A Wolf's Duty

by Jennifer T. Alli

  “Who is it?” she drawled, her voice sluggish as the fatigue of caring for four young children set in.

  “It’s me Ilyanna, Alex.”

  “Oh, your highness, come in,” she gushed, turning the door handle to grant her entry.

  Smiling at the flustered look on the older woman’s face, Alex walked into the room, noting the haphazard rearrangement of the furniture before her eyes landed on the small brown and grey wolf cubs. “I don’t want you to call me that Ilyanna, my name is Alex. I’m not comfortable with people calling me your highness. I still don’t feel that I’m right for the part.”

  “But your highness-” Alex turned to glare at her and Ilyanna’s flustered features relaxed as she calmed in Alex’s presence. “What is it Alex?”

  “Nothing much.” She sat on the floor in front of the dark green sofa that Ilyanna usually sat on. Her hands reached out to hold one of the small cubs, caressing it behind its ears. Receiving a friendly lick to the cheek as a reward, she placed the cub back on the floor allowing it to continue to play with its siblings.

  I would have thought she would be a little put off by the cubs, Ilyanna thought, as she moved to sit on the sofa. But she has spent much time among us now, I suppose our wolf forms are natural to her now.

  Turning her attention back to Ilyanna, Alex smiled though its warmth failed to reach her eyes alerting the older woman that something was bothering her friend. “I just thought that maybe we could spend some time together, I mean it must get pretty hard looking after all these children by yourself.”

  Examining the earnest look on Alex’s face, Ilyanna found it didn’t match up to the scent the young woman was giving off. Feeling bolder and braver in the Princess’ company that she ever would have been with any other member of the royal family, she placed Alice against the cushions of the sofa before sliding down to sit down on the floor beside Alex, fixing her with an intent stare. “You’re lying.”

  “Ilyanna,” she sighed.

  “You should never lie to one of us, we can tell.” Alex’s shoulders slumped forward as her deception was revealed. “Now what’s really bothering you?”

  “I’m lonely,” she mumbled under her breath, slightly ashamed of the admission.

  “Lonely?” Ilyanna questioned, slightly confused by the statement, her expression reflecting her bafflement. “I know that the estate is large Alex, but you of all people shouldn’t be lonely. You have Prince Tobias and anyone with eyes can see that he absolutely dotes on you.”

  “Tobias is busy.”

  “Busy?”

  “Yes. That Council of his have stolen him from me. They’re all demanding that he gets ready for his coronation. I don’t know much about the wolf monarchy, but seriously, how much stuff does he need to know for someone to put a crown on his head and call him King? He’s usually gone from sunup to sundown and I barely see him.”

  It had been three days since the claiming and though Tobias had tried to spend as much time as he was able with her, since the first day, members of the Council had swarmed them wherever they had gone and woke them at the crack of dawn to prepare Tobias for his upcoming coronation. The constant hounding had finally worn him down and he had agreed to their tutoring, reassuring her that while they would be forced to spend less time together at that moment in time, it would be over soon enough. Soon enough can’t seem to come fast enough, her mind grumbled.

  “Have you tried going to some of the meetings that Tobias has with the Council? If you just want to spend time with him then that could work,” Ilyanna suggested, sympathetic towards her plight.

  “I tried that the day after the claiming.” She blushed, reminded that everyone on the estate knew exactly what her and Tobias had done that night.

  Her hand instinctively rose to the mark at her neck, her fingers lightly caressing the letter engraved into her skin. She hadn’t expected to be marked but the thought of a permanent reminder of Tobias wasn’t unpleasant and it reminded her that she wasn’t alone despite his recent absence. “I went but they kept saying things that I didn’t understand and I felt so stupid. I asked them to explain what was going on and Tobias was fine with that, he’s used to my questions, but there was this one man…” she spat, remembering the condescending tone in which the man had addressed her. “I think his name was Adam, and I swear he was so bloody rude that I honestly thought that I was going to slap him. I’m not doing that again because I genuinely think that I’ll try to do him some damage, if I hear one more ‘we don’t have time for your questions…’”

  “The people have been waiting a long time for him to ascend to the throne Alex, it’s reasonable for the Council to want to get this over with. You shouldn’t hold this against his highness.”

  “I don’t!” she rushed. “Tobias is wonderful even though he’s not with me most of the time. He leaves me breakfast in bed with little notes every morning and he’s had some guards assigned to help me with my garden. I still miss him though and like I said I’m lonely. I don’t want to be a burden on him, I know that he’ll make a great King. He’s got all the traits I’d associate with a good King and I know he has to do this, but it doesn’t change the fact that I miss him.”

  “What about Ryan and Sebastian? I’ve heard that you’re close to them, I’m sure they would be willing to spend time with you.”

  “Sebastian disappeared and Ryan went after him, they’ve left the estate now and they didn’t say when they were coming back.”

  “What about her majesty, Queen Yvonne?”

  One of the cubs climbed onto her legs, settling down for a nap and she stroked its soft fur absentmindedly. “She’s a really nice person but I’m just not as comfortable around her as I’m with you. She’s Tobias’ mother and that makes me nervous. I keep thinking that one day she’ll wake up one day and realise that I’m just not right for him so I just can’t relax around her. Besides, I get the feeling that she’s secretly trying to groom me for the position of Queen. It’s nothing overt, she just tries to advise me on how to act in little ways. If she were doing it to someone else, I’d just think that she was giving them general advice but I know better. She probably thinks it’s better that way, but it just makes me more nervous around her. I don’t like people watching every little thing I do. It’s more likely to make me have an accident or do something stupid when I know that someone else is watching.”

  “The King?”

  “Helping Tobias prepare for kingship,” she replied automatically. “You know Ilyanna, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that you were trying to avoid spending time with me.”

  “It’s nothing like that,” she chuckled. “Its just hard looking after the little one’s when they’re like this. They’re so full of energy and it can get hard to keep up with them. I don’t want to wear you out.”

  “These little angels?” she laughed, picking up the sleeping wolf cub that had taken up residence on her legs. “Don’t be silly, it can’t be that hard.”

  “That’s what they want you to think,” Ilyanna laughed.

  Eying the cub within her hands, a question occurred to Alex, one she hadn’t really thought of before. “Ilyanna, were the triplets born wolves?”

  “Yes of course they were, it’s part of their heritage.”

  “So you gave birth to puppies? Does that mean if Tobias and I have children they’ll be wolves too?”

  Ilyanna laughed at the question. “You seem so at ease here Alex that sometimes it’s hard to remember that you’re human.”

  “I suppose I should take that as a compliment,” Alex grinned.

  “It was meant as one. If you and his highness have children then yes, they will be wolves, there’s no escaping from that. Our genetics are stronger than a human’s. However you won’t be giving birth to puppies as you put it. All our children are born in their human form, they can’t change at all until a few months after their birth.”

  “That’s a relief.” Alex sighed, gently stroking the soft fur of the wolf she
held. “Now that that’s sorted, let’s have some fun together.”

  Hours later, Alex had come to regret her belief that the children she had called angels would live up to the name and be easy to care for. The three cubs had run her ragged, spending hours climbing over her, trying to escape the suite and get into places they shouldn’t. They had then opted to change back into human form, their energy unflagging dragging her to and fro demanding that she play whatever game they had invented in their minds. I don’t know how Ilyanna does it, she groaned before a small smile appeared on her lips as she walked down the surprisingly empty hallway. But it was great fun spending time with them, makes me wish I had brothers or sisters. An image of Tobias floated through her mind. Maybe I’ll be able to have a big family of my own one day. She giggled, wrapping her arms around herself as she closed her eyes and spun around in giddy circles.

  Her wild circles stopped abruptly as she crashed into a wide body, a small prick in her arm had her eyes opening instantly. Her green eyes widened as she took in the face of the owner of the large frame she had landed against, noting the dirty blonde hair and small blue eyes. “Sean?” she gasped.

  “How have you been Alex? I hear things have been looking up for you.”

  “What are you doing here?” she hissed, stepping back from his body determined to place a larger distance between them.

  “I told you before witch,” she gasped at the name, his voice and proximity triggering memories she would rather forget. “I want power and I’ll be taking it from you.”

  “It was you. You tried to kill me when I was in England.”

  “Yes Alex, and I think you’ll find that I’m owed.”

  “You’re not going to get anything from me,” she snarled, readying herself to immerse herself in the whispers that resided at the back of her mind.

  “Before we do anything drastic Alex, I have a question for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Where’s your father? Have you seen him? He came into this place a while ago and I haven’t heard anything from him.”

  “He’s dead. I ordered him to be killed, you’ve walked into the wrong place this time Sean. If Tobias finds you then he’s going to hurt you badly for what you tried to do to me.” Her head began to feel dizzy and she shook it trying to clear her thoughts.

  “Oh Tobias, I’ve heard all about him. The werewolf Prince, your mate.”

  “Who told you that?” she slurred, her vision becoming increasingly fuzzy. Stepping back away from Sean, she leaned against a wall, clutching it for support as her legs began to fell increasingly unsteady.

  “I’ve made friends Alex, just like you’ve done.”

  “My head feels strange,” she murmured, sliding down the wall as her legs gave out beneath her.

  “I know it does Alex, I gave you something to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.” He took the now empty syringe out of his pocket, waving it in front of her face. “Can you hear them?”

  “Hear who?”

  “The voices Alex, the whispers in the back of your mind.” She struggled to reach for the corner of her mind that the whispers had been relegated to and panic rushed through her increasingly unresponsive body when she couldn’t hear the voices she had become accustomed to hearing. “No? That’s good then. We wouldn’t want you trying to attack me.”

  “Are you going to try and kill me again?”

  “Here? No. The wolves would find me and kill me wouldn’t they? I know a little bit about these people you’ve shacked up with, I’m not stupid. The question is do they know about you, no, the better question is do you know about you?”

  “Don’t be stupid, of course I know about me,” she whispered, her voice becoming increasingly faint.

  “I doubt that Alex, but we’ve got time. The substance I gave you doesn’t only mean that you can’t use your powers, I added a little extra something to render you unconscious and make sure you couldn’t attract unwanted attention but that’s going to take a little while to take full effect.”

  “And you think that you can just sit here and not get caught?” she chuckled.

  “Of course I do. I told you Alex, I made friends as well. Well, while we wait for it to kick in fully why don’t we have a chat about what you and me are? Like I said Alex, you’re a witch and I’m the male equivalent, a warlock. Do the wolves know that?” Her voice now useless she glared at him, hoping that the simple look could convey her intense hatred of the man sat beside her. “It doesn’t really matter if they know or not because I’m not interested in them anyway. Do you know why I want your power so much Alex? I guess not. I didn’t properly explain myself last time. You see Alex my father was a warlock much like myself before I killed him.” Her eyes widened at the admission but he continued. “Yes, I killed my father but I’ll get to that later.”

  “Where was I?” he mused. “Oh yes I remember now. My father told me when I was young that I was special because I was born with the ability to sense where others of our kind are. Now it may not sound like much and that’s what I thought at the time as well but it’s how I found you and it’s how I found all the others as well. You see there aren’t many of us left now Alex. A long time ago there were a lot more of us and we were easier to find as well but apparently we turned against each other, started killing each other to gain more power. From then on witches and warlocks went into hiding, imprinting the ability to shield themselves from other magic users into their genetics. Well, that’s what my father told me anyway. But that gave me an idea, I didn’t think my power by itself was special but if I could find others and take theirs and make them my own… then wouldn’t that be something? My father was the first test and it worked. From then on I began to seek out people like you and me, taking their powers and making them my own but there was a downside. The powers weren’t really mine and they knew it, so the more I used them the more they faded away. Right now Alex I’m running on low and I need a little top up and that’s where you come in.”

  Her head lolled against her chest as she fought to remain conscious. “As soon as you’ve done my friend a favour, I’ll be taking your power and then I’ll be back at full strength at least for a while. You know it’s a shame you didn’t have any kids, unlike your mother, then at least I’d know where to go for my next top up. You know I tried to get Natasha’s powers too, managed to get half her neck open but she died from the wounds she’d given herself and so her powers died with her, but then there was you. So I waited patiently for you to come into your own. It took a while but we’re here now aren’t we Alex?” His voice began to fade as the edges of her vision became black as she lost the battle against unconsciousness. “Don’t worry it won’t hurt too much.” As her eyes closed and her mind surrendered to the darkness she became dimly aware of the feel of Sean’s arm around her body lifting her from the ground. Tobias, her mind whispered in its final moments of consciousness before it went blank.

  Chapter Forty

  Tobias. The whispered sound of his name slid through his mind and Tobias found himself smiling despite the boring topic of conversation that his advisors were attempting to brush him up on. I love it when she calls my name before she goes to sleep. But from the looks of it, I won’t be joining her any time soon, he sighed, forcing his mind to focus on the issue at hand.

  Seated around the large table that dominated the Council chambers, he turned to look at his father, amazed that he had once managed to endure this.

  “Your highness, we’ve managed to cover an unexpected amount in such a short time.” Charles smiled, immeasurably pleased with his Prince’s ability to absorb the knowledge given to him.

  That’s because you’ve drilled this into me for the last hundred years, I don’t understand how your mates deal with you. I probably would have tried to kill you by now if I’d had to put up with you for centuries. He chuckled to himself.

  “But there is still a significant amount of information that we need to cover,” Adam inserted.

&nbs
p; That man sure knows how to put a dampener on a person’s parade. I just want to get out of here and back to Xandria. An image of her lying naked against the sheets of their bed floated through his mind and he had to suppress a groan. I wanted to give her a few days rest to heal up after the claiming and now that I’m finally sure she’s up to accepting me again, these idiots seem to be going out of their way to prevent that from happening. I’ve barely seen her since we got back. How much longer is this going to take?

  “Just what exactly do we have left to do Adam? There are other places I would rather be,” Tobias grumbled, eager to leave the Council chambers and return to his own.

  “Well we’ve gone over the current structure of the clans as well as what we think needs to be done to ensure they are protected. We’ve also looked over –”

  “I don’t want to hear about what we’ve gone over Adam, I know what we’ve done, I was here, remember?” Tobias interrupted becoming increasingly agitated with the leader of his Council of advisors. “I just want to know what we have left to do. Do you think you could tell me that?”

  “Yes, your highness.” He nodded.

  “Well go on then.”

  “There are a few small things that we need to discuss but the main thing left is the state of our finances and a review of our investments.”

  He couldn’t prevent the groan that escaped his lips at Adam’s statement, genuinely distressed. Their people had learnt a long time ago that the best way to avoid detection and ensure the protection of the clans was to be wealthy. The instinct had guided them accordingly, resulting in a wealth of sound investments that would take a long time to go through and be informed of the state of each as well as the amounts allocated to each clan and the reasoning behind the decision.

  “How long will that take?”

  “I’m not sure your highness, a few hours maybe but it’s late. We should probably say that we’re finished for the night.”