A Wolf's Duty (40 page)

Both feet now on solid
ground, his head descended as her body instinctively closed the gap
between them. Their lips met, his hard and demanding with hers
quickly following suit. His hands slid down to the rounded cheeks
of her ass, pulling her closer against him. She found herself
moaning loudly as his tongue slipped passed her lips to lap
sensuously against her own. The kiss ended almost as abruptly as it
had began, leaving her body aching as she struggled for breath. His
shaft hard and throbbing with the need for release, he reluctantly
took a step away from her. Almost immediately after he had stepped
away, he found his body returning to her, his wolf’s desires riding
him hard. He began nuzzling the exposed skin of her neck, fantasies
about the claiming running riot through his mind.

His wolf easily gained
control over his mind, placing a light kiss to her neck, before the
scent of the blood from her grazed hands and knees drifted up to
his nose, forcing his protective instincts to the fore. “Come.” He
gripped her elbow and began leading her farther into the dark cave.
Her eyes strained frantically against the darkness to no avail, she
could seen nothing, not even her own hand if she had waved it in
front of her face. Trusting the steadying hand at her side, she
tried to remain calm and soon became aware of a distant dripping
sound. As they walked closer to the sound, she found it became
easier for her to see as moonlight filtered through small holes in
the cave’s roof. A small spring came into sight, the light from the
moon reflecting off its shimmering surface.

“Beautiful,” she
whispered, moving towards it unaided now that she could
see.

“Clean up, I’ll be back
soon. You’ll be safe here, there’s only one way in and I’ll keep my
eye on it.”

“Thank you
Tobias.”

“I’m glad that you agreed
to the claiming, though the chase is very pleasurable.” He grinned,
remembering the thrill he had experience pursuing her through the
forest. “It’s nothing compared to having you here now.”

The deeper timbre of his
voice combined with the intensity of his stare was still slightly
unnerving, reminding her that it wasn’t the Tobias she knew that
was in control of his actions but something within him that was
wild and somewhat unknown.

“You won’t regret this
dearest.” The familiar endearment soothed her, but he was gone
before she could respond.

Turning to look
at the tranquil waters of the spring, she smiled to herself at the
thoughtfulness of Tobias’ wild side.
Maybe
they’re more similar than I thought.
Moving
to sit at the edge of the spring, she allowed her hands to delve
into the water pleased that it wasn’t unbearably cold. The water
stung her hands but soon provided relief. Taking off the light
jumper she wore over a plain blue t-shirt she dipped it into the
water, gently dapping at the cut skin on her knees. Again the water
stung, but she knew it was necessary to keep the wound clean.
Draping the jumper over her arm, she began to walk back the way she
had came, determined to reach the entrance.

Visibly lowered as she
moved further away from the spring and the moonlight that had
managed to seep in. She stumbled again, reopening the wounds on her
hands and knees. “Stupid dark cave,” she cursed, pulling herself to
her feet and moving on. Once more she stumbled and again she found
herself cursing the cave’s darkness.

Maybe I should
just go back and wait for Tobias.
Her hand
reached out and met nothing and she began to panic, her head
swinging side-to-side frantically.
I don’t
know how to get back! I can’t see anything.
Swallowing her fear, she raised her hands in front of her and
began to walk forward, towards what she hoped was the entrance. She
stumbled, falling into what felt like a wall, the steady rise and
fall of the wall soon disillusioned her of that idea.

“You should have stayed
put dearest.”

“Tobias,” she sighed
relieved.

“Come with me.” His arm
wrapped itself around her waist and he began to lead her through
the darkness.

A small fire
soon came into view and she rushed headlong towards it. “Light!”
Sitting down beside the fire, she examined the abused skin on her
hands and knees.
Nothing that won’t heal
given time.

“I’ve brought you some
food,” he stated, beginning to create a small pile of fruit at her
side.

She examined the offering,
not recognising most of what he had given her and reaching for the
familiar first. The sweet taste of peach hitting her tongue caused
her to groan in pleasure and she bit deeply, quickly finishing the
sticky treat. Her eyes scanned the pile searching for another,
which was gone just as quickly as the first.

“I’ll be back in a
minute,” Tobias informed her, leaving the cave and disappearing
into the night.

She nodded, barely
acknowledging his departure as her teeth sunk into the sweet fruit.
Her eyes scanned the small pile again, frowning as no more peaches
appeared before her gaze. Picking up a small and unknown berry, she
sniffed it, her nose crinkling in disgust at the pungent aroma. The
berry and all like it were separated from the main pile and put to
the side. A few cherries caught her attention and were soon
consumed.

“Xandria?” Tobias called
from the entrance to the cave. Her head swung to face him and a
large smile materialised on her face as she took in the arm full of
peaches he carried. “Will these do?” He strode to her side, placing
the fresh pile of fruit at her side before he sat down beside her.
Her hand shot out, grabbing one of the ripe fruits, she brought it
to her lips before a though occurred to her.

“Don’t you want some
Tobias? You must be hungry as well.”

“What I’ll eat while we’re
here and what you’ll eat aren’t the same.”

“Why? I mean you must be
hungry and there’s plenty of food here.”

“I’ll hunt for my food
later.” His hand rose to the back of her neck and caressed the skin
lightly, almost as though he couldn’t resist the temptation of
touching her. The feel of his fingers on her skin became
increasingly pleasurable the longer he touched her and she leaned
into his palm, silently urging him to continue.

“Hunt?” Her eyes fell to
his sharp canines, understanding quickly dawning. “Oh I get
it.”

“Eat dearest, you’re
hungry.”

The peach in her hand
finally reached her lips and she bit deep, finishing it quickly.
Several other peaches were soon demolished in a similar manner
leaving them surrounded by the large pips. Her hunger satisfied,
she turned to look into Tobias’ amber eyes.

“You aren’t my Tobias are
you?”

The question caught him
off guard and he frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re very short in your
answers to me, when you talk to me at all that is, and you seem to
be very on edge, my Tobias is usually very calm.”

“You’re only
partially correct. Yes, I’m on edge, but that’s because being near
you makes me want to do things that can’t happen just yet and I
want them badly. As for me not being
your
Tobias, I’m as much a part of
him as he is of me. We influence each other’s actions everyday.
There is no Tobias without me, just as there is no me without him.
Sometimes we disagree on certain things but not about this, not
about you. On this we’re in perfect agreement. I don’t want to
frighten you, I’m sorry.”

She thought about it for a
moment, before moving the remaining peaches that separated them and
shuffling closer to him, leaning her head against his shoulder and
listening to the reassuring beat of his heart.

His hands lowered from her
neck and came to rest at her waist. His fingers, seemingly of their
own accord skimmed the hem of her shirt before delving under to the
skin beneath to touch her directly.

What are you
doing?
Tobias scolded, though his desires
and the wolf’s were merging, he had maintained just enough
reasoning capacity to know that should they continue to touch Alex
like this, the urge to claim her now would become unbearable and
that couldn’t happen tonight. The instinct would work against them
if they tried to do so leaving him frustrated and even more
agitated.

I’m not doing
anything wrong,
his wolf replied
quickly.
I just can’t resist touching her.
There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re mates; it’s only natural
that we become intimate like this.
His hand
crept a little higher, lightly skimming the skin just beneath her
breasts.

If you
continue to do this, you’ll jeopardise the claiming. I know it’s
difficult, but try to think.

That’s your
job Tobias, not mine.

If you want to
be stubborn about this then I’ll just have to take control.
It took him a few moments, during which the feel
of his mate’s skin beneath his palm tempted him to simply surrender
to his wolf’s desires, but eventually he was able to gain the
superior position. The wolf was still very close to the surface of
his thoughts, but that was to be expected as their merger
continued. “Will you come for a walk with me dearest?”

Though he hadn’t said
much, the little he had reminded her more of the Tobias she knew
and loved and so it was easy enough for her to agree to his
request. “Of course.”

Easing away
from Alex’s body, Tobias stood and held a hand out to her. Easily
grasping what he wanted her to do, she placed her hand within his
own and allowed him to pull her from the floor to her feet. His
grip on her hand didn’t loosen even when she was standing as he led
her to the cave’s entrance and out into the night. The voices of
the plants around them once again began to make their demands but
she quieted them with a firm order.
This
is my time with Tobias, please just be quiet. I promised I’d come
back another time didn’t I?
The voices
acquiesced to her request and relegated themselves to a distant
corner in her mind allowing her to fully enjoy this much
appreciated time alone.

Tobias’ grip on her hand
was firm easily guiding her through the treacherous terrain. He
relinquished her hand several times, placing his hands around her
waist, and lifting her over anything he deemed too large for her to
simply step over. He never detoured from his self made path,
leading Alex to conclude that he had a particular destination in
mind. Where it was didn’t matter, she trusted him even
now.

“You seem to know this
place very well Tobias,” she remarked as they continued their
steady pace to their unknown destination. Tobias did seem very much
at ease in this environment, easily leading both him and her over
ground that if she were on her own would have presented her with a
challenge.

“I should be after all the
years I spent in these woods. I grew up with these trees and I
spent most of my childhood running amuck here.” He laughed,
remembering the years leading up to maturity. “I still come here
sometimes, there are far fewer flowers in this place so I don’t
feel like sneezing all the time. I like it here, it’s why I chose
it for the claiming.”

She smiled at him,
realising that that was the most he had said to her all night. “You
seem much more like the Tobias I know now.”

“My wolf and I
are reaching an equilibrium.”
With me in
charge
. “The wolf wants the claiming to go
well and so do I, there’s no need for us to disagree on the matter
so our opinions and thoughts are merging.”

“Is that meant to
happen?”

“Yes. It’s me who will be
claiming you, not the wolf dearest so don’t worry.”

“That’s actually kind of a
relief.”

“I thought it would be.”
Tobias grinned before his movements ground to a halt. “We’re
here.”

“Where exactly is here?”
she asked, her eyes wandering around their surroundings. This area
of forest didn’t look any different to the rest of it.

Pulling her over to a
particularly thick tree trunk, Tobias ran his fingers almost
reverently over a set of markings in the bark. “My brother and I
measured our lives by this tree.”

Stepping closer to the
tree, Alex could just make out two sets of lines that were etched
periodically into the wood. While one set stopped fairly low down
on the tree, the other continued over her head, it wasn’t hard to
guess which belonged to Tobias and which to his brother.

“I carried on the
tradition after he died, but this isn’t why I brought you
here.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Jump on to my back
and hold on tightly ok?”

“Yes.” She quickly did as
he requested, locking her arms tightly around his neck and her legs
around his waist.

As soon as she was secure,
he began to climb. His movements were fast and confident and they
soon reached the tree’s peak. Straddling the tree’s thick branch,
Tobias eased Alex around from his back to sit directly in front of
him. “This is why I brought you here dearest, look.”

Her eyes widened as she
took in the scene that was spread out before her. While the forest
was beautiful from the ground, it was breathtaking from above. The
foliage from the trees was spread out in front of her, the
moonlight giving the leaves an indescribable quality that sunlight
couldn’t provide.