The Beast And The Blessed

Six: Charlie

Charlie's P.O.V.

It was like I was doomed to make the same mistakes repeatedly.

Twice. Twice in two weeks, I had returned to camp covered in another creature's bodily fluids. Only this time, it wasn't because of my carelessness.

I had gone savage.

All of my pent-up anger and emotions were set free, and I unleashed a fury on the Oread that I hadn't known I had in me. My parents, brother, and every tutor I ever had would have been appalled by my behavior today.

It thoroughly impressed the men, and they sat back and watched as I dropped my sword and took the woodland nymph on in hand-to-hand combat.

I knew my team wouldn't let anything happen to me. They would have jumped in if I were about to get seriously injured. But they didn't have to.

Typically, I made executions quick.

But one thing Roman insisted on was training to be better when unarmed. I could take almost anything down with a blade, whether a sword or a dagger. But going into one of those fights without a weapon was a suicide mission.

The Oread was unstable and weak enough that I knew she would be an excellent creature to start with, and she was. Her disease-ridden body and manic state made her attacks sloppy and easy to predict.

I had maintained the upper hand during our scuffle until she collapsed and fell onto me.

Woodland Nymphs were known for being one with the woods. Their skin had spots of growth with moss, mushrooms, and flowers. If one were to touch it, the growth tended to leave a thick green residue behind, staining anything it came into contact with.

Similar to a tree, and probably the one she was bound to, she was diseased. Her body had been rotting, stinking to the high heavens.

When she collapsed into me, her rotten moss-covered body pressed against my front with a squishing sound that would be burned into my memory forever. But the smell, oh Goddess, the smell was horrendous.

There was no way I could go to sleep without rinsing off first. Even having my dirty clothes near the camp would keep everyone awake from the putrid smell.

I knew the river was safe during the day, but I had never had a reason to inspect it at night. Several creatures only came out when the sun had gone down, and the water couldn't be seen through. But it was a risk I had to take.

The night vision my wolf granted me allowed me to see several feet into the running water, and after determining the coast was clear, I waded in. It was the first time that the cool water had been unwelcome. It felt unreasonably cold without the sun, and I knew getting out to sleep with wet hair would be horrendous.

Still, I walked forward until I was able to submerge myself completely. Grabbing fistfuls of sand, I began scrubbing at my clothes. The faster I could get this over with, the better.

mate's side of the river as possible. Today had been a nice distraction, but Roman had been

had happened hadn't lessened at all. Even when I was mid-fight, the bear with the

the water made my eyes open. I squinted as I tried to see what creature had joined me and what fight I was in for,

been deep. The deepest part of the water was only six feet. But I had been completely submerged to clean myself and my clothes with

melted into the touch

I tilted

made me gasp, not out of shock but from the wave of

grabbed the back of his neck, holding him closer. I blinked several times as

He was here.

moving us closer to the

sounded furious, but with his arms wrapped around my back, I could

my head, thoroughly confused and trying to hide my

and you were under the water, struggling! I thought something had dragged you down!" I figured his yelling would have alerted the men from camp, but the world was silent beyond our heavy

me. Whether he understood it or not, he felt the mate bond too. It was why he came back to the river at all. He could have turned around and walked away when he saw me here, whether I was underwater or not. He could have either kept or gotten rid of my dagger. It would have fetched him a reasonable price in town. He also didn't need to jump into the water to fight an unknown, nonexistent creature

landed on my lips, I couldn't

His question made me smile, and as he watched my lips curve up, he relaxed. But he didn't let go, and I didn't want

would never let a

before I had a chance to win him over would just be asking for him to reject

down on me again once I mentioned it. He nodded slowly, forcing his eyes away

the river pushed my legs further against his, one slipping between his. I pulled them back and then wrapped them around his waist. His

push me off him, pull us out of the water, and leave me here to return to his den. But he didn't. Once again, surprising me with his

idea what to expect

make him happy when I didn't know

me your name." My face moved closer to his, and I wanted so badly to steal a

me with mixed signals, it didn't give me the

"Damien."

brushing against his from

Damien. It suited him.

strong name, one that matched the man, and as I repeated it

hold me up by my butt. Damien didn't look embarrassed as he gripped me firmly, pressing my hips into his. Instead, he let out a low growl when I adjusted my legs and locked

shiver went down my spine in anticipation, even though I

harder to walk away later when he rejected me.