A Wolf's Duty Read online

  She had been speaking to her manager Ruth, who had just returned from a week holiday in Barbados and was determined to spread the joy.

  “You know Alex, I can’t remember the last time you had a day off,” Ruth commented offhand.

  “That’s because she’s never taken one.” A passing co-worker inserted before moving on.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Ruth spluttered. “You’ve been working here almost two years and you’ve never had a day off? You’re taking one.” She insisted.

  “No it’s ok Ruth, I don’t really want one and I need the money.”

  “Everybody needs a day off work once in a while and you’re a student too, I’m sorry but you can’t need the money that badly. Plus I don’t want to be accused of over working my employees. You’re taking this weekend off and that’s the end of this conversation.” She turned on her heel and left before Alex could even try to contradict her.

  “Bugger,” she swore as Ruth left her line of sight, “a whole weekend with Fred. Forty-eight whole hours with the monster in that prison…I’ll be lucky if I can even walk on Monday.”

  Pulling her mind out of the past and back to the present she was relieved to find that Fred hadn’t said anything while her mind was strolling memory lane, apparently waiting for a response. “Oh, yeah it is.”

  “It’s also the last Friday of the month which means you get paid today.”

  I was hoping he’d forget that. I don’t know why I even get my hopes up anymore. He never forgets to take my money.

  “My friends are coming round tonight. I want you to take the money and buy us some drinks. Make sure you get some vodka, the good stuff. I expect it to be here when we get back.”

  She lifted her head and her mouth had opened before she could censor the words that left it. “All that alcohol isn’t good for you.”

  If possible, his eyes managed to narrow further and he gave her a thorough once over, starting from her legs and intensely scanning the short distance between them and her eyes. His gaze locked with her own and she noted in horror that the vein on the side of his head was thick and pulsating. Gasping at the realisation she dropped her head so her chin was tucked firmly against her chest. Fred pushed himself off from the counter that he had been leaning on and walked over to his daughter. Grasping her chin between his fat fingers he squeezed and pulled her head up so that their eyes once again met.

  “You know every year that passes, you remind me more and more of that slut, your mother. Yeah, your skins not the same but your eyes... those eyes of yours are exactly the same. Sometimes she would even have the nerve to talk back and disagree with me just like you just did.”

  Alexandria fought back the tears that threatened to emerge as a result of his words; she knew where this speech ended and didn’t want to give him the pleasure of seeing her cry. His fingers left her face before his palm returned, slapping her full across the face. Struggling for balance she felt her head spin and struggled to regain sense of her surroundings.

  “The drinks had better be here when I get back; no excuses.”

  Her eyes shut tight she fought to distract her mind from the throbbing in her cheek. He turned away and she judged from his footsteps that he was leaving, her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the loud slam of the door. Knowing that he was gone, she allowed herself to crumple to the ground and let the tears fall. Feeling her already bruised ribs protest at her position she struggled to her feet, leaning against a wall as tears blurred her vision. Forcing her legs to comply she made it to her room and threw herself onto the bed. Forcing a hand into the pillowcase she pulled out her most prized possession, a picture of her and her mother together.

  “I’m almost there mum. I’m almost free. I’ll be twenty one in about a month with qualifications and then I’m out of here. I’ve nearly got enough for plane tickets although I’m not sure how I’m gonna get the rest of the money. Fred’s keeping an even tighter grip on any money I get, but I’ll do it mum, for you. I’ll be free and live to the fullest for both of us.”

  The tears cleared as she felt a familiar warmth envelop her mind. “Thank you,” she whispered to the unknown sensation. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you, probably gone crazy. Gone crazy?” she chuckled. “I’m thanking a foreign feeling in my head. I AM crazy.” Looking over at the small clock on the wall she jolted out of bed. “I’m going to be late,” she shrieked dressing quickly for university.

  Her going to university had been the one thing that her mother had fought Fred for when she was alive and Alex intended to ensure that her mother’s wish to see her complete her studies would come true. While she was aware that she was an adult and it was well with in her rights to simply leave Fred and never come back here again, things had never worked out well for her when she had tried to leave in the past. Grabbing her bag, she thanked whatever forces were out there that she had packed it the night before and headed out the door. Twenty-one, a degree, sweet freedom and a new life away from here. Everything I do, I do for those goals. I have to take each day a step at a time. Pretty soon it will bye bye Fred and hello world.

  *****

  Leaning against a heavily leaved oak tree, Tobias allowed the shade to hide his features as he calmly watched the students walk on to the university’s campus. The campus was fairly small, with only a few buildings dedicated to teaching itself, so he guessed that it didn’t have all that may students, but the number of students was irrelevant, as he only wanted to find one. After four years of searching he had finally managed to track her down and so he waited, confident that she would soon appear.

  As a lone figure approached the building his head shot up as his mate’s scent floated into his nostrils and he breathed deep relishing the strong scent that replaced the faint one that had been his only guide on this hunt. His claws unsheathed and he had to dig them into the tree at his back to prevent himself from simply grabbing her and taking her away. Instead he contented himself with watching her from afar to learn all he could.

  The first thing he noticed was that his mate was small, she couldn’t have been more than 5”2 and from her perspective he’d likely tower over her. Her clothes were ill-fitting hiding her figure from his gaze and he found himself frowning at their state of disrepair. Her hair was thick and curly tied back although a few strands had escaped their confinement and seemed to be causing her problems, judging from the way her hand would constantly rise in an attempt to hold it behind an ear before the errant strand fell again into her face. He smiled at her actions, immensely pleased with what he had seen of his mate so far. His gaze came to rest on her face and he felt his heart skip a beat as their eyes met. Hidden as he was in shadow, he knew she couldn’t be looking at him and this was confirmed as her head turned and she rushed towards one of the larger buildings, but it hadn’t prevented his heart skipping a beat.

  He drew in a breath taking her scent further into his mind to cement its place and make it easier to find her. As the smell was processed in his mind he realised something he had overlooked in the euphoria of his first sighting. She’s not a werewolf. He inhaled again quickly hoping to quickly memorise her smell. She’s human. He breathed deep for the third time her scent now engraved in his mind. I think. Pushing off from the tree, certain of his ability to find her at anytime he strolled away from the building to inform his parents and advisors that he had found his mate.

  Although it was rare for a werewolf’s mate to be human, it wasn’t unheard of and this was his true mate regardless of her human heritage. She’ll be under my protection when I mark her and no one would be stupid enough to try and harm her then. And if anyone is that stupid, I’ll gut them as a warning to others.

  Chapter Three

  Disregarding the feeling that she was being watched, Alexandria hurried into the building, slightly annoyed that her clock had once again informed her of the wrong time, so now instead of being late she was early. I hate being early; I never have anything to do or anyone to talk to. Alt
hough I suppose it’s not all that different from any other time during the day. I mean, who would want to be seen with me. Hell, not even I want to be seen with me. That’s life I guess. Her heart dropped as she saw Emily with her two cronies flanking her on either side coming down the hall and by the looks of it they were headed directly for her. This just isn’t fair, she groaned as the trio stood directly in front of her, their Barbie like leader smiling coldly at her.

  “Now look what we have here, it’s raggedy Ann,” Emily laughed.

  Rolling her eyes at the implied insult Alex shrugged. “My name is Alex not Ann.”

  “Don’t you feel embarrassed? I’d never leave my house dressed like that. I’d kill myself before I let myself be seen in public like that,” Emily continued, her blue eyes radiating contempt.

  I’d have thought people grew out of this by now, she groaned.

  “Maybe it’s because she doesn’t have a mum.” One of the females surrounding Emily suggested, causing Alex’s jaw to tighten while her hands formed fists.

  “Yeah,” Emily agreed, “she lost her at such a young age but then if she was my kid then I wouldn't want to hang around either...”

  The rest of Emily’s tirade faded into the background as Alexandria tried to fight her instincts and to punch her enemy regardless of the gathering crowd.

  Don’t, she mentally chastised, she’s not worth it and I can’t afford to start another fight.

  She wrapped her arms around her bruised ribs as she remembered the beating she had been given by Fred after causing a fight. She had been forced to leave the campus and had been asked not to return for a week. A week with Fred and his incessant need for alcohol had almost meant a trip to the emergency room in the hospital.

  If I got another beating like that I’d probably end up breaking a rib and I have to stay with him for two days. She shivered at the thought. Two days may not have been as bad as a week but it was still something she would rather not experience.

  “You guys just aren’t worth the trouble,” she sighed walking around them and ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that was begging her to teach them a lesson.

  Why is it that when I want time to grind to a halt it just rushes by? Alexandria groaned as she walked along the darkening road towards the off licence. After the incident with Emily and company the day had sped past her, actually amazing her with its degree of ordinariness. The story of my life, this weekend is going to feel like an eternity I can just feel it.

  As her thoughts continued to spiral further out of her control she paid less and less attention to her surroundings, walking on auto pilot until she collided with a wall and fell to the ground. Or at least it felt solid enough to be a wall but when she looked up she found herself staring into the eyes of a stranger and falling further into their thrall.

  “Are you hurt?” The voice of the stranger washed over her and she had to resist the sudden urge to close her eyes and relish the sound like she savoured the occasional bar of chocolate she managed to acquire. He bent down and his hand on her arm was like a wake up call for her common sense to return. Snatching her arm away from him she hastily stood up, gathering her bag and dusting off her clothes. Clutching the arm he had touched close to her chest she was disconcerted to find that she could still feel the imprint of his warm fingers on her skin.

  “I’m fine thank you very much,” she snapped. It sometimes paid to be rude, it meant people were less likely to accost you on your way home. That had been a painful lesson to learn but one she was grateful for nonetheless. “No thanks to you, you should watch were you’re walking.”

  As she looked at the stranger, she found it was more difficult than it normally was to issue the barbed words that were meant to flow from her mouth in this situation. Everything about the man in front of her drew her in, calming her. The odd cadence of his accented voice, his ageless grey eyes. Even the heavy muscle that covered his body was appealing though in any other situation it would have been terrifying. She couldn’t explain her out of character reaction to this man and as he continued to speak, drawing her further into his enticing web, she found she was no longer as concerned as she had initially been.

  “I was watching,” he laughed. “I watched you walk down this road and saw your eyes glaze over as your mind wandered off and then I watched you walk right into me.”

  “You’re a regular comedian,” she retorted, not amused at with his observation of her mistake.

  “No I’m not,” he stated simply. “I’m Tobias.” He held out his hand expectantly.

  Staring at his empty hand for a moment, she almost spluttered in disbelief as her hand took on a will of its own and placed itself within his grasp. The warmth from his palm seemed to spread out, quickly covering her entire body in its heat. “Alexandria.”

  “Alexandria,” he muttered seemingly rolling the word on his tongue to get the best fit. “Alexandria.” He frowned confused as to why it didn’t sound as he intended. “That’s what everyone calls you?”

  “Well, no. Most people usually shorten it to Alex.”

  “If that’s what all the others call you, then I think I’ll call you Xandria because I’m not like everyone else.” He turned her hand over, before bending down to place a chaste kiss against the flesh.

  Although it went against every thought she had ever had, she couldn’t bring herself to remove her hand from his and she found the corners of her mouth pulling upwards in a rare smile. The small smile left as quickly as it had appeared when she saw that not only was he failing to return it, but was frowning at her hand.

  “What?” she demanded, curious as to his intent focus on her flesh.

  The hand that wasn’t holding her own moved to pull up her sleeve and exposed more skin to his gaze and the furrows on his forehead deepened. “What’s this? You’re hurt; there are bruises on your skin. Tell me who did this to you and I’ll make them regret laying a hand on you.” His previously warm voice was now harsh and angry in its demands.

  “What are you talking about?” He shouldn’t be able to see any bruises, my skin is dark enough that they’re not that visible and it’s dark out here.

  “The bruises,” he reiterated, “they’re finger marks I can see them. Someone grabbed you very hard to leave these bruises, did they do anything else?”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she replied, the automatic response for her bruises flying from her mouth as she began to struggle to regain her hand. His grip refused to loosen but it didn’t get any tighter despite her thrashing.

  “Don’t lie to me,” his voice demanded, his face coming closer.

  “I don’t know you so I have no reason not to lie to you. I don’t owe you anything. Now let go of me!” she screamed.

  She’s human, his mind chastised. She doesn’t understand our ways. If she were a wolf she’d understand my need to protect her, but she’s not, he realised. Taking in the flustered look on her expressive face he felt himself inwardly smile. And I wouldn’t want her any other way. Acquiescing to her demand he released her hand but didn’t move from her path. “I’m sorry if I’ve scared you, but I just want to help you. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it ok?”

  “If you don’t want to talk about it, then we won’t talk about it. Let’s talk about something else instead.”

  “Oh God, I’m gonna be late!” Looking down at her tattered and now dirty clothing another fear crept into her mind. They’re not going to sell me alcohol when I look like this! Fred’s gonna kill me. She had never been particularly concerned with her young appearance, taking her mother’s words to heart. When she had once complained that she looked too young, Natasha had reassured her telling her that she would appreciate her high, rounded cheeks and smooth skin when she was older. Now however, she didn’t look mature enough to be able to legally buy what her father required and she couldn’t disappoint him, not if she wanted to escape a brutal beating. Her mind began to race as all
the likely outcomes of what her failure would end came upon her in rapid succession.

  As her face blanched Tobias became concerned, his protective instincts making themselves known. “Xandria, are you alright?”

  “Not really,” she responded before an idea formed. “How old are you?”

  He frowned at the sudden change in subject, but chose to answer her regardless. “Older than I look.”

  No matter how hard she looked at him, she could not identify just how old the man in front of her was. His facial features were angular and somewhat harsh and she suspected that when he wasn’t laughing he could be a very imposing figure. While normally she would press the issue of his indefinable age, she knew that time wasn’t on her side. She was well aware that she’d spent longer than she should have done dawdling on the street. “Look, I know that we’re basically strangers, but I’m hoping you can help me.”

  “With what exactly?” he inquired.

  “I need you to go and buy me some alcohol, quite a lot of alcohol actually.”

  He frowned at her request. “That stuff isn’t good for you.” While it may be fine for me, humans are so vulnerable that it’ll hurt her in the long run. Why would she want something that’s going to hurt her?

  “I know that! It’s not for me I swear, but I really need it or else I’m going to be in trouble. Please help me.”

  The pleading tone of her voice tugged at his heart and he had to resist the urge to rub his chest in a futile attempt to relieve the pain. Over the years he had come to realise that this type of pain wasn’t his own and there was nothing he could do to relieve it until now. I can’t refuse my mate, especially when she asks like that.