A Wolf's Duty (25 page)

“Maybe you’re
right.”

“Finally you’re seeing
sense.” He sighed relieved. “I’ll go and tell Tobias.” He stood,
turning as though to head back into the estate, but a firm hand on
his shoulder prevented him from moving any further.

“I didn’t mean it like
that.”

He swung around to face
her. “So what exactly did you mean then?”

“I meant that maybe we
were approaching this from the wrong angle. I might not be able to
control her directly like I initially planned but that doesn’t mean
I’m powerless. I have another ability that’s far more
reliable.”

“Alex, you hear plants in
your head, I don’t think that’s going to be able to make Lucinda
submit.”

Her chin lifted defiantly
and her eyes narrowed in anger at the description of her ability.
“Fine, let’s put it to a test then, shall we. Come at me with
everything that you’ve got and let’s see if I can take
it.”

“Alex, you know I can’t do
that. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Look, I don’t want to
hurt you either but I will if you don’t take this seriously,” she
shouted, poking him in the chest to illustrate her
point.

He stepped back, moving
away from her sharp jabs. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn
you.”

“Good.” She eyed him as he
began the transformation from man to wolf. Satisfied that he was
going to cooperate; she closed her eyes and began to fall deeper
within herself. Giving the whispers free rein, she allowed them to
flood her mind, surprised that once they were free of her mental
constraints, the voices were increasingly sharp.

We’ve got to
take this seriously,
she instructed, hoping
that they would follow her commands.
We’ve
got to show him that I can do this. Will you help me?

Always,
the whispers responded in unison.

Upon opening her eyes she
instantly realised that something was different. Now that she and
the voices were united, she was aware of all the plants surrounding
her from the large apple trees that were situated at the edges of
the garden to each blade of grass that was beneath their feet. She
didn’t even need to look to know that Ryan was in his wolf form;
the grass whispered to her that his weight was now distributed on
four legs not two. Regardless, she still turned to look into his
amber eyes, surprisingly calm now that she was no longer
alone.

“Come on then Ryan, bring
your best. Remember no holding back, give me
everything.”

He snarled at her in
response, the loud sound carrying easily to her ears. He lunged for
her, the movement so quick that her eyes had trouble keeping up. He
turned at the last moment circling her at so fast that he became a
blur. Trying to calm her now racing heart, she allowed the grass
beneath his feet to become her eyes. A sudden shift in momentum
told her that he was on the offensive, her hands coming up
reflexively to protect her. The voices surged forth in response,
reacting to her wishes, her eyes widened in shock as a wealth of
thick vines erupted from the ground twisting within each other to
form a strong lattice wall between her and Ryan. The sudden growth
of foliage shocked Ryan into running headlong into the vines, his
body changing into his human form at the collision.

Fighting off the feeling
of shock, she stepped forward plastering a wide grin on her face.
“How was that?” she chuckled, pride surging through her as she
stood over him, allowing the vines to unravel and wrap themselves
around her limbs in what she assumed was their show of
unison.

He rubbed his head, unsure
of what exactly to say before his sharp hearing picked up on an
intruder entering the garden. “Get rid of them,” he hissed,
standing up. “Someone’s here.”

Hurry!
Hide!
The vines were quick to respond,
flattening themselves along the ground so that they appeared to be
part of the grass.

“Lord Ryan.” A tall man
with thick sandy blonde hair came into view, his expression
solemn.

Turning to the intruder,
Ryan frowned. “You aren’t allowed to be here William, this garden
belongs to Alexandria and no one is allowed here without her
permission or Prince Tobias’.”

William bowed his head,
embarrassed that he had allowed his enthusiasm to take precedence
over the rules of the royal clan. “I’m sorry my lord, I didn’t
think. It’s just that with the Challenge, I wasn’t sure if the rule
still stood.”

“You’re a lord?” Alex
whispered, unaware of his status and slightly shocked by the
revelation.

A raised eyebrow from Ryan
silenced any further questions she might have had before he turned
once more to face William. “Alexandria is the one Prince Tobias has
claimed as his mate and until the Challenge has been decided, she’s
still our Princess. Regardless of that, this garden was a gift to
her, even if she should lose her title it will still belong to her,
do you understand?”

“Of course my lord, I’m
sorry for the intrusion.”

“That’s fine, now what
exactly was it you wanted to tell me?”

“The representatives of
your clan are here.”

“Now?” he exclaimed,
surprised that he had lost track of time to such an
extent.

“Lord Sebastian is with
them now, but he’s becoming very anxious without you there my
lord.”

“Sebastian's very shy,” he
whispered conspiratorially to Alex. “I’d better go and help
him.”

“I think he would greatly
appreciate that Lord Ryan.”

Gripping Ryan’s arm
tightly, Alex prevented him from leaving as her former worries
returned. “You won’t say anything to him, will you
Ryan?”

All former mirth
evaporated as the harsh realities of the next day once again made
themselves known. “Alex…” he groaned.

“I can do it Ryan, I
swear. Just give me a chance, don’t tell him please.”

“I’m not going to out and
out lie to him Alex, he’s my cousin and he deserves better than
that.”

“I’m not asking you to,”
she pleaded. “All I’m asking is that you don’t mention what I can’t
do. I’ll sort everything else out myself.”

“Fine,” he conceded. “But
I’m not taking any of the blame for this if things don’t go as well
as you hope.”

“Like I said Ryan, have a
little faith.” She beamed, smiling widely at him and the
newcomer.

Ryan groaned, baffled by
the boundless optimism she seemed to possess in the face of
overwhelming odds. “Let’s go William, Sebastian is probably
becoming frantic now.”

“Bye Ryan, I’ll see you
later.” She waved until they were out of sight.

Exhaustion suddenly
swamped her and she fell to the soft ground, cushioned by the layer
of vines hiding within the grass. The whispers still filled her
mind and the constant chatter wore on her nerves, but as the rich
foliage sprouted around her to cover the grazed and bruised parts
of her body she felt a sense of relief overcome her. The plant life
that had wrapped itself around her, soothed the aches and pains and
she was dimly aware of, the shredded skin on her elbows knitting
itself together under the floral ministrations. How long she stayed
within her green cocoon she wasn’t sure but by the time she rose
and pushed the whispers to the back of her mind it was dark and her
worn body felt a measure of relief. Her eyes turned upwards taking
in the increasingly large moon.

Another
non-existent night’s sleep,
she sighed
before turning and heading toward the estate.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Walking into the estate,
the first thing she became aware of was the loud sound of voices
shouting. Following the noise blindly, she soon came upon a long
corridor, where two figures stood in a heated argument. A scowl
appeared on her face at the sight of Lucinda, frantically tugging
at Tobias’ sleeve to garner his attention.

Hands off
bitch,
she snarled, instantly feeling the
whispers that had been relegated to the back of her mind clambering
for freedom.

“Let go of me Lucinda,”
Tobias snapped, shrugging loose of her grip.

“Tobias, are you really
going to go through with this?”

“It’s not like I have a
choice now, do I Lucinda?” he informed her calmly, his voice
surprisingly composed as he moved away from her, increasing the
distance between them with his long stride.

Rushing forward, she
blocked his path, demanding his attention. “It’s not too late to
acknowledge me Tobias, if you do then I’ll call off the
Challenge.”

“I’ve already told you,
that’s never going to happen.”

“I’m not going to go easy
on her Tobias. She’ll die,” she told him casually.

“She’s already made up her
mind about this Lucinda and she’s not going to change it
now.”

“Does she even know the
risks involved?”

“She’s well aware of them
Lucinda, but there are some things that are worth dying for, you
might not understand that but I do. I’m prepared to lay down my
life for the sake of hers just like she’s willing to take this risk
for me. But I need to make one thing abundantly clear to you
Lucinda, you will never have me.”

“I’ll win the Challenge
Tobias and you’ll have to take me as a mate,” she replied
confidently.

“Even if you win you won’t
have me. If you kill her I’ll find a way to join her,” he growled,
stepping towards her menacingly, the cracks in his calm façade
beginning to appear.

So
intense.
Alex grinned to herself, pleased
with the fleeting expression of fear that had appeared on Lucinda’s
features, before she decided to make her presence known. “Tobias,”
she called out, strolling from her hiding place into the exposed
corridor. His amber flecked gaze swung around to face her,
instantly calming the moment she was in his sights, a small smile
appearing on his face as he looked her over.

I made a good
choice when I picked her as our mate didn’t I?
His inner wolf inquired, its voice smug but Tobias felt no
need to correct it, in full agreement with his wolf’s
claim.

“Xandria,” he breathed,
his body automatically moving towards her. Lucinda's hand on his
forearm prevented him from reaching her and he growled at the
offending ligament, struggling against his inner wolf’s desire to
simply kill Lucinda and save Alex from any potential
harm.

I made a
perfect choice and yet you insist on allowing her to be put in
harm’s way. Are you stupid? What will we do if she gets hurt or
worse – dies? Kill her now because when I get out, I’ll do it for
you!

“Get your hand off me
Lucinda,” he snarled.

“You aren’t allowed to
harm me before the Challenge Tobias,” she reminded him, her grip
refusing to loosen.

Stepping towards the pair,
Alex forced the whispers to remain at the back of her mind despite
her rising anger. “He might not be allowed to hurt you Lucinda, but
I’m not sure the same rules apply to me. Now listen to what he
said, he obviously doesn’t want you near him so hands
off!”

Lucinda reluctantly
released Tobias, stepping around him to stand in front of Alex,
preventing the two from touching. “You think you can take me
human?”

“I know I can.” She
grinned confidently before tilting her head to better regard the
two. “Now correct me if I’m wrong but I could have sworn we weren’t
allowed to have any contact with Tobias before the challenge, so it
strikes me as a little odd why you’re following him around like a
lost puppy. An unwanted puppy at that,” she sneered.

“Do you think you know the
rules of the clans human?”

“Now that wasn’t an answer
to my question, was it Lucinda? But don’t worry, I won’t be so rude
to you, my mother taught me manners. Of course I don’t know the
laws or rules of the clans. I wasn’t raised among them, but I made
sure to learn enough to get by and just that little bit extra to
make things difficult for you. For instance, I’m sure that if I
screamed loud enough I could get a guard to show up and take in
this whole scene. I’m sure it would put a damper on your plans if
you got disqualified before the Challenge even started.”

Lucinda froze at the
statement before quickly regaining her ground. “And how exactly
would you explain to the guard just what you were doing here? It
would be your word against mine and I have a lot more pull within
the clans that you do human.”

Exactly why
I’m not screaming at the top of my lungs right now.

“Not exactly Lucinda, it
would be your word against ours,” Tobias moved around Lucinda, to
stand beside Alex inhaling deeply and relishing her scent. “I’d
stand by whatever my mate said.”

“Tobias, you
have to stop doing this,” Lucinda pouted, stamping her foot in a
move reminiscent of a child’s tantrum. “She’s
human.
There’s no way that she’s your
mate.”

“A mate is a mate
regardless of what they are Lucinda, and Alexandria is most
certainly mine. Even if she weren’t, my mate would most certainly
not be you, fate just couldn’t be that cruel. Now go away before my
mate’s very strong pair of lungs have to be put to
work.”