Chapter 32

Thirty-Two: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

Even when I had watched him murder one of my pack members, I had never heard him sound so

angry. It put the fear of the Goddess right into me.

“No,” Killian growled out, and I turned to glare at him and his glowing red eyes. He had no right to

tell me what to do or where I would sleep. I needed a break. I needed time to myself to get my

thoughts together before I went back to being pushed around. “Things were better. I've been trying

to make things better.”

The short animalistic way he spoke shocked me, and I stared at him blankly. It was as if his beast

was speaking for him.

He looked more hurt than ever before, and I felt a pain in my chest as I realized that I was the one

hurting him this time.

A push against my back forced me to take a step toward Killian, and I turned to smack Tobias's giant

hand away from me. Tobias dropped his arm back to his side quickly, but held his gaze on the wall

in front of him, refusing to make eye contact with me as I glared at him.

The traitor.

“I really don't want to fight anymore, Killian,” I said softly, my shoulders falling as I held my bundle

of clothes closer to my chest.

“Then we will talk, but at least give me the chance to explain before you start accusing me.” I

narrowed my eyes as I saw Joselin move behind him, and he caught me glancing over his shoulder

at her. Why was he allowing her to still be in our room after I told her to leave?

He let out a growl of frustration before looping his arm around the small of my back and dragging

me back into the room.

“Seal it.” He demanded as he looked past me to Joselin. I hated having my back to her, especially

when she was casting magic. I didn't trust her. At this point, I didnt trust either of them.

I didn't see or hear anything, but I knew she had done what he asked when he relaxed a small

amount.

“You're going to hold me prisoner here?” I scoffed as my cheeks finished drying, and my anger

came back tenfold. Did his father lock Killian's mother in a room like this or was she locked in the

dungeons?

“No, we are going to talk like adults about this, and then if you choose to still leave, I will allow you

to sleep in another room.” He said, holding me tightly to his chest as if he were scared I was going

to try to get away again.

“Let me go!” I squirmed, hating the fact that I couldnt see Joselin behind me. Killian took in a deep

breath before releasing me, and I instantly moved a few steps back until she was in my line of sight.

The loss of his touch and his warmth helped me to think clearly again, and I turned to glare at

Joselin as she sat back on the arm of the couch with confidence. Her ghostly complexion made me

want to cut her skin to see if she even could bleed or if she was as evil as I assumed.

“Look at me,” Killian commanded, and I felt myself instinctively turn to him, like a wolf responding

to its alpha’s order. I had no choice. My body and mind responded before I had time to even

consider resisting. “What will it take for me to convince you that there is and has never been

anything between Joselin and me, Natalie?”

I scoffed at the full use of our names. I was sure that if the three of us were in here under different

circumstances, it would be Josie and Little One.

"How am I supposed to believe that when not only are you always together, but you abandon me to

go be with her?” My hands were shaking as I tightened my hold on my clothes, refusing to release

them as I needed something to hold onto. “You're not even giving me a chance to be your mate!”

“I didn’t abandon you to be with her!” He argued back before taking a calming breath and lowering

his voice. “She is my advisor and my friend, but nothing more.”

“This wouldn't be happening if you had marked her,” Joselin muttered with disdain and what I could

only assume was jealousy. “At least then, she would feel it if you had been unfaithful.”

I wasn't even sure if I wanted the mark anymore. What were the chances of me being able to shift

because of it? Slim to none, if I had to guess. Would it do to me what it had done to his parents?

Would it destroy me when he chose to *Joselin or any of the other women at court who opened

their legs for him?

The idea had been tossed around my head for the past couple of days, wondering if the mark would

trigger my shift and whether it was worth it. The more I considered it, the more I thought it was.

"So, mark me.” I insisted as I turned my glare from Joselin to stare at a flabbergasted Killian. His

beast seemed to have receded, and his jaw was open as he stared at me.

“I'm not going to mark you just so you can know that I am being honest with you.” Killian walked to

the couch, falling back into the cushion as he rubbed his forehead. The space between him and

Joselin made me happy, but I refused to let it show.

“Well, you don’t seem to want to mark me at all.” I placed one hand on my hip, holding my clothes

firmly against my stomach with my other. The fabric of my dress suddenly felt scratchy and far too

tight to breathe normally.

"Goddess! You just have a whole list of things you're mad about, don’t you?” Killian groaned as he

let his head drop back against the couch.

I stared at him closely, noticing the way that his shoulders were sloped downward and how his

eyelids were drooping. This was not the king I knew or the man I knew. He looked exhausted and

drained.

"We will talk tomorrow,” Joselin said as she stared directly at me. I tried not to groan in response,

but ! knew she saw the displeasure on my face. “You're not royalty yet. You owe me an apology.”

I rolled my eyes as she vanished from the room, knowing that without her here, the spell would

remain intact, and I would be stuck here all night.

I probably did owe her an apology, but at the same time, my stubborn pride had taken a hit with

her always being with the man that I had grown to care for. Having him publically choose her over

me tonight was a huge *. One I wasn't sure when I would come back from.

“I don't have a lot of experience with this,” Killian said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his

knees. “We need to talk.”