A Wolf's Pride

by Jennifer T. Alli

  Shrugging off the memories of the previous night, she shed the duvet and got out of bed. His rich smell instantly surrounded her and she turned, expecting to find him behind her. He wasn’t there and she realised that she was simply inhaling the scent his clothes radiated. Her own belongings had yet to arrive and Ryan hadn’t seen fit to provide her with female bed clothes telling her that he much preferred to see her sleeping dressed in his clothes. The smell of cooked food had her walking away from the bed and through the room until she reached a small table with what she presumed was her breakfast and a note that she guessed was from Ryan. She reached for the letter first, a smile growing on her face as she read its contents.

  Good morning love,

  I’m sorry I had to leave early, but apparently I’m needed elsewhere. I tried to get out of it but no joy. As you enjoyed my cooking so much last night, I made breakfast for you. I expect you to eat all of it. I’ll know if you haven’t. I’ve had words with the guards and they know the respect that you’re to be given and the consequences for even attempting to harm you. You’re free to explore the estate and its grounds or stay in our room and wait for me to come back, the choice is up to you. If you do choose to go exploring and some idiot tries anything funny, scream long and loud and I’ll be there before you know it. Either way, I’ll see you soon, there’s somewhere I want to take you.

  Ryan

  Her gaze wandered to the food he had prepared, eyeing it with suspicion. There wasn’t an extraordinary amount of food there and she sighed in relief. Ryan might consider her to be physically beautiful, perfect in his words, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t conscious of her weight especially when she seemed to be surrounded by women who could easily be models with their slender physiques and beautiful faces. Sitting down she began to eat, her mind vacilitating between staying within the safety of the chamber and exploring the limits of her freedom. Her independent streak eventually won and when she was finished eating and dressed in the limited selection of clothes available to her she left the room determined to explore.

  As soon as she left the room, she was bowled over by a man who was rushing along the halls. She winced as her bottom connected with the hard floor, drawing his attention.

  “Lady Chloe,” he gasped, stunned at what he had done. “I’m sorry, so sorry,” he repeated as he helped her to her feet.

  She winced slightly at his firm grip, rubbing at her wrist as soon as he released her. “It’s just Chloe thanks and it wasn’t your fault, it was an accident right?”

  “Yes, but Lord Ryan said…” He shuddered at the memory.

  Confused at the look of terror on his face, Chloe pressed, “What did Ryan say?”

  The man gulped. “He said that if any of us were to harm you he would rip out our intestines and use them to strangle us.”

  “Ouch,” Chloe winced. When Ryan said he would have words with them he meant it. The confirmation of his words and reaffirmation of his protection was comforting, violent and slightly disturbing, but still comforting. “Descriptive. Don’t worry, like I said it was an accident. I’m not going to tell him, I don’t even know your name to drop you in it so stop worrying.”

  “You don’t need to know my name, he knows my scent. He’s going to kill me, especially if he sees a bruise or some other sort of mark.”

  “I’ll talk to him then. Please don’t worry, I wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”

  He frowned. “You’re very kind Lady Chloe.”

  “You look like you expected me to be otherwise.”

  “I didn’t really know what to expect. Yes, you’re Lord Ryan’s mate but you were raised my hunters.”

  It was her turn to frown. “I don’t understand why everyone here has such a grudge against my family. You’ve never even met them.”

  “And I wouldn’t want to.” His body shuddered. “Thank you for being so understanding. I have to be going.”

  “Of course,” she smiled waving him off. “Go on, I’m just taking a walk about.” The man shot off and when he did Chloe saw that he wasn’t the only one that was in a hurry. The hall that had been almost empty yesterday was suddenly filled with people, all of whom were rushing about frantically.

  She was careful to stay close to the wall as she made her way along the corridor with no particular destination in mind. She tried to trace the path to the balcony where she had had dinner with Ryan the previous night. Helen and Alice had guided her the first time but she was sure that she could find it unaided. She was wrong. Twenty minutes later she was no closer to finding the destination, which had been a maximum of five minutes from her room. She cursed, “This place is too big. How does anyone find anything around here?”

  “With years of practice,” Ryan cooed in her ear.

  She jumped startled, her hand clutching her chest as her heart beat frantically within. “This sneaking up on people that you and your brother are into has got to stop. One of these days you’re going to kill me.”

  He laughed, but the cheerful sound ended quickly. His eyes narrowed, focusing on her wrist. “Chloe,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  She thought on the question for a moment before answering. “No.” He growled. “Oh, wait, breakfast was delicious?”

  His hand shot out so fast that it was a blur to her eyes. He grasped her wrist, his large hands surprisingly gentle as he pulled her towards him. His head lowered to the finger shaped bruise that had appeared on her skin and he inhaled, sifting through Chloe’s unique scent to find that of the person who had grabbed her. “Anthony,” he snarled.

  “What are you doing?” she questioned. “Who’s Anthony?”

  “A dead man,” he replied, his voice intense. He released her hand and began moving away from her.

  “Ryan wait! Where are you going?”

  “I told them not to hurt you. I warned them of the consequences. They didn’t listen. I’m going to punish them, Anthony in particular.”

  As he spoke the words of the man she had bumped into earlier returned to the front of her mind. “Hanging by their intestines?”

  He turned to face her. “Anthony told you did he? Well at least he was listening, shame he didn’t try all that hard to follow my instructions.”

  “Ryan, calm down. It was an accident. I fell down and he helped me up,” she told him, hoping that her version of events was enough to get the poor man out of the line of fire.

  “Don’t lie to me Chloe, don’t lie to me for him.”

  I forgot he can tell if I’m lying, she cursed before grabbing one of his arms with both of her hands, hoping to prevent him from leaving. “It really was an accident Ryan. I walked out of the room and wasn’t looking where I was going. We bumped into each other, I fell down and he helped me up. It wasn’t intentional, I swear.”

  “He should have been paying more attention.”

  “How? He was busy, he wasn’t expecting me to walk out of the room.”

  “He hurt you Chloe, look at your wrist. The bruising alone is going to earn him a beating.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “No.”

  “Ryan, you said it yourself once, you wolves are much stronger than I am. If he did hurt me I guess it was because he didn’t know he would.”

  “He should have…” Ryan’s voice trailed off, unable to think of anything else the man could have done.

  “He should have what?” Chloe demanded. “I’ve seen two humans in this entire place, me and Alex, that’s it. I guess he isn’t used to having to rein in his strength. If you really want to go and fight him, then fine, go. Just don’t expect me to welcome you back with open arms.” Releasing her grip on him, she turned away, folding her arms over her chest and waiting expectantly for him to leave. “Stupid, arrogant jerk,” she muttered softly under her breath.

  His arms came around her again, pulling her backwards into his embrace. “I’m not sorry for worrying about you Chloe, you can�
�t hold that against me.” She groaned in exasperation. “But I won’t hurt Anthony. I’ll talk to him when we get back, I’ll talk to them all when we return about being more careful in how they handle you.”

  “Thank you,” she paused, a thought occurring to her. “This may sound silly but I want you to answer me honestly.”

  “Whatever you want is yours love.”

  “Alex is Queen right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And she’s human?”

  “A special human but yes.”

  “Well seeing as she lives surrounded by these guys, wouldn’t they have had experience in reining in their strength?” A moment passed before Ryan burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?” Chloe snapped.

  “I’m not making fun of you love, don’t worry about that.”

  “Are you going to answer my question or not?”

  “Okay, okay,” he hiccupped, his laughter coming to an end. “Most people in the estate haven’t had the chance to temper their strength by touching Alex. If you think I’m bad, that your family is overprotective then Tobias would be your worst nightmare. She’s been through a lot in her life. Her mother committed suicide because her father beat her and when she was gone, the bastard began to hit her instead.” Chloe gasped shocked, she had never suspected that the friendly woman she had met was the victim of such violence. “When she got here things were on shaky ground for a while, a woman called Lucinda wanted Tobias and Alex ended up having to fight for him. Then she was abducted from here by Tobias’ cousin and seriously hurt again. After all of that Tobias became understandably concerned about her safety. He started imprisoning people for the smallest of things, Alex let them go immediately after, but word spreads quickly within the clans. Tobias’ protective streak became legend and now no male even wants to go near her for fear that something will go wrong and they’ll have to deal with their king’s wrath.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Of course I am love. The next time you see Alex, invite her for a walk and you’ll see. Men cling to walls when they see her pass to avoid accidentally touching her.”

  “It’s just the men?”

  “We do our best not to harm women, you never know whose mate she might end up being.”

  “You guys take this mating things very seriously don’t you?”

  “Of course. A wolf is nothing without his mate,” he answered honestly.

  He was looking at her again with those intense honey eyes and Chloe’s body warmed, trembling slightly, in response. Her body’s reactions to him were still unnerving and so she pulled away, deciding to change the subject. “In your letter, you said you wanted to take me somewhere.”

  “Yes, there are some people I want you to meet. They’ve very important to me and I think you should get to know each other.” He grasped her hand within his, entwining their fingers together as he pulled her towards another balcony. The grounds stretched out before them and from their higher position and Chloe wondered just how far wolf land spread. She squeaked as Ryan lifted her into his arms and walked over to the edge.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  “No,” she replied simply. “I haven’t known you long enough to trust you.”

  “You will soon enough. For now I’ll just have to go about earning it, we’ll start with the first leap of faith.”

  “Huh?” she grunted in response to his cryptic response.

  He smiled before hoping up onto the stone barrier. Chloe’s stomach lurched as she looked over the edge and she shook her head frantically. They weren’t all that far up but judging from Ryan’s tensing muscles he intended to do something that could very well endanger her life.

  “No Ryan, no.”

  “Yes Chloe, yes. The first leap is a test, one that I want us to pass together. Trust me. Trust your mate to make sure that no harm comes to you.”

  “No, no, no,” she repeated but it was to no avail. With a wide smile, Ryan leapt from the rail, Chloe shrieked in terror.

  Air rushed past them as the ground loomed ever closer, the edges of their vision blurred. The fall didn’t take long but rather than fall to their deaths or at least paralysis, as Chloe had predicted, Ryan’s legs took the impact of the fall. He didn’t even stop for breath, instantly moving into action, his legs pumping quickly as he ran.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Chloe screamed, struggling in his arms.

  “Nothing,” Ryan chuckled. “And from what I can see there’s nothing wrong with you either.”

  “We could have been seriously hurt.”

  “I told you to trust in me. I’m your mate, as long as I’m around no harm will come to you, I’d give everything in pursuit of that goal. Relax. This is the fun part. You like it when I run this fast remember?”

  He was right. As her heartbeat began to slow after the terror his fall had resulted in it settled into a new one. It was going much faster than it normally did, beating quickly with excitement. The wind blew past them, mussing her hair and making tears leak from the corner of her eyes. The ride was exhilarating. I could get used to this, she decided, whooping with excitement. Her laughter and excitement were contagious and Ryan joined in, his deep booming laugh filling the air as they ran.

  “Trust me?” he questioned again.

  She frowned knowing that her answer would inevitably lead to an unwelcome surprise. “The answer is the same as the last time you asked me Ryan, no.”

  A mischievous smile crept across his face and Chloe gulped, her body tensing in preparation. His grip on her body tightened for a moment as he shifted her in his arms. She loosened her tight hold around his neck to aid him and it was then she realised she had made a mistake. He threw her high into the air and she screamed, long and loud preparing to make contact with the ground. Again her prediction was wrong, he caught her easily in his arms, running on as though nothing had occurred. Thrashing wildly in his grip she tried to free herself but it was to no avail, his arms didn’t loosen in the slightest. The trip continued in this manner, Ryan running and occasionally throwing Chloe into the air, until she actually came to enjoy the way her heart stuttered when he threw her. Any concerns she may have had about falling soon dissolved, he hadn’t dropped her once and she was beginning to trust that he wouldn’t. I still don’t trust him, she reassured herself. I just trust the strength of his arms. Yes, the strength of his arms. Even to her own mind the words rang hollow.

  Chapter Twenty

  It was a bad idea to hold her like this. Such a bad idea, a very, very bad idea, Ryan’s mind chanted as he continued to approach their final destination. Chloe’s scent and the feel of her soft, luscious curves against him were wreaking havoc with his concentration and his body. He threw her into the air once again, using the few seconds that they were apart to try and calm himself. It wasn’t enough time and he growled angrily before speeding off to catch her before any harm came to her.

  His self-restraint had been pushed to unbearable limits since he had first met Chloe and he could do nothing about it. The only reason he hadn’t tried to do anything more than occasionally touch her was because he was well aware of the restrictions the instinct had placed on his body in regards to his very human mate. The instinct wouldn’t allow his body to claim her unless she had seen and accepted the wolf side of him. His wolf growled in protest but knew that nothing could be done to avoid the dictates of the instinct. The only thing that was reassuring him was the approaching full moon. While he didn’t have to wait until the moon was full to claim his mate, he was doing his best to give her time to get to know him before the moon gave control over to his more animalistic side who would use every trick available to it to ensure that she was claimed. She was beginning to like him, he could tell. She might not want to admit it, might not realise it herself, but he knew. Her scent gave her away every time and it was that alone that was helping his restraint.

  He slowed, coming to a halt in front of another large building designed very much in the way the royal estate wa
s. It was made from heavy grey stone, was several stories tall and spanned a good distance either side.

  “Where are we?” Chloe asked.

  “My home.”

  “I thought you lived back there. All your things were there.”

  “No. I’m a Lord of the Southern clan not the royal one. I spend about a quarter of the year at the royal estate but the rest of the year is spent here. I should be living here at the moment but Tobias wants those he really trusts to look out for Alex and his children, they’re very vulnerable right now. This is where we’ll be living.” He lowered her to the ground slowly, relishing the way her body slid down his and drawing in a deep breath to calm himself as his body began reacting as it always would to her presence and touch.

  As soon as her feet touched the ground, Chloe sprung away from him. Whenever her body was near his she couldn’t seem to control herself and she was in a strange new environment, she needed all her wits about her. “What are we doing here then if you live at the royal estate now?”

  He clasped her hand and led her inside. “I told you, there are some people I want you to meet. They’re very important to me.”

  As they walked down the halls, Chloe realised again how similar this place was to the estate they had just left. Just as had been the case when she was in the royal estate that morning, people were rushing around hectically, slowing to flash them a quick smile as they continued to run. With Ryan’s warm hand gripping her own tightly, his calming scent surrounding her and the distinct lack of scowls directed at her, she began to relax.

  Ryan stopped, leading her into a nursery that was painted an invitingly warm yellow with stuffed animals littering the room. In the far corner of the room, two cribs were pushed up against the wall and as Ryan walked forward, curiosity once again filled Chloe and she leaned forward to see what exactly Ryan was doing. He leaned forward over the crib, reaching down to lift a small child from its confines. As he lifted the baby to his chest, an expression of what could only be described as pride came over his features and Chloe’s heart sank. She had only ever seen such an expression when her father looked at her or her brothers and seeing it on Ryan’s face, it dawned on her who the child was.