The Beast And The Blessed

Eleven: Charlie

Charlie P.O.V.

"Did you feel unsafe?" Damien asked, and I shook my head, but there was a slight delay in my reaction. The truth was there were several times that I had felt unsafe. There were more moments during my time in the castle where I was either in immediate danger or was looking over my shoulder for it than I liked to admit.

"Not with him. My brother scared me a lot, he let his anger and beast get the better of him, but he always walked away. He never physically hurt me. He just yelled and shifted to intimidate everyone around him. It's what the pack knows him for.” I kept to myself how many people he had killed in his life because there were too many to count.

Executions alone were in the high double digits; if you bring in all the wars and battles he had fought, Killian had killed at least several hundred creatures, maybe thousands.

Regardless of how cruel he acted at times, he was still my brother. Killian was the only family I had left, and I wanted him to be happy. I wanted him to find his mate so he could see that he could be good.

"Do you feel safe now?" Damien watched me closely. I could still feel his stare when I turned away from him.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. I wasn't sure if he was asking if I felt safe around him or if I felt safe around my men, but the answer, either way, was, "Yes."

That made him smile.

Never in my life had I thought of a man as beautiful before. Pretty, sure. But never beautiful, not until I met Damien. His smile was so pure and genuine that I was determined to see it every day for the rest of my life. It was the kind of smile that would make the Goddess fall to her knees before him if She were to see it.

When I returned to his side, he had stopped chopping and held the head of the ax down on the stump with both hands on the end of the handle.

"Is he your only sibling?”

"Yes, do you have any?" I asked as I grabbed the last few pieces of wood and stacked them in the shed.

"I'm sure I do, but none I have met." His eyes were alight with amusement when he saw my surprise, and he shrugged his shoulders. "My father is a wanderer. I have to assume that I am not his only offspring."

The reminder of our different cultures made me feel sick. Would Damien be like that? Would he walk away once we had children? Had he already? How many women had he been with while traveling who ended up pregnant?

"Is that how all bears live?" It was almost impossible not to offend someone by asking how many love children they might have wandering around.

them do, but not all of us. Some settle down for life." Damien picked up the ax, walking past

he wanted to clarify that he hadn’t been a part of the wanderers that lived their life freely with no concern for those they left

A chance for us.

he wanted to continue our conversation even though he seemed done chopping wood. I followed him

when I sat down on it, and it swung

next to me, and I curled my legs

in the town." My cheeks burned, and I looked out at the forest. It was so peaceful here. Everything about the location he had chosen

off; what job did you work?" Damien's thigh pressed against my knee as he adjusted in his seat, and I turned to him with my

the camp to

to understand the meaning of my statement, and his eyelids

make a move, to lean in and kiss me after I had practically jumped

coming on too strong. I

adjusted, planning on pulling my knee away to give him space, but as soon as I moved, his large hand grabbed my

shouted the words loudly, failing to

eating them as quickly as we assumed he would. He was keeping most of them in cages for later. We

slowly

those children would be traumatized by what they saw. But I had been hoping that witnessing the ogre's death would give them closure and being with their families who loved them

The trauma those kids experienced would impact the rest of their life. Some would probably wish

looked unbothered, but from how his grip on my knee tightened, I knew my story bothered him. "There is too much darkness in the world today. I wish you could

the other men I had grown up with made me feel sick. They did

threat to the Princess, the heir to the crown.

whispered. My life now was safer than when I had lived in a castle surrounded by guards. There had been limited happiness between my parents, my brother, the toxic women of the court, and my

I was free and at peace. I had chosen my own family and

unintentionally driving me wild. "You are strong and beautiful. I imagine many evils would want to break your spirit. I'm

There was an unspoken continuation to that sentence, and I wasn't sure he would hear

I understood them, but I wasn't happy about it. Still, I could live with not being marked by him, but I

His deep voice sent shivers down my spine, and I felt so out of control around

from him in response made a rush of