The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 189

Thirteen: Damien

Damien's P.O.V.

My palms slid against the fabric of my shorts as I rubbed my legs, trying to distract myself from what I had done. I felt like a complete asshole. I couldn’t sleep and ended up torturing myself all night thinking about it.

I wanted Charlotte again. I craved her.

Yet, the guilt of not only taking her virginity but doing it so hard and deep and on the fucking couch when there was a bed one room over had me feeling sick. She deserved so much better.

I should have made her some food and then taken her to my bed. We could have gone slowly until she had adjusted to my size. I didn't need to thrust into Charlotte the way I did. I would make it up to her and ensure she had a better experience next time.

Flowers, candles...romance. Women loved that shit. I couldn't sit back without doing something. I planned to give her a tour of my home when she got here this morning, demanding she relax while I cooked her breakfast. We could talk as we ate our food, and I would make sure she was okay with what happened last night.

While I appreciated her help over the past week, I didn't intend to make her do my chores. She just started helping me one day, which meant a lot to me. No one had helped me before without wanting something in return. Charlotte only wanted to spend time with me to see if we could be more.

I didn't say anything about it, but I didn't stop her either. She wouldn't listen to me, even if I did tell her to stop.

She had no problem doing manual work and getting dirty. Charlotte was incredible. I could picture us doing our daily chores around the house while our kids ran around the yard, and the image was just too good to dismiss.

I wasn't ready to let her go, but I needed to make up for my carelessness before we moved any further.

I walked back and forth from the river all night, wanting to make sure the tank was completely full today before she showed up. There were a lot of chores that if she wanted to help with, she could. But taking over a dozen trips back and forth from the river, carrying buckets of water was not the kind of work I would want my woman doing.

The idea of her becoming my woman sounded better each day we spent together.

I was excited. Nervous but excited.

When morning passed, and the sun began the descent of the afternoon sun, my excitement turned into anxiety. Charlotte hadn't shown up like she had every day before, and I debated going after her. I didn't know if what happened yesterday had hit her last night after she left or if she truly was happy about it.

She said she would give me space to think but that she would be back. I wanted to offer her the same consideration.

I wanted to, but I didn't. I needed to know she was okay.

My hands pressed into my knees as I pushed myself to my feet and stormed out of my cabin. I ended up across the river and standing in the middle of her empty camp before I knew it.

There should have been at least one person here. Charlotte said they always left one person behind to protect their belongings.

Yet, their camp was empty. Worry settled deep in my chest.

Something had to have happened. They wouldn't abandon their camp unless there had been an emergency. Was someone injured?

My head spun from side to side as I scanned the area, looking for any sign of struggle. Was Charlotte okay? If she was my mate, would I be able to feel it if she were in danger or hurt?

I could hear my blood pumping loudly in my head as my breathing picked up. Her scent was still here, and I couldn't pick up traces of blood. Yet, I was coming up with a million thoughts and ideas about what could have happened, and each one was worse than the last.

They had done an excellent job of limiting any marks or tracks someone could follow, but Charlotte’s scent made it easy for me to chase her band of mercenaries down.

I wanted to shift to get there faster, but I knew a bear sprinting through the woods would be louder and catch more attention than a man.

It was only an hour later that I reached the outskirts of the town.

The humans had done a good job building a new society after the Great War when Lycanstook control of the world and all supernatural creatures came out of hiding, but their population was still only an eighth of the size it used to be.

Their towns and cities were significantly smaller, and most were hidden, still geared up for war against supernatural creatures. Ones like this, though, welcomed the new way of life...to an extent.

The humans still weren't happy with our kind being around, but it was their new normal, and they had accepted that it was better to work with us than to be against us.

As I jogged past them, a woman ushered her children into her waiting car. She knew I wasn't human from her tone and the look she sent me. It was one of the reasons why I hated coming to town, but I had done it enough that people knew of me. They knew I existed, lived nearby, and put up with me, even if they didn't like my kind.