl for a second, and then vanished, leaving the healers

stunned, but then uncontrollable laughter forced its way free as I pictured Joselin terrifying everyone with

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

he still kissed me goodnight, held me while 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 to be. But something

just didn't

want to tell me what I did wrong, the least I could do was try to help him and take

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

to the witch’s tower, while my two new guards followed behind us. The silent man was anxious... eager even, to see the pale-haired woman. I bit back a smile as I thought about how cute it was that he was openly showing his emotions

it was the black door covered in hand-drawn white and crimson runes

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

chose for me, pushing the door open without an invitation or warning, and made his way inside. I followed behind him, shivering as the air thickened in the doorway. It wasn’t unpleasant, but the several inches of what I assumed were magic was not enjoyable.

catch their attention was the high-pitched scream of frustration followed by the sound of ceramic shattering against

thin layer of dust covering a console table against the wall. The surface was bare of belongings as she probably rarely ever used the door or dropped her stuff on the table when she

irritated groan echoed down the stairwell. "Joselin, I'm

and limited lighting beyond the few candles on the table in front of her made me slow as I pushed open the cracked door after going up one flight of stairs. The black, round table in the center of the room was filled with dancing shadows as the candlelight flickered