“Chloe, love, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong?”
“What have you done?” she shrieked. “Why have you brought me here? There are limits to cruelty, Ryan, and you are going above and beyond. I can’t stay here, not with them. They’ll crawl all over me. Ryan, please, please don’t do this.”
“I don’t understand, Chloe.”
“The insects, Ryan. The insects. They’re everywhere!” she screamed.
Ryan sprang into action as soon as he understood what the problem was, remembering his mate’s almost unreasonable fear of insects. His eyes scanned the cave and he quickly located and removed the source of her fear. “It’s ok now love, they’re gone.”
“Why are you doing this?” she sobbed. “I thought you cared about me.”
“I do care about you, Chloe, more than anything.”
“Then just let me go home. Let me leave.”
“You know I can’t let you do that,” he growled, moving to sit beside her. “I can’t let you go. I need you.”
His voice was so earnest that Chloe had to look at him. His eyes were the eerie shade of amber that she was coming to associate with his possessive outbursts and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was only when his eyes were their soft brown that they had the power to hypnotise her and convince her of almost anything. Knowing Ryan, he would try to persuade her that she had no reason to be angry and she needed to hold onto her rage, it had been well earned. “You don’t need me, Ryan and I most definitely don’t need someone like you.”
“You’re angry about something, what is it? Tell me so I can make it better.”
Chloe sighed, “If you don’t know what you’ve done wrong then I’m not going to tell you. You should know. An apology means nothing if you aren’t even truly aware of why you’re giving it. It means you’re only saying it because I want you to, not because you really mean it. Besides, there isn’t anything you can do to make what you did better.”
“Forever is a very long time to stay angry love and that’s what we’re going to have together.”
“Maybe you don’t know much about the fairer and clearly more clever sex. A woman like me,” she instructed, “under the right circumstances can keep a grudge for a very, very long time, we have elephant like memories when it comes to things like this. Trust me, what you’ve done definitely qualifies as the right circumstances.”
“Chloe,” he groaned only to be interrupted before he could begin his plea.
“Just answer me this Ryan, are you going to let me leave this place?”
“No.”
“So you expect us to stay here for the night?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything I can do or say to make you change your mind?”
“The moon is full Chloe, even if I wanted to let you go, it’s too late now. We’re going to go through with the claiming.”
“Right, well I’m exhausted and I want to sleep.” Ryan inched closer, draping an arm around her shoulder but she quickly shoved him away. “I want to sleep alone. You’ve done nothing but upset me all day and you’ve brought me into insect territory, the least you could do is let me have this one thing. Go over there and leave me alone.”
“The claiming Chloe,” he groaned.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” she screamed. “I don’t care about your fucking claiming.” The last of her energy reserves depleted, she crumpled, falling to lie on the bed of furs. “Please, Ryan,” she began, her voice small. “Just go away.”
It was the desperation in her last request that made Ryan move. His mate was hurting deeply and he had a feeling that maybe it was somehow, in some small part, his fault. Standing, he walked to the cave’s entrance and sat down watching with relief as a small smile appeared on Chloe’s face before she succumbed to sleep. He waited until her breath had evened out, telling him that she was sleeping deeply, before moving back to her side. Lying down beside her, he pulled her smaller body against his, breathing deeply and taking her intoxicating smell into his lungs. He didn’t sleep as time ticked away and dawn edged ever closer. Instead he spent the entire night simply watching over Chloe, occasionally running the tips of his fingers over her soft cheeks and placing gentle kisses to the back of her neck. He was careful to keep the contact to a minimum, as her body seemed to stir at the slightest meeting of bare skin. While it was a good sign for his plans for the claiming, Chloe needed her rest at the moment.
When the sun eventually began to rise, the instinct began to gnaw at Ryan, demanding that he change, that his mate know and understand what he truly was. He placed a final soft kiss to her brow and reluctantly pulled away from the haven of soft curves her body presented. The change washed over him and as he looked at Chloe’s sleeping body once again, he contemplated resisting it for the first time in his life. As a wolf he would have no arms to hold her in and calm her fears, he would have no voice to tell her that all was well, no lips to kiss her with…
Ryan, his wolf assured. It will only be for a few hours. The days are shorter now, the sun will set soon enough and then we will be able to claim her, to take that glorious body and make it ours. We’re already over half way there, if we don’t do this now we’ll only have to do it from the beginning another time. We do this now.
Now, Ryan murmured.
Yes now!
His eyes closed and his body transformed, contorting from his human to his lupine form. His senses were even sharper as a wolf and as he breathed, Chloe’s strawberry smell was even stronger, the aromatic fragrance permeating every inch of their surroundings. He drooled and once again cursed his lack of human ligaments before settling down to wait for her to wake up. It’s very peaceful, watching her, he decided. I would suggest that more people do it, but then I’d have to rip out their eyes for looking at her. No, seeing her vulnerable like this is a pleasure that’s reserved for my eyes alone. Time continued to pass and the sun was well established in the sky by the time Chloe finally began to rouse.
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him with sleep heavy eyes before suddenly jolting into awareness. Her unusual violet eyes locked with his and she stared intensely at him for a few minutes before gathering the courage to speak. “Ryan?” she called uncertainly. He barked in response, trotting to her side and running his tail up the length of her arm. Her body trembled in response and a scowl instantly appeared on her face. “Of course it’s you. Can we go home now?” He barked again and her scowl deepened. “I don’t speak wolf, so change back now.”
He cocked his head at her, confused by her request. Didn’t she know that to change back into his human form would be to ruin the claiming? Whoever explained the claiming to her did a poor job of it. They told her the importance of the chase but didn’t properly explain what would happen after that. Why would anyone do that?
“Ryan, stop being an idiot. Change back now.”
“I can’t,” he barked but of course she didn’t understand a word he had spoken, the yips and barks unintelligible to her ears.
“For a minute I thought I’d just dreamed that you were an insufferable ass, now I see that I’m still living the nightmare. You’re not helping your case. I’m already pissed beyond belief at you and your refusal to speak to me isn’t helping matters. Now either you stop with the games and change back into your human form so I can have the satisfaction of seeing the expressions on your face change as I insult you or I leave.”
His heart skipped a beat. If she left, the instinct wouldn’t let the claiming go ahead, she had to accept him in this form, she had to spend the day with him as a wolf. He couldn’t stop her from leaving; the instinct wouldn’t allow it. He couldn’t force her to want him, to stay. She either accepted him or she didn’t. It was, unfortunately, that simple. For her to walk away would be interpreted by the instinct as a rejection of his true form and the instinct was law. Whatever it wanted, it got. The consequences for trying to go against it weren’t pleasant. “Chloe,” he barked pleadingly.
S
he rolled her eyes and stood. “I’ve had enough of this. I’m going to find the jeep and I’m going home.” She walked out of the cave’s entrance and Ryan’s heart fell.
His mate had rejected him. The claiming had failed. An angry scowl slipped past his lips and he transformed, striding after his mate. He lifted her into his arms, catching her by surprise and running back towards the estate. “I’ve told you before Chloe, I’m never going to let you go,” he rumbled into her ear. She instantly began to struggle, her small fists flailing wildly as they tried to connect with any part of him. Her struggles were only serving to inflame his thwarted desires and he groaned, a strange mixture of dissatisfaction and pleasure. He threw her high into the air before racing to catch her. Chloe’s struggles ceased the instant she was back in his arms as though afraid he would throw her and not try to catch her if she put up a fight.
His mate now still, his body’s reactions at a manageable level, Ryan allowed his mind to wander to the more important issue of the failed claiming. A feral smile crept across his lips as the wind whipped past them. He wasn’t in line for the throne, he wasn’t under the same restrictions Tobias had been. He didn’t need to wait for the full moon to claim Chloe. The full moon could be helpful, it brought a man’s desires in line with his wolf’s, but Ryan didn’t need outside help to do that. There will be plenty of other chances to claim her.
Tonight, his wolf growled angrily. We will try again tonight.
Yes, Ryan agreed. I’ll explain things to her properly and then we’ll try again tonight.
Chapter Twenty Four
When they returned, the estate was abuzz with activity and Ryan instantly frowned, something wasn’t right. Usually after the excesses of the first night’s full moon feast people slept in to prepare for the next night’s upcoming event. Instead the halls were filled with people cheering and celebrating as though they were still preparing for the feast.
“Lord Ryan,” Helen called excitedly. Her normally straight, tidy brown hair was a mess, strands flying in all directions. Her gown was barely in place, but that was to be expected, she was mated after all and it was the morning following a full moon. Her normally, secretive green eyes however were abuzz with emotion and despite the years they had spent together Ryan found it impossible to decipher her. Helen was normally so controlled, the strange display of emotions was disconcerting and automatically made Ryan nervous. “You must come with me, you must come now.”
“Why?” he asked, much in the way he had done as a child when he had asked a question he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted the answer for. The estate was in disarray, and he had only seen it in such a condition once before, when Alex had been taken by Elijah. Granted at the time people weren’t celebrating but the effects of the full moon may have numbed their sense of concern, overcome with desire for their own mates, it was hard to worry about other things. The chaos in the halls may very well have been their attempts to deal with a problem that had arisen in his absence while fighting against their own nature. “What’s going on?”
“It’s the Queen Lord Ryan,” she stated, her voice a strange mix of excitement and concern that only caused Ryan to worry more.
“Alex?” he gulped apprehensively, his worst fears seemingly confirmed. If something had happened to her his cousin would be devastated.
“Yes, yes. Please come with me.”
He asked no more questions, following the woman silently. Even Chloe had chosen not to resume her struggles in light of the potential situation. They were lead to the door to Alex and Tobias’ suite and the woman knocked lightly.
“Who’s it?” Tobias’ booming voice inquired.
“Tobias, it’s me, Ryan.”
“Come in,” he called happily and Ryan’s frown deepened. Just what exactly is going on?
Taking note of his precious burden, Helen opened the door for him before vanishing down the hall. Walking in, Ryan held Chloe tighter to his chest, nervous energy filling him. He didn’t like being left in the dark and it showed.
“Ryan,” Tobias beamed, rushing from the bedroom with a small bundle in his arms. “Ryan, I’m a father! Alex, my wonderful mate, she gave birth last night. Come, come, you must see my son and my daughters.”
Suddenly it all made sense, the hustle and bustle so soon after the full moon feast, Helen’s uncharacteristic eagerness to bring him to Tobias, the royal heir had just been born. He slid Chloe down his body slowly, immediately taking a hold of her hand to ensure she stayed close before he walked over to his cousin and the newest addition to his family. Familiar green eyes stared at him intently beneath a thick mop of jet black hair. “He’s beautiful,” Ryan said honestly.
“His name is Travis,” Tobias stated proudly.
Shock appeared on Ryan’s face. “As in your brother?”
“Yes, Alex chose the name herself. She said that he’ll definitely live longer than his uncle, that he’d make it to maturity.”
“He’s my son, of course I’m not going to let anything happen to him,” Alex smiled from the bedroom door.
Looking at the small woman, Chloe’s mouth immediately began to speak, her brain unable to censor the words quick enough. “Are you sure you should be out of bed? You’ve just given birth to triplets if what you told me is true.”
“Don’t worry, my plants were with me throughout. If I didn’t have them I think things would be different but they’re amazing healers and I feel almost as good as normal. Better even.” A small smile crept across Chloe’s face. Alex was right, she didn’t look as though she were a woman who had just recently given birth. She looked fit and able and ready to take on the world if she had to. “I think with another round of healing I’ll be all good to go but come, I want you to meet my daughters,” she beckoned.
Turning to Ryan, Chloe looked pointedly at his hand before glaring at him and he reluctantly released her. She strode towards Alex glad to be free of Ryan’s hindering grasp. Her body still reacted to him as though he had done nothing wrong. It wanted him with a passion that still confused her. Being near him was troubling enough, her legs trembling as she breathed in his rich smell but touching him raised the problem into an entirely different league. Nothing seemed to work, her mind melted to nothing and her body was eager for more contact with his. Maintaining her anger was almost impossible when he touched her. Well I’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t touch me, she stated resolutely. I need to remember just what kind of person he is. He’s a sadistic ass who finds enjoyment out of causing others pain and I just happen to be his latest toy. I can’t let him get to me. I can’t let him make me believe he cares because it’ll hurt so much more when he proves me wrong a second time. The more distance there is between him and me, the better.
She reached Alex’s side and walked into the bedroom, glad that Ryan had stayed behind in the outer room to talk to Tobias. Tobias alone was bad enough, he made her genuinely afraid for her safety and now that Ryan had revealed his true colours, there were no more guarantees for her safety in this dangerous place. It was with this thought in mind that she smiled widely as Alex reached into a crib and showed her a small baby. Alex was the only other human in this place; it would be in her best interest to make friends with her.
“This is Lily,” Alex beamed, showing her a small baby with grey eyes and brown hair.
“You must be so proud,” Erica smiled, startling Chloe who hadn’t heard her approach. “I remember when Dylan and Wyatt were newborns, our parents were so happy…” Realising where that line of thinking might lead, she stopped abruptly and turned her attention to the woman she had unwillingly associated with the hunters.
She still had nightmares about that horrific time in her life. Nights where she would wake up screaming after hearing Vincent's eerily calm voice telling her the next line of torture he intended to use against her. It was only because of the comfort of Sebastian's arms that the nightmares were receding. Life was good and it was time to overcome her fear. As Erica well knew, you couldn’t cho
ose your parents; you couldn’t hold someone else responsible for their actions and you most certainly didn’t get a choice in who was your mate. Chloe had drawn the short straw having Ryan as a mate but he was family. Her mate’s only brother. The one who had stood by him through the years and ensured he survived long enough with his personality in tact to get to her. Ryan does so much for others, he deserves to be happy, even if he can be an idiot.
“So,” Erica began. “I heard about what Ryan did with your things.”
“The fuc –” She halted abruptly, her eyes wandering to Lily. “He burned my things. He gave them to me and then took them from me to burn them. He’s cruel and I want to leave.”
“Firstly, he’s not going to let you go and secondly are you telling me that he didn’t explain why he did what he did?”
“Nope, not a word. He came in smelling of smoke and asked me if I was hungry,” she hissed in response.
“And then he tried to claim you?” Erica asked for clarification.
“What is it with you wolves and this claiming thing?” Erica's face was unmoved. Chloe sighed deeply, “Yes, although I still have no idea what that means. Have you finished with the interrogation?”
“Yes.” Erica's gaze instantly went to the doorway where Ryan stood with Sebastian and Tobias. She smiled fondly when looking at her mate before frowning deeply at Ryan. You really don’t help yourself do you Ryan? And by not helping yourself you just make things harder for the people that try to help you, in this case me. Am I sure that I really want to do this? Her eyes wandered back to Sebastian. I guess I don’t really have a choice. I want my Sebastian to be happy and he’ll be happy when his idiot brother is happy. Maybe I should try what Elaine said, a sharp slap to the back of the head. It might work, you never know and at this point I’m going to need all the help I can get.
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