A Wolf's Duty (15 page)

Sitting on a chair across
from Yvonne, Alex began to fidget, unsure of how much to tell her.
Exhaling wearily she decided that the truth would hopefully gain
her an ally. “Like I said, Tobias basically kidnapped me and forced
me to come here.”

“Yes dear, I heard that.
What I don’t understand is why he had to force you. If what my son
said is true then he saved you from a terrible fate.”

“He was telling the truth,
life with my father was very hard on me.”

“Then why did you resist
him when he said he would take you from there?” Yvonne sighed,
clearly unable to understand the motivation behind Alex’s actions.
A thought occurred to her and she gasped. “You know what we are! Is
that it? Is that why you were so reluctant to come back here, you
were afraid?”

“No, no that’s not it. I
mean yes, I know what you guys are, the whole wolf thing and all,
but I’m not afraid of Tobias. To be honest it’s not like I can say
anything about him being different without being a hypocrite. I’m a
witch after all. I’m not normal either. I know he’d never
intentionally hurt me, but he took away my ability to choose for
myself and just took it upon himself to decide that this was what
was right for me. He didn’t even give me a chance to go home –” Her
eyes began to water as she remembered the few mementos of her
mother she had been forced to leave behind.

“There was no way he was
going to let you to return to such a dangerous situation,” she
sighed frustrated at how things had turned out. “You weren’t born
one of us Alexandria so this must all be a little confusing for
you. You have to understand what exactly my son is and what you are
to him.”

“Your highness,” Alex
interrupted before being cut off by Yvonne.

“Please don’t call me that
Alexandria, we’re family now and there’s no formality between us in
this family.”

“I’m sorry your
highness, but I’m not a part of this family.”
No matter how much I’d like to be,
her mind whimpered, remembering the loving and caring welcome
Tobias had received upon returning.

“My son obviously didn’t
explain this to you very well, now did he? You’re his mate and that
means that we’re family.”

“Oh he explained that bit
alright and I’ll tell you what I told him. We aren’t married, I
don’t remember getting married so I’m not his wife.”

“Of course you’re not
Alexandria,”

“Thank God, at last
someone with some sense, I’m glad that you see things my way,” she
cried, relief flooding her at the prospect of an ally.

“You’re not his wife yet,
but pretty soon you will be, it’s inevitable.”

Groaning at Yvonne’s
claim, she allowed her head to fall into her hands. “Not you
too.”

“You’ve lived your entire
life among ordinary humans and so our ways may seem to be a little
strange but they exist for good reason. Now let me explain to you
the thing about mates and maybe you’ll understand why Tobias did
what he did. For each of us there is only one mate. Now while we
females are quite content without one, maybe not really and truly
happy, but we can survive without them, the males of our species
suffer from what in human terms might be seen as an affliction.
Once they reach maturity they are driven to find their mate, they
can find no true rest, happiness or joy until they have claimed
their mate. It might seem a little harsh but the instinct has
ensured the survival of our species for centuries.”

“So basically
Tobias didn’t want me, he was forced to come and get me?” she
questioned, the idea making her stomach roll.
I should have known better than to think he would have wanted
me for me.

“When you put it like
that, it makes a perfectly beautiful and natural thing seem very
ugly. He didn’t have to find you, there are males among us that are
content to live the half-life they have without their true mate and
they are fine. The instinct simply guides the males to the woman
that’s best for them, will make them happiest and give their lives
the most meaning.”

“The downside of the
instinct comes when the male has found his mate. That’s when
problems can arise. After spending decades searching for someone,
the males of our species become very protective of their mates,
irrationally so. I suppose it’s their inner wolf that does it,
they’re very possessive you see and when protecting what they see
as their most valuable possession anything becomes justifiable and
everything and anyone that threatens their mate is seen as the
enemy. We only get one mate to spend the span of our very long
lives with and if you lose your mate, then the life you will have
to lead is even worse than the half-life you had before finding a
mate. I’ve seen males who’ve lost their mates, they’re shadows of
their former selves, most don’t live long after the passing of a
mate and they take their own lives.”

“That’s horrible!” Alex
gasped, the image of Natasha’s body lying in her own blood refusing
to leave the forefront of her mind.

“If you saw them you
wouldn’t think so. But I hope you can see that our males aren’t
like the ones you have known, they protect what they think is
theirs. Let me tell you a story from when the King and I first met.
I knew I was his mate but I didn’t just give myself to him, I made
him work for me,” she chuckled to herself, amused by her memories.
“He was still a Prince at the time, you can’t ascend to the throne
without a mate under our laws, but he commanded authority while
still being loveable and approachable. You would never have thought
him capable of violence back then, which is why it was so shocking
to everyone when he went wild. There was another male and he
accidentally bumped me into a door handle, my skin is very fragile
for one of our kind and because I’m so pale it left a mark. Thomas
saw it, took one sniff of me and left. He hunted down the man who
had hurt me and tore him apart. I wasn’t there to see it but
apparently he nearly tore the man’s arm off his body. You would
never think it to look at him but he has possessive and protective
instincts as well. Since then everyone has given me a very wide
berth,” she giggled quietly to herself.

Alex’s jaw
dropped as the queen recounted her tale.
Tobias’ father is like that? From what I saw he seemed like
the easygoing type, not the tear limbs off type.

“And Tobias, bless him, is
worse,” Yvonne continued. “He was raised to be protective of his
mate when he found her and then he couldn’t find you for so long…
Usually our males find their mates a few decades after they reach
maturity, but Tobias had to wait over two centuries for you and for
all that time he had to live a half-life. Now that he’s found you
he’s going to do whatever he thinks is necessary to keep you safe.
There will be no other for him and he knows this and you’re human
as well.”

“What has my being human
got to do with anything? Is he not allowed to have a human for a
mate or something? Is it against your rules?”

“Of course not
Alexandria, a mate is a mate regardless of what they are.” Yvonne
laughed, pleased at the worried tone that had crept into Alex’s
voice when she thought that there might be something wrong with
their relationship in the eyes of his people.
Thinking like a mate already? My son has nothing to worry
about.

“Then what’s so important
about me being human?”

“Alexandria, you’re a
human amongst wolves and that makes you vulnerable. Most wouldn’t
touch you for fear of Tobias’ reprisal but most doesn’t mean all
and because of that Tobias is going to be extra protective of you
and more aggressive towards everyone else.”

“Isn’t there anything I
can do to get him to change his mind about this, to let me
go?”

“You want to leave him?”
Yvonne demanded, shocked at the mere suggestion.

“No, it’s not that I want
to leave him. Tobias has been wonderful to me and I really care for
him, I just thought that maybe he’d let me go back for a little
while.”

“I don’t think he’ll let
you leave just yet. You didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about
coming here and knowing my son he’ll think that you want to get
away from him not just get away in general. Now is a dangerous time
anyway, he hasn’t fully claimed you and our males become a little
more anxious when their unclaimed female isn’t nearby.”

“What exactly do you mean
by claiming? I’ve heard it several times now and I still don’t know
what it means.”

Yvonne sighed, standing
from her chaise and walking the short distance to stand in front of
Alex. “That’s something I think Tobias and you should discuss in
private. There are some things I think he would rather tell you
himself.”

“In case you missed it
Yvonne, your son and I aren’t on speaking terms at the moment. I’m
mad at him. I know you’ve explained his reasoning but that doesn’t
change the fact that he stole my option to choose things for
myself. He knows I like to make my own decisions when I can. He
forced me to leave behind something priceless and I can’t forgive
him just like that.”

“I’m sure in time you’ll
forgive him and when that time comes then you can have this
discussion, until then you won’t hear another word on the subject
from me.” Turning in her seat to face the door, she called out,
“Maria.” The door opened almost immediately and a tall woman with
long black hair entered the room. “Alexandria, this is Maria she’ll
be helping you get settled. Maria, this is Tobias’
mate.”

Maria gasped, apparently
shocked at the revelation before a wide grin spread over her
pleasant features. “Finally! I was beginning to think he’d never be
mated and to such a beautiful young thing as well.”

“Maria was Tobias’ nurse
when he was little, so she’s been waiting just as long for you as
the rest of us have. She’ll take very good care of you.” Yvonne
smiled, standing up from the chaise and heading towards the open
doors. “I’ve got to go, I need to have a little talk with that son
of mine Alexandria but don’t worry, like I said Maria will see to
all your needs.” Leaving the door open behind her, Yvonne left
leaving Alexandria and Maria alone.

Striding forward, Maria
placed a light grip in Alex’s hand, urging her to stand. “Come with
me your highness, I’ll show you to your room.”

Pulling her hand from
Maria’s grip, Alex took a hesitant step back. “I think you’ve made
a mistake. You shouldn’t call me your highness, I’m not royalty;
I’m just…well I’m nothing special.”

“Nonsense,” Maria
immediately scoffed. “You’re Tobias’ mate, that makes you a
Princess and soon a queen, of course you’re royalty.”

“Like I said, I think
someone has made a terrible mistake.”

“Tobias couldn’t be wrong
about this. If he says you’re his mate, then you’re his mate, it’s
that simple.”

“I don’t understand, there
are so many better choices than me, why would he pick me when he
could have anybody.” An image of Lucinda’s angelic face floated
though her mind and she slumped back into the chair.

Sighing at Alex’s
defeatist attitude, Maria sat in the chaise that Yvonne had
recently vacated. “He knows because his instinct guided him to
you.”

Alex frowned, clearly
confused. “Instinct?”

“You’re human and know
nothing of our ways so let me quickly explain. From what my mate
told me, it’s all about scent.”

“Scent? Do you mean
smell?”

Maria nodded. “A male’s
inner wolf only has to take one whiff of your scent for it to know
that you’re the one.”

“You’re kidding right?
Please tell me you’re kidding. Tobias chose me because of the way I
smell? So if I wore perfume he’d have picked someone else to be his
mate? I knew that he’d made a mistake,” she sighed, surprisingly
disheartened at the revelation.

“Your scent isn’t
something you can change by wearing perfume young one. You’re born
with it and there's nothing anyone can do to change it. You must
understand that we live by instinct, it guides us and Tobias’s
guided him to you. There have been no mistakes made. He’ll claim
you soon and then you’ll understand that you’re the one for
him.”

“Claim? What does that
mean?”

“It means that we will
finally have a new king, it’s a very important event for us wolves
and it’s especially important to Tobias, he’s been waiting longer
than any of us ever expected to claim you. Now come with me.” Her
tone now very brisk, she stood up once again and urged Alex to her
feet. “I’m going to show you your room and I’d like you to forget
this nonsensical idea that a mistake has happened. You’re his mate
and I think you should try to get used to the idea, Tobias will
never let you go now. And even if he tried to, thinking it might be
what’s best for you, neither the people nor the Council would allow
it. You’ll be claimed soon enough and everything will be the better
for it.”

Chapter
Fourteen

Standing in the large room
that Maria had led her to, Alex threw herself back on to the large
bed that lay in the middle of her new place of residence. Gazing
upwards at the lilac drapery that covered the roof of the bed, she
began to feel increasingly out of place having never stayed in such
luxury. The room was a stark contrast to the small bedroom she had
spent her entire life in. Thick, fluffy cream carpets covered the
entire floor, unlike the threadbare rug she was accustomed to. A
large wardrobe was filled with form fitting clothing, when they had
managed to find clothes her exact size and fill a wardrobe with
them she still didn’t know, but the brief contact she had had with
the materials told her that the clothes were a world away from the
feel of rough cloth that she was used to.