A Wolf's Duty (24 page)

“You worry too much
Tobias. I’ll be fine, trust me.”

“You give me good reason
to worry dearest, but I’m serious about this, have a bag packed and
be ready to leave that night.”

She frowned at him. “Fine,
I’ll pack a bag but it doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to go.”

As long as
she’s packed one, then we can leave. With or without her agreement,
there’s no need for compromise when it comes to her life,
his inner wolf growled.

Yes, we’ll
take her from here, regardless of what she has to say if there’s
even the slight possibility that she’ll get hurt.

“Tobias?”

“Mmm?” he responded,
inhaling the fragrant scent of her hair.

“I know you said Lucinda
was just out for power, but I don’t understand why they would even
believe she was your mate; I mean from what Maria told me it’s the
guy that can tell. So why are they even letting this happen? I
thought that there was only one mate for each of you, so if a guy
says that this is his mate, then how can a woman say
different?”

He groaned, the warm air
that rushed from his mouth brushing over her face. “Where do I even
start?”

“I always find that the
beginning is a good place,” she suggested, running a hand through
his hair to give him a measure of relief.

“Maria was partially
right, it’s usually the male that can tell who his mate is but
that’s because we’re driven to find them. Our females do, however,
have the instinct to a lesser extent, so they can tell as well but
they have to be around them for a while to be sure, whereas we know
straight away. One whiff of your scent and I knew then and
there.”

“So people believe Lucinda
just because you two have been around each other for a while in
passing? What the hell? There are things wrong with these
people!”

“It was a little more than
that Xandria.”

“How much more?” she
croaked, uncertainty growing within her.

“We were an item for a
while.”

Her head turned to face
him at the statement. “An item as in dating?”

“Yes.”

You’ve got to
be joking! How am I meant to compare to her. It was bad enough
thinking he might be comparing us when I didn’t think there was
anything between them, this has just made it ten times
worse.

Watching as a crest fallen
expression descended over her features, he rushed to defend himself
and clarify his statement. “It was a long time ago dearest, a very
long time ago. I was about a hundred years out of maturity and
lonely, I had been searching for a long time and you were still
nowhere to be found and I was feeling more hollow inside with every
day that passed. I was under the misguided impression that any
companionship was better than none and then Lucinda approached me.
It seemed like perfect timing, she was only a few decades out of
maturity and so the likelihood of her having a mate was very
low.

“We were an item for less
than two months dearest but I knew something wasn’t right. Just
having her there didn’t make me feel any less lonely. In fact,
having her there was just making things worse. Do you remember I
was talking to you about us having a wolf that lives inside of us?”
She nodded, silently digesting the information he was giving her.
“Well mine apparently didn’t like Lucinda, I was practically at war
with it everyday.”

Good
wolf.
She grinned to herself.

“It turns out that its
instinct was right as usual, Lucinda wasn’t what she portrayed
herself to be. She had been trying to use the power she thought she
was entitled to by being with me against others who lived here and
in other clans. I’d been thinking about ending things between us
for a while, she wasn’t what I wanted and that was just the final
straw. I told her things were over but she refused to leave me be,
it took her over a decade to get the message that I wanted nothing
to do with her. She never gave up completely, but I had thought
she’d got the message when she stopped trying to see me ten times a
day. Apparently I was wrong.

“The Council is probably
willing to take her seriously because of that. We were an item
around the time that I was expected to find a mate. The length of
time I’ve had to wait is unheard of amongst our people. No one has
ever had to wait over two hundred years to find a mate. I should
have waited dearest, I know I should have. I’m sorry. Forgive
me?”

“What exactly is there to
forgive? It’s not like I expected you to have never dated anyone
before, especially when you’ve been alive so long. I’m not an
unreasonable person.” His grip around her waist tightened and he
placed a light kiss on the exposed skin of her neck. “I mean your
choice in relationship partners definitely needed some work,” she
mused. “But they’ve certainly improved lately.”

“Definitely,” he
concurred.

“I’m going to win you
know?” He became silent at the reminder of the impending Challenge.
“Trust me.”

A knock at the door drew
their attention before a muffled voice floated through the thick
wood. “Your highness, the clans have been informed of the
Challenge, one of you has to come with me.”

“Do they have to separate
us?” she inquired.

“It’s tradition and as the
Prince I have a duty to uphold it.”

“Oh,” she sighed, waving
goodbye to nightmare less nights.

“Run away with me and we
won’t have to worry about this,” he suggested.

“No. I’ve decided that I’m
doing this and that’s my final word on the matter.”

“Fine.”

“How long are we going to
have to be apart?”

“Until the Challenge
dearest.”

“Your highness?” The voice
came again.

Looking at the door with
disdain he bellowed, “I’m coming.” Before turning to face her,
whispering in her hair, “Remember that you chose this dearest and
make sure that you have that bag packed.” He lifted her easily from
his legs and placed her on the firm mattress beside him, before
standing up and making his way to the door.

“What, no goodbye kiss?”
she mumbled, now distinctly aware of the loss of his warmth and the
solid presence of his body.

“No, if I kiss you now
then I’ll never leave.”

“Fine, but I’m expecting
one when I beat the hell out of Lucinda,” she called out to his
retreating form.

The door opened and he
stepped out into the hall, turning back to look at her. “If you
manage to beat Lucinda, I’ll give you a whole lot more than just a
kiss.”

The door closed as he left
and she sighed, “I’ll be waiting for it then.”

Chapter Twenty
Four

“Are you sure she’s in
there?” Fred whispered, turning to Sean. Hidden as they were in the
land that surrounded the estate at night, he had to strain his eyes
to be able to see his friend, but the figure of what he assumed was
Sean soon spoke.

“Yes I’m sure. Look, you
have no idea how my power works so I think that it’s in your best
interest just to shut up and be quiet. Are we in
agreement?”

Fred nodded before he
abruptly changed his mind on the decision, deciding to make his
opinions known and damn the consequences. “How the fuck are we
supposed to get in there? The place is protected like some sort of
fortress, guards on every door at all times of the day. I could
swear that I saw surveillance cameras a little while ago on the
outside of some of the doors, there’s no way we’re going to be able
to just sneak in there, grab her and run.”

“I have eyes Fred. I can
see exactly what you see but unlike you, I’m actually trying to
find a solution.”

“Well, have you thought of
anything?”

“Right at this very moment
in time I’ve got nothing.”

“Look Sean, I only agreed
to come so that I could get my money. That bitch will be turning
twenty-one in just a little over a week and then she can just take
the money, spend it and not give me a single penny. We have to get
her before then.”

“I know you want the money
Fred, I’d have to be blind not to know that. But we have no idea
what’s going on. We don’t know why she’s there. She could be a
prisoner for all we know and we can’t just run in there half-cocked
with no concrete plan. They might not even be human Fred, are you
willing to risk that?”

“What good is money to me
if I’m dead?”

“Exactly, so we should
leave and set up somewhere nearby. If she moves then I’ll be the
first to know. We just have to be patient.”

“Patient?” Fred muttered
under his breath, disgusted by the very suggestion.

“Let’s go Fred,” Sean
commanded. “We’ll be spotted if we hang around here any more.”
Crouching to avoid detection, the pair skulked away, using the
thick foliage and darkness of the surrounding forest to hide their
presence.

*****

“Oomph,” Alex grunted as
she once again landed on her ass, glaring daggers at the lupine
form of Ryan as he towered over her fallen form. Gritting her teeth
against the blossoming pain in her elbows that told her she had
once again grazed the abused skin, she stood.

I’m going to
get it right this time,
she assured herself
before she once again began the process of straining her ears to
pick up on the distinct whisper of the wolf before her. Her mind
was instantly flooded with the whispers of the plants that
surrounded them in her garden but as usual, there was no trace of
Ryan. He hunkered back, his teeth bared as he snarled at her,
preparing for the attack and yet she continued frantically
searching for the voice in her mind that would give her the ability
to control his actions. The voice once again failed to appear and
Ryan lunged for her, his larger and heavier frame forcing her to
the ground. The sharp tips of his claws were surprisingly gentle as
he eased himself off her, managing to avoid cutting through her
clothes and reaching the tender flesh underneath. If possible, the
wolf seemed to sigh, apparently disappointed in her performance.
Forcing herself to sit up, she watched as his body transformed
itself from that of a wolf into a man, the previous day’s training
making the change seem almost normal.

He stood before her once
again human, a frown seemingly etched onto his features. “This
isn’t working Alex.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“We’ve been doing this for
two days now and you don’t seem to have gotten any better. The
Challenge is tomorrow and you’re not ready.”

“That isn’t true,” she
mumbled, disheartened by his blunt statement.

“What exactly isn’t true
about it? You haven’t been able to stop me once, maybe its time to
just give up and accept that what happened in England was a
fluke.”

Standing, she dusted the
dirt from her shorts and stared directly into Ryan’s brown eyes,
determination etched across her features. “No. I can’t give up
Ryan. Tobias is trusting me with this. I promised that I’d win and
I will.”

“I’m really sorry to be
the bearer of bad news and pop this little happy bubble that you
seem to be living in, but from what I’ve seen you don’t stand a
snowball’s chance in hell of beating Lucinda.”

“You’re just being a
pessimist Ryan, have a little faith.”

“I’m going to need more
than just a little bit of faith, don’t forget I’ve been here,” he
sighed, sitting down on the moist grass and motioning for Alex to
do the same. “Alex, I haven’t even been putting my all into this
and you haven’t managed to beat me. Lucinda won’t be holding back
like I’ve been. She’ll hit you harder, be faster and won’t hesitate
to use teeth or claws to draw blood. You have to give
up.”

“No.”

“I don’t understand why
you’re so adamant about going through with this. Tobias will think
of something. Why do you think he wants me to tell him if I don’t
think you’ll win?”

“I know exactly why he
wants to know and I know what his plan is as well, the question is,
do you? And would you be so eager to tell him if you
did?”

“Enlighten me
then.”

She leaned forward,
carefully surveying their surroundings to ensure they were still
alone. “Swear to me that you won’t breathe a word of this to
another soul.”

“I swear.”

“Not even Sebastian can
know, am I clear?”

“Crystal.” He
smiled.

“Tobias plans to abandon
the crown and run if you tell him that I can’t win.”

Her statement had clearly
garnered his attention and he sat bolt upright at the news. “Exile?
His great plan is to exile himself! What kind of stupid idea is
that?”

“Well, what did you think
he was going to do?”

“I don’t know, but exile
wasn’t on the list!” he shouted, becoming increasingly
agitated.

“So, like I’ve been
telling you, I have to win.”

“Alex, I’d love to have
your faith, but what I’ve been telling you still stands. You can’t
beat Lucinda. I might not like the idea, but I can see why Tobias
thinks running away would be a good idea. You’d live.”