The Beast And The Blessed

Sixty-Six: Tobias

Tobias's P.O.V.

My teeth sunk into her flesh, hot blood filling my mouth as Cora screamed. The taste of it washing over my tongue was exciting. All the stress and pain Cora had caused my mate had me dreaming about this moment... about ending her life.

I wanted to rip Cora's throat out, but she turned just in time for me to latch my jaws around her bicep. She rolled to the ground with me, using her powers to pry me off. I felt the Earth moving beneath us before two objects shot through the dirt.

Joselin's scream of terror echoed through my head, and I wanted to get to her. I needed to.

In my head, I could feel myself moving. I knew how to get my legs to work, but they didn't want to listen.

Snarling and yips of pain could be heard as my warriors sprang into action, fighting the witch. I couldn't blink as I lifted my head, staring at the two large spikes of wood impaling me.

My hand wrapped around the closest spike, snapping it in half with a growl of anger before moving to the second one. The shaking was unavoidable as I pushed my body up and off the base of the spikes. Blood poured down my front and back as I felt my torso begin to heal itself.

It took longer than I had hoped before the feeling returned to my legs, and the ringing in my ears faded behind the sound of the war around me.

Aurora had risen and was at my side, helping me up with a groan of pain.

"Do something!" I ordered, knowing it wasn't my place to order her around, but she was a descendant of the Goddess, for fuck's sake. She should be able to blink Cora out of existence if she wanted.

"I can't. Cora is at her strongest right now, having just taken another's magic, and I haven't had time to recover fully. I was away for a long time, and my magic doesn't recharge instantly. It normally takes a few days, sometimes weeks, to replenish." She looked terrified as she peered around me, cringing at whatever she saw. 1

The sound of Joselin letting out a groan of pain had me turning and forcing my damaged body to race toward my mate. Each step sent a stab of agony through me, and I stumbled forward to get to her as my skin tried to pull itself back together.

thought that was all it would take to kill me,

from her button nose, and her hands shook as

I could hear them splashing and gargling as the water swirled around

as Aurora pulled the

to battle a witch this strong, and I

the second until she was out of the crater Aurora had

done with you. After I deal with Cyrus, those incompetent children wearing the crown will be next! I am doing what is best for our people!" Cora's eyes were glazed

could feel Joselin growing tired. Still, her anger drove her on and matching her emotions, I

cracking, flickering angrily. My chest swelled with pride at my mate's power and strength, knowing we

into me as I fought against her, my claws digging into the

need to get to Joselin motivated me to keep fighting, to resist her spell. Just as I broke past the other warriors, the Earth trembled, and a flat wall shot up, leaving us in complete darkness and trapping us in the hallway that

alone protect my mate. My shoulder slammed into the thick wall

going on beyond the barrier had the whole place trembling like an Earthquake. My body crashed into the wall again before I faced it and, in desperation, resorted to digging at it like

but I barely heard him over my heavy breathing and my claws ripping chunks out of the wall. "Stop. They will bring the

in the next few minutes, I will spend the rest of my life destroying every ounce of happiness you have. Every night patrol, every supply run, double the training. Your families will never

of pause before a body slammed into the wall next to me. I stepped back and matched their speed, crashing my shoulder into the wall, watching with satisfaction as

pushing out blood slowly as my body fought to

crumble, and as soon as my fist shot through it, we hit it again

The blood that oozed from several lacerations made either apparent that she had been beaten to hell. From the way she stared at us, I knew she had a

of the tunnel and into the cavern, the sight made us halt. Cora was being held up in the air, screaming in pain as my bloodied mate panted below her. There was a large gash across Joselin's forehead, and we all flinched when Joselin dropped her arm and slammed

of her ward was still present, but it was shattered like glass and was

mate was

she pushed herself onto her hands and knees before standing. Joselin's breathing was