The Beast And The Blessed

One Hundred Three: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

Killian seemed highly amused by me as we ate our lunch together. I would find him staring at me with a small smile or chuckling to himself while I was nibbling on my food.

I was happy my mother was here, and she was safe. But the bigger part of my mind was stuck on whether my father had returned with her. Did she tell him about me? Did he want to meet me?

"You have barely touched your food, my love. Did I not do a good enough job to help you work up an appetite?’ His words sent a wave of warmth to my core, and I shifted as I picked up half of my sandwich and took a dramatically large bite out of it. He had absolutely done his job to work up my appetite, but it was still tempting to tease him and tell him no. Maybe then he would ensure I was thoroughly ravished and christen the study like he suggested. "You're distracted."

I shook my head as I swallowed, not wanting to talk about it on our date. He was right that I had been distracted, and I didn't want to bring him down when he had taken time out of his busy day to have a lunch date with me. It had been sweet, and, at least to me, it had been needed. Just time for the two of us to be together and alone without interruptions. Even if we sat in silence, having him near me was like having my soul recharged.

"I didn't mean to be distracted by other things. I'll go down and visit my mother after our date. Right now, it is just you and me." I insisted, wiping my fingers on the napkin and reaching for my glass of wine. The bitter yet satisfying liquid was delicious, and Killian immediately refilled my glass once I placed it back down.

We had it once before, and his remembering that I loved it made me incredibly happy.

"You have every reason to have your mind occupied." He said before gesturing with his head toward the door. "Do you want me to come with you to meet him?"

I bit my lip, debating if I wanted an audience to this. "No, that's okay. I know you have a lot of work to do. Do you... Have you ever met him before?"

leaving mine as he rested his hand on my thigh, rubbing it soothingly. "Yes. You have nothing to worry about. He is a good leader, one of the few wolves

I needed to ask my

seen, Killian's respect was hard to come by, and I was proud that this man had

it into his mouth as he smiled at me with his heart-stopping grin. "I know you are dying to go see them. You know where

with, so I could know

and holding a handout for me. I appreciated that he

what little I ate around my

eating, and there is no time like the present. Let's do this

pull me up. "You're too positive now. What happened to my grumpy, bossy

of him but jumped when he smacked my ass as I walked

low murmur of voices in the private sitting room on the first floor, but the doors were

mother's voice was low but easy to pick up with my wolf hearing. She sounded very concerned but firm. It was interesting how she voiced her words in a way that sounded like a question but was delivered as if she were demanding a

that had been bothering her. But the man standing by the fireplace immediately had my interest. He stepped toward us as he stared at me, and I felt myself moving

from us to the man with a raised eyebrow of curiosity, but I had no idea where to start. Seeing him drop into

her seat next to Joselin. She rushed toward me, her long black hair swaying as she approached and pulled me

my tongue out at her, happy to see it made her smile, but I quickly collected myself when the man moved forward again. My

and scanning her over. Her injuries seemed to be gone, but