The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 77

Seventy-Seven: Killian

Killian’s P.O.V.

My skin was itching, and my body was tense as I waited for the vehicle to make its way through the trees. There wasn't much room in the off-road cage, but we didn't need much... just enough to get the bodies to take them back to their families.

Two had survived the patrol of six. They had been found chained up, hanging from a tree, as their blood slowly drained into the rune in the dirt. They had several bite marks on them that seemed old, but the injury to drain them hadn't healed yet, so we knew someone had just been here.

It was horrific to find them this way, and after what happened with Heath and Nolan, I was going to take no chances with our two survivors. They would be restrained with medical help until we could be sure they hadn't been cursed too. I didn't want to risk losing more of my men and women than I had to, and I especially didn't want Natalie to have to witness it again.

But it was good news that we had found them here this way. With this and the thick magic in the air, we now had a more narrow section of mountains to search. The enemy seemed impatient and hungry, meaning they would make more mistakes.

Now that we had a location, we could take action instead of sitting around, waiting for them to attack.

It also meant that I could go home to my mate.

I had my men searching the forest as we waited for the car and the bodies to be picked up. I was pleased to get back several reports of tracks the enemy had failed to hide, and the rotten scent of vampires wafted through the air occasionally.

They were here. They were close. But they were hiding.

Until I could get even more men out here, I wouldn't be risking more lives to hunt on their land. They knew it better than we did, and I was positive they had traps in place.

So, we played it discrete, taking notes of everything around us and discussing it through our pack link, but putting on the show for anyone watching that we were disappointed that we didn't find anything.

We would go back, regroup and then go from there.

I was going to rain hell down on them.

***

The trip back was solemn. We ran for hours, getting home just as the sun was starting to set. The power from the castle made me groan, and I knew nothing good was going on inside.

The only good thing would be seeing Natalie. I had shut myself off from her, something I didn't want to do but knew I needed to. If I felt her, I would be distracted, wondering what she was doing when I felt her get frustrated or angry. I would be jealous when she was happy, wishing I was there to make her laugh.

But there could be no distractions allowed when in war.

I also didn't want her to feel anything from me. That side of me was something that I never wanted her to see or experience. She deserved better than the cold and cruel man I became on the battlefield. 1

The guards stood tall as I walked past them, but I could see the tension in how they held themselves as if they were ready to run, flinching when there was a loud clatter from down the hall.

My jaw clenched as I walked past several maids scrubbing a singed part of the wall, trying to remove the burn marks.

I pushed the dining room doors open to see five of the seven council members bickering, but not a single one was sitting and eating their meal. Two of the witches had their steak knives floating in the air by their heads, ready to launch at the other as they faced off.

My entrance was just in time to see Cora pressing her palms to the dining table with a malevolent smirk.

The voices were loud as the women yelled over each other, and my eyes widened when Cora's voice became louder than the rest. "How is your mother, Willa?"