The Beast And The Blessed

Sixteen: Tobias

Tobias's P.O.V.

This was the last place I wanted to be, but it was where I needed to be. The music was too loud, and the smell of alcohol and body odor was offensive. Still, I was here, watching and waiting.

Joselin hadn't agreed to be mine yet. We weren't together, but I would be damned before I let her go on a date with another man.

I hadn't felt threatened when she had been sleeping with random people. But her going out on a date with a man who looked at her the way that only I should was not going to stand.

I took a sip of my water, my eyes on the door as I waited for her to enter. If they were going dancing, this was where she would be. It was her favorite place because it was right by the bunkhouse, so it was filled with guards who were used to her, and very rarely would anyone care if she was among them.

It was the town's people who didn't know her that had a problem.

Several of my pack members nodded at me in greeting but didn't bother approaching me. They knew I wouldn't talk to them unless I had to. They didn't mind. I had risked my life for many of them in the past, and they knew my silence was nothing personal.

I used to talk. I used to talk a lot.

My father hated it.

He beat me, telling me to keep my mouth shut. He said it made me a good warrior to know my place, respect my superiors and not waste my breath on those below me. It wasn't until I was older that I realized he wanted me to keep silent so no one would know he would torture me at home despite knowing our neighbors could hear it.

They knew about my home life and did nothing to help me or stop him, and

I would heal before anyone could see it.

But then he got his hands on Ana. I was just a young teenager, practically a kid still. Those words would haunt me forever. 'You sound just like your father.'

Just like that, his life-long lesson finally stuck with me. I didn't want to sound like my father.

Joselin was my escape.

a fucking angel in the hell that was my life. She was the only one it was safe to talk to, and she loved when I spoke. She would listen to everything I had to say like it was the more important thing in the world, even when

I felt my eyes burn to the black of my beast. She rarely wore her hair up, and I fucking loved it. The way it emphasized her neck and where my mark would

could do a lot with a ponytail and knew she would enjoy every second

The music drowned out his words from reaching me, and I watched closely as she perked up with a confident smirk, her

baby.

in my chair. She wanted a night out, but I had

she leaned toward him, inching away. Her smile fell as she noticed the distance he placed between them, and guilt suddenly overshadowed my

as she ordered a drink. The bartender, Joey, glanced up

but failing. Knowing that I had just made her happy with such a small gesture

head dropped back, and she laughed as her date ordered his drink and was forced to pay. They stayed at the bar for a while, talking and sipping their drinks while

stood. I felt my pulse rise as she gestured with her head to the dancefloor, staring at the queen's brother expectantly. He was hesitant, and my teeth ground together as I

Her lips and cheeks puffed out slightly as she

her neck before holding them above her head briefly. As I watched her move, I couldn't stop the purr of pride and pleasure. With her arms

forced away to the man moving up next to her, seeming to have moved past his

Holden approaching, but she still didn't turn to me. She knew I was here. She had heard me vocalize my anger but stayed where she was. Her body began

as I watched Joselin roll her hips with the beat, her ass perfectly in

anymore. My woman wanted to dance,

one she

of protest that was muffled by

paused, her confidence wavering as one of the female guards stepped between them. Holden smiled, grabbing her hand and spinning the woman out. The kid knew how to

it lightly, making her look up. Goosebumps rose along her skin as I dipped my head down, my lips brushing her ear as

but she did. She heard me loud and clear as I kissed her neck and grabbed her

as she leaned back against my chest. "Can you keep up

ass against my body. I swayed with her, refusing to lose contact. Even when

known. There was no doubt that most

my hand on her lower back. She took my other hand off her hip, guiding it up her side, over the swell of her breast, and to her chest. Her heart was thumping as quickly as mine, and I licked my lips as I pressed my palm more firmly against her

to take her away from here, to show her how good we would feel together with

and rubbed against me, touching me as often as possible. My hands had moved down to her thighs, feeling the soft

she dipped to the floor before coming back up. I reached down, adjusting myself in my pants as my painfully hard