A Wolf's Duty (22 page)

“She’s royalty Tobias and
I’m not. What if I do something wrong? What if I mess up?” she
wheezed, beginning to panic.

“In case you forgot
Xandria, I’m royalty as well and soon enough you’ll be Queen,” he
reminded her.

“Are you trying to make my
nerves worse Tobias?” she scolded, lightly slapping his
chest.

“No.”

“It’s not just that she’s
a queen Tobias, she’s your mother and I want to make a good
impression.”

“You made the best
possible impression on her just by being born dearest. Trust me you
have nothing to worry about. If it gets that bad just leave and
come and find me.”

“I thought you were meant
to be meeting someone in the audience chamber.”

“If you need me then I’ll
just leave, simple as that. Ask any of the guards and they’ll bring
you to me.”

She smiled at the offer.
“Thanks Tobias, but I’m sure I’ll be fine, don’t try and use me as
an excuse to get out of doing your work.”

“Damn, how did you see
through me?”

“You’re pretty transparent
to me now Tobias. I know how your mind works.” She grinned, tapping
his forehead lightly before stepping out of his embrace. “I’m off
to meet the queen so I’ll see you later Tobias.”

He grabbed her arm. “What,
no kiss goodbye?” he questioned, clearly affronted by her
action.

“Ok, but only a little
one.” Smiling, she reached up and brought his face closer to hers,
placing a chaste kiss on his lips. “Good enough?”

Not nearly
enough, but later, later…
His mind purred
allowing her to leave the room.

“Your highness.” Maria
smiled from beside the door.

“Maria.”

“I’ll show you to her
majesty’s rooms.”

“Thanks, I had a vague
idea where they were but this place is so big I’m sure I’d get lost
in no time.”

“It does take a while to
learn the layout of the estate but you have years to get it right.”
Maria responded, standing away from the wall.

Alex nodded silently
allowing Maria to lead the way to Yvonne's rooms. They soon reached
the large wooden door that led into Yvonne's suite.

“She’s inside.” Maria
indicated, stepping away from the entrance.

“Aren’t you coming inside
as well?” Alex squeaked nervously grabbing hold of Maria’s forearm
and preventing her from leaving.

“No, I have other things
that I have to attend to. You have nothing to be concerned about;
Yvonne is a nice person, as you should remember from your last
meeting. She said she wanted to talk to you privately, I can do no
other than obey my queen’s wishes.” Gently prying Alex’s fingers
from her arm with her free hand, Maria opened the door and
shepherded her inside.

“Ah, Alexandria,” Yvonne
beamed, standing from her chaise and moving towards her. Despite
the richness of her own clothing, Alex still felt decidedly
uncomfortable in Yvonne’s elegant presence and began to wring her
hands together nervously. “Come in and take a seat so we can have a
little talk.” A firm arm around her shoulders forced her further
into the room before placing her in front of a chair. “Please take
a seat Alexandria.”

“You can call me Alex,”
she corrected.

Yvonne tutted.
“Alexandria, everyone is given a name and it’s my philosophy to use
that name in full. Now please take a seat.”

Following Yvonne’s
instructions, Alex sat down, folding her hands tightly in her lap
to prevent herself from fidgeting. She eyed Yvonne as she took her
seat, taking in the warm smile that graced her lips and allowing
herself to relax slightly.

“Well Alexandria, I hear
that things are going well between you and my son.” Alex nodded in
agreement and Yvonne continued. “I also hear that he gave you the
Garden of Jubilation.”

“The what?” Alex
questioned, confused.

“The Garden of Jubilation,
it’s the name of the garden you two were in yesterday.”

“News sure travels fast
around here,” she muttered under her breath. Yvonne smiled but gave
no other outward sign that her sensitive hearing had picked up on
what Alex had just said. “Yes he did.”

“News like that travels
fast around here.” Yvonne chuckled, causing Alex to blush. Grateful
for once to have Fred as a father, she thanked the darker skin she
had inherited from him for hiding the blush that enflamed her
cheeks. “He used to love that garden as a child, he would spend
hours in there.”

“I can’t really imagine
that,” Alex murmured, remembering Tobias’ sneezes whenever he
entered a place with a large amount of floral life.

“Yes, well he doesn’t
really use it anymore, his nose became much more sensitive after he
matured and the scent of so many different things in one place
disagrees with him now. Do you have any plans for it?”

Seeing genuine curiosity
in the depths of Yvonne's gaze Alex felt herself becoming more
relaxed. “Well actually I do have a few ideas, nothing major
because the garden is beautiful as it is, but I thought I might ask
Tobias if I could buy some flowers that usually grow in England so
I can have a little bit of my home here.”

“That’s a wonderful idea
Alexandria,” Yvonne praised. “We want you to settle in here as soon
as possible.”

“Thank you.”

“Alexandria?”

“Yes.” She responded
instantly.

“I also heard about your
reaction to Ilyanna’s situation yesterday.”

Alex groaned,
beginning to despair as to how fast news travelled within the
estate.
You would think that with so many
people living here it would take longer for news to make it to the
queen.

“I was actually pleasantly
surprised. It’s good to know that you feel so strongly about
children.”

Tobias’ warning about
Yvonne’s desire for grandchildren floated through her mind and she
had to resist the urge to stand up and leave, tightening her grip
on her knees to keep them in place.

“You know I think it’s
good to have some little ones around the estate, it’s been a while
since we’ve heard the sound of children’s laughter. A place as
large as this should be filled with children, don’t you agree
Alexandria?”

A knock on the door saved
her from having to answer and Alex breathed a sigh of
relief.

“Come in,” Yvonne
commanded.

Maria rushed in, the
stricken expression on her face making both Alexandria and Yvonne
instantly concerned, only something very serious could make the
unflappable Maria worry. “Your majesty, your presence is needed in
the audience chamber.”

Yvonne stood instantly
moving towards the door. “I’m sorry about this Alexandria, we will
have to continue this at another time.”

“I think it’s probably
best if her highness comes as well, I fear that this will have a
great impact on her as well.”

“Very well Maria,
Alexandria will you come?”

It wasn’t a question but
Alex nodded her head as though her opinion was needed, standing
from the chair and following Yvonne and Maria from the room. They
traced the familiar path that she had walked with Tobias only
yesterday and she found herself smiling at the memory of him
walking bare-chested through the halls. As they approached the
large doors that led to the audience chamber she made eye contact
with the generous guard who had given Tobias his shirt yesterday,
smiling and offering a small wave. The guard smiled, though it
didn’t reach his deep brown eyes before he quickly turned away from
her.

“Her majesty Queen Yvonne
and her highness Princess Alexandria.” Upon being announced, Alex
trailed behind Yvonne and Maria and walked into the audience
chamber, apprehension filling her every step. Her eyes immediately
sought Tobias, her body relaxing and a smile appearing on her face
at the mere sight of him. Standing behind the chair in the centre
of the Council’s semi-circle where his father sat, she instantly
noted that Tobias’ jaw was clenched tightly and his hands were
balled into fists.

What happened?
Is he ok?
Her legs began to speed up,
determined to reach him. Quickly overtaking the slower, more
graceful Maria and Yvonne, her surroundings blurred, her vision
focused solely on Tobias. A hand gripped her arm tightly causing
her to stop and she winced at the unexpected pain, turning to look
at the person who had halted her movement.

“Where do you think you’re
going?” Lucinda demanded; the smile fixed on her face a stark
contrast to the tight hold she had on Alex’s arm and the harm her
ice blue eyes promised.

Not you
again,
Alex groaned, instantly remembering
the feel of the woman’s hand against her throat.
This woman needs to learn to stop touching me
like this, otherwise I might be forced to do something she’ll
regret.
A quick glance at Tobias told her
that he wasn’t happy with Lucinda's treatment of her either.
Well put that in your pipe and smoke it.
She chuckled amused.
Looks like Tobias will be taking my side but then again he is
my Tobias, not yours.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

A low growl
filled the room and all eyes turned to Tobias. The storm grey of
his eyes was quickly being overcome by a wild amber while his
usually smiling mouth twisted into a menacing scowl. “Remove your
hands from her Lucinda or I’ll remove your hands from
you
.”

The pressure on her arm
disappeared as Lucinda reclaimed her own hand. “Tobias, I don’t
understand why you’re doing this,” she whined, stepping forward.
His threatening snarl stopped her.

“I’m doing this because
she’s mine,” he yelled.

Watching the
interaction between Tobias and Lucinda, Alex felt herself become
increasingly confused.
If this is another
‘human moment’, I swear it’ll be the last straw.
“Tobias?” Her voice seemed very small after the
loudness of Tobias’ roar.

His eyes snapped towards
her, instantly calming as he watched her. “Don’t worry dearest,
I’ll take care of this. Trust me.” She nodded her agreement,
trusting him implicitly to resolve the situation.

“Tobias, I can’t let you
do this,” Lucinda snapped. “I won’t stand for it. I’ve waited
patiently these last few decades for you to come to your senses and
this is what you present us with?” she screamed, pointing
accusingly at Alex, causing her to take a defensive step
back.

“She’s what I’ve been
waiting for,” he answered simply.

“That’s
impossible.”

His eyebrows rose
mockingly and his tone was gentle as he spoke. “Really?”

“Yes, it’s impossible
because what you have been waiting for has always been right in
front of you. I have always been here Tobias.”

“You aren’t what I’ve been
waiting for.”

“Why are you doing this
Tobias? We’re mates, you know this as well as I do.”

Alex gasped,
turning to Tobias for confirmation or denial of the claim, her
heart fluttering wildly in her chest.
I
knew there had been a mistake.
Her eyes
began to water and she could feel the imminent tears ready to
spring forth.
Tobias and Lucinda would
look perfect together. She’s real Princess material; I’m no match
for her.
Her heart stuttered at the thought
and she had to resist the urge to clutch at her chest in a vain
attempt to try and abate the pain.

The scent of
Alex’s tears reached his nose and the wolf within him broke free of
its confines in her defence. “You and I aren’t mates Lucinda!” he
roared, his calm façade shattered and the sound reverberating off
the walls. “How you think that you can spout such nonsense, not
just in front of me but in front of my real mate, and expect to
escape unscathed is beyond me. Do you want to die? If that’s your
wish then I’ll grant it for you.”
No one
makes my Xandria cry.

“I dare Tobias because
it’s true!”

“I’d heard you were
spreading these lies but to bring these falsehoods before me, my
parents, this Council and my mate is unforgivable.”

“No Tobias,
what’s unforgivable are your actions towards me. I’ve waited for
you to return to me and see me for what I am, your mate. But
instead you bring this
human
among us,” she spat the word, making it sound like
an illness. “And on top of that, you bring her here claiming that
she’s your mate! A human as our Queen! I can’t stand by and do
nothing anymore. I’m here to take what’s rightfully mine. You
belong with me Tobias, not her. You’re my mate and I demand that
you accept it and acknowledge me in front of everyone
here!”

His now fully amber eyes
regarded her for a moment before he stepped around his father and
descended the short flight of stairs that separated the Council and
royalty from the audience. The predatory movement of his steps made
her feel as though she was being hunted and Lucinda took a step
back. He continued past her to stand in front of Alex, smiling down
at her before gripping her shoulders to turn her to face his father
and the Council.