Chapter 128

Twenty-Two: Joselin Joselin's P.O.V.

Of all the inconceivable requests Aurora could have made, this one was the most irksome. I hadmore important things to do than trampling through the forest, looking for some creature shewanted to collect, like prized cattle.

“Find him. Convince him to come here.!

Her vague instructions then included no more than to tell me I had to do this without using magicand I had to go alone.

I had yet to determine if I would be capturing a human, a troll, or a dragon. All I knew was that shewas wasting my time, trying to get me to prove myself to her before she would accept the offer tobe my pledge.

It was infuriating... and fun. I loved a good challenge, and whatever game Aurora was playing, Iwanted to win. It was almost a sickness, the need to excel at everything and prove myself as thebest.

What frustrated me the most was the time it would take. The thought that this was a trap to get meaway from the castle while the threat closed in on my people, my family, was brief.

Aurora was a descendant of the Moon Goddess, and I had faith in Her. I had to trust that shewouldn't and hadn't turned her back on the Goddess or her daughter. So, I had to weigh myoptions. Do I risk another getting a permanent spot on the council by staying to protect my people,or do I inform the others of the threat and have them look out for it while I am gone?

It wouldn't be such a hard decision if I knew how long I would be gone. I would go, in a heartbeat,to keep the council trustworthy if it was only a few days. But I had no idea what was in store for meor how long I would be away.

I was sulking and lost in thought as I stormed toward the dining hall. If I was going to make arational decision, I needed food.

Aurora was already sitting at the head table with Henry and Holden. Holden looked amused andslightly disgusted, sitting next to the mushy couple as Henry kissed Aurora's knuckles beforewhispering something in her ear that made her cheeks turn the darkest shade of red I had everseen.

My usual seat to Natalie's left was still open, but her chair remained empty. She had probably takenlunch in Killian's study as they preferred. Holden sat to my left, and he smiled brightly when he sawme approaching.

I felt eyes burning into the side of my head. The way my body lit up to alert me of his presence toldme exactly who it was. His brown eyes bore into mine from where he sat at the long stretch of thetable, and butterflies filled my stomach when I saw him glance from me to Holden.

He was still jealous, that foolish man. He should know by now that I was his and had been for years.I glanced back to Holden, trying not to flinch when I saw how his mouth turned down, and henodded in acceptance.

I would have to make time for him as a friend, but this choice was more important to my future thananything.

My feet carried me forward, and I watched as the corner of Tobias's mouth twitched as he tried tohide his smile.

The table fell quiet as I took the seat next to Tobias.

His hand landed on my thigh, and he squeezed it once, but I could practically hear him silentlypraising me for making the right decision. Maybe this would result in another reward.

The servant looked equally confused as they brought out my prepared plate and found me sittingamong the pack. It was customary for our plates to be put together by the chef and served to uswhile the rest of the pack ate buffet style. It was so we could reduce the risk of contaminated orpoisoned food.

Tobias had no problem making his plate, and I wrinkled my nose at the large amount of greenbeans he had next to his overflowing sandwich.

I turned to face him, wanting to tell him everything about this morning but unable to with all theears focused on us. They were listening in, trying to find something to gossip about as if my choiceof seat hadn't already been enough for them.

Instead, I felt nervous for the first time in a long while and could only form a "Good Morning."Tobias flashed his straight, white teeth at me before leaning in and kissing me quickly in response.His hand that was not on my thigh picked up his sandwich, and he began to eat, rubbing his otherthumb along the outside of my thigh.

The warmth of his palm burned against the skin, and I pressed my leg closer to him, enjoying thefeeling as our legs pressed together.

I had never pegged him for the type to enjoy public displays of affection, but I did peg him for theguy who would publically lay his claim on his woman. As I peeked up and saw Holden in aconversation with Aurora, not looking in our direction, I felt my chest tighten when I realized Tobiasdid it because he was happy to see me and not for a claim.

The things this man could do to me and made me feel were almost magical.

"Are you free after lunch? I want to talk to you about something.” My whisper was still heardthroughout the room as several people started making suggestive comments or whistling. I wouldhave blushed if it wasn't followed by someone saying, "Looks like the White Witch is ready forseconds.”

Tobias let out a loud growl as I stood up, aiming my hand toward the man laughing with his friends."You have taken for granted the ability to speak freely. You have forgotten your place.” A smirkcrossed my lips as he began to scream, his lips sealed shut as I cast a shortlasting curse over him.He would be free to speak, eat, and drink again tomorrow. But until then, I would enjoy the silence."I have fought and killed for you a hundred times over. Show respect, or don't show your face in myhome."

They didn't have to eat here. They chose to. The dining hall was open to everyone, but no one wasforced to attend, even during the official pack dinners.

They could eat at any one of the inns or restaurants, or they could eat in their own homes. The packmentality made them want to come here and eat together. Isolating themselves only lasted so longbefore they craved the company of other their kind.

Several pack members gasped as the man began clawing at his face, trying to open his mouthbefore racing out of the dining hall. I presumed he would go to the healers, but even they couldn'thelp him.

The room was silent but relaxed as I sat back down, and Tobias watched me with amusement.

I waited for another comment or the pouting Lycan to storm back in as we ate. It would have beenamusing to watch him mime for me to fix him, and I was very disappointed that he didn't.

By the time we had finished our meals, Tobias had looked agitated. He gathered our empty platesand led me away. I had expected to go back to my tower with him, but I was shocked when he tookme out of the castle and to the familiar house on the outskirts of the town.

It looked run down and forgotten, unlike the place I once knew as a child. Tobias would occasionallybring me here, only when his father wasn't home. When he was, we would stay in the forest andplay.

I was curious why he had brought me here, but as his hand tightened in mine, I knew better than toask.

The porch creaked beneath us loudly in protest. As Tobias opened the door, the site of the guttedhouse made my eyes widen. The floor had been ripped up, and there was a pile of drywall by thebase of the stairs.

"I need to tell you something too.” His deep voice sounded thicker, and I saw him staring at thechunks of the drywall on the floor.

"Okay, you first.” My hand ran over his back as I whispered the word. It was clear that what he had totell me would be more painful than my news of leaving for a few days.

"You know about my father already,” He stated, facing me with his hands on my hips.

I nodded. I did know about his father's death when Tobias was young. It was tragic. I would seeTobias going in and out of the bunkhouse for years, having no one who could take him in. “I amsorry for your loss."

Tobias let his head fall back as a cruel laugh left his hips. * Don't be. I'm the one who killed him."

It wasn't easy to school my expression and keep my surprise from showing. Something like thatwould have gotten around the pack, and I was surprised I hadn't known about this before now. Theymust have kept that pretty tight- lipped. “I'm sure you have your reasons. You don't have to tell meif you don't want to. You are entitled to your secrets.’

Tobias shook his head, the forced smile falling from his lips. The pain etched into his face was unlikeany emotion I had ever seen from him before.

"He used to beat me, Josie. Every night for as long as I could remember, he would beat me and thenlock me in my closet until he felt I had learned my lesson.” His eyes flickered over to the cut-outdrywall sheets, and I knew he had cut them out of the wall for a reason.

It made sense now, the days that would go by without me seeing him. I always thought he was madat me, and then he would appear again, acting as if everything was normal. It wasn't until we werefourteen that he cut me out of his life. We didn't speak for a few years.

The thought that his father had been beating him made me furious. If I had known then, I wouldhave killed the man for Tobias.

"I am glad that you were able to free yourself," I said, letting my hands land on his chest, but heleaned back slightly as he closed his eyes.

We stood like that for several moments before he opened his eyes again. "I was, but I was too late. Iwasn't strong enough back then. I had just shifted for the first time. It wasn't until after he got to herthat I snapped.”

Her.

My breathing caught in my throat as I pieced it together.

"He killed my mate, Josie. He murdered Ana right in front of me.