The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne

Ten: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

Tobias had sat in the corner of the room, watching me for hours. Only this time, it didn’t bother me. I forced myself not to think about him even though I could feel him.

I was so focused for a while that I forgot he was even there until he stood up, making me jump. I glanced over my shoulder, watching as he moved with purpose to the door before pausing and turning back to me.

Josie," He started, and his voice made me swallow hard. His sudden shift in treatment toward me, the touching and flirting, made my name sound all the sweeter on his lips.

I resented it.

I'm going down for dinner. Would you like to come?"

I knew he wasn't inviting me on a date. He would just walk me down to the dining hall, and we would go our separate ways to eat among the pack. Still, my heart beat faster at the invitation.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry." I stared down into the bowl! with the small amount of blood I was able to pull from the ring. It should have been enough, but something was blocking me from taping into it.

While the challenge was intriguing, I was tired of struggling to find the answers I needed over the past few months without digging through book after book. Then again, if it was easy, the people we were up against wouldn't be considered threats.

I wasn't mad at him about Rona. I knew he was telling me the truth when he said he didn't touch her or encourage her. She was a crazy bitch, and how she spoke to me after I walked into the room was obviously an attempt to antagonize me.

"About this morning in the gym," he started, and I tensed as I waited, peeking up at him from beneath my eyelashes. "I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable. After what happened last night, it has been so fucking hard not to touch you today, not to drag you back here and finish what we started. I thought you were enjoying us sparring together.”

I scoffed, lifting my head as I pursed my lips. "It wasn't about us training, Tobias. You only want to touch me now because I said I was done throwing myself at you. I don't appreciate that. Find some other toy to play with. You had your chance.”

He let out a low growl, and I lifted my hand in his direction as he took a step forward. "You are not a toy."

"Don’t, Tobias. You've been playing with my emotions for months now because you enjoyed me giving you my attention. Now that you don't have it, you are suddenly interested in me? Like I said, find someone else to play with. Don't be cruel.” As I finished speaking, my voice started to crack, and I gritted my teeth together.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but I wasn't in the mood for his back and forth. He didn’t want me until he couldn't have me. That wasn't going to fly with me.

"I really don't have it in me to argue with you right now. Please don't make me kick you out of my tower. Go eat your dinner. I'm going to be working for a while." I looked back down at the ring. My long white hair fell over my shoulder, shielding me from being able to see him, but I released the breath I was holding when I heard the door shut and his footsteps retreating.

Even when he wasn't here, he was still a distraction. I was second- guessing sending him away even though I knew it was the right move for me.

I needed to focus on figuring out what Rona was up to.

There had to be a way for me to tap into her through her blood. I had done it before with others. The fact that I couldn't do it to her either meant that she had figured out a way to block me or I didn't have enough blood.

I was going to try everything I could, even if it took hours, and it did.

I had sealed myself in my tower for most of the night and the next day. No one was allowed in, and I refused to leave until I had no other option.

I sighed as my tower grew dark for the second time since collecting the blood. It would be easy to return to it again later, but the sooner I found out who was involved in the darkness afoot, the better. Whatever shield she had on her blood felt impossible to get through, but I would break it or her eventually.

I scowled at the bowl before locking the sample away in my vault with my other valuable collections. It had already been preserved, so I knew it would stay warm and liquid to work with later.

The clock on the wall told me I only had a few minutes, and I changed quickly before racing down to the kitchen. I didn't debate teleporting for a second. It was too mentally draining. Going into a place I wasn't sure I would make it out of, had no idea what was in there or who had sampled my blood, was exhausting.

A tray of brownies was sitting on the counter with foil over them, and I smiled widely. This was precisely what I needed. I smelled them as soon as I hit the hallway.

I tapped my nails on the counter as I looked at the time once more. Killian was only a few minutes late. I was sure they would be down soon. Based on what I had seen of their relationship, which had been far too much, they were probably fucking one out before coming down.

There was no need to grab plates. I doubted the food would last long enough between us to need them.

The large island was cold, sending a shiver down my spine as I slid onto the hard surface. My eyes kept dropping down to the tray of brownies as I waited, but I resisted the urge to dig in without them. He said they would be here.

'You must be the famous Joselin.” The unfamiliar voice made me turn, but I didn't bother getting off the counter. If needed, I could easily deal with him with a flick of my wrist.

The man was leaning with his shoulder against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed me curiously. His short blonde hair was wild as if he had run his hands through it several times, and the light layer of scruff along his chiseled jaw seemed almost out of place.

Between the white button-up shirt and the black dress pants, he looked like he was going to a meeting. My eye dropped down to his sleeves, where he had rolled them up to expose his forearms. While he seemed smaller than the Lycans, he was still pretty toned for a wolf.

“Then, you must be one of my adoring fans," I whispered before looking out the large bay window behind the sink. He was handsome, but he looked a bit young to me.

"It would be a lie to deny that now that I've seen you.” His shoes barely made a noise as he walked quietly toward me. "What brought you down here so late?”

I turned to look at him as he leaned back against the counter to my right. His gaze locked on the window to see what had captured my interest. All of it did, and from the faint smile on his face, it also seemed to catch his.

The dark, looming trees had flashing specks between them as torch bugs danced in the cool night air. The sky was illuminated with more stars than any one person could count, and the moon was only a faint crescent teased by thin lines of fluffy clouds.

'It is beautiful," He stated when I didn't answer him. Even with me sitting with my legs crossed up on the counter, I could tell that he was taller than me.

I looked back at the clock, scowling, when I realized it had been over an hour and a half that I had been waiting for Killian and Natalie before the stranger showed up. Surely, they weren't going to be joining me.

The disappointing realization made my shoulders drop, and my hands tightened on my knees before I gave in and went for the dessert that I knew was waiting for me. The foil was loud as I pulled it off the pan, and the smell of freshly baked brownies grew stronger.

I grabbed one of the leftover pieces before turning to see an amused look on our guest's face. "Did you want one?"

His smile grew wider, revealing his white, straight teeth. "Were you going to eat them all by yourself?"

I glance down at the pan. There were only six left. Emotional eating was something I excelled at. “Yes, I was."

He let out an infectious, deep belly laugh that only made me feel happy for a moment before it faded away. I wanted to go up and burst into Killian's room, demanding an answer. But I was also done pushing myself into people's lives when I wasn't wanted. If they wanted me around, it was their turn to put in the effort.

"Then, I will only take one. I'll be a gentleman and leave you the rest." He lifted the chocolate dessert to his mouth, taking a large bite before sending me a wink.

"Your name?" I demanded, and his amusement only seemed to grow.

"Holden,"

I nodded as the name rang a bell. "You're Natalie's half-brother, right?"

Holden laughed again, the fingers of his empty hand moving up to unbutton the top button of his shirt. "Yes, that's right.”

"Hm, a little young, aren't you? Isn't it past your bedtime?" The corner of my mouth twitched as I spoke, but I kept myself together.

"Eighteen is not too young for you, though, is it? You're what, twenty-four?" He tilted his head to the side, taking another large bit of his brownie as he inspected me more thoroughly this time. "Twenty-six."

“That's not a big difference. But it is past my bedtime, so maybe you should take me to bed,” Holden wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I smiled at him for the first time. He looked almost stunned to get that reaction out of me.

"Hm. As appealing as that sounds, I've never been a fan of sleeping in carshaped bedframes. So, I'll just turn into my bed for the night." I hopped off the counter, grabbed the tray of remaining brownies as I did so, and held it tightly as I walked around him.

Holden didn't move, forcing me to brush against him as I passed. He smelled wonderful, and I kept my gaze averted as I escaped.

"Joselin, I'll be staying here for a while to get to know my sister, but I look forward to getting to know you. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.”