A Wolf's Duty (41 page)

She turned her head to
face him, trying to capture what she was feeling in words.
“Tobias…it’s beautiful, thank you for bringing me here.”

“Thank you for letting
me.”

She returned her gaze to
the beautiful landscape before her, but keeping her eyes open soon
became a chore. Her eyes began to droop and her head lolled as
exhaustion crept up on her.

As her head landed against
his chest yet again, Tobias pulled her closer to him. “You’re
tired.”

“I’m fine,” she
yawned.
I want to stay up here a little
longer,
her mind thought rebelliously even
though he was right.

“You didn’t sleep last
night.”

“No,” she admitted
reluctantly, “I was too worked up about what was going to happen
tonight to get much sleep.”

“You will sleep.” He
stood, lifting her into his arms. Her eyes closed shut tightly at
the change in position, convinced that they were going to fall to
an early demise. They did fall, but it was intentional on Tobias’
part. He leapt from the tree branch and allowed them to fall to the
next. He continued to jump and fall until they reached the safety
of the ground.

Her heart in her throat,
Alex gave Tobias a rather feeble smack to the shoulder in
retaliation for his actions. “This ordering me about stuff has got
to stop and no more jumping from trees like that. You scared the
life out of me. You and your wolf are merging faster than I would
have thought possible. Or is he just as bossy as you? Seriously, I
was sort of hoping that would have stopped.”

Tobias replied only with a
smile before running off at breakneck speed to return to the
entrance of their cave. It was only then that he decided to respond
to her earlier comments. “We both want what’s best for you and
that’s why we do it.” He smirked, moving her to a small recess in
the cave, where the grass was thicker and softer beneath his feet.
He lay her down onto the soft floor, draping his shirt over her
body for extra warmth and leaning against the wall beside
her.

“I know exactly what’s
best for me, I don’t need you two ordering me about.” She stated;
her attempt at being authoritative ruined by the loud yawns that
peppered her declaration.

“Of course you do dearest
but that isn’t going to stop either of us ordering you about.” He
smiled, pulling the shirt up to her neck as she fell further into
the arms of sleep. “Mine.” he growled softly, once she was fast
asleep, gently caressing her soft cheek. “Perfect.”

Chapter
Thirty-Seven

Though the cave
had been almost pitch black at night, the sun’s rays somehow
managed to reach Alex’s eyes from the depths of the cave. Her eyes
fluttered open as the rays from the sun hit her and she began to
stretch, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. Tobias could feel
her waking beside him and he inhaled deeply, enjoying her scent as
it filled his senses, while loathing the idea of waking himself. He
had hunted not too long ago, catching an aging doe. His wolf had
gorged itself and now he was suffering from the after effects as
lethargy held him captive. Alex, however, didn’t seem too affected
as she sat up apparently having finished the last of her morning
stretches. Looking at her palms, she noticed that a thin layer of
grass had covered them in her sleep and the same could be said of
her knees. Dusting the grass from herself, she found the skin
beneath it was healed and she smiled.
Thank you.
Now definitely awake, her
head turned in search of Tobias, when her eyes landed on him, they
widened in shock, revealing more green than he could ever remember
seeing.

Heart racing, she allowed
her eyes to scan Tobias’ frame, while he scrambled to all four
paws. He was large, easily reaching and perhaps even passing her
waist, though she had come to expect a large body from all the time
she had spent with Ryan, his size easily dwarfed that of his
cousin. A thick coat of light grey fur covered his entire body,
becoming paler as it moved along his new frame until his thick tail
was pure white. His coat looked almost like snow and she reached
forward hesitantly intent on discovering how it felt, lightly
stroking his cocked ears with her thumbs and marvelling at how soft
the fur was. The wolf remained still under her questing hands,
allowing her to explore to her heart’s content. Her hands embedded
themselves in his soft fur, rubbing firmly against him; before her
hands moved down to stroke his well defined legs, her fingers
skimming over the large paws. Her exploration stopped abruptly and
she sat back, realising that she wasn’t even sure that this animal
was Tobias.

“Tobias, this is you
right?”

The wolf padded towards
her on silent paws and she instinctively shuffled backwards. If a
wolf could have smiled, she was sure that the expression on the
animal’s face would have qualified as one, it moved closer before
stopping in front of her. Amber eyes stared at her for a moment
before it’s long muzzle bumped into her nose. She giggled at the
cold sensation but it left her abruptly as the muzzle was rubbed
lightly against her cheek. Any fear she might have had disappeared
at the reassuring and familiar actions of the wolf and she found
her hands once again running through its soft fur.

Stepping away from her
warmth, Tobias cocked his head at her and she frowned. “What is it
Tobias? You can understand me right?”

He nodded, before jerking
his head to the side and stepping back from her. She stood and he
moved further back into the cave. Her hand trailed along the stone
walls, as they walked along the familiar path to the spring. The
path was still dark, even in the day and she felt a sense of
apprehension fill her as she walked without the firm guidance of
Tobias’ hand on her elbow. The tip of his white tail caught her
attention as it swished back and forth and she smiled at the
realisation that she could see it, the pure white of it acting like
a beacon through the darkness. Light soon filtered through the
holes in the cave’s roof and the spring came into sight. He moved
forward until he was standing at the edge of the water, jerking his
head in its direction. Understanding quickly dawned and she walked
closer to the water, stripping her clothes and watch before slipped
into the spring.

From the edge of the
spring, Tobias watched as she bathed, his tongue lolling as
occasional glimpses of her skin became visible through the water.
She swam leisurely in the spring for a while, before reaching the
conclusion that she was sufficiently clean. As she stood from the
water, Tobias found himself cursing the wolf body he was trapped in
and the restrictions it placed on his actions. Droplets of water
ran along the curves of her body and even in his lupine form he
found his body reacting to the sight of his naked mate.

What I
wouldn’t give for a pair of hands,
he
cursed.

Now you know
how I feel 99 percent of the time,
his wolf
chuckled.
To look but not be able to
touch? It’s the worst kind of torture. Especially when I have you
constraining my actions.

Never
again,
he groaned.
When you even get a slight inkling to touch her just let me
know and I’ll spirit her away to a nice private place so we can be
alone.

Finally! We’re
making progress with you. After all these centuries, you’ve finally
seen the light of reason!

You have no
sense of reason,
Tobias commented
dryly.

I don’t need
it to see the sense in touching our mate whenever possible and
there’s nothing you can say to contradict me now that you and I are
finally on the same page.

Alex began to shiver as
the cold air touched her damp body and he shook himself out of his
reverie. Wrapping her arms around herself, she watched as Tobias
padded out of sight and slowly walked after him. He rounded a
corner, into a hidden alcove and she followed, a small smile
appearing on her lips as she took stock of the clothes that were
folded neatly in a corner. The wolf returned to her, a clean white
towel between it teeth, which she took gratefully, wrapping herself
in its warmth. Eyeing the pile of clothing, she stepped further
into the alcove, choosing clothing very similar to the ones she had
worn the previous day, a simple shirt and shorts.

“Tobias?” The wolf’s head
whipped round, staring at her with large amber eyes. “I’m hung –”
Her stomach decided to make itself known with a loud and audible
growl. “Hungry.” Another wolfish smile followed her statement,
before he trotted out of the alcove and she ran after him, grabbing
her discarded watch as they passed it. Following the brightness of
his tail, she walked through the darkness of the tunnel that
connected the main part of the cave to the spring. They reached the
central part of the cave and he continued on, leading her further
into the light until they reached the entrance.

The forest
spread out before them, tall green trees stretching heavenward
while thick shrubs formed the underbrush. She squinted against the
bright rays of the sun, its light seeming more intense after
spending most of the night in the dark. She frowned at its position
in the sky, confused as to why it was so low. A quick glance at her
watch told her that she had slept most of the day away.
No wonder I’m so hungry, I missed breakfast and
lunch. I didn’t realise I was that tired.
Her stomach decided to press its case once more, grumbling
loudly in protest of the lack of food.

Padding forward and out of
the cave, he yelped at her, gaining her attention before motioning
for her to follow him. They walked in silence through the forest
and she noticed that the path that they walked along seemed to have
been hastily made. The ground beneath her feet was relatively fresh
and untrodden as the wild underbrush had been hacked back and now
was nowhere near where they walked.

“Tobias?” The grey wolf in
front of her stopped, turning its head back to look at her. “Did
you do this?” She waved a hand, indicating the path. He nodded.
“You know you didn’t have to, I could have moved the plants
myself.”

He shrugged his
shoulders.
Didn’t want anything getting
too close to you. Not everything in this forest is safe, especially
with you being human.

Again he found himself
cursing his wolf form and the lack of a human voice box. Unable to
tell her why he had done what he had done, he continued onward,
soon leading her to a grove filled with different trees. He moved
easily among the trees, running off when the scent of ripe peaches
assaulted his nose. Laughing she chased after him, winding through
the trees, being especially careful of low lying branches to
prevent herself from falling again.

“Tobias, wait,” she
chuckled, losing sight of him as he sped off. A sharp growl caught
her attention and she followed it, finding him pawing at the base
of a peach tree. His head turned from her to the tree and
realisation dawned.

“Food for me
right?”

He nodded and
she walked forward. Gripping the hem of her shirt, she pulled it
away from her skin, holding it out in front of her as she stood
beneath the tree.
Mind giving me something
to eat?
she asked the whispers in the back
of her head. A branch filled with juicy and ripe peaches lowered to
her and the fruit dropped neatly from the braches into her make
shift basket.
Thank you.
She caught sight of Tobias at the edge of the
clearing and walked towards him, following him as he led her to a
bubbling stream. Lying down in the wide and clear expanse of the
stream’s bank, he watched as she walked towards him, glad that she
had overcome her earlier fear of him. Surprising him, she leaned
back against his exposed belly and began to eat the fruit she had
acquired.
You never cease to amaze me
dearest.

The fruit now eaten, she
rose from her position against Tobias’ stomach and walked towards
the stream and began to wash her hands of the sticky juice of the
peach. The water called to her and she stripped her shoes from her
body placing her feet in the fast moving water and walking into the
centre of the stream. The water wasn’t deep and so she stood easily
within it. Tobias watched her from the bank, curious as to what she
was doing. His curiosity was soon appeased when she placed her
hands in the water and thrust them towards him, soaking him with
water. He growled low in his throat before jumping into the water
with her. Just because he lacked hands, it didn’t mean he was
defenceless. His thick tail could skim more water in her direction
than her small hands and he struck hard. She was quickly drenched
from head to toe. Laughing, she ran further down the stream and
threw more water in his direction and he retaliated. They played in
the water until the cold began to make Alex shiver and they
returned to the bank allowing the sun to dry her clothes and his
pelt.

They lay together in
silence watching as the day passed, the sun setting and streaking
the blue sky red and orange as it disappeared from the horizon,
until it was gone and the sky darkened. The stars twinkled above
them as they waited for the appearance of the moon. It didn’t
disappoint, the large white orb soon appearing against the starry
backdrop of the sky. A calming breath was the only step she took to
prepare herself, having accepted what was going to happen
tonight.