A Wolf's Pride (29 page)

She rolled
her eyes and stood. “I’ve had enough of this. I’m going to find the
jeep and I’m going home.” She walked out of the cave’s entrance and
Ryan’s heart fell.

His mate had
rejected him. The claiming had failed. An angry scowl slipped past
his lips and he transformed, striding after his mate. He lifted her
into his arms, catching her by surprise and running back towards
the estate. “I’ve told you before Chloe, I’m never going to let you
go,” he rumbled into her ear. She instantly began to struggle, her
small fists flailing wildly as they tried to connect with any part
of him. Her struggles were only serving to inflame his thwarted
desires and he groaned, a strange mixture of dissatisfaction and
pleasure. He threw her high into the air before racing to catch
her. Chloe’s struggles ceased the instant she was back in his arms
as though afraid he would throw her and not try to catch her if she
put up a fight.

His mate now
still, his body’s reactions at a manageable level, Ryan allowed his
mind to wander to the more important issue of the failed claiming.
A feral smile crept across his lips as the wind whipped past them.
He wasn’t in line for the throne, he wasn’t under the same
restrictions Tobias had been. He didn’t need to wait for the full
moon to claim Chloe. The full moon could be helpful, it brought a
man’s desires in line with his wolf’s, but Ryan didn’t need outside
help to do that.
There will be plenty of
other chances to claim her.

Tonight,
his wolf growled
angrily.
We will try again
tonight.

Yes,
Ryan agreed.
I’ll explain
things to her properly and then we’ll try again tonight.

Chapter Twenty
Four

When they
returned, the estate was abuzz with activity and Ryan instantly
frowned, something wasn’t right. Usually after the excesses of the
first night’s full moon feast people slept in to prepare for the
next night’s upcoming event. Instead the halls were filled with
people cheering and celebrating as though they were still preparing
for the feast.

“
Lord Ryan,”
Helen called excitedly. Her normally straight, tidy brown hair was
a mess, strands flying in all directions. Her gown was barely in
place, but that was to be expected, she was mated after all and it
was the morning following a full moon. Her normally, secretive
green eyes however were abuzz with emotion and despite the years
they had spent together Ryan found it impossible to decipher her.
Helen was normally so controlled, the strange display of emotions
was disconcerting and automatically made Ryan nervous. “You must
come with me, you must come now.”

“
Why?” he
asked, much in the way he had done as a child when he had asked a
question he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted the answer for. The
estate was in disarray, and he had only seen it in such a condition
once before, when Alex had been taken by Elijah. Granted at the
time people weren’t celebrating but the effects of the full moon
may have numbed their sense of concern, overcome with desire for
their own mates, it was hard to worry about other things. The chaos
in the halls may very well have been their attempts to deal with a
problem that had arisen in his absence while fighting against their
own nature. “What’s going on?”

“
It’s the Queen
Lord Ryan,” she stated, her voice a strange mix of excitement and
concern that only caused Ryan to worry more.

“
Alex?” he
gulped apprehensively, his worst fears seemingly confirmed. If
something had happened to her his cousin would be
devastated.

“
Yes, yes.
Please come with me.”

He asked no
more questions, following the woman silently. Even Chloe had chosen
not to resume her struggles in light of the potential situation.
They were lead to the door to Alex and Tobias’ suite and the woman
knocked lightly.

“
Who’s it?”
Tobias’ booming voice inquired.

“
Tobias, it’s
me, Ryan.”

“
Come in,” he
called happily and Ryan’s frown deepened.
Just what exactly is going on?

Taking note
of his precious burden, Helen opened the door for him before
vanishing down the hall. Walking in, Ryan held Chloe tighter to his
chest, nervous energy filling him. He didn’t like being left in the
dark and it showed.

“
Ryan,” Tobias
beamed, rushing from the bedroom with a small bundle in his arms.
“Ryan, I’m a father! Alex, my wonderful mate, she gave birth last
night. Come, come, you must see my son and my
daughters.”

Suddenly it
all made sense, the hustle and bustle so soon after the full moon
feast, Helen’s uncharacteristic eagerness to bring him to Tobias,
the royal heir had just been born. He slid Chloe down his body
slowly, immediately taking a hold of her hand to ensure she stayed
close before he walked over to his cousin and the newest addition
to his family. Familiar green eyes stared at him intently beneath a
thick mop of jet black hair. “He’s beautiful,” Ryan said
honestly.

“
His name is
Travis,” Tobias stated proudly.

Shock
appeared on Ryan’s face. “As in your brother?”

“
Yes, Alex
chose the name herself. She said that he’ll definitely live longer
than his uncle, that he’d make it to maturity.”

“
He’s my son,
of course I’m not going to let anything happen to him,” Alex smiled
from the bedroom door.

Looking at
the small woman, Chloe’s mouth immediately began to speak, her
brain unable to censor the words quick enough. “Are you sure you
should be out of bed? You’ve just given birth to triplets if what
you told me is true.”

“
Don’t worry,
my plants were with me throughout. If I didn’t have them I think
things would be different but they’re amazing healers and I feel
almost as good as normal. Better even.” A small smile crept across
Chloe’s face. Alex was right, she didn’t look as though she were a
woman who had just recently given birth. She looked fit and able
and ready to take on the world if she had to. “I think with another
round of healing I’ll be all good to go but come, I want you to
meet my daughters,” she beckoned.

Turning to
Ryan, Chloe looked pointedly at his hand before glaring at him and
he reluctantly released her. She strode towards Alex glad to be
free of Ryan’s hindering grasp. Her body still reacted to him as
though he had done nothing wrong. It wanted him with a passion that
still confused her. Being near him was troubling enough, her legs
trembling as she breathed in his rich smell but touching him raised
the problem into an entirely different league. Nothing seemed to
work, her mind melted to nothing and her body was eager for more
contact with his. Maintaining her anger was almost impossible when
he touched her.
Well I’ll just have to
make sure he doesn’t touch me,
she stated
resolutely.
I need to remember just what
kind of person he is. He’s a sadistic ass who finds enjoyment out
of causing others pain and I just happen to be his latest toy. I
can’t let him get to me. I can’t let him make me believe he cares
because it’ll hurt so much more when he proves me wrong a second
time. The more distance there is between him and me, the
better.

She reached
Alex’s side and walked into the bedroom, glad that Ryan had stayed
behind in the outer room to talk to Tobias. Tobias alone was bad
enough, he made her genuinely afraid for her safety and now that
Ryan had revealed his true colours, there were no more guarantees
for her safety in this dangerous place. It was with this thought in
mind that she smiled widely as Alex reached into a crib and showed
her a small baby. Alex was the only other human in this place; it
would be in her best interest to make friends with her.

“
This is Lily,”
Alex beamed, showing her a small baby with grey eyes and brown
hair.

“
You must be so
proud,” Erica smiled, startling Chloe who hadn’t heard her
approach. “I remember when Dylan and Wyatt were newborns, our
parents were so happy…” Realising where that line of thinking might
lead, she stopped abruptly and turned her attention to the woman
she had unwillingly associated with the hunters.

She still had
nightmares about that horrific time in her life. Nights where she
would wake up screaming after hearing Vincent's eerily calm voice
telling her the next line of torture he intended to use against
her. It was only because of the comfort of Sebastian's arms that
the nightmares were receding. Life was good and it was time to
overcome her fear. As Erica well knew, you couldn’t choose your
parents; you couldn’t hold someone else responsible for their
actions and you most certainly didn’t get a choice in who was your
mate. Chloe had drawn the short straw having Ryan as a mate but he
was family. Her mate’s only brother. The one who had stood by him
through the years and ensured he survived long enough with his
personality in tact to get to her.
Ryan
does so much for others, he deserves to be happy,
even if he can be an idiot.

“
So,” Erica
began. “I heard about what Ryan did with your things.”

“
The fuc –” She
halted abruptly, her eyes wandering to Lily. “He burned my things.
He gave them to me and then took them from me to burn them. He’s
cruel and I want to leave.”

“
Firstly, he’s
not going to let you go and secondly are you telling me that he
didn’t explain why he did what he did?”

“
Nope, not a
word. He came in smelling of smoke and asked me if I was hungry,”
she hissed in response.

“
And then he
tried to claim you?” Erica asked for clarification.

“
What is it
with you wolves and this claiming thing?” Erica's face was unmoved.
Chloe sighed deeply, “Yes, although I still have no idea what that
means. Have you finished with the interrogation?”

“
Yes.” Erica's
gaze instantly went to the doorway where Ryan stood with Sebastian
and Tobias. She smiled fondly when looking at her mate before
frowning deeply at Ryan.
You really don’t
help yourself do you Ryan? And by not helping yourself you just
make things harder for the people that try to help you, in this
case me. Am I sure that I really want to do this?
Her eyes wandered back to Sebastian.
I guess I don’t really have a choice. I want my
Sebastian to be happy and he’ll be happy when his idiot brother is
happy. Maybe I should try what Elaine said, a sharp slap to the
back of the head. It might work, you never know and at this point
I’m going to need all the help I can get.

*****

Ryan watched
Chloe leave him with a heavy heart. The claiming hadn’t gone well
and his mate had seemed overly eager to be rid of him. Something
was going on and he had better find out what it was quickly if he
hoped to attempt the claiming again that night. Tobias’s voice
pulled him from the haze he had fallen into and Ryan forced himself
to listen rather than dwell on the problems that had developed with
Chloe.

“
Our parents
have just left,” Tobias began, gently rocking the small baby within
his arms. “But Sebastian and Erica are still here. I’m going to
take your premature return and lack of mating scent as evidence
that the claiming didn’t go well.”

“
I don’t want
to talk about it,” Ryan snapped.

“
I know you
don’t,” Tobias continued, his eyes never leaving his son’s as he
followed his mate’s scent. “But it’s important. I want you to know
this happiness Ryan. After all that you did to help Alex and I, you
deserve it most of all.”

Standing in
the doorway Ryan looked into the bedroom his eyes wandering to
where Erica and Chloe stood gathered around Alex who held a small
baby comfortably in her arms. Apparently even Erica was willing to
place her dislike of Chloe on a back burner to bond over the
arrival of a newborn. “I want it too Tobias,” he murmured. “You
have no idea how bad.”

“
She’ll come
around,” Tobias reassured him.

“
I hope you’re
right.”

The sad look
on his normally jovial cousin’s face was disconcerting, Tobias
decided. “Enough of this,” he commanded. “Jasmine and Lily want to
meet you.”

“
You’ve named
them all already?”

“
Alex did,” he
admitted. “I think her exact words were ‘if I have to go through
the pain, the least you can let me do is pick their names’. How
could I disagree?”

“
Do you want to
hold her?” Sebastian asked. While talking to Tobias, he had managed
to sneak up undetected on his brother a feat he rarely managed to
do. It instantly made him worried. Ryan wasn’t the most emotionally
astute person and after burning his mate’s possessions a deep talk
would have been necessary to make her understand. But Sebastian
knew his brother. In all likelihood there had been no talk, no
discussion and therefore no claiming.
And
the idiot probably thinks he’s done nothing wrong,
Sebastian sighed.
Maybe I
should have a talk with him. Poor Chloe, she can’t help who her
family is and then she get’s stuck with my emotionally deficient
brother. The woman has not had it easy.