A Wolf's Duty (18 page)

“Did you see her father?”
Tobias growled as an after thought.

“No, there was no sign of
him and I waited for the bastard to get back as well, it’s why I
didn’t come sooner. You might have promised Alex not to hurt the
fucker but I haven’t. If I’d seen him then I would have dealt with
him on your behalf.”

“But nothing?” Tobias
asked again, hoping that his cousin had managed to do what he could
not.

“Nothing,” Ryan
agreed

Tobias sighed,
disheartened that Fred still lived but excited at the prospect of
killing the man himself. The small bag began to feel increasingly
heavy within his hands and he eyed the locked door for a final
time. “I’m going to give these to Xandria, a peace offering. Thanks
again cousin.”

“No worries
Tobias.”

Standing from the bed,
Tobias strode out of his bedroom and walked the short distance to
stand in front of Alexandria’s bedroom door. His free hand
automatically gripped the door handle and began to turn it before
he abruptly removed it, raising his hand to knock on the solid oak
door. He waited a few seconds for her to respond before turning the
door handle and walking into the room. She sat by the window, her
gaze vacant as she stared unseeing outside.

“Alexandria,” he called
from the doorway. Receiving no response, he strode to her side,
crouching down when he reached her. His hand rose of its own
volition to cup her soft cheek and a small smile graced her
features as she turned into his warmth and closed her eyes as
though to savour the sensation. “Xandria.” He smiled, pleased at
her response to his presence.

At the sound of his voice,
however her eyes opened and she moved away from his touch.
“Tobias.”

“I want to talk to you
Xandria.”

“Well I don’t want to talk
to you,” she replied stubbornly.

“You’ve locked yourself
away for days and this is going to end right now.” Standing, he
reached down and easily lifted her from the chair into his arms.
“We’re going outside, I have something I want to show you.”
Ignoring her struggles, he walked out of the door and into the
hall, her vocal protests attracting the attention of the guards and
servants who littered the corridors.

“Tobias put me down! I can
walk by myself.”

“If I put you down, will
you follow me?”

Her mind debated simply
running back to the sanctuary of her room but the look on his face
told her that he wouldn’t be denied in this and that one way or
another she was going to do as he wanted. “Fine, I’ll go wherever
you take me, just put me down.”

Nodding, he released his
tight grip on her legs and allowed her to slide down his body.
“Follow me Xandria.” Walking down the long corridor, his head
turned frequently to ensure that she was still following him,
assured that she was he soon reached his destination. Stopping he
turned and waited for her to catch up, when she stood directly in
front of him a smile crept across his face. “Close your eyes,
Xandria.”

“What?”

“I said close your
eyes.”

Grumbling to herself, she
nevertheless complied with his strange request and closed her eyes.
The air around her shifted and she could feel Tobias’ warmth move
behind her, his hands covering her eyes. Her heart began to race at
his close proximity and she felt another urge to forgive him rush
through her. He began to move, urging her forward and her body
instantly complied, the warm rays of the sun hit her skin, telling
her that they had moved outside. From above her head she heard
Tobias sneeze repeatedly and concern for him flared within her.
“Tobias, are you okay?”

“I’m fine sweetheart,
we’re almost there so don’t worry. Just trust me.”

They continued to move for
a few more seconds before he pulled them to a halt and removed his
hands from her face. “You can open your eyes now
dearest.”

Her eyes fluttered open
before she immediately closed them, the brightness of the sun after
the prolonged period of darkness causing them to water. Taking a
deep breath she forced her eyelids to open once again, raising a
hand to her face to provide a degree of shade. Her eyes widened at
the scene before her and she gasped turning around full circle to
take in the splendour of the garden that Tobias had brought her
to.

The grass beneath her feet
was a lush and healthy green and covered the entire garden, which
stretched seemingly endlessly in all directions. Thick ivy covered
the only grey wall of the estate that was visible making it seem
like they were truly surrounded in foliage. Rose bushes were
scattered around the space, tulips and daffodils springing up in
patches between them. The sweet smell of fruit told her that there
were fruit trees of some kind nestled somewhere in the garden and
she felt her heart contract at the kindness of Tobias’ gesture. The
urge to forgive him was rising within her but the beautiful garden
made her remember her mother’s sanctuary and the memories that
Tobias had made her lose and forgiveness was drowned out by
sorrow.

Falling to her knees she
reached out for a tulip petal and began gently stroking the soft
flower trying to forget the painful memories that were associated
with her mother’s garden. Sitting down beside her, Tobias was at a
loss. She had seemed so excited when she had first seen the garden
and now she was undeniably sad, he could feel the emotion flowing
from her in waves even without physical contact. He sighed before
reaching into the small bag Ryan had given him and pulling out a
small picture frame. The picture was taken in a healthy garden much
like this one and even though she was much younger, Tobias
instantly recognised Alexandria but frowned at the unfamiliar woman
standing beside her.

Placing the picture in
front of her eyes he frowned in confusion. “Alexandria, who’s
this?”

Drawn to the frame by
Tobias’s voice, Alex felt her heart speed up at the sight of the
familiar picture before her, reaching out blindly to touch the
glass of the frame. “Mum,” she whispered so low that not even
Tobias could hear her, tears rising to fill her eyes.

Chapter
Seventeen

The frame was snatched
from his grasp and Tobias looked on still confused as she hugged
the frame to her chest so tightly he feared the glass would break
under the pressure. “Xandria?”

She turned to face him;
tears swimming in her eyes but the biggest smile he had seen on
face in days now adorned her face. “How did you know?”

“Know what exactly,
Xandria?”

Ignoring his question she
ploughed on with her own. “Where did you get this?”

“I had Ryan go to your
house and collect your things. You didn’t think that I’d bring you
to a strange place and not have anything that would make you
comfortable?”

She turned away from him,
clearly having thought just that.

“Who’s the woman in the
picture, Xandria?”

Her fingertips ran over
the woman’s smiling face reverently, the picture evoking strong
emotions within her. “This is my mum.” Stretching her hands out she
thrust the picture at him, awaiting his response.

Taking in the woman’s wide
bright smile, gleaming green eyes and flyaway brown hair he said
the first thing that came to mind. “She’s beautiful
Xandria.”

Smiling widely, she
brought the picture back to her chest, hugging it tightly. “I know.
She was the most beautiful person I ever knew both inside and out.
She was my world when I was younger, she had such a gentle soul and
Fred killed her. Maybe not directly, but he killed her
nevertheless. Thank you for this Tobias, you don’t understand how
much this means to me.”

A thought occurred to him
at the sincerity of her tone and a frown appeared on his brow.
“Xandria, was this why you were so mad at me?”

She blushed at his
surprisingly accurate guess before nodding reluctantly. “It’s just
that I have so few things left of her and I don’t want to forget
her. If I don’t have anything to remind me of her then that’s what
I’m afraid will happen. I don’t want to forget her Tobias,
everything she did, she did for me, to protect me and make sure I
was happy. I have to try and honour her sacrifice.”

He nodded solemnly,
considering what his next move should be. Reaching into the bag, he
proceeded to present her with the entirety of its contents. “Ryan
found some of your books, there aren’t all that many so I don’t
know if he forgot some but here.” He smiled at her, handing her a
small stack of tattered books. Taking the pile gratefully, she did
a quick count.

“He didn’t miss any
Tobias, I never had that many things, that’s all there were. Mum
worked hard to save money to buy these for me. She went without so
many things just so I could have a few things that I wanted, just
like other kids.” Still clutching the picture of her mum close to
her chest, she stroked the worn cover of the book on top of the
pile, the old and faded lettering feeling comforting beneath her
fingertips.

He delved into the bag
once again and retrieved a small and battered stuffed bear, handing
it to her. “I’ve this had for as long as I can remember. Mum gave
it to me, she said it had been her favourite toy when she was
little. She always told me that I should give it to my little girl
when I had one.” Raising the small toy to her nose she inhaled
deeply, another smile creeping across her face as the faint smell
of Natasha’s favourite perfume ensnared her senses.

The bag now empty except
for the orchid he had bought her, Tobias found himself frowning at
the scarcity of her possessions. “That’s all there is, except
this.” He placed the dying plant in front of her and awaited her
reaction.

“Our orchid,” she gasped
shocked at the state of the fragile flower. “What
happened?”

“Ryan said that someone
had thrown it out,” he answered calmly, pleased that she was
apparently now on the path of forgiveness.

Her mind flashed back to
the man who had placed a knife at her throat and his claims that he
had taken away anything that might have helped her. “Bastard,” she
murmured under her breath before placing the small photo frame on
her legs and reaching for the plant. Closing her eyes she tried to
centre herself and was overwhelmed with the whispers that had until
now been silent despite her location.

Hush!
she yelled putting all the authority she could
muster behind the command. The voices having apparently decided to
listen to her orders instantly quieted.
Now which one of you is the orchid?

I am.
The voice was louder though still barely above a
whisper.

Will you grow
for me?

Of course, I’d
do anything for you; you’ve been taking care of me after
all.
Though she couldn’t see a face to
attach to the voice, she could swear that the orchid was smiling at
her.

She opened her eyes and
was pleased to find that the petals were no longer wilting but
growing thick and strong and the broken stems were calmly repairing
themselves.

“Xandria?” Tobias’ voice
broke her out of her reverie and she found herself smiling warmly
at him, more content and happy than she had been in days. “Did you
do that?” His head jerked towards the healing plant.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I told you I’m different,
just like you.”

“A match made in heaven,”
he mumbled.

“Yup, you and I make a
perfect pair.”

His head jerked up at her
statement and he reached forward nervously to cup her cheek in his
hand, wary of rejection. Their skin met and she leaned into his
touch, bringing her own hand up to her face and placing it over his
to keep him in place. “Does this mean that I’m
forgiven?”

She smiled at him before
placing both her mother’s picture and their orchid onto the soft
ground. Removing his hand from her face, she watched as a look of
disappointment crept across his features before throwing herself
into his embrace, knocking them both to the ground with the force
of her impact. Straddling his legs, she beamed at him, amused at
the look of confusion that was now stamped on his features. “Yes
Tobias, it means I forgive you.” She grinned before leaning down to
pepper his face with light kisses.

Momentarily stunned at the
action, he lay unresponsive beneath her warm lips before the wolf’s
instincts and his desires merged into a single united action.
Gripping her hips tightly within his hands he rolled them over so
he was hovering above her, caging her in with his body and
preventing her from escaping. Looking into his stormy grey eyes she
noticed that they were once again flecked with amber before his
lips crashed against her own and all thought fled her
mind.

The sensation of his lips
slanting against her own caused a corresponding reaction between
her thighs and made her nipples ache. She rubbed her chest against
his to try and relieve the ache, which only served to make it more
pronounced, and Tobias groaned at the sensation, quickly deepening
the kiss. Nipping at her lower lip, she gasped, granting his tongue
entry into the moist cavern of her mouth.