A Wolf's Pride (59 page)

“
Chloe, what
are you doing here?” Harry demanded.

“
That’s what
I’d like to know.” The darkly posed question slithered up her spine
as warm breaths caressed her ear. She shivered slightly,
anticipation thrumming through her and she knew without a shadow of
a doubt that Ryan was behind her. “I asked you a question angel.
What are you doing here? I left you somewhere safe, you should have
stayed there.”

She turned to
face him, her eyes momentarily meeting Erica's, who seemed to be
having a similar conversation with her equally irate mate. They
shared a secret smile before she gave her full attention to Ryan.
Head held high, shoulders back; she met his gaze defiantly. “What
am I doing here?” Her tone was incredulous as though he’d asked the
most ridiculous question in the world. “I’m trying to stop you guys
from tearing each other apart.”

“
Tearing each
other apart? There’s no way that could happen angel. Now that they
don’t have the element of surprise, they won’t be able to lay a
finger on me let alone tear me apart. The real problem is you being
out here, you could get seriously hurt. You know I can’t let that
happen. Please, go back inside where it’s safe. Let me take care of
this.”

“
No. I’m not
going to stand by idly while you two kill each other. I love you
Ryan, you know that but I love them too. If I can have both of you
then I will and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that
happens.” She sighed, placing a reassuring hand against his chest.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“
How can you be
so sure?”

“
Because you’re
here.”

The simple
words calmed him, quelling the boiling rage within him and reducing
it to a mere simmer. Her eyes were pleading, silently begging for
his permission to do this. He could feel her determination, her
need to at the very least try and resolve the matter peacefully and
the instinct moved within him, responding to her need and insisting
he give in.
What did I expect?
His mind scolded lightly.
Angels are peace loving.
“Fine,” he
growled reluctantly, his eyes scanning the surroundings, landing on
the many wolves that were now watching the unfolding situation
intently. “Go ahead, try to talk to them but if that doesn’t work
then you’re going back inside where it’s safe and I’ll deal with
this my way.”

“
Thank you
Ryan, this means a lot to me.”

“
I know, just
get started before I change my mind.”

She nodded
enthusiastically before turning to face her family. Watching the
interaction between Chloe and Ryan had produced conflicting
feelings within each of them. Ryan was exactly the sort of man they
themselves would have chosen for Chloe, strong, protective and
loved her to a fault, why did he have to be a werewolf at the same
time?

“
Dad, Jon,
Daniel, Christian, we need to talk about what you’ve been
doing.”

“
No we don’t,”
Harry interrupted. “You need to go inside and we need to take care
of this situation. Once we’ve taken care of these animals we’ll be
right in and then we’ll have a long discussion about exactly what
happened to you when you were that man’s captive.”

She scoffed.
“Dad, I was never really Ryan’s captive. Yes, he said I couldn’t
leave him but I was free to do whatever I wanted and he took care
of me. He still does and I want to take care of him as well that’s
why I can’t just do what you want… especially after what I saw last
night.”

“
What exactly
did you see?” Christian demanded, his eyes narrowing.

“
You tortured
him. I saw everything. What I can’t understand is why. Why would
you do something so inhumane, so illegal to someone you’d just met
who’d done nothing wrong?”

“
Laws and words
like humane are only applicable to humans Chloe and he’s definitely
not one,” Jonathan stated simply.

She scowled
at her eldest brother’s response. “What’s wrong with you guys? You
don’t even know him and you’re hunting him because what…he’s
different? That’s beyond ignorance.”

“
Chloe, he’s a
monster. Look around you and you’ll see that,” Daniel pleaded.
Stepping forward his hands outstretched, he tried to reach her only
for her to step away and move more firmly into the shelter of
Ryan’s body.

“
No, you’re the
monsters here! Damn it Dan, can’t you see that the things you think
are facts clearly aren’t true. I spent time with them, I know.
Werewolf myths really are just that, myths. They have no basis in
reality at all. They don’t live like animals; they live just like
anybody else, with family and friends around them. They don’t fight
each other just for the hell of it. They do it only to protect the
people they love. And as for actively trying to hurt normal people
well that’s just stupid. They live away from people and they don’t
even try to interact with us on a regular basis. The only humans
that are of any concern to them are people like me; mates, and I
feel sorry for anyone that tries to hurt a mate especially if that
person has a mate like mine. Think about it, if you can give me one
time, just one time, when a werewolf attacked you first without any
provocation on your part then I’ll leave, I’ll go inside and let
you continue this stupid war.”

Their brows
furrowed in thought, their minds struggling frantically to recall
one such occasion.

“
Can any of you
give me one example of a werewolf attacking you first!” she
screamed, hoping her voice would carry to the men surrounding her
father. “Any of you!” A few moments passed, the silence was
telling. “See, you can’t. You’ve been persecuting these people,
trying to wipe out an entire species and at the first challenge to
your position you don’t have a leg to stand on. Can’t you see that
there’s something wrong with what you’ve been doing? If you can’t,”
she hiccupped, her emotions beginning to slip from her control. “If
you can’t then maybe you deserve exactly what theses wolves plan to
do to you. You’ve tortured and killed people, torn entire families
apart and you don’t even have a reason. If this is what it means to
be a member of this family then maybe I don’t want to be a part of
it anymore.”

“
Chloe,” Harry
began only to be interrupted by Ryan’s angry growl.

He pulled his
mate close to his body; increasingly angry with the family she
loved so much. Smells of sadness, fear and agitation were beginning
to cloud her beautiful scent but it was the burgeoning smell of
tears that was bringing out the beast within him. No one made his
angel cry. “Speak carefully hunter. If you say anything to upset my
mate further, I’ll have my brother rip your throat out.”

“
Not man enough
to do it yourself,” Harry taunted. “Or are you afraid after what I
did to you last night.”

“
You did
nothing to me hunter. I was covering for my mate’s escape and it’s
clear that you believed it. Do I look like I’m suffering from any
ill effects of what you think you accomplished? The only reason I
won’t hurt you is because I promised her I wouldn’t attack you, any
of you.” He raised his voice, his eyes wandering over her brothers.
“Us wolves have overcome the human need to lie to their partners.
Promises between mates are practically sacred. Just say your piece
so I can take Chloe home. She’s exhausted and I want her safe in
our bed before the night is over.”

A scowl made
its way to Harry’s lips but he refrained from hurling any further
abuse at Ryan, instead turning his attention to his daughter.
“Chloe, I don’t know what to say.”

“
After what I
saw last night I don’t know what you can say to make it up to these
people either. How could you not even check out your facts before
going out and killing people?”

“
It’s what I
was raised to believe. It’s what my father told me and what his
father told him and his father before that. It’s been this way for
hundreds of years from when the myths started.”

“
Did you ever
think that maybe something that old might have been exaggerated?
Hundreds of years ago people were afraid of their own shadows. You
were wrong, you’ve always been wrong about these people. If you
don’t stop what you’re doing then they’ll kill you.”

His shoulders
slumped, the life seeming to leave his body in an instant. “It’s
hard to believe what you’re saying is true. This has been my life
for so long.”

“
Daddy.” She
stepped forward, her hands reaching for his hesitantly. “It’s never
too late to change. This is your life we’re talking about and mine
too for that matter. I want you to be a part of my life dad, I
don’t want to lose the only parent I have left especially not to
something like this.”

Daniel strode
forward, motioning for his brothers to join him. “If we disarm
Chloe, we’ll be defenceless. If what you say is true, then these
people have good reason to see us dead. They’ll kill us either
way.”

“
No they
won’t.” Alex walked forward, Tobias’ arm wrapped tightly around her
waist as she moved into dangerous territory.

“
Who are you?”
Christian pressed.

“
My name is
Alexandria and I’m the very, very human Queen of the
werewolves.”

“
And I’m
Tobias, the very, very pissed off King of the werewolves. My mate
has promised Chloe that if she can get you to stop this ridiculous
campaign then I won’t let my people kill you.” His angry growl made
even the life saving promise seem like a threat. Amber seeped back
into his grey eyes as he took in the mark he’d been raised to hate
for over three hundred years. “My mate’s word is my word. Disarm
and we can end this…” He paused, hesitating over the last word.
Alex stroked the skin of his forearm gently forcing him to look at
her. It was an unwise decision on his part if he’d wanted to stay
angry. Hundreds of years of hatred began to melt away as he looked
into eyes the colour of the richest emeralds. “Peace,” he choked.
“We can end this in peace. The choice is yours, I won’t offer
again.”

Harry,
Daniel, Christian and Jonathan exchanged meaningful glances,
silently debating their options before Harry turned to look at his
daughter. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“
I’ve never
wanted anything more in my life dad. Never.”

He groaned,
pulling away from her. Her heart began to fall. He’d chosen
unreasonable hatred over reason and was about to pay the price.
Already wolves were beginning to close in. She burrowed closer to
the warmth of Ryan’s body for silent support.

“
Drop your
weapons men!”

The words
surprised her and her began to beat frantically within her chest,
hope rising from within her. “Dad?”

He winked at
her before proceeding to walk away shouting his command as he went.
Her brother’s quickly followed suit demanding that guns be
abandoned, ancient animosity buried. Her attention was quickly
diverted to an alternative point as Ryan spun her around to face
him.

“
Angel,” he
growled.

“
Yes
mate.”

The
destruction and violence that filled the world around them
disappeared as they became enveloped in each other. The noise of
her family’s frantically delivered orders faded into nothing. All
those around them vanished from sight until there was only the two
of them.

“
You disobeyed
me. I told you to wait inside and stay safe.”

She smiled, a
secretive smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Actually I
think you’ll find that I didn’t. I never actually said that I would
stay inside. I only indirectly agreed to wait for you. I did wait,
a few minutes passed before I left. And as for staying safe, I had
Alex with me. She promised that I’d be fine.”

“
You know what
I meant, I’m still counting this as disobedience and when we get
home, I’m going to punish you for this.”

Her body
shivered, trembling in anticipation. His punishments were so
deliciously, wickedly enjoyable.
Maybe I
should disobey him more often, or push him just that little bit
further.
“I know you will,” she purred, her
body arching against his, pushing her curves against
him.

“
You don’t have
to look as though you’re going to enjoy it.”

“
But I will, we
both know that.”

“
You know, I
was thinking about being nice to you but you’ve made me change my
mind. I know the exact punishment for you.”

“
Oh and what
would that be?”

“
I’m going to
stay exactly as I am now for eternity. I’m going to infuriate you,
I’m going to make mistakes, I’m going to make you want to tear your
hair out in frustration some days.”

She leaned up
on her toes as she pulled his head down lower until their mouths
were level. Her breaths feathered over his lips as she spoke,
teasing him. “You’ll also love me like no one else ever could.
There are times when you can be somewhat idiotic but I can live
with that because you’re mine.”

He couldn’t
take her teasing any more. He closed the distance between them
swiftly, ferociously, pressing his lips against hers and demanding
entrance to the warm cavern of her mouth.