A Wolf's Pride Read online

  Watching the intimate scene pass between the two, Chloe found it difficult to believe that they had begun in similar circumstances to her and Ryan. “So you were kidnapped too?”

  “It seems they like to do that when their mate is human,” she laughed.

  “You’re human?” Chloe gulped. “You’re not one of them?”

  “Well last time I checked I was definitely not a werewolf, though I’m different to what you’d normally expect.”

  “Thank God,” Chloe sighed, gingerly stepping away from Ryan and moving towards Alex. “You have to persuade him to let me go, to let me go home.”

  “Chloe,” Alex groaned in response, unsure of what she could say. “You’re Ryan’s mate, there’s nothing I can do to change that. He’s a good man even though sometimes he can be hard to manage. We don’t separate mates in our culture without very good reason. Do you have one?”

  “I don’t want to manage him, I want to go home.”

  “That isn’t a good enough reason Chloe. I doubt he’s hurt you or done anything to compromise your health and safety. I know he’s doing his best to make you happy and unless he’s done something that’s contrary to those reasons, there’s nothing we can do.”

  “In a few years you’ll look back at this time and laugh,” Erica added. “Trust me.”

  “Alex, you must understand that I can’t do this. It’s too much to take in at once. Werewolves aren’t meant to be real and now one wants to take me away from everything I’ve ever known? I can’t deal with this.” Chloe placed her hands on Alex’s shoulders forcing her to look at her.

  “Chloe,” Alex began before a low groaned slipped past her lips. The small woman swayed on her feet, clutching her distended stomach and the earth beneath their feet rolled in sympathy. Tobias moved quickly and silently, preventing Alex from falling and pulling her small body into the protection of his own. The speed at which he had moved only served to cement Chloe’s belief that should he identify her as a threat, she would never see him coming.

  Alex smiled weakly up at her mate, slightly shocked by how quickly her fatigue had caught up with her. While the last few weeks of her pregnancy had been trying, she had thought that she would be able to manage this small trip. She had practically coerced her overprotective guards into taking her, convinced that as she wouldn’t be doing any physical labour, her body would be able to cope. I should have known better, she mentally scolded. It had not been merely the lack of energy she had had to contend with in the last few weeks, her abilities seemed to have gone haywire. She was half convinced that it was because of her powers that she was exhausted so often.

  The gardens around the estate had been receiving quite a workout with the constant cycle of growth and reduction. In her sleep she seemed to grow the nearby greenery to massive proportions and had to return them to their regular size when she awoke. It was exhausting. As the estate’s limited medical staff had never had to deal with a human quite like her, they couldn’t offer her advise that was specific to her situation. They could only recommend that that she rest and take it easy and hope that was enough to overcome the problems she was experiencing. Tobias had taken their words to heart and seemed intent on relegating her to bed until she gave birth. Maybe he had been right; her excursion was increasingly seeming like a bad idea.

  “Xandria,” he growled, turning her to look at him.

  “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to make the journey out here,” she remarked, her voice small. “Are you mad?”

  “At you?” She nodded. “I could never be angry with you dearest. Your guards on the other hand…I should have you severely punished,” he snarled at the large men, amber flooding his grey eyes. “There’s a car around the corner, bring it to the entrance and I’ll consider not jailing you. What were you thinking! Carrying the Queen like that in her condition? Are you insane?”

  “Tobias, it’s my fault, don’t take it out on them,” Alex pleaded. Her softly voiced request seemed to have the desired effect as his muscles visibly relaxed.

  “The car,” he growled on a shuddery breath. The men sprang into action, rushing to obey his command.

  His orders now being carried out, he returned his amber flecked gaze to her. “Chloe, we don’t have the time to deal with your concerns. We’re going back to the estate, don’t try to fight us on this, you won’t win.”

  “Tobias,” Ryan growled. “Don’t talk to her that way. Just as you wouldn’t want anyone talking to Alex like that, I don’t appreciate you doing it to Chloe.”

  The thought that Ryan was willing to choose to protect her from his cousin warmed Chloe more than it should have done especially as it was his fault she was in the middle of this volatile situation. Nevertheless, warm her it did and she instinctively stepped back to be closer to him.

  “Ryan we don’t have the time to be dawdling about here trying to sooth your mate. In case you had forgot, you have just escaped from the police and Alex needs to return to bed. You know what the doctors said, every extra day that we get is important.”

  Though she couldn’t see his face, Chloe could feel through his body that Ryan had been convinced by his cousin’s argument. “You’re right Tobias, we should go home. It’ll be safer there for everyone. It’s what I’ve been trying to do all this time anyway.”

  As the conversation came to an end, Chloe’s air supply became increasingly thin as breath came to her in short bursts rather than a continuous stream. While escape had been possible as long as they were travelling alone, the chances of her attaining freedom if they reached Ryan’s destination would be drastically reduced. She would be surrounded by werewolves who seemed to think nothing of kidnapping an unsuspecting human, escape would be impossible. Ryan’s arms tightened around her waist and his warm breath feathered over her cheek as he leaned down.

  “Chloe, I can feel you preparing to run. Don’t. There’s nowhere to go. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of people you will be spending a great deal of time with but if you try to flee, I’ll throw you over my shoulder and personally carry you from here.”

  She bristled in defiance, her spine stiffening. As her back was to him, she didn’t notice the small smile of pride that emerged on Ryan’s face. Fiery and defiant. My ideal woman. The instinct definitely knows what it’s doing when it selects a mate for a male.

  “I thought we had a car to catch,” Chloe snapped, striding away from Ryan and walking towards the entrance fully expecting the arrogant man that called himself her mate to follow. He didn’t disappoint.

  “I think that mate of yours is exactly what you need,” Sebastian commented as he walked beside his brother noting that Ryan’s eyes never left the gentle sway of Chloe’s hips.

  “I think so too,” Ryan responded, his voice distant as his attention was focused on something much more to his liking.

  “She doesn’t seem like one to put up with any nonsense. You’ve got enough pride and arrogance for several males, I think that she’s going to take you down a notch.” Ryan mumbled a non-committal answer, only vaguely aware that Sebastian had said anything at all and his brother smiled. Or several. Sebastian mentally corrected.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Arrogant ass!” Chloe fumed, striding down the path in the direction the wolves had gone. “I can’t believe he threatened to go caveman on me. Throw me over his shoulder?! I should have slapped him. I should turn around right now and lay a hard one on him. Aargh,” she screamed. The man seemed to bring out the worst in her. She had not entertained such violent thoughts in years but since she had met him, the impulse to hurt him never seemed far from her mind. He kidnapped me. It only makes sense that I want to hurt him, it would be odd if I didn’t want his head on a silver platter.

  As she approached the car, thoughts of running briefly entered her mind before they were quickly dismissed. There was a pack of werewolves in front of her and she could sense Ryan and his family members at her back. She would never make it more than a few feet before she was bro
ught back. Realising that escape was futile, she continued to approach the vehicle the wolves were clustered around. The car was much smaller than she had expected, having only two seats and she immediately became confused. They wouldn’t all be able to go to Ryan’s home in that one vehicle. Her eyes immediately scanned the street for a second car, but the wolves were all surrounding the lone car.

  “The car isn’t big enough for us all to fit inside,” she mused, unconsciously voicing her concerns aloud.

  “We picked the car for its speed,” Sebastian responded from behind her, causing her to jump slightly at his silent approach.

  “Sheesh, you should walk around with a bell or something. You’re going to give me a heart attack if you keep doing that.”

  “Sorry,” he apologised sheepishly, running his hand over the back of his neck. “We have sensitive hearing so I just thought I should answer your question.”

  “Go on then,” she prompted, studiously avoiding Ryan’s searing gaze and turning back to the car. “Explain why the car is so small.”

  “We thought that it would just be you and Ryan in it. It’s much faster for the rest of us to run in our wolf forms. We didn’t think that Alex would follow us.”

  “So then what’s the new plan? Are you going to let me go and drive Alex back to wherever it is you want to go?” Ryan growled low in his throat and she didn’t even have to turn to face him to recognise that it was him that had produced the sound. She rolled her eyes dismissively. “Yes, yes, yes, I know. You’re not going to let me go,” she stated simply cutting off his inevitable response before he said anything.

  Moving to her side, Ryan forced her body to turn, cupping her chin and ensuring that she was looking at him. “There is no new plan. You’re going home in the car, Alex is going with you.”

  “You’re kidding right?” He shook his head. “So you’re trusting me not to just drive off and go home?”

  “You shouldn’t even think of absconding somewhere with my mate,” Tobias growled, finally catching up to the group with Alex closely held to his side. “You don’t want me to have to come and look for you.”

  The intense statement belied the gentle way that he was holding Alex, but Chloe was positive that if it came to it he would act on his threat and the outcome wouldn’t be good for her. “Relax,” she laughed, trying desperately to lighten the mood. “It isn’t as though I’m going to run off with a pregnant woman that needs a doctor. I’m not that kind of person.”

  “It isn’t as though it would have been possible for you to run away anyway.” Tobias smiled, opening the passenger door and guiding Alex inside. “We’ll be surrounding you on all sides, isn’t that right Ryan?”

  “Yes. Some of us are going to go ahead of you love and the rest of us will flank you on the right, left and from behind. We’ll know where you are at all times.”

  “You’re serious aren’t you?” Her tone was disbelieving, amazed that they would go to such extents to ensure that she stayed on course.

  “Of course love, I can’t afford to lose you. Nobody is as precious to me as you are. I have to make sure that you’re safe.” He shackled her wrist and led her to the driver’s side of the car. “Get in Chloe.”

  “Ryan, you can’t mean that. You don’t know me. I can’t be more important than these people, your brother, your cousin?”

  He smiled, his expression serene. “If it came down to a choice of you or then, I would chose you in less than a heartbeat. Get in please love.”

  Gripping the door handle, she opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. Her mind was reeling at his intensely delivered confession. He had meant every word that he had spoken of that she was sure. The very idea that she was of such importance to a man like him was astounding. He was gorgeous and in any other situation, she might have found his behaviour attractive so it only made sense that he could have any woman he wanted and yet he seemed to be fixated on her. It was mind-boggling. She began to close the door, but his hand stopped her from completing the motion.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked, slightly shocked that her voice was reflecting the inner turmoil her mind was experiencing.

  “Your seatbelt Chloe,” he reminded gently. His arm brushed over her breasts as he pulled the strap over her chest, securing her in place. The brief contact had sent spears of heat coursing through her and she gasped unintentionally. The confident look that appeared on Ryan’s face told her that he knew of the effect he was having on her and she fixed him with a fierce glare in response. “Alex is going to guide you Chloe, follow her directions and be safe. Don’t let anything happen to you ok?” He didn’t wait for an answer, placing a brief kiss on her cheek before shutting the door and walking away from the car.

  “You’re good for him.” The soft voice at her side pulled Chloe’s eyes away from Ryan’s retreating form and she turned to face Alex. “I can’t remember the last time he was so gentle and concerned with the safety and wellbeing of another person. He’s usually so brash when he’s trying to show that he cares.”

  “I wouldn’t know, I haven’t even known him 48 hours.”

  “Trust me then, you’re definitely good for him. Then again it isn’t like I should have expected anything different. Ryan is a good man and the instinct is rewarding him for that.”

  The faint smile on her face contorted into a grimace and Chloe remembered why they were in such a rush to leave. “We should leave.”

  “Right, well just stay on this road until I tell you to turn.”

  “Ok,” Chloe agreed, starting the engine and following Alex’s instructions as they travelled down the long dark road. Minutes passed in silence as Chloe mulled over what had happened to her in the last few days and what was likely to happen in her future. If she managed to escape, no one but her family would believe what had happened to her, but it would be enough. The chances of Ryan allowing her to leave seemed non-existent and so she if she were to ever gain freedom she would need help. She turned to Alex with a smile. “So how far along are you?” she asked, inclining her head towards Alex’s stomach.

  Rubbing a hand over the large mound, Alex couldn’t help but smile in response. Her own family before she had met Tobias had been a living nightmare, her mother had committed suicide because of the actions of her abusive father who had swiftly turned his attentions on her as soon as the gentle soul of her mother had been extinguished. Needless to say, life with her gentle and kind mate was a revelation into what a family should be like and she couldn’t wait to add to it. “A little under eight months now.”

  “Wow, your baby must be huge,” Chloe whistled, slightly stunned by the revelation. The small woman sat beside her looked ready to give birth right there and then.

  “Babies.” Alex corrected.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Babies,” she reiterated. “I’m having triplets.”

  “No wonder you’re so big.”

  “It’s a good thing. The bigger I am, the healthier they are.”

  “You look a bit small to carry triplets.”

  “I am small Chloe, but it isn’t something that I’m worried about. I just want to make sure I can carry them for as long as I can. The longer they stay inside me, the better their chances are for survival.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much, they have amazing new equipment for premature babies. Your babies will be fine.”

  “Try telling that to Tobias,” she laughed. “When he was born they didn’t have all the technology we have today and his sister died as a result of that. He’s so worried that that’s going to happen to me. The fact that I keep getting these painful twitches does nothing to reassure him. Turn right here,” she instructed absentmindedly.

  “Ryan said he’s over two hundred years old, is that true?”

  “Yeah. Tobias is even older. He turned three hundred and seventeen just a few months ago.”

  Chloe could feel her jaw drop at the revelation and was well aware that her face was in all likelihood reflecting the
feeling of shock that filled her. “Three hundred and seventeen?”

  Alex laughed. “Yes.”

  Chloe’s mood turned sombre. “Are your babies going to be werewolves too?”

  “Yes. We’re going to have to go off the main road for the next part of the journey. Turn here,” she directed pointing out of the window towards the forest that surrounded the road. “Don’t worry, there’s a path. It might not look like it, but it’s there. Just turn here. Good,” she praised as Chloe followed her directions driving further into the dark. “Now where were we? Oh yeah. The babies. They won’t be born as puppies if that’s what you’re thinking. They’ll be human, they’ll be able to change into wolf form a few weeks after that.”

  “And you’re ok with that? Giving birth to monsters?”

  “Don’t ever call them that!” Alex growled, stunning Chloe with the intensity of her demand. In those few seconds, she could easily see why the Alex and Tobias went well together. While he wore the promise of danger like a second skin, Alex hid her temper, beneath the skin a true lioness was hiding. “They aren’t monsters. They’re wonderful people who have never been anything but kind and caring towards me. If you disrespect my family like that again, I’ll have no choice but to slap you and Ryan too if he tries to stop me and knowing him, he would.”

  A moment of silence passed before Chloe gathered the courage to speak once again. “I apologise.”

  “It’s ok,” Alex sighed. “Most people think of them that way. You weren’t to know better. I’m not afraid of giving birth to monsters. They’re my children and I love them already. What I’m afraid of is people trying to hurt them because of ignorance. There are people out there that are prepared to shoot to kill first and not even bother with questions later. Almost there now, we’re on the path now. Can you tell?”