A Wolf's Pride (20 page)

“
You could have
fooled me,” Chloe laughed ruefully. “He’s never done anything that
I’ve asked him to, the man seems to delight in doing the opposite
of what I want.”

“
That’s only
because your circumstances aren’t ideal. If they were different he
wouldn’t act that way towards you.”

“
Ryan and I’ve
already had this conversation. We agreed that there’s nothing we
can do to change our circumstances, we have to live with what’s
happened.”

“
And for that
I’m eternally grateful. You’ve given him his chance to be happy,”
Helen interrupted.

“
How can he be
happy when most of the people here hate me? They’re probably angry
at him for bringing me here.”

“
That isn’t
true Chloe.”

“
I was there at
the meeting where people were discussing my death. There’s no point
in trying to deny it. Even if I hadn’t been there, I was threatened
by one of the people that live here. Ryan isn’t doing himself any
favours by trying to keep me here, all it’s doing is angering those
around him.”

“
Most people
aren’t of the opinion of those Lords and Ladies. You may not have
known it but most of those that wanted to harm you aren’t close to
Lord Ryan. Every single member of his family wants you to stay, we
want Lord Ryan to be happy and that’s impossible without you. You
aren’t a hunter and those close to Lord Ryan understand that. It’s
hard for a male wolf to be without a mate and even though he rarely
said anything and was constantly smiling, we knew that he was
unhappy. Now that you’re here things will be different. This chance
that you have given him means more than you can imagine, all that I
ask is you try and see it through to the end,” Helen pleaded, her
green eyes desperate.

“
You really
care about him,” Chloe remarked.

“
Like he were
my own son,” Helen answered automatically.

“
I’ve agreed to
give him a chance, anything beyond tonight is up to him,” she
sighed, trying to reassure the pleading woman. Silence reined for a
few minutes as Alice set to work on applying make up to Chloe’s
face. It felt strange having someone else do it but when it was
complete, she had to admit that Alice had done an excellent job.
“So how long have you known Ryan?” she asked
conversationally.

“
Since he was a
baby,” Helen answered simply. Chloe pulled her head away from
Helen’s skilled fingers and turned, fixing her with a disbelieving
stare. “I know it doesn’t look that way but it’s true. Our aging
process is different to yours. We stop aging once we’re in our
prime.”

“
Right,” she
drawled, turning her head and letting Helen finish her
work.

“
Lord Ryan was
always such a troublemaker when he was young, especially in
comparison to Sebastian. Those two were like night and
day.”

“
Now that I can
believe,” she smiled. “Since I met him he’s done nothing but
actively seek trouble.”

“
He causes the
most trouble when people that he care about are involved. First it
was Lord Sebastian and now it’s you.”

“
I’m guessing
they fought a lot.” Alice laughed at her guess and Helen smiled,
trying desperately not to join Alice in her revelry.
“What?”

“
Nothing could
be further from the truth,” Alice commented. “Lord Sebastian never
fought any body. He much preferred to be left alone and when other
children did get physical with him, he never raised a hand in self
defence.”

An image of
Ryan’s brother came to Chloe’s mind and she frowned. “Why?
Sebastian looks like he could have taken care of
himself.”

“
Sebastian is
the calm one of the two, always has been,” Helen commented. “When
they were younger he was very much a loner, he couldn’t seem to
connect with people his own age except for Lord Ryan. For his part,
Lord Ryan was always the first to know who had hurt his brother and
the first one to see retribution on his behalf. I honestly think
that about two-thirds of all the fights Ryan has been in have been
connected to Lord Sebastian in some way, shape or form. The other
third…well they were probably inevitable given his nature, besides
children here generally like to have a tussle every now and
again.”

“
He’s a good
man,” Alice inserted. “He always looks out for those he cares about
and while others such as myself and Helen may have a place in his
mind, you’re now on the top of that list.”

They stepped
away from her and indicated that she should stand. The dress was
removed from the rail and they guided her into it. Apparently
satisfied with their work, the two women left her in front of the
mirror and silently left the room. It was amazing to think that the
woman in the mirror really was her and Chloe ran her hands up and
down her body nervously. The slit in the dress was still
dangerously high in her mind, exposing the length of her thigh when
she moved.
What is it about you Ryan that
has every woman I’ve met since you brought me here jumping forward
to defend you?
She stilled for a moment,
looking at herself in the mirror again before sighing in
resignation.
I guess I’ll try and find out
tonight
.
There’s
no alternative, I’ve just got to take a leap of faith.

Chapter
Seventeen

“
I hate ties,”
Ryan scowled, tugging at the material that hung from his neck. He
was standing in a corridor waiting for Chloe, the setting for his
date prepared and ready behind the doors that he stood in front of.
It was for his mate that he had once again braved the horrors of a
tie, determined to make a good impression now that she was willing
to give him a chance. The time he had spent in cities and amidst
humans had told him that most human males wore the things on dates
and Chloe needed some degree of normality now that she was
surrounded by werewolves. Ryan could never understand why ties had
become so popular among humans. When he had been growing up
hangings were still used as a punishment and ties couldn’t help but
remind him of the hangman’s noose. He pulled the tie once again,
increasingly uncomfortable with waiting. His restlessness died an
abrupt death as soon as Chloe appeared at the end of the corridor,
walking towards him.

She was like
a vision, an angel sent to earth solely for his happiness. He had
chosen her dress personally, convinced that she would look even
more beautiful should she wear it and his intuition was right. The
cream sheath clung to her skin in all the right places, emphasising
the generous curve of her bosom and the gentle sway of her hips as
she moved all the while making her skin appear to glow. Her blonde
hair shone and her violet eyes captivated him, stealing the breath
from his lungs in an instant.

Perfect,
his wolf ground out.
Ryan, you have to touch her. Kiss her. Make sure
she knows who she belongs with.

I know,
he whispered in response, still mesmerised by the
way Chloe was walking towards him. The instant he had seen her, his
blood had heated, desire thrumming through his veins.
I know.
He was still
frozen when she finally reached him, stopping just in front of
him.

“
Ryan?” she
called uncertainly.

The sound of
her voice snapped him out of his frozen state, dragging him back to
the situation at hand. He inhaled reflexively, breathing in her
scent to determine her mood regardless of the fact that her scent
made him crazed with the need to have her. What he smelled brought
a frown to his face, she was nervous. Now that he was looking at
her without desire obscuring his vision, his eyes confirmed what
his nose had smelt. There was a flush to her cheeks and she was
constantly running her hands over her body nervously as though
uncomfortable.

He smiled in
what he hoped was a reassuring way, eliminating the distance that
was between them in a single step. “You look beautiful Chloe. I
knew you would but…wow.” She opened her mouth and he knew without
her speaking that she was going to contradict him. Lifting his hand
to the nape of her neck, he pulled her closer to him. “I mean it
Chloe, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes
on.”

As he looked
into her violet eyes, he felt himself falling into their
mesmerising depths, bending down and pressing his lips against
hers. What was intended as a simple greeting quickly intensified as
her scent continued to invade his mind. His tongue thrust forward
determinedly, parting her lips with ease before slipping into the
moist cavern of her mouth. His body temperature rocketed and he
groaned, pulling her fully against him as their tongues continued
to duel for supremacy. Time seemed to come to a halt as the kiss
continued and it was only when Chloe began to push at his chest
that he realised that he had let himself succumb to his wilder
side. Reluctantly, he pulled away, allowing her to come up for air
and releasing her from his body.

Her face was
flushed as she fought to catch her breath and when she turned to
look at him he realised that she might try to scold him for his
actions. “Come on,” he began, heading her protests off before they
had begun. Placing a hand at her waist he guided her through the
doors that led out onto the balcony they had talked on
earlier.

Shock wasn’t
a strong enough word to describe what Chloe felt upon seeing the
transformed balcony and it truly had been transformed. Candles
lined the stone barrier that circled the area, giving everything an
almost magical glow. A single table lay in the centre of the space,
more candles lighting the surface while the floor was covered in
flowers.

“
Do you like
it?” Ryan asked.

She jumped,
slightly startled by where the question had come from. Amazed by
her surroundings she had allowed Ryan to sneak up on her and his
arms were now wrapped around her waist, his head nestled in the
crook of her neck. “Did you do all this?” she asked, her tone
breathless.

“
Of course,
only the best for my mate. Come, sit down, your dinner will start
to get cold.” He led her to the table, guiding her into her
chair.

As the smell
of hot food wafted up to her nose, Chloe’s stomach growled in
anticipation. The food in front of her smelled delicious and looked
divine. She lifted her knife and fork and began to eat, groaning
loudly in appreciation as the taste exploded in her mouth. It
didn’t just look and smell good, it tasted fantastic as well. “Did
you make this as well?” she asked doubtful.

“
Yes,” he
answered simply, his attention on the woman in front of him rather
than the food he had made earlier.

“
You can
cook?”

“
Yes,” he
responded confused as to the amazed tone of Chloe’s voice. “You
sound surprised.”

“
I
am.”

“
Why?”

“
No one in my
family can cook. They live off takeaways and whatever else they can
get their hands on. I don’t know why, I just didn’t expect you to
be able to do it. I suppose I just took you for the muscle bound
type.”

“
We have a lot
to learn about each other Chloe, it’s not anybody’s fault that your
assumption was wrong.”

“
How did you
learn?”

Ryan smiled
as fond childhood memories filled his mind. “When I was a kid, I
was always hungry. I would eat entire meals and be hungry an hour
later. Because of that I developed a really bad habit.”

“
What?” Chloe
asked, genuinely curious.

“
I would sneak
down into the kitchens at night when I thought that no one was
about and take whatever food I could get my hands on. I would gorge
myself until I was sick sometimes but you have to understand that
the chefs here are amazing and whatever they cook is just as
amazing. The people that become head chefs for the clans have spent
decades travelling, gathering knowledge about food and how to cook
it before they come back here to stay. I managed to do it for a
little over four months before I got caught.” He winced remembering
the lecture he had received. “The chef was waiting for me in the
kitchen one night and saw me having my late night feast. He was
furious,” Ryan laughed. “Apparently my snacking had been ruining
his carefully planned menus for months and he wasn’t pleased, he
ranted and raved until the sun came up.” Chloe laughed at his
description and for a moment Ryan was stunned, Chloe’s smiles were
a rare thing and now that he had made her happy enough to grant him
one he was intent on making her do it more often. Her face was
aglow and she shone with such radiance that she could put the sun
to shame.

“
Ryan?” she
called confused as to why he had stopped.

“
Sorry,” he
rushed. “Where was I? Oh yeah, I remember, the chef and his raving.
As punishment he demanded that I spend the same amount of time that
I had been taking things from the kitchen working in them. I wasn’t
happy. That first month all I did was gripe and moan but I realised
fairly quickly that staying in the kitchen meant that I could eat
what I wanted when I wanted so long as I was prepared to help make
it. By the time my punishment was over I’d gotten so used to being
there that it felt odd not to spend some of my day in the kitchen.
The sly chef had been teaching me things without me even realising
it and so over the next few years I would sneak down and give them
a helping hand every now and again. I still do it.”