A Wolf's Duty (37 page)

“You said you could help
me get her, how do you plan to do that? She’s powerful, she could
probably take you out without much effort, and even if she didn’t
then Tobias would certainly deal with you.”

“Tobias?”

“Her mate. He rarely
leaves her side.” The puzzled look on Sean’s face told the stranger
that he didn’t understand the terms he was using and though it
grated on his nerves, the stranger found himself explaining, his
plans for Alex overcoming his intense dislike of the man before
him. “To you, she would be the equivalent of a wife.”

“And here I thought she
was being treated badly,” Sean muttered. “If you can get me in
there, I would just need a few minutes alone with her and I could
get her out.”

“Weren’t you listening to
me? Even if she were alone she’s powerful, otherwise I wouldn’t
want her, she probably wouldn’t have much trouble killing you.
She’s taken on one of our kind and won, a feat I had thought
impossible for a human. You don’t seem like much. I can smell how
terrified you are, which says that you don’t have the means to
defeat me, so how do you plan to win against her?”

Sean felt
himself begin to shake beneath the stranger’s hard stare but he
stood his ground, the desire to live giving him additional
strength. “You’re right. In a fair contest between us she would
probably win, but I have no intention of fighting fair. I never
have.”
And that’s what’s gotten me to this
stage and it’s going to be what saves my life.
“I can make something that will make her unable to use her
powers.”

The stranger’s eyebrow
rose in a silent question, demanding elaboration. “If her power is
anything like her mother’s then she hears voices in her head and
she can command them to do what she wants. As long as they can hear
her then they’ll react, doing what they think is best for her. It’s
a two-way thing. She can command them as long as she can hear them
and they can help her so long as they can hear her. I can give her
something that will muddle the voices, she won’t be able to
understand what they’re saying and they won’t be able to hear her
properly so she will effectively be powerless.”

“Is it
permanent?”

“No, what use
would she be to you,”
Or me for that
matter,
“if she could never use her
powers?”

“You have a point. Tell me
how to make it and I’ll let you go.”

No. You’ll
kill me as soon as my back is turned, I know people like you, heck
I am a person like you.
“Only I can make
it, I need to use my ability to make it, so even if I told you what
ingredients it needed and how it should be mixed, it wouldn’t work
properly. Either she would be able to hear them or they her.
Regardless of which one happened, she’d escape.”

“Fine,” he snapped,
clearly unhappy with the turn of events. “Make this thing for me
and I’ll help you gain entrance to the estate. But I warn you,
don’t try to do anything stupid or I’ll have your head and I’ll
smile while I take it from your shoulders am I clear?”

“Perfectly.”

A moment of silence
passed, the two mulling over the terms of their agreement before
Sean spoke up. “When are we going to do this then?”

“Soon. We’ll
have to wait a few days, the moon will be full in the next few days
and Tobias won’t leave her side until after he’s claimed her and
she’ll be watched even more carefully until then. The people are
anxious for a new King and she’ll be the one to grant it to them
should Tobias claim her.”
Or so they
think.

“King?” Sean spluttered
incredulous.

“Yes, didn’t you know?”
The stranger smiled and Sean felt himself shudder beneath his gaze.
“The girl is a Princess and soon she will be Queen.”

“Princess of what
exactly?”

The stranger’s smile
widened, revealing sharp canines, before his dark eyes were flooded
with amber and Sean visibly trembled at the transformation.
Breathing deep, he inhaled the scent of Sean’s fear revelling in
it, immeasurably pleased with the knowledge that he had caused it.
“The werewolves, my dear conspirator. She’s Princess of the
werewolves and her mate is the Prince. But don’t let that worry
you. I’m the one you really need to be afraid of because if you
fail or betray me, there will be nowhere you can run to escape me.
I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Don’t forget that. I’ll come to
you when it’s time to go through with the plan.”

The stranger turned to
walk away and Sean crumpled to the ground before a thought occurred
to him. “Wait,” he called. The stranger turned, regarding him
silently. “How will you know where to find me?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? I
have your scent now. There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t be
able to find you. Stay close though, you don’t want me to have to
expend too much effort looking for you. I’ll be most displeased and
that is a sight you don’t want to see I assure you.” He turned,
leaving Sean crumpled on the ground.

Just what have
I gotten myself into?
he groaned,
regretting more than ever not simply having abandoned the idea of
getting Alex’s power the first night Fred had failed to
return.

Chapter Thirty
Five

“Xandria, wake up.” Tobias
grinned, wafting a plate of freshly cooked pancakes under her nose
in an attempt to rouse her. The scent of the food invaded the
realms of sleep and she found herself blinking rapidly against the
bright light, straining to bring everything into focus.

“Tobias?” she mumbled,
struggling to sit up while rubbing the last remnants of sleep from
her eyes.

He smiled at
the drowsy call of his name, a sense of contentment blossoming
within him at the sight of his mate lying in his bed.
I’ve waited so long for this day.

And it was
well worth the wait,
his wolf added.
My choices are impeccable aren’t they?

For this once,
I’ll agree with you. Just this once though.
“Good morning dearest.”

“What time is
it?”

“Breakfast time.” He
grinned waving the plate under her nose.

“Are those for
me?”

“Of course. Who else would
they be for?” He handed her the plate, waiting until it was firmly
in her grip before giving her the necessary cutlery.

Beaming at him,
she quickly dug in, attacking the pancakes with a vengeance.
I hadn’t realised just how hungry I was.
“These are good,” she mumbled around the current
piece of food that was in her mouth.

Taking in her bright
smile, he sighed in relief, glad that she was back to normal state
of being. When he had told her of her father’s demise, she’d cried,
soaking his shirt with her tears. He couldn’t understand why she’d
be upset that he was gone from this world, it was a better place
without him in it. But still she’d cried and he hoped those were
the last tears she would shed over the man. He’d consumed so much
of her life and energy when he was alive and Tobias didn’t want the
same thing to happen when he was dead. She hadn’t asked how he had
died and he hadn’t volunteered the information. He didn’t think
that she would find pleasure in knowing the details. The man had
suffered before he was granted the final reprieve of death; Tobias
had made sure of that. He liked to think that if Fred had been able
to talk at the time, instead of simply coughing up blood, he would
even have asked to be let go. They would never know now, but he was
immeasurably pleased that he no longer needed to worry about it.
And judging from the smile on his mate’s face, she had realised
that she had to put her recently deceased father where he belonged
– in the past.

“I’ll tell the head chef
that you enjoy his work.” Tobias smiled back.

“Yeah, you should do that,
they’re really good.”

He sat back content to
watch her as she ate, comfortable in their surroundings. The food
soon finished she began to fidget under his intense gaze, wiping at
her mouth in case there were any crumbs of food there. “What?” she
demanded, confused as to why he was continuing to stare at
her.

He leaned forward, a smile
still plastered on his face, before placing a light kiss against
her lips. “Happy birthday dearest.”

“It’s my birthday?” she
questioned, slightly surprised that so much time had passed since
she had first been brought to the estate.

“Yes dearest,
you’re twenty one now.”
When I put it like
that it does kind of make it sound like I’m robbing the cradle,
she’s so young compared to me.
His eyes
roamed her small frame.
But a mate is a
mate regardless of what they are, mine just happened to be born
human otherwise I would have found her centuries ago. I suppose I
could have waited for her to grow a little more before claiming
her.

No!
The wolf snarled in response to the direction of
his thoughts.
No more waiting, we’ve been
too long without her. I won’t wait any longer!

I agree with
you again. I couldn’t have waited another day for her and what was
the alternative? Leave her with that monster of a father? He might
have killed her before she aged any further.

He’s not a
threat to her anymore.
The wolf practically
purred before its voice quieted in his mind allowing him to become
aware of what Alex was saying to him.

“How do you
know?”

“Excuse me?”

“How do you know it’s my
birthday? I’ve never said anything about it.”

“What sort of a mate would
I be if I didn’t even know when your birthday was? I made it my
business to know these things about you.”

“Well when’s your birthday
then? I should know these kind of things about you as well,” she
retorted.

“My birthday is in
November,” he commented off hand quickly dismissing the issue. “But
let’s not get distracted, it’s your birthday and I have a gift for
you.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, that’s what usually
what happens when it’s someone’s birthday, they’re given
presents.”

“Oh.”

“Is something wrong?” he
asked concerned at the sad expression that had flitted over her
features.

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s
just I can’t remember the last time that I got a present for my
birthday. We could rarely afford them when mum was alive and Fred
never cared enough to remember my birthday let alone sacrifice
money that could be spent on alcohol to buy me a gift.”

“Well he’s not here
anymore.”

No,
his wolf rumbled contentedly happy at the reminder
of Fred’s fate,
he’s not.

“I’m the one looking out
for you now and if I thought you’d let me, I’d shower you with
presents everyday but if memory serves me right, it was a mission
just getting you to accept a simple plant. Never mind though, it’s
something we can work on together. Anyway, I don’t think you’ll be
able to deny me getting you presents today, after all it’s your
birthday and that’s what’s expected.”

“I suppose I’ll let you
get away with it this once,” she chuckled, surprisingly excited
about the idea of receiving a gift.

So you think.
I’ll eventually break down your defences and you’ll soon accept me
giving you things whenever I feel like it.

Reaching into his pocket,
he retrieved a small velvet blue box and handed it to her. “Happy
birthday dearest.”

Looking down at the small
box that rested within her palm, she felt butterflies multiplying
within her. “Tobias?” she squeaked unsure of how she should be
reacting.

“You have to open it
Xandria, go on,” he urged, wrapping her fingers around the small
object.

“Right.” His fingers left
hers and she slowly pulled back the lid of the box opening it and
revealing what was beneath. A small locket lay against the blue
material and her trembling features reached forward lifting the
silver coloured trinket from where it lay. Her thumb ran over the
intricate floral etching, smiling at Tobias’ thoughtfulness. “Thank
you Tobias. It’s beautiful.”

“You haven’t finished
opening it,” he mock scolded.

“Oh.” Turning the piece of
jewellery so that it rested in her palm she thumbed open the lock;
gasping at the miniature picture of her and Natasha that stared
back at her from within the locket’s casing. Her finger ran
reverently over the picture before her eyes moved to look at the
other half of the locket. Lifting it closer to her face she stared
at the small print, reading it over and over again in her mind as
she smiled to herself.

To my dearest
Xandria, so you never forget. Love Tobias. X

“Tobias, thank you!” she
beamed, throwing herself into his embrace. “I don’t know what to
say.”

“You don’t have to say
anything dearest. I do these things to make you happy and that’s
all I need. Do you want me to put it on for you?” She nodded;
handing him the locket and lifting the heavy fall of hair from the
back of her neck.