A Wolf's Pride

by Jennifer T. Alli

  “She has me,” he roared, standing from the chair.

  “You. Her kidnapper, the man who’s keeping her from her family and by doing so putting her life in danger and that’s before we even factor in the destruction of her treasured memories. When you mess up, you mess up badly. You don’t explain yourself and just expect her to follow your lead blindly, even when her senses are telling her that you’re lying.”

  “I don’t need you to talk to me any more about what I’ve already done wrong. I came here for advice, so help me.”

  “If you want my advice, I would say do what you need to do. Beg, grovel, spend obscene amounts of money. Do whatever you have to for her to forgive you and maybe by the next full moon she won’t want to rip your balls from your body. It might be hard work but I think the timeline is possible. Hard, given the magnitude of your mistake, but possible. Just how much are you willing to do to earn her forgiveness?”

  “Anything,” he stated fervently.

  “Then you know what to do,” she explained calmly.

  “Yes I do,” he answered honestly, walking to the door and turning the handle. “Thanks for everything.”

  “Oh and Ryan, one more word of advice. If at any point during the time you’re trying to apologise, your wolf makes a suggestion, ignore it. It will be hard for someone like you but listening to your wolf won’t help you win back Chloe’s affection.”

  “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to fix this. Chloe is everything to me, I can ignore my wolf for her.” At the very least I can damn well try.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  “I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous,” Ryan gulped as he walked down the halls to his rooms. The halls were emptier now, the full moon had passed and the celebrations to commemorate the birth of the royal triplets ended. As Ryan walked, he could hear nothing but the sound of his feet hitting the floor and the wild pounding of his heart.

  After his talk with Erica, he had briefly returned to Tobias’ rooms entrusting Chloe’s safety to Sebastian before leaving the estate. His wolf had howled, roared and screamed for him to return to her and after a lifetime of simply following its advice the pain had almost been unbearable. Nothing he had said would calm it, his words only serving to inflame its anger as the distance between he and Chloe had increased. The wolf was furious that he had left their mate surrounded by other males when she was unclaimed. Ryan had explained that he trusted Sebastian with his life and even the life of their mate but the wolf was still unsatisfied. Though it had pained Ryan to do so, he valiantly ignored the wolf’s pleas from that point on.

  He had spent the entire night alone in the cave where he had taken Chloe for the claiming, deciding that it would be better for her to have time alone. A new day meant a fresh start; clean from the massive mistakes he had made the previous day. Despite the time he had given himself to prepare he was anxious. His palms were damp with sweat, his mind was frantic and his heart was racing within his chest. I wasn’t this nervous when Sebastian and I told mother that the greenhouse had burned down. Compared to how I’m feeling now, I was calm when I fought my first war. What’s wrong with me? The answer came instantly. This is Chloe, my mate, my future, my life. If I mess this up then I won’t have anything left. “So I had better get it right,” he stated decisively, turning the door handle. The door refused to open and Ryan smiled. He had asked Sebastian to take care of Chloe and it was clear that he had. No one but his family had keys to enter his rooms and none of them would think to harm her.

  He shifted the objects in his arms, reached for the key, unlocked the door and walked into the room. Moving silently into the bedroom where Chloe’s scent was strongest, he felt his heart twist at the sight of her laying against the sheets. She’s like an angel, he decided, creeping closer to her. Her bright blonde hair fanned out against the pillow like a halo, her skin was aglow with life and beneath closed eyelids; he knew ethereal violet eyes lay hidden. My own personal angel, he breathed. And I might have lost her. The thought staggered him, his chest constricted and for a few moments it was impossible to breath. No! Erica said I hadn’t done anything irreversible, I just need to apologise and then she’ll forgive me.

  With that thought spurring him on, he sat down on the bed, placing his gifts beside him. He ran his fingers down the side of her face, caressing the soft skin. This was the most peaceful he had seen her in days, safe and warm in their bed, protected from the outside world while she was vulnerable. He was reluctant to wake her but her proximity was beginning to affect his wolf and he was once again trying to press his demands.

  Kiss her Ryan, it encouraged. Her lips are so soft, so beautiful. She reacts so passionately, how can you not want to kiss her? Distancing ourselves from her is madness. Kiss her.

  His eyes were drawn to the curving bow of her lips and he couldn’t help but gently run his thumb over her bottom lip. She quivered and he forced his mind away from his wolf’s desires. No! Erica told me not to listen to you. I want our mate; I want her to love us. Your advice will only push her further away. If you want to help, just be quiet.

  He pulled his hand away from her face, resting it on her shoulder and shaking her lightly. Her slumber had apparently not been too deep as she quickly woke, her eyes opening almost immediately. She smiled sleepily at him and his heart sped up. Her hands rose to his neck and he froze in shock, the warmth from her bare arms flowing through him, leaving his body thrumming with heat.

  “Where have you been?” she purred. “I missed you.” She pulled against him, her slender arms surprisingly strong though he suspected her ability to bring their bodies closer may have had more to do with the lack of trying on his part to stop her. “I had this horrible dream,” she began. The warmth of her breath feathered over his face and his body shuddered in response, the urge to settle into her warmth compelling. “I dreamt that you’d burned my things,” she giggled, her body swaying gently. “Silly I know. You’d never do anything like that would you Ryan? You’re special, different. I think you actually care about me. You’re nothing like Gary.”

  “Who’s Gary?” he growled angrily, the sound of an unknown male’s name on his mate’s lips stirring him to anger.

  “He’s an ass. He broke my heart you know?”

  Ryan’s eyes narrowed, amber filling the brown orbs. “He hurt you?”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she sighed her breath wafting into his sensitive nose. Her proximity had distracted him, dulled his senses and as he breathed in Ryan realised why his angry mate was suddenly so talkative. Her breath was sweet, her lips wine reddened and he looked around the room, finally taking in the messy state that it was in. Her clothes were scattered around the room, objects lying haphazardly on the floor as if she had bumped into them whilst stumbling to bed. “Kiss me Ryan,” she demanded trying desperately to pull him closer.

  He resisted her attempt, fully aware that something wasn’t right. “Chloe, are you drunk?”

  “I might have had a teeny, tiny bit to drink,” she chuckled. “It was a party, everyone drinks at a party. I was upset about something, I can’t remember what though.”

  Me, his mind inserted, filling in the blank.

  Ryan, the wolf purred. She asked you to kiss her, there’s nothing wrong with doing it now. Go on, you know you want to. I can feel how much denying her is paining you. I’m in your mind remember?

  How many times do I have to tell you that I’m ignoring your advice before you listen? She’s drunk. Sebastian allowed my mate to become drunk. She could have been taken advantage of.

  With you in charge that clearly isn’t going to happen, the wolf scoffed, disapproval radiating from his tone.

  “Chloe, I hate to tell you this, I really hate to tell you this,” he groaned. “But that dream you had wasn’t a dream. I really did burn your things.” Her face screwed up in concentration, her mind processing the words slower than it would have done had she been sober. “But I’ve come to apologise.”


  “It wasn’t a dream?” she asked confused.

  “No.”

  “I, I, I have to go,” she blurted out, springing out of bed and rushing to the bathroom.

  Ryan stood, leaving his gifts on the bed and walking to the bathroom door. He frowned when he found it was closed. “Chloe, I’m sorry. Please talk to me. Don’t hide from me.” He paused listening for her response. She said nothing but the sound of retching floated to his ears and his heart began to race. “Chloe open the door,” he bellowed. “Open the door Chloe!” The sound of vomiting continued and his patience snapped. Amber flooded his eyes and he threw his full weight against the wooden door, creating a man shaped hole in the material. Entering the bathroom, his chaotic heartbeat sped up.

  Chloe lay hunched over the toilet, retching loudly as she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach. He rushed to her side confused. What’s wrong with her? Why is she sick? Did someone do something to her? “Chloe, angel, speak to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Leave me alone,” she protested feebly, sitting upright.

  “No, tell me what’s wrong.” He lifted her into his arms, moving to sit on the edge of the bathtub and gently washing her face with a nearby flannel.

  “You burned my things.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. But please just tell me what’s wrong with you. Do you need a doctor? I’ll go and get one,” he rambled, his voice panicked.

  “I’m fine. Just a little hung over. I don’t think I’ve ever drunk so much in my life. There was this competition to see who could drink the most. Eugh, if I never see another bottle of beer it will be too soon. Why am I telling you this?”

  “You’re sure that you’re going to be fine?”

  “Yes, you act as though you’ve never seen a drunk person before.”

  I haven’t. Wolves don’t get drunk and the few humans I’ve known over the years either didn’t drink or knew how to hold their liquor.

  “Just leave me alone for a few minutes. Let me make myself look somewhat human again and when I’ve strength again, we can begin our argument all over again.”

  “You look beautiful,” he stated honestly and to him she did.

  “I look terrible. I know what I look like in the mornings and if that isn’t bad enough, I know what I look like after a night of drinking.”

  “I’d never lie to you Chloe. When I tell you that you look beautiful, I mean it.” Moving slowly so not to jostle her, he placed her carefully on her feet and walked out of the bathroom.

  A few minutes passed before Chloe stumbled out of the bathroom, her eyes widening in shock at the broken door. Ryan shrugged. “I needed to get to you,” he explained simply. “Chloe, I’m sorry about your things. I didn’t realise that you would be so upset. Here.” He thrust his hands towards her, offering her the gifts he had brought for her.

  “Flowers, chocolates and jewellery aren’t going to make things better Ryan. What you did is far too big for that.”

  He threw the gifts aside and closed the distance between them, grasping her hands tightly to ensure she couldn’t escape. “I’m sorry Chloe, I was doing what I had to do to protect you. I know this is going to be hard for you to accept but it’s the truth. Everything I do, I do for you.”

  “I doubt that,” she scoffed.

  “It’s true angel. I know you couldn’t smell it but there was wolf blood all over your things. The smell was driving me crazy, inspiring my wolf to violence and if it was doing that to me I don’t even want to imagine what it was doing to everyone else. You have to know that I never meant to hurt you. I was only thinking of your safety. If those things had stayed you would have been risking your life. People would keep trying to attack you.”

  “And here I thought you said you would protect me.”

  “I would damn it! But to protect you in that situation would have cost me my life.” She gasped, shocked at the revelation. “Don’t get me wrong, if you ask for my life, it’s yours so long as I know you will be safe after I’m gone and there was no way that would have happened if I’d died then. I would have had to take on more people than I could even imagine, entire clans would be hunting us. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, no length I wouldn’t go to to ensure your happiness but I’m only one wolf, there are limits to what I can do. If those things had stayed I couldn’t even count on the support of my family.”

  “They would have fought you?” she murmured shocked.

  “Maybe not all of them but I think Sebastian would have eventually tried to hurt me. He might not have tried to kill me but he would have done his damndest to take me out of action long enough for him to dispose of the things himself and if you had tried to stop him…he might have hurt you and then I would have to do him serious damage.”

  “You would have fought against your twin?”

  “For you? Of course. It would have hurt me to do it. I’ve spent my entire life looking out for him, to turn around and hurt him would be a hard thing to do but he would understand.” She turned her face away from him, mulling over his words. “What do you want me to do Chloe, beg? If that’s what it takes to earn your forgiveness then I will.” He dropped her hands and fell to his knees. “Chloe, please. I’m sorry. I want my mate back, I want you back. I can’t stand the distance between us. You mean the world to me. I swear I’ll never do anything like this again. Forgive me.”

  “Get up! Begging won’t change anything. My things are gone, burnt to a crisp, an apology isn’t going to bring them back.”

  He stood, locking eyes with her. “I know that but it’s all I have. I’m an idiot. Everyone that cares about me tells me that on a near daily basis. I don’t think things through. I’m rash and arrogant. Why would you want me for a mate?”

  She pursed her lips, preventing the words that would contradict him escape. He may have been rash and arrogant but he was also kind, caring, funny, tender, exciting, considerate, the list went on and on. She had seen evidence of his good traits during their brief period of truce but he didn’t need to know that. He had brought this upon himself. His words of apology and explanation had given her an insight into his thought process and to a small extent she could even understand why he had done what he had done but her statement was equally valid. An apology wasn’t going to bring back her treasured possessions.

  “Despite all of that,” he continued. “I’m your mate. Everything about you is perfect to me, I’m drawn to you like a moth to a flame, I want nothing more than for us to be happy.”

  “Ryan,” she groaned.

  “I know,” he interrupted, an idea forming in his mind. “An apology isn’t going to bring them back.” But maybe I can. “Here,” he reached into his back pocket presenting her with a small envelope. “I’m not heartless. I can sometimes think ahead. I did what I could with them. They should be free of the scent now. Much as it might pain me, you can display them in our rooms but if someone else comes in, hide them.” Pressing the envelope into her palm, Ryan placed a chaste kiss to her cheek, unable to resist her allure before leaving the room.

  Chloe watched confused as he retreated, her free hand rising to her face. She could still feel the warmth of his lips against her skin, the heat of his breath, his rich intoxicating smell. She shook herself; freeing her mind of him before opening the envelope he had given her. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of her family pictures. I thought he burnt everything, her mind murmured while she ran a finger almost reverently over the first picture. Ryan’s last words floated back to her mind and she smiled. For an arrogant ass, you’re actually pretty sweet. He’s still the arrogant ass that burnt my things, her mind reminded her. “Yes. He might have saved a few pictures but he destroyed my things without a word of consultation and there’s nothing he can do to change that. I warned him that he would ruin the chance I’d given him if he did but he refused to listen.” Her heart ached at the words. “I really, really wish he had listened.” I wanted to give him that chance. I wanted it so much.

  Ch
apter Twenty Seven

  Her head was still pounding, moving made it throb, nausea was an almost constant companion and it was only now that she was regaining feeling in the extremities of her body. Hours after the drunken celebration, Chloe was still fighting the effects of her anger induced binge drinking session. The massive headache reminded her why she didn’t drink often, the hangover wasn’t worth the hassle. However, the night before when anger was pumping through her veins, the blissful numbing sensation that alcohol offered had seemed like a good idea. How was she to know that it was almost impossible for werewolves to get drunk? The drinking game had also seemed like a good idea at the time, her liver wasn’t going to thank her for the abuse. Her headache was made worse by the fact she was actually trying to think. Normally when she had a hangover, thinking was the first thing crossed off her to do list. Confining herself to bed for the morning after in blissful silence was her normal routine. However, normal seemed to have gone out of the window since she had come to live with the wolves.

  Ryan’s heartfelt apology had managed to affect her, despite all her internal chastising to the contrary. She had made the mistake of looking into those warm chocolate brown eyes and had fallen long and hard. His words had wormed their way into her heart, pleading for her to forgive him anything and everything. It was difficult to believe that her possessions were putting her life in such danger but the look of fear in his eyes had been genuine. He hadn’t looked afraid for himself but for her and despite his forcing her to this place he himself had done nothing to harm her, going out of his way to protect her from others.

  It doesn’t change the fact that he destroyed my things. I can never get them back now. Her mind uttered rebelliously. “I don’t know what to think.”

  A knock at the door provided a welcome reprieve from her thoughts even while the loud sound aggravated her headache.

  “Who is it?” she called nervously, while moving quickly around the room and gathering the pictures of her family that Ryan had given her. If what he had told her was true, then even having these pictures nearby was asking for someone to assault her. Her mind flashed back to the man who had cornered her alone in the hall when she had first arrived. His body towered over hers, forcing her back into a wall while his mouth spoke threats that she somehow knew he was prepared to act on. If Ryan hadn’t shown up… Her body shuddered in fear.