A Wolf's Duty (17 page)

Stroking her hair lightly,
he tried to wake her. “Xandria, it’s ok, you’re safe now, wake up.”
She lay unresponsive in his arms, her cries escalating and causing
her entire body to tremble. Her fear blossomed within him as she
wrapped her bare arms around his neck, unconsciously seeking him
for comfort. “Xandria wake up!” His spoken attempts to wake her
apparently a failure, he gently shook her, which served only to
multiply her terror.

That just made
it worse!
his inner wolf snapped, clearly
becoming agitated due to Alex’s fear.

I know but
I’ve got to wake her up somehow, I’ve got to let her know that it’s
me and not him.
The wolf retreated,
allowing Tobias to focus on the task at hand. Lightly cupping her
face in his hands, he inhaled deeply revelling in her scent before
trying to extend his mind beyond the confines of himself. Reaching
for her thoughts, he wrapped her within the warmth and strength of
his.

Tobias?
Her terrified voice was a mere whisper that he had
to strain to hear.

Yes it’s me
Xandria; you have to wake up now.

I’m scared
Tobias, I’m so scared.

You don’t have
to be scared anymore dearest, I’m here now. I’m looking out for you
and your father isn’t here to hurt you anymore. Wake up for me. You
can do it.

Her voice failed to
respond, but he felt her beginning to stir against him. Staring at
her face, he watched as her eyelashes fluttered open, the simple
movement appearing to place undue strain on her. “That’s it
dearest, open those eyes for me,” he coaxed, urging her on into
further wakefulness.

“Tobias?” she croaked, her
voice small after the prolonged yelling.

He nodded and her tears
multiplied, tightening her grip around his neck she pulled him
closer and continued to cry, allowing the natural warmth of his
body to warm her. Holding her close he gently rubbed her back, glad
that she was relying on him to provide comfort, despite the
moisture that was coating his bare flesh. The cries eventually
subsided and she began to withdraw from him.

“What happened,
Xandria?”

“I had a
nightmare.”

“I understand that
dearest, but do you want to tell me why you were so scared, I’m
sure that you’ve woken up half the estate. What were you dreaming
about?”

She signed, resignation
setting in, this wasn’t an argument she was going to win. He wanted
to know and wouldn’t cease harassing her until he knew. “It wasn’t
exactly a dream, more of a memory. My father, Fred sometimes beat
me senseless because of the way I look.”

“The way you look?” he
inquired confusion evident in his tone. “There’s nothing wrong with
the way you look.”

“I have my mother’s eyes
and apparently that was too much of a reminder of her. It would set
him off for no reason at all. One second he’d be fine, then I’d
look at him and the next thing I knew I would be on the receiving
end of a beating.” Seeing his mouth move as though to ask her
another question, Alex quickly moved to pre-empt it. “Look Tobias,
I don’t want to talk about this ok?”

Fearing that she would cry
again if he pressed her, he decided to let the subject
drop.

She smiled at his
acquiescence before realising where she was. The bare skin of her
thighs not covered by her oversized t-shirt was brushing against
the bare skin of his legs. Looking down to where their skin met,
she gasped. “Oh God you’re naked!” she wheezed, unsure of whether
to be shocked or appealed by the discovery. Opting for shock she
quickly scrambled out of his grip, diving for the covers and
throwing them over him in attempt to hide his nudity from her gaze
while struggling to keep her eyes from wondering over his
deliciously naked body.

“Yes.” He smiled
unrepentant.

“Where are your clothes?”
she shrieked, closing her eyes tightly.

“I don’t wear clothes when
I sleep.”

“Why the hell
not?”

“I find them restrictive,”
he chuckled becoming increasingly amused at her modesty.

“Don’t you feel
embarrassed? I mean, you rushed in here naked.” A mental image of
Tobias hurrying to her aid in his state of undress entered her mind
and refused to leave causing her cheeks to warm in embarrassment
while her heart sped up in what she reluctantly admitted to herself
was anticipation.

“I don’t see why I should;
you’ll see it all eventually.”

“Oh God,” she groaned,
“What’s with that kind of attitude? Hang on a minute, you rushed in
here?”

“Yes.”

“You rushed in here when I
told you I wasn’t speaking to you?”

“You seem to have been
speaking to me just fine.”

“Aargh.” She screamed into
a nearby pillow. “This is why I wanted the lock. I don’t want you
just wandering in here.”

“Xandria,” he began,
clearly disheartened with the turn the conversation had
taken.

“Out!” she yelled pushing
at him. “Get out. I’m not talking to you.”

“Xandria, please don’t be
like this, I just want to help you. I want to take care of
you.”

“Help me? Help me how
exactly, by taking away my freedom and for your information I’ve
been taking care of myself just fine for years I don’t need your
help.”

“I don’t understand why
you’re so upset about this; you wanted to run away from him. All I
did was help you, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You wouldn’t
understand. You just took me away. That’s the only home I’ve ever
had and you took me from it.”
You took me
away from all the memories I had of my mum and I can never get
those back.
“Just get out Tobias, I want to
be alone.”

He opened his mouth to
protest but she sobbed, “Please.”

Grabbing the duvet and
wrapping it around himself, he stood up careful not to expose
himself to her. “I’m not sorry for taking you away from there
Xandria, but one day you’ll be glad that I did.”

Chapter
Sixteen

Sitting on the edge of his
bed, Tobias stared forlornly at the door that divided him and Alex,
his gaze hardening as he took in the new lock. As requested he had
had it installed, secretly hoping that she would change her mind
and tell him that she didn’t want it anymore. Luck however seemed
to have abandoned him recently and the lock was installed without
so much of a whimper of protest from Alex and so now here he sat,
his mate closer than he could ever have hoped and yet further away
from him than she had ever been, even on his four year search. It
had been two days since they had arrived at his family’s estate and
she hadn’t once ventured out of her room and from what Maria had
told him she was in just as miserable a condition as he was, but
having chosen to give her some time alone, he had let her inflict
this suffering on the pair of them.

Why is she
making us both suffer like this?
he
groaned, head falling into his waiting palms.

She’s right
there,
his wolf growled,
break down the door and take her.

She’d never
forgive us if we did that,
he responded
calmly, lifting his head once more to glare at the closed
door.

She doesn’t
seem to inclined to forgive us anyway. I suggest –

A knock on the door
interrupted his train of thought and the voice of his inner wolf
faded to the back of his mind.

Snarling, he turned his
head to face the door, unreasonably angry at whoever had decided to
disturb him. “What?”

The door opened slowly and
Ryan's head craned around the frame, a smile plastered on his face
despite his cousin’s clear anger. “Calm down Tobias, I come bearing
gifts.” He waved a small bag at him.

The scent of vanilla hit
his sensitive nose and he felt himself instantly calming. “Come in
Ryan, take a seat.” He waved an arm at the small backless sofa that
was directly opposite the foot of his bed.

Stepping purposefully into
the room, Ryan sat in the offered seat and stared at his cousin for
a few moments before speaking. Never one to mince his words or beat
around the bush, he said exactly what he thought. “Tobias, you look
like hell warmed over.” Tobias growled in response, his canines
becoming increasingly prominent in his state of increased
agitation. “Well, it’s true,” Ryan admonished.

Sighing deeply, Tobias
felt his teeth begin to shrink in his mouth as his anger suddenly
left him. “I know.”

“What
happened?”

“Alexandria,” he exhaled,
running a hand though his hair, trying to gain some form of
relief.

“Yes, from what Sebastian
told me things haven’t been going so good.”

“Understatement of the
century,” he grumbled. “Things are going terribly. She won’t even
speak to me and she locked me out.” He turned to glare at the
offending lock.

“I can see
that.”

“And she’s had nightmares
every night she’s been here and they’re always about him. I don’t
think I’ll ever understand the way her mind works. If you heard her
screams…” he groaned. “If you heard them then you’d know that she’s
terrified of her father so why she’s still mad at me for taking her
away from him I don’t know.”

“A woman’s mind is a very
strange thing Tobias, I don’t think that we were made to understand
them.”

“You’re not going to find
me disagreeing with you on that, but I miss her.”

“What are you talking
about? She’s right there,” Ryan chuckled, pointing at the
door.

“Yeah she might physically
be there, but my Xandria is gone. I miss how she used to smile at
me whenever she saw me as though I’d just made her day by being
there. She used to touch me too.”

Leaning forward, Ryan
leered suggestively, “Touch you…”

“You had better not be
saying what I think you’re saying,” Tobias snarled, causing Ryan to
sit back in his chair.

“Of course not Tobias, I’d
never say something like that,” he replied quickly, seeing that
this was a touchy subject with his cousin.

“Good, because that’s not
what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean
exactly?”

“She used to
hug me, run her hands through my hair and not even notice she was
doing it, grab my hands, small things like that. She was always
trying to be closer to me, though I’m not sure she realised what
she was doing half of the time, but now…Nothing. She doesn’t do any
of that anymore.”
She used to kiss
me,
he thought, silently unwilling to admit
that to Ryan.

“She’ll be doing it again
in no time Tobias, she can’t stay mad at you forever.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m
banking on at the moment. Anyway enough talk about me, did you get
them?”

“Of course I did, you know
you can always rely on me.” He waved the small blue bag he carried
in front of Tobias, who instantly snatched it from his
grasp.

“You got
everything?”

“Yeah I got everything, I
left her clothes behind though, they were a bit worn out and I
figured you’d get her new ones.” Tobias nodded, remembering the
state of her clothing when she had lived with her father and
agreeing with Ryan’s decision. “There wasn’t much at her house and
the plant is probably dying.”

Taking the red
and white orchid out from the bag, Tobias cradled the fragile
flower carefully in his large palms. “What did you do to it?” he
growled at his cousin upon seeing the bent shoots and wilted
petals.
The way Xandria’s face lit up when
I bought this for her…she’d never let it get like this.

Raising his hands in a
gesture of peace, Ryan pled his innocence. “Nothing Tobias, I swear
it was like that when I found it. It wasn’t even in the house, it
was a little ways down the road from her place but her scent was
all over it so I figured I should bring it anyway. I did what I
could to keep it alive but plants aren’t really my
speciality.”

“I believe you Ryan,
thanks for doing this for me, I would have gone myself but…” He
trailed off, his eyes wandering to Alex’s door once
again.

“I understand
Tobias.”

“No you don’t,” he sighed,
“but when you get a mate then maybe, just maybe you’ll understand
what I’m going through.”

“My mate isn’t going to
give me this much trouble, I’ll tell her exactly what’s what, lay
down the law and my life will be stress free.”

Tobias laughed
at his cousin’s response. “When the day comes and you find your
mate I doubt it will be anywhere near as simple as you want it to
be.”
It never is when you love someone and
if you love your mate even half as much as I do Xandria, then
she’ll mean more to you than your next breath and you’ll want to do
whatever she wants. Lay down the law?
He
chuckled aloud, causing Ryan to regard him with confusion.
The law will be whatever she wants it to
be.