A Wolf's Duty
Authors: Jennifer T. Alli
Tags: #romance, #paranormal romance, #werewolf, #werewolf romance
A Wolf’s
Duty
Jennifer T.
Alli
Copyright 2010
by Jennifer T. Alli
Smashwords
Edition
Table of
Contents
Meetings were
truly the bane of his existence Tobias decided as he was forced to
sit through yet another painfully boring session with his council
of advisors. They weren’t discussing anything he had not heard
before at some point in time. They had, after all, been going
through the same motions for the last two hundred years.
Being royalty isn’t all it’s thought to
be,
he mentally scoffed allowing his mind
to wander. These meetings rarely needed his active input, so long
as he nodded and made the correct noises of agreement occasionally,
the twelve other figures that surrounded the table believed he was
paying attention. It was a skill he had learnt early on.
He supposed that wealth
was one of the benefits of his position. Even though they were
sitting in a private setting that no one else would see, they were
still surrounded by riches and luxury. The table that they were
currently seated around could have been made simply from wood but
that was not the case. The rich mahogany table was instead inlaid
with ornate patterns wrought in gold. Ancient tapestries and
paintings adorned the stone walls and the room itself was large
enough to comfortably seat at least fifty people instead of the
mere thirteen that currently filled it.
He allowed his mind to
wander until he heard a statement that brought him to attention,
immediately demanding he was alert.
“Your highness, it’s time
you found a mate,” the Council's chairman, Adam, intoned. As was
typical of their people Adam’s appearance was frozen at the prime
of his life and though there were at least three hundred years
separating them, he looked no older than thirty-five years old. His
short cut blonde hair didn’t contain any greys and there were no
lines around his blue eyes.
Tobias groaned, inwardly
bracing himself for what was to come. All eleven other members of
the council seated around the table nodded eagerly.
“You’re aware of the law
of succession, your majesty. You can’t claim the throne without a
mate and the definite chance of a legitimate heir.”
Shaking his head in
astonishment, he quickly grinned at Adam, baring his elongated
canines. Scanning the familiar faces, he found that they were all
frowning at him, even those he usually considered allies. “I’m
aware of the law.”
“You can’t expect your
father to rule forever. He has sat on the throne for five hundred
years, he deserves to retire and you’re his last surviving son. You
must take over,” Adam continued.
“Again, I’m aware of those
facts, but you act as though I’m avoiding taking a mate when you
should all be well aware that nothing could be further from the
truth. I’ve searched our clans vigorously and haven’t come across
my mate, so my father will simply have to hold onto his crown. It
isn’t as though he does not find enjoyment in being supreme ruler
of our people. Kingship isn’t that much of a hardship. I’ve waited
more than two hundred years, which is almost unheard of, therefore
it only makes sense that she will arrive soon enough. As my mother
is constantly telling me gentlemen, patience is a virtue. I’m
surprised that this council of advisors is so lacking in something
that’s so important.”
“My prince, the clans grow
restless; they want you on the throne,” another
inserted.
“Well they can want all
they like,” he snapped. “My father is a good King, they’ll have to
be content with that. There’s nothing more I can do, I can’t magic
a mate out of nowhere.”
“My Prince perhaps you
should consider taking one of the high born ladies as your
Princess.” At the suggestion, silence filled the room and all eyes
turned nervously to the Prince awaiting his reaction.
“Are you insane!?” he
roared, throwing his chair back as he stood.
“How dare you even suggest
such an act? This meeting is over!” His stormy grey eyes flashed
amber and his voice became rougher as his fragile control on his
anger began to slip. “If you want your hearts to remain beating
within your chests then I suggest you never mention such a thing
again. I’ll only take my true mate as my princess and if the people
don’t like my decision then they can either deal with it or find
themselves a new Prince. It’s that simple. I won’t choose them over
her as they should well know. None of our mated males would choose
me or any member of the royal family over their mates and I won’t
do so either. I’ll wait!”
Striding from
the table he flung open the double doors shattering their intricate
glass panes in his anger. Walking down the long stone path that led
to his parents’ suite, he felt his anger multiply as he dwelled on
what he just heard.
Take a false mate! The
very idea makes my stomach churn. I should have killed them all for
even allowing one of their number to make such a
suggestion.
“Mother! Father!” he
yelled upon entering their opulent and richly designed suite. In
his anger, the deep red that covered their walls only served to
increase his bloodlust and make him regret not spilling the blood
of the advisory council.
“What is it, dearest one?”
his mother asked, deeply concerned as to the reason for his obvious
anger. Standing from her golden chaise and rising to her full
height, she quickly cleared the distance between them. Laying a
pale hand on his tanned forearm, she pulled him into the suite’s
living room attempting to gain a degree of privacy. Although over
six hundred years old, the queen’s features remained frozen in time
so she no longer appeared to age past thirty years. Her long red
hair fell in waves down her back and piercing grey eyes roamed over
her son’s features.
“Those imbeciles, that
have the gall to refer to themselves as my advisors, made a
suggestion to me.”
“Obviously you didn’t
agree with it.” The loud voice of the King joined their discussion
as he reclaimed his mate’s hand and drew her back to the chaise,
his large frame seemingly overwhelming her more slender one.
Smiling widely at his last surviving son, regardless of Tobias'
obvious anger, he ran a hand through the dark curls he had passed
on to Tobias and prepared himself from the imminent
tirade.
“They suggested I take a
mate so I could ascend to the throne,” he spat out between tightly
gritted teeth.
The King’s blue eyes
twinkled in mischief as he discovered the source of his son’s
anger. “And they’re right! I want to retire while I’m still young
enough to enjoy my grandchildren.”
“Be quiet and listen,”
Tobias growled. “You’ll never be too old to enjoy them; you’re a
werewolf for crying out loud, we’re practically immortal. It’s not
the taking of a mate that has angered me; it’s who they want me to
take”
The queen frowned in
confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“They don’t want me to
wait for my true mate, they think I should just take one of our
noble ladies. I’m even fairly confident that one or two would take
me, regardless of their real future mates.” He internally winced as
one in particular came to mind. What a mistake that was. He
mentally sighed as a vision of a woman with long blond hair,
vibrant blue eyes and an angelic face floated through his
mind.
The King’s eyes narrowed
and his muscles tensed in shock. “Did you kill them?” The quietness
of his voice made both the queen and Tobias realise that the King
too was now angry. His temper demonstrated in the opposite way of
his son with his normally warm demeanour becoming cold and as
frosty as ice.
“No.”
“I’ll do it for you then.”
He stood raising his gaze slightly to directly meet the eyes of his
son. “A suggestion like that is tantamount to treason in my eyes,
and I won’t suffer such fools to live. You must wait for your mate
no matter how long the wait is; she’s the only one for you. Don’t
stray from your belief that you will find her. I’ll remain on the
throne until you do, even if that means I’m King for another five
hundred years.”
“Thank you father; I’m
sure she’s out there, I just have to find her.”
*****
“Alexandria! Alexandria!”
The frantic voice of her mother swiftly ejected her from the
peaceful utopia her book had immersed her in and thrust her swiftly
back to the harsh realities of her life. Looking around her
surroundings briefly, she took in the familiar smallness of her
almost closet like room her eyes landing briefly on her few
possessions. The second-hand bed creaked beneath her as she
shifted, glancing at her battered desk and even more battered
wardrobe, before coming to land on her prized possession; a small
shelf containing the few books her mum had managed to buy her,
often at great cost to herself. As she smiled her thoughts turned
to her loving mother before the woman in question burst through her
door.
“Alexandria hide!” she
whispered, her tone urgent. Momentarily frozen by the wild look on
her mother’s face she failed to respond, prompting her mum to grab
her by the arm and pull her from the warm bed.
Dragging her across the
small room, she opened the wardrobe door before thrusting
Alexandria within its confines. At sixteen Alexandria had only just
reached the 5ft mark and so Natasha bent down to pass on her
warning, gently brushing one of her daughter’s wild curls from her
face. Staring into bright green eyes the exact same shape and
colour as her own, Natasha again cursed her weakness. Cupping her
cheek Natasha's pale skin contrasted against her daughter’s caramel
skin, but she didn’t see the differences between them, fear
narrowing her attention until all she saw were problems and
solutions.