A Wolf's Duty (7 page)

“Tobias.”

The hands gripping his
hair tightening and he could feel her pulling his head away from
her neck. Satisfied that his mark was in place he allowed the move,
growling in delight as she pulled his lips back to hers. His wolf
retreated; apparently satisfied that it had completed his task.
Loosening his grip on her waist he smiled against her lips before
stroking their seam with his tongue to gain passage. Instantly
understanding what he wanted, she parted her lips and allowed him
to slip in. His kiss was less aggressive now as he stroked his
tongue against hers, but that did nothing to diminish the
sensations she was feeling. Her nipples still painfully hard
against his chest and the ache between her thighs now constant as
every move his tongue made sent a jolt of pleasure through her
before settling at that juncture. His tongue withdrew and he placed
light kisses all over her face before resting his forehead against
her own.

“Alexandria,” he began,
his tone apologetic.

“Don’t,” she interrupted.
“I’m not sorry for that and you shouldn’t be either.” Her face
flushed with heat as she spoke and she cursed her lack of
experience with the opposite sex, unsure of if she had said the
right thing. She’d never been comfortable around males, terrified
that they would all be like Fred. Tobias was a welcome exception to
the rule, instantly making her feel safe just by being next to her
but her lack of knowledge was showing and she couldn’t help
thinking that he was comparing her to other women he had dated. She
was positive that she was coming up short.

He smiled and her worries
vanished. “I’m glad you’re not sorry because I plan on doing it
again in the future. I plan on doing it a lot.”

Noting the darkening of
the sky as the sun began to set, she quickly became aware of the
time. “I should probably go now, my dad will be worried,” she
coughed, the lie tasting unexpectedly bitter in her
mouth.

“Do you want me to take
you home?”

“No, I’ll be
alright.”
If Fred sees you he’ll know I
lied to him and I’m not in the mood for a beating after such a
wonderful day.

“Can I see you again
tomorrow?”

I’m meant to
be working tomorrow as well so I guess it will be alright.
“Yes, tomorrow will be fine.”

“Same time and
place?”

She nodded. “I guess I’d
better be off then.”

“I suppose you should.” He
smiled tightening his grip on her waist and lowering his head
towards hers. “Just one more and then you can go.”

Any protest she
might have made was cut off when his lips met hers once more and
all rational thought fled her mind.
Just
one more
, she agreed, feeling his teeth nip
at her lips again, instantly making her body feel hot.
Just one more and then I’ll go.

Chapter
Six

Sitting on the edge of his
large double bed, Tobias found that for the fifth time in as many
days, he couldn’t enjoy the splendour of his surroundings. The
rented suited that he had been calling home for the past week was
of equal grandeur to any of the rooms of his family’s estate,
decorated as it was in alternating shades of cream and gold.
However his mind was frantic and granted him no moments of peace to
enjoy life’s luxuries unless he was with Alexandria, and he was
increasingly aware that their time together was growing
short.

The moon’ll be
full tomorrow and I still haven’t told her,
he groaned, allowing his head to fall heavily into his waiting
palms while he wracked his mind for a solution. His inner wolf
wasn’t helping matters with its near constant demands to claim her
so that she would never be able to escape him. Aware that it was
the moon’s influence that was making his wolf act in such a manner,
he tried his best to dismiss it, but the demands were wearing on
his nerves.

He could
distantly hear the phone ringing in the background and he
studiously attempted to ignore its ear piercing wails.
Xandria has that number; she might be calling
me.
Pushing his mounting headache to the
back of his mind he forced himself to smile, trying to make himself
sound happier than he was.

“Hello.”

“Tobias, dearest how are
you?”

Upon hearing his mother’s
warm voice, his smile faded and he felt weary once more.
“Mother.”

“You don’t sound happy to
hear from me Tobias is something wrong?”

“No, I just thought it
might be someone else.”

“You mean your wonderful
mate?” He said nothing, throwing himself backwards against the
mattress. “I’ll take that as a yes then. So, when do we get to meet
her? I presume you’re bringing her home this full moon.”

“It’s complicated
mother.”

“I don’t understand.” He
could practically see the frown that had likely appeared on her
face at that. “You’re her mate. The moon will be full soon. You
should bring her here to be among us.”

“I’ve told you before
mother, she’s human. She doesn’t even know what I am.”

“Why haven’t you told
her?”

“I just...” He
trailed off while he scrambled for an answer to her demand.
I don’t want to see that look of disbelief on her
face again and if I tell her, it will appear. If I tell her she’ll
probably be terrified and I don’t want to lose her to the chase
just yet. A little more time, I just want a little more time
together, and then I’ll tell her.
“Like I
said mother, it’s complicated.”

“Are you ashamed of her?
Is that why you don’t want to bring her amongst us?” She sounded
disheartened that that might be the case.

Tobias on the other hand
was infuriated by her suggestion. “What?” he roared, his voice
echoing through the large room. “She’s my mate; I’ve nothing to be
ashamed of. And I’ll kill anyone that tries to make her feel that
way. I’ll bring her, mother, just not yet.”

“The moon will be full
tomorrow, what exactly do you plan to do? If you don’t tell her now
she’ll find out then.” Her calmly delivered response dissipated his
anger and he felt his earlier unease return.

“I know. I’ve been trying
to come up with a solution, but I haven’t found one.”

“Tobias , tell her now.
From what you have told me she’s very understanding.”

Yes, she’s,
but she’s also more skittish than a fawn. She’ll run if I tell
her,
he grumbled.

“When the moon rises,
you’ll go to her, that’s certain dearest. And when you do she’ll
see your true nature, she’ll see what you really are. You’ve got to
prepare her.”

As his mind digested his
mother’s last statement, a smile appeared on his face as a solution
became increasingly clear. “I won’t tell her yet.”

“Tobias,” his mother
interrupted, “haven’t we just gone over this? She’ll see you when
the moon is full.”

“No she won’t. I’ll leave
today and go far away. I’ll go far enough away that once the moon
is full and I start to run to her I won’t make it back here until
the moon is waning and then she won’t see me.”

“You’ll leave her
undefended?” His mother sounded appalled by such a thought, ashamed
of his behaviour.

“Of course not,” he
snapped. “What kind of mate would I be if I left her alone after
I’ve marked her?” His mother sighed in relief. “I’ll leave
Sebastian and Ryan to look after her. They’re not mated and won’t
be as affected by the moon.”

“You can’t keep up this
lie forever Tobias, you can’t just leave her alone for a few days
each month, she’ll know something is wrong. If she’s your mate then
I doubt that she’s silly enough not to notice something is going
on.”

“No she’s not, but I don’t
plan on doing this forever. I’ll tell her at the end of next month.
I just want to enjoy the time we have together. I swear I’ll tell
her mother, just give me time.”

“Tobias my dearest you
know your father and I would give you all the time in the world to
win your mate, but the Council is anxious. They want to crown you
and now that you’ve found your mate, they want to put you on the
throne as soon as possible.”

“They’ve found out? I
didn’t want them to know yet.”

“I don’t think they have
anything concrete just yet, but we can’t keep this a secret
forever, gossip is rife. Lucinda has been talking.”

Tobias felt his stomach
mount a protest at the mere mention of his ex-lover’s name. “What’s
she been saying?”

“I’ve heard rumours that
she’s claiming to be your true mate, the rumours say that you
rejected her.”

He saw red. “That’s a lie,
she could never be my mate. I would sooner cut my own throat than
claim her even if those rumours were true!”

“Tobias there’s no need to
be so dramatic. You would heal from that sort of a wound, you know
that. The rumours are however gaining ground. I believe her clan is
backing them; you know how they would so want the rumours to be
true. You need to squash them and bring Alexandria back with
you.”

“And I will but not right
now. She’s not ready to be in our world. Can you help me hide her
for the next month?”

“I’ll do my best son, but
someone is bound to catch on.”

“One thing at a time
mother, I have to tell her that I’m leaving first and we’ll go from
there.”

“A month Tobias, that’s
all I can give.”

“I know mother, thank
you.”

“You know there’s nothing
I wouldn’t do for you. Good luck.”

“Thank you
mother.” Hanging up, he quickly surveyed his surroundings, trying
to think of the most efficient means of implementing his
plan.
I don’t need much, with the moon
I’ll be so focused on getting back to her that I won’t have the
chance to use anything so I don’t need to pack. I’ll need to get a
plane to be far enough away that I won’t make it back while the
moon is full, a long flight. I need to tell her as soon as
possible, then I’ll be able to get in a few extra hours with her
before I have to leave.
She has work
tonight.
A brief glance at his watch told
him that she wouldn’t have left for work just yet.
I’ll meet up with her and tell her on the
way.
Bolting upright he picked up his
mobile, to call Sebastian and Ryan and tell them of the new
arrangements.

*****

“Alexandria, wait up.” She
shuddered as Emily’s voice reached her ears and continued onwards
to the nearby exit.

Just keep
walking, whatever it is will just make you angry and get you in
trouble. Just keep your head down and keep walking.
Trudging onwards she felt herself stopped short
steps from the open doorway by a restraining hand on her
shoulder.

“I told you to wait,”
Emily snapped from behind her.

Shrugging the hand off her
shoulder, she turned to face her. “And since when have I ever
listened to a thing you had to say, let alone obeyed?”

“Look at you, anyone
hearing you talk would think that you had something that I didn’t
and let’s face it raggedy Ann,” her eyes swept over Alex’s worn
clothing before landing on her face, a cruel smirk now firmly in
place. “You don’t.”

“Is that all you wanted?
I’ve heard these insults a thousand times before and to be honest,
I’m not in the mood for it right now.” Turning away, she took a
step in the direction of the exit before Emily’s hand once again
exerted a restraining influence on her shoulder.

“I haven’t finished with
you.”

“Well I’m done
with you, so let go,” she hissed becoming distantly aware of a
gathering crowd.
Why is it that people
find it so interesting to watch me and Emily have at each other? I
mean I gave her one little beating and now it’s like they think
they I’m going to give her another one and are squabbling over who
gets ring side seats.

Coming to stand in front
of her, Emily’s grin had widened upon seeing Rachel and Sandra
approach to offer their support. “Well you see raggedy, I hear you
have something that might be of great interest to me.”

“Oh really,
what’s that? My fist in your face? Because let me tell you right
now, you’re going about the right way to getting another beating.”
Emily’s smile didn’t falter despite the threat of violence Alex had
just issued.
Calm down Alex,
she mentally soothed trying to rein in her
anger.
Don’t let your anger get the best
of you, that’s what she wants. Be the bigger person.
“Look,” Alex sighed, “Can’t we just let this go?
We’re going to graduate soon, let’s just leave all this crap in the
past.”

“I’ll consider it in
exchange for something.”

“Look Emily as you’re
always pointing out I’ve next to nothing, so you know I’ve nothing
to give you –”

“That’s not quite true now
is it Alex?” She interrupted.

“Of course it’s true, I’ve
nothing to give you.” She reiterated.