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.

loved when I spoke. She would listen to everything I had to say like

white hair was in a high ponytail, and I felt my eyes burn to the black of my beast. She rarely wore her hair up, and I

and

whispering by her ear. The music drowned out his words from reaching me, and I watched closely as she perked up with

baby. I'm

leaned back in my chair. She wanted a night out, but I had laid the rules down very clearly, and I was a man

slip up, but he stiffened as she leaned toward him, inching away. Her smile

and away from me as she ordered a drink. The bartender, Joey, glanced up at me as she did so, and I nodded once, confirming that I would be the one paying for

when I saw her turn again, trying to find me in the crowd but failing. Knowing that I had just made her happy with such a small gesture reminded me of how perfect she was and that

and she laughed as her date ordered his drink and was forced to pay. They stayed at the bar for a

stood. I felt my pulse rise as she gestured with her head to the dancefloor, staring at the queen's brother expectantly.

slightly as she let out a breath of disappointment, walking away from him and toward the dance

head briefly. As I watched her move, I couldn't stop the purr of pride and pleasure. With her arms up, it was like she was a beacon of light. She called

away to the man moving up next to

me vocalize my anger but stayed where she was. Her body began to move more seductively as she stepped toward Holden, and

I watched Joselin roll her hips with the beat, her ass perfectly in my line of sight.

anymore. My woman wanted to dance, and I promised

was the only one she

of protest that was muffled by the music. The wolf looked up at me, watching me cautiously as he moved further away from

grabbing her hand and spinning the woman out. The kid knew how to dance. I would

soft as I picked up a piece, wrapping it around my finger before pulling on it lightly, making her look up. Goosebumps rose along her

over the speakers, but she did. She heard me loud

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

I swayed with her, refusing to lose contact. Even when she spun around to face me, my fingers

Yet, I was also the happiest I had ever been as my pack watched as I publicly made my interest known. There was no doubt that most of them knew of my attraction to Joselin, but

her hip, guiding it up her side, over the swell of her breast, and to her chest. Her heart was thumping

her away from here, to show her how good we would feel together with less clothing, but I promised

down to her thighs, feeling the soft skin at the bottom of her tight, little black dress. I didn't care who was around us or how many people saw.

up. I reached down, adjusting