A Wolf's Duty Read online

  “Don’t get upset mummy,” one of the children hovering around her legs pleaded.

  “What they have been doing to you?”

  Ilyanna sighed but ploughed on. “They’ve never physically harmed me…but they snub me in the streets, make it difficult for us to access clan funds and badmouth me. They’ve turned their children against mine and children can be so cruel! I won’t have another day where my children come back from school battered and bruised. Please help us your highness, I don’t know what else to do. I’ve exhausted all my ideas on how to solve this problem.”

  “Denying other clan members access to clan funds is a serious accusation.”

  “I know it is and I stand by what I’ve said, all of it is true.”

  “I’m sure of that Ilyanna. I knew your husband, we were friends when we were younger.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that your highness.”

  “We grew apart after…” My brother died. Tobias trailed off, unwilling to discuss why they had grown apart. “We grew apart but that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to help you especially in light of what you’ve told me.”

  “What will you do your highness?”

  “I’ll have the Northern clan investigated of course, but as for you…you will join the royal clan.”

  “Your highness, I would never presume to join your clan,” Ilyanna spluttered.

  “I’m aware of that Ilyanna, but that’s what’s going to happen. You’re worthy of joining this clan; you came here not knowing what I would say. I could very well have chosen not to believe you and told the nobles of your clan. My cousin is the leader of that clan after all, which would only have made your life more difficult. Despite your loss, you’re trying to do what’s best for your family. That shows bravery, courage and determination, the exact traits members of the royal clan should have. You will join us.”

  “What shall I do here your highness? I’m not royalty.”

  Join the club, Alex thought silently, though the strength of emotion in those three simple words allowed Tobias to hear them as though she had spoken them aloud.

  “That’s simple, as my mate is new to the royal clan and our ways, you can learn it together.”

  “And what of my children?”

  “Well?” Tobias whispered in Alex’s ear. “What do you think we should do with them?”

  “What kind of a question is that?” Alex shrieked. “If Ilyanna gets to stay then her children obviously stay with her. They can join the royal clan thingy too.”

  “Royal clan thingy?” Tobias muttered to himself, amazed at her language and judging from the looks of astonishment that were etched upon the face of every council member they were too baffled by her terminology. “Well there you have it Ilyanna, the children stay within the clan as well. Is that all?”

  She nodded dumbly, clearly astounded by the turn of events. Holding a hand out to Alex, Tobias waited for her to take it before pulling her out of the chair and making her stand. “Well if that’s all then the Princess and I shall be on our way, we have some unfinished business to take care of.” He turned to Charles, grinning wildly.

  “Well actually your highness, we have some other issues to discuss.” A tall, wizened man by the name of Samuel inserted.

  “You’re kidding me right?” Tobias groaned.

  “No your highness, there are quite a few things to take care of especially as your crowning will be taking place soon enough.” He looked pointedly at Alex.

  Becoming uncomfortable under the older man’s scrutiny, Alex extracted her hand from Tobias’ and moved down the small flight of stares that separated the Council and Royalty from those they had an audience with. “I’ll just leave you to it Tobias, I think I’ll find Maria and show Ilyanna and the kids to their rooms. I’ll see you later.” Grabbing Ilyanna’s hand she fled from the room.

  “Thanks for nothing Samuel.”

  “You’re soon to be our King and you have duties that you have to complete.”

  “I’m well aware of that thank you very much. Let’s just get this over with so I can get back to my mate.”

  “Your highness,” Charles inserted. “I’m aware that you have waited longer than any other for your mate and judging from what I witnessed, you’re well on your way to making up, but I should think that you don’t need to be reminded of the tradition.”

  Tobias groaned, all thought of tradition having fled his mind with Alex’s proximity. “Yes I know the tradition; I can’t take her until the claiming ceremony.”

  “Very good your highness, I’m glad to hear that all the years of learning have not gone to waste.” Charles grinned, the other members of the council nodding their agreement. “Let’s go to the Council chamber and complete our tasks for the day.”

  Tobias almost groaned again, before a thought occurred to him. Just because I can’t have her completely doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy her.

  His inner wolf agreed, flooding his mind with various scenarios to that affect and Tobias found himself grinning his agreement. Yes, there are lots of things that can be done without fully taking her.

  *****

  The meeting with the council had taken longer than Tobias had thought possible and now the day was gone, night swiftly taking its place. All that time that I could have spent with Xandria wasted. I swear the council exists just to make my life difficult. I’m beginning to long for the day when I’m King and they can finally be disbanded, he groaned, walking along the corridor that led to his rooms. The sound of banging coming from Alex’s room had him turning his head and he found himself frowning in confusion. Turning, he walked to Alex’s door and eased it open, allowing his head to slip through the crack.

  Wielding a large shoe, Alex stood in front of the door that joined their two rooms, hammering away at the lock and muttering under her breath. “Stupid lock won’t bloody come off!”

  “Xandria?”

  The sound of his voice in the silence of her room had her turning quickly, so quickly that she slipped and fell, landing on her bottom. Despite the injury she smiled widely at his arrival. “Tobias.”

  Walking into the room, he closed the door behind him and strode over to her, helping her get to her feet. “Alexandria, what are you doing?” he questioned, regarding the shoe in her hand with a puzzled expression.

  “Oh this?” She grinned, motioning at the shoe and the door. He nodded. Her head dropped as embarrassment flooded her and she began to fidget, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. “I’m trying to break the lock, I figured that since I wasn’t mad at you anymore we didn’t really need it.”

  “Not concerned about me barging in on you?” She shook her head silently, negating the claim. A finger reached under her chin and forced her head up so that their gazes met. “You sure about this?”

  “Positive.”

  He grinned at the statement before reaching out for the protruding lock and gripping it within his hand. Pulling at the lock, he easily removed it from the door, leaving a rather large hole in the wood and throwing the useless lock in the direction of the bin.

  “How did you do that? I’ve been trying to break it for ages.”

  “Super-human strength, just another perk of having a wolf live in you.”

  Her head dropped again and she murmured, “Tobias, about earlier…”

  “Yes, earlier…” His eyes flashed amber before she found herself pressed against a wall, his body crowding hers and preventing her from escaping. “We have some unfinished business to take care of.” He grinned, pressing his hips against her, causing her to gasp in shock at the feeling of his hardened shaft pressed against her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  His head swiftly descended and his lips captured hers, stealing her breath and leaving her gasping. His hands found her hips, gripping them hard enough that she was sure she would be sore in the morning. But as she gave herself over to simply enjoying the sensations he produced within her, she found herself caring less and less about the aches she
would have tomorrow. Her hands rose and found their way into the thick strands of his hair, holding him in place as she fell into his kiss.

  Mine, his wolf growled.

  Ours, he agreed, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips, gaining access to the warmth of her mouth. Her tongue was tentative as it touched his but he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss; she groaned at the sensation, meeting him touch for touch. “Tobias.” He smiled into the kiss before placing his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck, running his tongue over the warm skin and causing her to shiver at the sensation. He nipped lightly at the flesh and she felt herself grow wet in a rush. “Tobias, please.”

  “Please what?” His hands moved from her hips to the exposed skin of her legs and moved up beneath her skirt to palm the round cheeks of her buttocks. Thought fled and she found that it was now impossible to string together a coherent sentence. His hands abruptly left her and her eyes widened in surprise.

  “Tobias?”

  He smiled before turning her away from him and pulling her back into his chest. “Yes?” His hands reached for the material of her thin shirt, shredding both the offending item and the bra that lay beneath. Cupping her now bare breasts in his hands, he groaned, nestling his head into the curve of her neck and breathing in deeply as he caressed the soft skin with gentle strokes of his fingertips.

  She shuddered as the cool air brushed across her nipples, hardening them into straining peaks. Reaching for them with his fingers, he rolled them between his thumb and forefinger, kissing the exposed flesh of her neck. “Tobias,” she moaned in response, her entire body reacting to his touch and closeness. Nipping the flesh of her neck, he felt her gasp and grinned to himself. So sensitive. One of his hands left her breast and began making its way down her body, leaving trails of warmth in its wake. Reaching beneath her skirt, he made his way up to her sex and cupped her, groaning at how wet she already was. Removing his other hand from her breast he fell to his knees, unzipping the skirt and pulling both it and her underwear down her legs.

  Crossing her hands across her chest to cover her nakedness, she turned to face him. “Tobias?” The tone of her voice gave away her nervousness and he found himself smiling at her, trying to make her relax.

  “Don’t worry dearest; I’ll take care of everything.” He stood, gathering her in his arms and moving towards the bed. Gently laying her against it, he moved to lie between her legs, quickly capturing her lips and silencing any further protests. She moaned against his lips, relaxing against him. He ran a hand up and down her side, getting her used to his touch, before laying his large hand directly over the triangle of dark curls that covered her sex from him.

  “Perfect, Xandria. You’re so perfect.” She blushed at his words before his mouth descended onto one of her nipples, sucking firmly and causing her to squirm beneath him. Suckling and licking at the firm nipple, he urged her legs to open wider for him, kneeling between them. He smiled down at her before gently rubbing his fingers along the length of her outer lips, groaning again at how wet they were.

  Take her now, his wolf urged and Tobias found himself cursing tradition.

  No, we can’t. This is just for her.

  Easing a finger between her wet lips, he easily found the small bundle of nerves guaranteed to bring her pleasure and rubbed it lightly. Her back arched from the bed and she gasped at the sensation. “Tobias.” Grinning to himself, he continued to lightly circle the small bud before changing tactics. Easing a finger into her, he found himself shuddering at the sensation. So small and tight.

  Untouched, his wolf grinned. Ours and only ours.

  Gasping at the perceived invasion, Alex forced herself to relax. His thumb returned to the bundle of nerves that brought her pleasure, rubbing against it while his finger moved steadily in and out of her body. Her back arched again and she felt pleasure begin to build within herself, her entire body feeling as though it were balanced at the edge of a precipice. Another finger joined the first and her body stiffened at the intrusion. Halting his advance, Tobias allowed her to get used to the sensation, her body beginning to stretch to accommodate it. As she began to relax beneath him, he moved his thumb to rub against her more firmly whilst his fingers picked up where they had left off, soon moving faster within her. His thumb slowed, allowing her body to calm before it sped up again. He continued with the tortuous rhythm, taking her to the brink before slowing until she was writhing beneath him, gasping and desperate for release.

  “Tobias, I, I…” She panted, her hips moving into his hand as she tried to reach for the wealth of pleasure she was sure awaited her on the other side of the precipice.

  “Let go sweetheart,” he urged, moving his fingers faster.

  Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent scream as her body convulsed around his fingers. Her inner walls clamping down on his fingers while her body trembled beneath him, coating his fingers in a warm liquid.

  Now! his wolf demanded, straining against its confines within Tobias’ mind, desperate to fulfil its instincts.

  Shut up. I told you no. Watching her, Tobias felt a measure of satisfaction wash over him. Her face was flushed; her eyes now closed as she savoured the pleasure that had washed over her, a small smile adorned her lips. Gently removing his fingers from her, he began to lick them clean, his inner wolf growling in satisfaction at her taste. He looked down at his hardened member before turning to regard her, frowning.

  She’s so small. We’re going to have to do this a lot to prepare her; otherwise the claiming will be unnecessarily hard on her. The thought made his frown disappear and a large smile appeared to take its place.

  “Tobias?” She sat up, the small smile still in place but a look of confusion evident in her gaze.

  “Yes?”

  “Aren’t you going to…” She blushed, her words trailing off as embarrassment infused her despite what they had just done.

  Leaning forward, he placed a chaste kiss against her lips. “I can’t dearest.” Her eyes lowered from his face to stare pointedly at the erection straining against the confines of his trousers. “It’s tradition I can’t take you until the claiming ceremony. It’s an old tradition, I think it was to ensure that an heir was legitimate, but it doesn’t make any sense now and I swear if my father hadn’t told me about it when I reached maturity, I would think that the council was just making it up to make my life difficult but they’re not.”

  She stared at him for a moment processing the information he had just imparted. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” she mumbled, their closeness allowing Tobias to feel the heat radiating from her cheeks.

  “No dearest, if you touched me now…” He groaned, the images that flooded his mind weakening his resolve while his wolf continued to make its protests known. “I don’t think I’d be able to control myself, my wolf isn’t very happy with this, so I think it would be best if I just went.” Placing a fleeting kiss against her forehead he stood and rushed into his room, desperate to reach the shower and ease the ache between his legs.

  Tearing his clothes from his body as he went, he quickly entered the shower. Standing beneath the warm spray he gripped himself, stroking hard and fast, imagining Alex’s hands instead of his own. In his state of high arousal he quickly reached his climax, groaning as he released himself within the shower. Breathing hard he allowed himself to relax against the cool tiles. His wolf, discontent with his current course of action, flooded his mind with images of Alex lying naked on his bed, inviting him to join her; he felt himself hardening again and groaned. Turning to face the knob that regulated temperature, he turned the warm water ice cold. Standing beneath the now freezing spray he growled at his still hard erection.

  You should have taken her, the wolf within him grumbled.

  Well I didn’t and I’m not going to be taking her anytime soon so stop this right now. Gripping himself again, he quickly stroked himself to another climax thankful that his wolf had chosen to listen to him and his mind remained blissfu
lly clear of all sexual images. Turning the shower off, he stepped out and began drying himself with a nearby towel stepping into his bedroom with it wrapped lightly around his waist. His breath left him at the sight that awaited him on his return.

  Alex sat on the edge of his bed dressed in what looked like one of his t-shirts, the exaggerated curl to her hair suggesting that she too had just taken a shower. He could feel his wolf grin at her appearance and groaned as he found himself hardening once again beneath his towel. Damn healing abilities, why couldn’t I just be like a normal human male in this.

  “What are you doing here Xandria?”

  She stood wringing her hands. “I didn’t want the nightmares to come again and you made them go away that first night so I thought that maybe if I stayed with you then I could sleep properly.” She looked up and seeing the almost stricken expression on his face, felt her confidence waver. “Never mind it was a stupid idea, I’ll just sleep in my own room.” Turning, she began to head for the door, before his hand on her arm stopped her.

  “It wasn’t a bad idea dearest, it just took me a minute to get control of myself. Of course you can stay here but are you sure you want to? Remember I sleep naked,” he grinned.

  “After what we just did I think I can deal with it.” Turning again, she leapt into the bed, throwing the duvet over herself.

  It’s not you I’m worried about. Reaching into one of his drawers, he pulled out a pair of boxers, quickly pulling them on.

  “I thought you slept naked,” she questioned.

  “I normally do, but I think in this case it’s probably safer for us to have as many layers between us as possible to keep me from doing something I shouldn’t.” Or more specifically to keep my wolf from doing something stupid. Listen, you just let her sleep, don’t try and do anything funny.

  Would I do anything like that? the wolf responded, trying to inject a measure of righteous indignation into his tone.