A Wolf's Duty Page 7

  “Friends don’t try to kill each other,” she snapped, momentarily forgetting the precarious situation she was in.

  “I know that Alex, but don’t worry I won’t just try to kill you, I will. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?”

  “What good would it do me?”

  “That’s a fair point. Nothing is going to do you much good at this point.”

  Closing her eyes, she struggled to hear the whispers, hoping that they would come to her aid once again.

  “I can feel what you’re doing,” the man whispered, pressing his cheek against hers. “You’re wondering why nothing’s happening, right?”

  Choosing not to respond, she allowed him to answer himself, while still struggling to think of a way to escape the situation she had found herself in.

  “There’s nothing here for you to listen to, there is no wildlife for you to manipulate. I made sure of that before I got here. Did you think that I wouldn’t be prepared?”

  “I don’t know you, so I have no idea what you would be thinking.”

  “Oh Alex, of course you know me. I’m ashamed that after all the time you’ve known me you wouldn’t even recognise me in this situation –”

  The rest of his admonishment was drowned out as she felt a whisper enter her mind, different from earlier but still similar enough for her to feel hope flair within her. Help me. She cried out, hoping that it would listen to her plea.

  I’m coming.

  I? I thought it was we….

  The whisper didn’t become any clearer or respond to her confused thoughts but she could feel it drawing closer to them and the hope that had suddenly sprung to life within her grew.

  Her assailant apparently having grown bored with her silence sighed, “Well, we might as well get this over with, don’t you agree?”

  “Please,” she begged. “I want to live,” she cried, scrambling for time, desperately hoping that the whisper would arrive before the man’s knife severed an artery and caused her to bleed to death. “I thought you said we knew each other. Don’t do this, I don’t want to die, I’ve barely lived.”

  “We do know each other Alex, we have done for a long time but that doesn’t change the fact that for me to get what I want, you have to die. I would feel sorry that you want to live but in reality, that’s your problem my dear.” The blade dug deeper and the blood began to leave her body even faster in response. She felt herself grow light-headed at the sensation, her body beginning to sway in the man’s grasp.

  A low growl interrupted the silence and reverberated around the small room, her eyes frantically scanned the room in a vain attempt to find help, her ears straining to hear the sound again. The pressure on her throat eased as the chin on her head was lifted as her assailant turned to try and discover where the sound had come from. The rumbling growl returned, louder than before and Alex wanted to cry with relief as the body pressed against her moved a scant few inches away as the man became distracted.

  “There isn’t meant to be anyone else here,” he muttered to himself before turning his head to stare intently at the empty room. “If there’s anyone there show yourself!” he yelled.

  Help me, she whispered to the voice in her mind, praying that it had entered the house and was here to save her.

  The attacker’s demands were soon met as a heavy weight barrelled into his back throwing both him and Alex to the ground and tossing the knife out of his reach. As soon as his arms were no longer trapping her body against her Alex scrambled across the floor to ensure she was out of his grasp before turning to take in her saviour. Her back against the opposite wall of the room, she gasped at the size of the wolf that was pinning her attacker to the ground.

  Amber eyes regarded her intently before turning to snarl at its captive, exposing dangerously long canines. The wolf’s dark brown fur looked clean and well-kept, appearing soft to the touch as though someone had taken great care of the creature. Its ears were cocked and its muzzle was contorted in anger as it howled its obvious displeasure. The long length of its body was pressing down on the attacker, trapping him beneath the wolf.

  Why on earth someone would keep that as a pet, I don’t know. That thing could probably reach my waist, and look at those teeth! Taking her eyes off the wolf to the man hidden beneath his large frame, she reconsidered her previous thought, her hands reaching up to slow the trickle of warm blood from her throat. Then again it did save my life. Her heart began to race as the large animal moved and she clutched at the wall behind her trying not to startle the wolf and cause it to turn on her.

  She watched as the wolf sat back on its hind legs appearing to examine its sharp claws before it turned them on her assailant. There was none of the savagery she had expected as the animal calmly and meticulously clawed the clothes from the man’s back. Once the skin was exposed it leaned heavily on one paw keeping him pinned to the ground while it dug deep with the other paw dragging the claws down his back and rending the flesh as it tore rending strips of flesh from his exposed skin. When one paw had scored the man’s flesh it was calmly removed before it pressed down allowing the other paw to tear flesh, one paw then the next, its motions still devoid of any form of wildness instead characterised by an almost eerie thoroughness. The man screamed in obvious pain as the wolf continued, holding him in place with its girth while it shredded his back, the frantic shrieks soon died out as the man clearly lost consciousness. Opening its jaw wide to expose rows of glistening white teeth, it snapped them close around her attacker’s side snarling against the flesh before removing them and turning once again to stare at the terrified Alexandria.

  She had begun to shake as she witnessed the animal’s calm maiming of her attacker, but the shakes transformed into full body tremors as the wolf began to pad silently over to her leaving bloody paw prints on the carpet as it traversed the floor. She shook her head as it stalked ever closer, amber eyes locked with her own.

  “No,” she whispered, her panic rising. “No! Stay away from me! Just stay right there, don’t come any closer!” Surprise flooded her as the wolf stopped, seemingly frozen in place. Cocking her head, she studied the animal lest it move again. Relatively sure that the wolf was content to remain where it was she tried to stand, quickly finding that her legs had chosen this moment to cease functioning and turn to jelly.

  “Not now,” she muttered to herself, eyes still trained on the wolf in case it began to move again. “Come on now legs work for God’s sake! I need to get out of here before wolfie over there decides he’s hungry or crazy psycho man wakes up and tries to kill me.” Leaning against the wall and holding it for support, she managed to make it to her feet, closing her eyes as she sighed in relief. Life isn’t bad enough with Fred as a father, I have to make my university explode with foliage, be attacked by a raving lunatic and be saved by a wolf. I’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime, I’m done, I’m getting out of here and then – Her line of thought was cut short as she opened her eyes to find the body of her saviour wolf transforming into something else.

  The hair on his large form was receding and becoming increasingly smooth with each second that passed. The air was filled with the sound of cracking as his limbs changed shape, his forelegs becoming longer and more flexible as they transformed into arms while his paws extended into fingertips. The wolf’s shoulders became increasingly broad and his torso lengthened becoming human in definition and shape. His hind legs also became longer and more muscled as they joined his upper body, completing his transformation from wolf to human. As the man stood in place of the wolf an inane thought floated through her mind in the face of his transformation. He’s wearing clothes; I would have thought he’d be naked. She blushed at the thought before the man smiled as he began to approach her and all thought fled as her eyes rolled back and her mind went blissfully blank, the stresses of the day apparently having taken their toll.

  As her body fell towards the ground, the man rushed forward with astonishing speed, catching her body in his arms. L
ooking down at her unconscious face, he frowned before reaching into one of the pockets on his khaki shorts for his phone. Quickly retrieving the small device, he pushed a single button for speed dial and waited for an answer.

  “Sebastian,” he sighed, looking down at the unconscious female held in his arms, “we have a problem.”

  Chapter Nine

  Loud voices woke Alex and as her mind began to struggle against the fog of unconsciousness, she became aware of the sensation of silken smooth material against her skin and she fought her body’s reaction as it attempted to get closer to the pleasant sensation and return to blissful unawareness. Her eyelids felt unusually heavy but she forced them to rise so that she could see her surroundings. Like her eyelids, her brain felt sluggish and so it took her a moment to realise that she wasn’t at home nor anywhere she would usually find herself. Taking a look down at the heavy satin sheets she realised that should have been her first hint. Her eyes quickly scanned the large room as she fought to regain her bearings. She quickly noted the large double bed she was sitting on wasn’t out of place, complimented by seemingly plush cream carpets and rich heavy furniture.

  An open door to the side of the room caught her wandering gaze and she craned her head over the bed fighting to catch a glimpse of what was within. Seeing the edge of a toilet, she concluded that it was a bathroom and returned her gaze to the room she found herself in before the increasingly loud voices caught her attention once more and she began to strain her ears to catch what the voices were saying.

  “He’s going to kill you.” The first male voice stated, calmly delivering a death sentence to the second voice.

  “You think I don’t know that?” The other voice bellowed.

  “Well what do you expect? He asked us to take care of her and she nearly dies while in our keeping.”

  “You act like it’s my fault that happened.”

  “It was your turn to watch her this morning.”

  “How was I to know that she’d make her campus explode with greenery and have to end up running home? She was meant to be safe there.”

  “Apparently not.” The first voice stated.

  “He didn’t tell us she could do that.”

  “No he didn’t.”

  “Will anyone be looking for her because of it?” The second voice questioned.

  “No, the humans have written it off as a chemical accident from what I’ve heard.” The voice sounded as though it were closer now and Alex’s mind began to panic.

  Humans? He speaks like he’s not one, what have I gotten myself into?

  The door to the room swung open and she gazed wide-eyed into the face of the newcomer. It took her slow mind a moment to realise that the face she was staring at was that of her wolfish saviour. Her eyes widened in shock upon noticing the tall figure now leaning calmly against one of the room’s walls, but she took the moment to take in his features. His short cut hair was a deep red contrasting sharply to his pale skin. His eyes were a now a deep brown instead of his previously feral amber. She suspected they could turn to a warm chocolate brown when happy, but at the moment his features were marred by the deep furrows on his brow from frowning. The corners of his eyes were marked with laughter lines, contrasting enormously to his current frosty demeanour. Her eyes moved over his large frame, immediately noting the strength in the arms crossed over his chest.

  I’d never make it far enough. She sighed, resigning herself to being in his presence.

  The two stared continued to stare at each other, allowing the silence to continue to flow between them before the man turned away moving back towards the door. Clutching the sheets tighter against her, Alex pressed her body closer to the bed’s headboard, her eyes quickly looking around for a means of escape. The only other door was the bathroom. Quickly looking out of the window; she abandoned jumping as a plan upon seeing the height of the buildings around them.

  We must be on the top floor of wherever this is. It’s night now; I’ve been here all day! It isn’t right that one person can be so unlucky in just one day.

  “Sebastian, she’s awake.” The man yelled, leaving the door open before walking back into the room, she recognised the voice from the conversation that had woken her.

  Pulling her mind back from escape, she turned her gaze to the door watching as another man entered the room and walked over to the bed.

  “Hiya Alex, do you mind if I call you Alex?”

  This must be the other voice then. The one that was doling out death sentences or at least I hope he is. God if there’s more than two of them I might not be able to escape.

  She shook her head, immediately seeing the similarities between the newcomer and her saviour. Although the newcomer’s hair was slightly shorter, that was where the differences between the two ended, though she suspected they would look even more similar if her wolf friend chose to smile as widely as the newcomer.

  “You probably guessed but I’m Sebastian and the grouch in the corner is my brother Ryan,” he chuckled.

  She opened her mouth to respond but found that her voice had deserted her, coughing she attempted to force it to return. “I’d like to go home now,” she croaked.

  The smile on Sebastian’s face disappeared immediately and she tightened her grip on the sheets surrounding her tightened in response. “We can’t let you do that.”

  “Why not, I’d like to go so just let me go.”

  He sighed, turning to Ryan for advice. “Look Alex,” Ryan quickly began, his harsh tone reflecting the anxious look on his face. “You nearly got killed the last time you went home if I remember correctly, so excuse us if we’re not going to just let you wander off again. You’re staying here and that’s that.”

  “Ryan!” Sebastian chastised, “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”

  “It’s the truth, there’s no need to sugar coat it. She’s a big girl, I’m sure she wouldn’t want us to lie to her just so she feels better,” he replied, clearly unrepentant at his actions.

  “But you’re just scaring her more.” Ryan sighed his frustration rising. “I’m sorry about him Alex, he’s normally a really nice guy, but what happened to you has put us all on edge.” Sebastian’s eyes wandered now her face to the angry red line across her throat. “Look we’re not going to hurt you, so just relax.”

  “Give me one good reason why I should believe that? I don’t know either of you and you just up and take me from my home. You do realise that some people would consider that kidnapping?”

  “I saved your life,” Ryan snarled, stalking closer to the bed.

  Refusing to back down while courage was still flooding her, she stared directly at him. “Yeah, I know that and I’m grateful, I really am but that still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know you. You could have saved me just to do something worse.”

  “We’d never do that,” Sebastian inserted, trying to be the voice of reason as tempers began to rise. “Tobias would have our arses if we did.”

  “Tobias” she whispered, hope springing from within her. “My Tobias?”

  Sebastian smiled warmly at the look of relief that had graced her features. “Tall, dark curly hair, grey eyes?”

  She nodded eagerly before reality hit hard. “That’s could be anybody.”

  “Well it’s not anybody,” Ryan inserted. “It’s Tobias. We’re his cousins and this is his suite.”

  Raising the sheets to her nose she smiled as Tobias’ warmth began to surround her, enveloping her senses. “This still doesn’t prove anything. Tell me something personal about him, like I don’t know, his favourite colour.”

  “You’re kidding me right?” Ryan snapped, moving closer to the bed, his every step radiating anger. “How the hell would I know something like that? What do I look like, his bloody mother?”

  “Ryan, maybe you should just go, you’re not helping matters and Tobias won’t be happy if he finds out about this.”

  His movements instantly stilled at the suggestion and he turned on h
is brother. “Are you going to tell him?”

  “No, but I still think you should go, you’re scaring her.”

  “Fine, I’m leaving. You deal with her by yourself then.” He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly as he left to punctuate his departure.

  Sighing, Sebastian eased towards the bed, finally sitting on the edge and staring intently at Alex. “His favourite colour is green.” He smiled, watching her slowly relax in response. “I’m sorry about Ryan, he’s normally one of the nicest guys you could meet and I’m not just saying that because he’s my twin either. Everyone says he’s the nicer one out of the two of us.” Alex snorted disbelief evident in the simple gesture. “I’m serious,” Sebastian chuckled. “He’s just a little stressed at the moment. I don’t think Tobias will be happy when he sees you.” His eyes roamed her frame landing on the throbbing welt across her throat before taking in the large bruises that marred every inch of visible flesh. “Yup, I don’t think he’ll be happy in the slightest.”

  Remembering their first meeting and his reaction to the relatively small bruise on her forearm, she found herself agreeing with Sebastian’s assessment before self consciously pulling the sleeves of her shirt down in a vain attempt to hide her injuries.

  “How did you get all the bruises? From what Ryan said the man attacking you only had a knife at your throat, that doesn’t explain the rest.”

  “How much did you see?” she demanded, uncomfortable with the idea that strangers had examined her while unconscious and vulnerable.

  “Just the ones on your arms and a few on your legs, we guessed that from the wincing you were doing when Ryan brought you here that you’ve been hurt elsewhere. Am I right?”