The Beast And The Blessed

Two: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V. - Present Day

One had to be a special kind of stupid to let their ignorance feed their fear.

Yet, as I stepped into the pub, the room fell silent. Bodies shifted, and multiple people began collecting their belongings to make a quick escape. Only one person in the building should have been afraid of me, and he was sitting with his back to me at the bar, trying to enjoy his day off.

I was about to ruin that.

My chest warmed as my eyes ran across his broad back and shoulders. He didn't bother turning to look at me as I approached him. I rested my elbows on the counter next to him as the bartender placed a beer in front of me and then rushed to the other end of the bar.

The sound of feet scurrying away as the room rapidly emptied made me grit my teeth, knowing I would have to leave a large tip to make up for the loss of his business. A quick scan of the room showed only a few castle guards, who were used to me, had chosen to stay and were enjoying their meals.

But that was how it worked. I used to let their reactions get to me. The people would take one look at my long white hair and colorless eyes, and they would leave. When I was first brought here, a few people protested King Amery from taking me in. They lost, but it still bothered me.

But now, even though most of them had grown used to me, I embraced it.

I loved that I instilled a deep-seated fear in people. Humans, Lycans, Wolves, Fae... you name it.

Except him.

He had never been afraid of me, not since day one. At least, that was what

I told myself. In reality, our past was a bit more complicated than that... more painful.

Tobias pushed his plate of food in my direction, and I bit back a smile as I grabbed a fry before sliding the ceramic dish back toward him. I wasn't hungry, but I wouldn't turn his offer down. His glass of water sat untouched in front of him, and I watched as a drop of condensation ran down the glass onto the paper coaster beneath it.

nudging me to grab my attention. The warmth of his body managed to make it through his jeans and into my skin. It was glorious, and I dropped my hands in

eyes scanned my face, and I felt my breathing speed up when he briefly looked down at my body. When his eyes met

have to come here and ask him a favor. But seeing how he looked at me, his pupils dilated, and his lip pulled up ever so slightly on one side, always made my body feel warm

god, always just out of reach. If my family had been right, I

The two didn't mix.

afraid of

bitter that I had to show up in a place like this to ask for help. "But you've been avoiding

ago to toss my reservations aside and go for it with Tobias. But there was no point to it. He had a soulmate somewhere out there, and when he found her, she would be the luckiest woman in the

did it anyway. Getting to be loved by Tobias, even for a limited time, would

flirting with and touching him... He never responded. He wasn't like the others. Other men fell at my feet if I approached them. They loved to be able to say

more than that, but I had only ever felt that way for Tobias; for the one man that rejected

chance to be with him. But that didn't mean it didn't still hurt every time I saw him or was reminded

he could to avoid me over the past two weeks. Now I was

not only because there were very few people he would ever talk to, but because

sipped his

took a large gulp of my

around my beer mug as it hit the wooden top of the bar, staring at the wall of liquors in front of us. "I'll do this alone if I have to, but

thinking the words make a ball form in my throat. How did I tell him that the horror I had experienced as a child may have happened again to someone else? How do I tell

the bar top. Sparks erupted across my skin, and I

leave some money. My heart dropped when he let

my eye, I watched as Tobias lifted his hand instinctively as if he were going to place it on my lower back. But he clenched his hand in a

made it very clear over the past couple of months that he wasn't interested in

to touch me was overshadowed by the humiliation when I looked up and saw the remaining patrons

hear my heart beating erratically and my uneven breathing as I shoved my feelings down. If he didn't want to touch me or want me touching