A Wolf's Pride (14 page)

“
And you’re ok
with that? Giving birth to monsters?”

“
Don’t ever
call them that!” Alex growled, stunning Chloe with the intensity of
her demand. In those few seconds, she could easily see why the Alex
and Tobias went well together. While he wore the promise of danger
like a second skin, Alex hid her temper, beneath the skin a true
lioness was hiding. “They aren’t monsters. They’re wonderful people
who have never been anything but kind and caring towards me. If you
disrespect my family like that again, I’ll have no choice but to
slap you and Ryan too if he tries to stop me and knowing him, he
would.”

A moment of
silence passed before Chloe gathered the courage to speak once
again. “I apologise.”

“
It’s ok,” Alex
sighed. “Most people think of them that way. You weren’t to know
better. I’m not afraid of giving birth to monsters. They’re my
children and I love them already. What I’m afraid of is people
trying to hurt them because of ignorance. There are people out
there that are prepared to shoot to kill first and not even bother
with questions later. Almost there now, we’re on the path now. Can
you tell?”

“
Yes,” Chloe
replied the tone of her voice reflecting the distracted state of
her mind. Alex was human and yet she didn’t think of the wolves in
the way that Chloe did, was there more to them than met the
eye?

“
Just continue
up along the drive, we’re on wolf territory now. We should be home
any second now.”

“
Do you like
living with them?” she questioned, unable to grasp the idea that
anyone could enjoy living so far from civilisation. The path they
were on was surrounded by trees and as she stared into the
darkness, she got the feeling that the greenery went on for a long
distance. Having lived in a city her entire life, the change in her
surroundings was understandably shocking.

“
Tobias and the
wolves are the best thing that has ever happened to me. If it
weren’t for them I don’t know where I would be right now. It’s
possible that if we hadn’t met I could be dead right now. Of course
I love living with them.”

“
Right,” Chloe
drawled her eyes scanning the woods on either side of the car fully
expecting a wild animal to try and assault them as they moved
through its territory.

The dirt path
abruptly became smooth and Chloe forced her attention back to the
road in front of her. She felt her jaw drop as a large building
came into sight, easily dominating the horizon. The large stone
dwelling was at least three stories high and she wondered how she
had managed to not notice it before.

“
It’s beautiful
isn’t it?” Alex asked, as she looked at the shocked expression on
Chloe’s face. “A bit daunting I must admit. When I first saw it I
felt the same way.”

“
You live
here?” Chloe asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

“
Yes,” Alex
laughed. “Where did you think we lived, in the trees?”

Chloe averted
her gaze from Alex, mumbling, “The thought had crossed my
mind.”
I suppose if I have to endure this
abduction, there are worse places to do it.
She looked at the estate once again as they began to come to a
halt.
Yes, there are definitely worse
places to be kidnapped to.

Chapter
Twelve

The wind
rushed through his ears and ruffled his fur as Ryan ran. His heart
beat steadily as his paws pounded against the earth, his tight
muscles pushing him onwards and he relished each sensation. He
hadn’t enjoyed his time in human civilisation and was anxious to
return to the simplicity and peacefulness of life in the clans. The
only good thing to come out of his exposure to the hell of the
cities was Chloe. At the mention of his mate’s name, the wolf
stirred with interest.

We’re almost
home,
it commented casually.

What of
it?

Chloe should
be at the estate now.

He had chosen
to run behind the car Chloe was driving, with a few of the men that
Tobias had assigned to protect Alex, and guard her from behind.
They had had to stay well hidden while they were in human territory
but now they free to run however they wanted. Freedom was
definitely underrated. The run was exhilarating and knowing that
Chloe was waiting for him at the end of the journey only made it
that much sweeter.
What are you getting
at?

Nothing,
it growled
defensively.
I was just imagining what she
would look like against our sheets in our bed.

You have a
wonderfully one track mind,
Ryan
laughed

He could just
about make out the estate in the distance when a scream rang
through the air disrupting the quiet serenity of the woods and
turning his blood to ice.
Chloe!
His mind screamed. His heart was no longer calm
and steady, fear riding him hard as he sped towards the estate. As
he continued his approach, Chloe’s scream whistled through the air
once more. He breathed a sigh of relief once he could see her again
and immediately begun the transformation from wolf to man stopping
only once he was at her side.

“
Chloe love,
what’s wrong?” his voice was calm but inside he was anything but.
His mate’s panicked state of agitation was starting to affect him
now that they were in such close proximity to each
other.

“
Get it off
me!” she shrieked, her hands waving frantically as she jumped
wildly into the air.

The scene
would have been amusing if not for the smell of genuine fear that
was rolling from her skin. “Chloe, stay still for a minute and
explain what’s wrong.”

His words
penetrated the veil of her fear as she stilled though her body was
visibly trembling. “Get it off of me,” she pleaded, pointing at her
shoulder.

He stepped
forward, his gaze intense as he sought to find what had scared her.
His brows furrowed in confusion. He couldn’t see anything that
warranted her intense reaction.

“
Hurry Ryan.
Get it off of me.” She pointed again, her finger
quivering.

“
The
spider?”

“
Yes! What
else? Please hurry.”

He still
couldn’t understand her reaction to the insect but the pleading
tone of her voice assured him that it was the spider she was afraid
of. The insect moved, edging its way to her neck and she shrieked
again. His hands reached forward, cupping the spider within his
palms before he released it into the wild.

“
I knew it. I
knew that this place would be the equivalent of insect heaven,” she
sobbed, her body still trembling.

Pulling her
against him, Ryan held her tightly within the safety of his
embrace. His hands ran gently up and down her back as he made
soothing noises meant to reassure and calm her. “It’s ok Chloe, the
spider’s gone now. It can’t hurt you. I’ll never let anything hurt
you.”

Her tears
didn’t cease despite his reassurance. “But there will be more. You
live in insectopia and you want me to stay here? It’s impossible. I
can’t do this.”

“
Of course you
can love. I’ll take care of any bugs in the future so don’t worry.
Please stop crying, your tears are killing me. I can’t stand the
thought of you suffering.”

Her sobs
quieted but the occasional hiccup escaped her lips as she continued
dry heaving against his chest.
I’ve made a
complete fool of myself. I don’t know these people but I’ve let
them see me break down over a spider? I really hate insects!
The words were forceful, her mind reliving the
feel of the spider’s legs against her flesh. She had never been
fond of bugs and her dislike had over the years mutated into
terror, it was one of the reasons she had refused to go camping
with her family. The thought of being outside and exposed to a
multitude of bugs gave her nightmares. She had very firm beliefs on
the subject of insects. They had their domain and she had hers, as
long as they stuck to the rules they would have no problems. Ryan
had dragged her across the country and into her worst
nightmare.
What am I talking about?
She scolded.
These people
are accomplices to a crime. My abduction! Why should I care about
what they have to say?

As the
tremors that had racked his mate’s body subsided, Ryan breathed a
sigh of relief, his body relaxing in tandem with hers. The
emergency now over, he became increasingly conscious of the feel of
her against him. His hands were filled with her generous curves,
her lush breasts were pressed against his chest and her warm
breaths feathered over the exposed, heated skin of his neck. The
wolf was rising within him, fully prepared to take advantage of her
vulnerable state. Its demands were insidious as it pushed images of
him and Chloe locked in heated embraces to the front of his mind.
For a moment Ryan was tempted, considering acting on the wolf’s
suggestion. He had always done so in the past and doing so had
served him well over the course of his long life.

The moment
was broken by Tobias, his voice distracting Ryan from the images
his wolf was sending him. “Ryan, we need to talk. You have a good
sense of judgement despite more often than not listening to your
wolf’s impulsive requests. Doing something like this, even to claim
you mate, isn’t like you. What’s going on?”

“
Tobias,” he
sighed. “It’s late. I want Chloe to get some rest, the journey has
been hard on her and I’m sure you’d much rather make sure that Alex
and your babies are alright than talk to me about why I did what I
did.”

Tobias turned
from Ryan to watch his mate. She was leaning against a tree, her
eyes closed as vines wrapped themselves around her legs with a few
odd appendages laying themselves across her stomach. While the
abnormal behaviour of the plant life may have frightened others,
over the months Tobias had begun to be comforted by it. After years
of being a prisoner in her father’s home he couldn’t bring himself
to deny her any freedom. It was good to know that he wasn’t alone
in his quest to keep her happy, healthy and safe. Ryan was right.
He had doctors, nurses and midwives on constant standby and he
wanted someone to tell him everything was well. The plants might
have comforted him but they couldn’t tell him what was going on,
couldn’t tell him whether Alex and his children were in danger or
not.

“
We’ll talk
about this in the morning.” Tobias conceded, moving away from Ryan
towards Alex.

Shifting the
position of his arms, Ryan easily lifted Chloe into his arms. Her
eyes were closed and judging by her steady and even breaths she was
falling asleep. Her face was streaked with tears and the sight of
them had his heart twisting painfully in his chest.
I’ve never seen her smile.
He realised and the ache in his chest increased.
I’m going to make her smile,
he declared, turning his gaze skyward to look at the waxing
moon.
Before the full moon
arrives.

The journey
to his rooms took far longer than it normally did. His steps had
been slow and cautious, determined not to wake Chloe now that she
was resting peacefully. Her rest in the car had been uncomfortable,
the brief sleep she had taken when he carried her to the city,
fitful. She deserved a true respite from the series of
uncontrollable events that her life had become since she had met
him. Life with him wouldn’t always be like this but it would take
time for her to accept the truth in that statement, the least he
could do for his mate was ensure she was well rested.

His well
meant attempt to prevent Chloe from waking went to waste the
instant she was out of his arms, lying against the cool sheets. Her
eyes opened and for a moment he was stunned, caught within her
intense violet gaze. She kept her eyes trained on him as she pulled
herself into a sitting position retreating from him until her back
was against the headboard of his bed.

“
Where am I?”
she demanded, scanning her opulent surroundings.

Sitting on the
bed, Ryan resisted the temptation to simply pull her against
him.
She’ll be close soon enough.
His mind reassured him. “You’re in our bedroom
Chloe. I’ll show you how to get here from other places on the
estate tomorrow. Right now I think you’ve earned a
rest.”

Her eyes
narrowed in suspicion. “So you’re not going to trap me in here?
You’re going to let me go wherever I want?”

“
Within
reason.” Her arms folded across her chest defiantly. “If I let you
go wherever you wanted you would try to leave.”

Of course I
would!
she shouted rebelliously in her mind
but chose to remain silent.

“
I can’t let
you go but I want you to be happy here. As you probably noticed the
estate is very large, you’re free to explore within its walls. If
you want to go outside of them then ask for me and I’ll take you.
If you try to leave without me the guards will stop you from going
anywhere without me or one of them.”

“
Guards? Are
you serious? You hired guards to watch me? You really are crazy
Ryan. Don’t you think that’s going a bit overboard?”