The Beast And The Blessed

Chapter 190

Fourteen: Charlie

Charlie's P.O.V.

Damien had walked with us back to camp, and I could practically taste the dread bubbling up and poisoning my good mood. I could feel how bothered he was, but I wasn't ready to bring him into that part of my world. He was learning who I was as a person. My crown wasn’t tainting his perception of me just yet. I preferred that.

I was more than my title, and I knew if that were thrown into the mix, he would be bothered by it.

I had to take baby steps with him, and as excited and eager as I was to finally have my mate, I was ready for him to want me as much as I wanted him. My impatience was going to drive me insane.

Damien sat on the log beside me as Neil and Diego argued over their dice game. Roman sat quietly, staring into the fire, as usual, lost in thought.

Barley and Paxton loudly joked with each other, sipping the liquor they had purchased from town. We hadn't been able to do our entire supply run because of me, so we would have to return in a few days.

I was hoping things would have settled down by then. The last thing I wanted was for Damien to see how wild people could get when they realized the princess was among them. Most of the time, they were happy and excited to see me. But occasionally, when they realized I didn't have guards, they would take out their anger and annoyance for what was going on in the world on me.

When it got out of hand like that, and I was outnumbered, threatened, and occasionally getting attacked, it was almost as scary as facing my brother in his Lycan form on the battlefield. People could be cruel, but I had to accept that early on in life. As an adult, I had to be careful to dodge that minefield.

I pressed my leg against Damien's, feeling my heart drop when he pulled away. Having him sitting here, staying with us instead of returning to his home, was confusing. Whatever battle he was fighting in his head seemed to consume his energy because he wouldn't even look at me.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I whispered, my cheeks heating up when Diego, Neil, and Paxton started hooting and hollering. They were the worst.

I loved them. "To talk."

My clarification received a few chuckles as they returned to their game and conversations. I felt Damien tense at my question, and I worried I had done something wrong. Why was he here if he didn't want to be around me?

help me up or to ask me to walk back to the river with him for a proper goodbye, but he started walking without

I called out as I jumped from my seat

arm and encouraging him to face me. "Then why are you treating me like this? You haven't said a word to me in hours; you've pulled away each

burning into my soul as I saw that he had built his walls back

wasn't stupid and that having to run from town when someone recognized me would raise some questions, but I wanted to keep that part of myself tucked away for now. ’I... I'm me." "And who is that? Are you Charlotte, or are you Charlie? What's the difference because I'm starting to feel like they may be two different people?" Damien's hand grabbed my hip as I stepped closer, but it almost seemed instinctive. He dropped it as soon as he

me, but they're all strangers. They only know of my full name, or they've seen my picture." I stepped in front of him to stop him from leaving when

wasn't ready to share. It was a double-edged sword. Telling him would push him away, and keeping it a secret would push him away. It was just a matter of deciding which one I could return

fall in love with me for

that they always wanted what they would get from being associated with me because of my status. Not a single

I knew without a doubt that being Princess Charlotte would have the opposite effect and push him away

I could almost hear him debating between calling me Charlotte as he had been and calling me Charlie as my friends and family

about it yet." I pleaded,

I got that.

collect myself to stop him. "We all have secrets, Damien. One

waited a moment longer, staring at his back as he walked away before making my way back to the camp. The cold mask I reserved for the court fell into place as if

from him had the power to open the floodgates, and I wasn't ready for that. It

one, fell in love, and mated for life. It was the stuff from storybooks

had dreamed of that since I was

My father had chosen my mother as a breeder

else had. The instant connection, the

to a man who didn't believe we were mates because he couldn't feel it and was also

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