A Wolf's Pride (34 page)

So here she
was, watching the man who claimed to be her mate, cut and sweat,
extremely aroused by the flexing of his muscles while chastising
herself for having such thoughts.

“
Things were so
much simpler before Ryan,” she groaned.

“
Having a
werewolf mate does tend to make life difficult for humans,” a
gentle voice commented.

The presence
of someone else in her room made Chloe spin around, determined to
find the source of the voice. She was meant to be alone. Ryan’s
words of warning came rushing back to her and her heart pounded as
she realised that her family pictures were once again on display.
Had the newcomer come to hurt her? Her eyes locked with a brilliant
pair of azure eyes, so clear that they reminded her of the sky. The
woman’s blue eyes were framed by an angelic face and her long
blonde hair cascaded like a waterfall down her back. Chloe was
immediately conscious of her own dishevelled appearance. “Who are
you?” she demanded hoping that her voice projected a sense of
authority. “No one is meant to be in here.”

“
Well the door
was open so I presumed I could come in.” The woman floated; there
was no other way to describe the way she walked, to a chair. She
sat down, making herself at home as she folded her hands primly
over her long legs. “Come, sit down.”

The request
instantly angered Chloe. Who was this woman that she thought she
could come into her personal space and start commanding her? “I
asked you a question. Who are you?”

“
I’m Lady
Lucinda of the north east clan. I’ve answered your question, will
you sit now?”

Cautiously,
Chloe made her way to the seat opposite Lucinda's, her eyes
watching the angelic looking woman warily. She still hadn’t
explained why she was here. “What do you want?”

“
I’m curious. I
don’t understand why our male nobility seem so intent on taking
humans for mates.” Her ice blue eyes wandered over Chloe’s frame
assessingly and Chloe knew instantly that she had failed whatever
test Lucinda's eyes had just conducted. “There’s nothing special
about you. I don’t see the attraction.”

“
You haven’t
answered my question. Again.”

“
I was destined
to be queen you know?” Lucinda continued, ignoring Chloe’s prompt.
“Nobility is in my blood, I deserved to be queen and I was going to
be until that human came and stole Tobias from me. She isn’t worthy
of him. He said the instinct had led him to her and that they were
destined to be mates. What a load of bullshit.” She laughed but the
sound was cold, devoid of any warmth or humour and Chloe shivered
in response. “Why would the instinct lead our nobility to humans
like you? It makes no sense.”

“
I can’t answer
that question. I’m not a wolf, I don’t have the instinct that you
guys are constantly talking about.”

“
Exactly!”
Lucinda crowed. “You’re weak, pathetic, useless.”

“
Get out,”
Chloe said forcefully, standing up and pointing to the door. This
woman, whoever she was, had no place here and she had no right to
insult her.

Lucinda moved
quickly, so quickly that all Chloe saw was a flash of colour and
then her hand was clamped tightly over her mouth. “I hadn’t
finished,” Lucinda hissed.

Chloe bit
down hard, struggling to be free but Lucinda's free arm wrapped
itself around her arms and kept her still. The force of her grip
was strong, bruising and Chloe realised that she couldn’t escape.
Unlike Ryan, Lucinda wasn’t concerned about not hurting her and she
realised just how much of his strength Ryan held back when around
her.

“
Where was I?”
she mused. “Ah yes, humans. Weak, pathetic and useless. Why a male
would want to mate one of you I don’t know. The thought of it just
makes me sick and to top it off you’re a hunter.” Chloe shook her
head, no. “Lord Ryan has tried to deny it but I can see the
evidence everywhere.”

Her blue eyes
scanned the room, her eyes narrowing further in disgust each time
she saw one of Chloe’s framed family pictures. The damning mark was
on the necks of her each member of her family in nearly every
picture, her father, her mother, her uncles, her grandfathers and
the frequency of its appearance continued to increase as her
brothers aged.

Lucinda
lifted her easily from the floor and began moving toward the
window. Chloe was unsure of what her intentions were but judging
from what she had heard, they wouldn’t benefit her in the
slightest. “But because I’m so kind, I’m here to end your
suffering.”

I’m not
suffering!
Chloe’s mind
screamed.

“
You’re
miserable because you’re amongst werewolves. You don’t want Lord
Ryan as a mate so I’ll take you from him and make him
mine.”

He’s mine
bitch! He may be an idiot, but he’s my idiot. I’m going to forgive
him.
The thoughts came into her mind
unhindered and momentarily staggered Chloe. When had she become so
possessive and when had she decided that Ryan deserved
forgiveness?

“
With you out
of the picture I’ll be free to take a Lord. I deserve no less than
someone from the nobility. I’ll settle for no less. Queen was my
aim but you make do with what you have. Tobias will take no other
mate and he has an heir now. I’ll never be queen but I’ll remain a
Lady of power and high standing. Lord Ryan is the only unmated Lord
of eligible age left.”

You think you
can take him from me? He would never do something like that.
Hang on, when did I become such a defender of
Ryan? This woman is far more beautiful than I am. He’s only a man,
he could succumb to such a temptation…No! Ryan would never do that.
I know he wouldn’t. For some strange reason the idiot wants me and
only me.

“
Your eyes tell
me that you don’t think I can manage it. Let me tell you that I can
and will. Lord Ryan will fall to my charms. I’ll take his mind off
his grief. Don’t worry, he won’t mourn for long, he hasn’t claimed
you yet, the bond between you is weak. Stupid human. If you had
only let him claim you then none of this would be happening but you
were so concerned about your possessions that you lost sight of the
true goal, your life and I’m about to show you the error of your
ways. Don’t worry, you never wanted him as a mate, I’m only helping
fulfil your wish. Goodbye human.” Lucinda lifted her from the
ground and threw her carelessly from the balcony.

Now that her
mouth was free, Chloe sucked in a deep breath and shouted as loud
as she could. “RYAN!!!!”

As it always
did, the sound of Chloe’s voice calling his name instantly garnered
his full attention and Ryan looked up, expecting to see her waving
to him from the safety of their bedroom window. Instead, he saw her
falling hard towards the uneven ground. She’d never survive the
fall. She would die. His mate would leave this earth and he’d never
survive the grief of his angel’s departure. He sprung into action,
dropping the axe and springing into the foliage of the half cut
tree, desperate to reach her. If he could get to her before she hit
the ground, he could use his body to protect her from the fall. The
tree swayed wildly as his weight leapt from its branches and he
realised it would fall before he reached her if he kept moving like
this. His eyes locked on Chloe’s falling body and he tensed the
muscles in his legs, leaping from the tree to catch her. The force
of his jump toppled the falling tree but that wasn’t his main
concern. His arms outstretched, he caught her falling body,
wrapping his arms and legs around her tightly. “It’s ok angel. I’ve
got you. Close your eyes. I won’t let anything happen to you.” If
he’d claimed her she would heal from the fall, broken bones would
slowly but surely repair themselves. If they fell wrong today there
would be no hope for her. Her injuries would be permanent…if she
survived.

The ground
approached and Ryan’s body tensed in preparation, he needed to take
the impact of the fall, Chloe couldn’t be hurt. They landed with a
forceful oomph and pain instantly lanced his body, everything hurt.
The pain was awe-inspiring but as Chloe’s strawberry scent floated
to his nose, he forced it to the back of his mind. His mate needed
him. Over the long course of his life he had suffered many
injuries, he was well aware of how to compartmentalise pain when
other things needed his attention. There were perks to having a
strong inner wolf. His wolf growled in agreement, taking the brunt
of the pain as he prepared to focus his attention on Chloe. He took
a deep breath, preparing to move and check on the state of Chloe’s
injuries but when he tried to shift his limbs, he found that he was
stuck. He couldn’t move.

“
Chloe love,
angel? Are you ok? Talk to me Chloe.”

“
Ryan,” she
sobbed.

“
Are you hurt?”
he demanded, instantly concerned about the source of her tears.
“Can you move?”

She flexed
her fingers and toes experimentally before shifting her weight to
move off of Ryan. Her back turned to him, she bent her knees and
flexed her arms. There was an element of pain, soreness from the
impact of the collision and Lucinda's painful grip but nothing near
the level of pain she would have experienced had she fallen without
Ryan coming to save her. “Yes, I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

The smell of
blood assaulted his nose as soon as Chloe moved and though he tried
to move, tried to reach her, to see with his own eyes that she was
fine, he couldn’t. His nose sifted through the scents and he
realised that while the scent of Chloe’s blood was in the air, it
was his own blood that was saturating the air around
them.

Chloe turned
to him, her eyes widening in shock and horror as she finally saw
him. She fell to her knees, retching at the sight. “Oh God, Ryan!”
she screamed, until her voice became hoarse.

Chapter Twenty
Nine

The tree had
fallen, breaking away from its trunk and leaving a half jagged,
half smooth surface in its wake. It was this surface that Ryan had
fallen directly onto. The force of his fall had forced the sharp
edges through Ryan’s body, the wood had cracked through his spine,
speared his internal organs and ripped through muscle, sinew and
skin to reach the other side. The sight was horrifying. Blood was
everywhere, his body covered in the red substance, the fleshy
remains of the internal organs the tree had pushed through coated
in his lifeblood. The tips of the jagged edges were just showing
through his stomach, the firm muscles of his stomach a distant
memory through all the blood. The tangy taste of blood was in his
mouth and as Ryan coughed, more blood left him, spilling from his
lips.

He still
couldn’t move his arms or legs but his head was lolled in Chloe’s
direction and a faint smile crept onto his lips as he saw that she
was moving. She was safe. His body had done what it was meant to,
protect his mate. The faint scent of her blood however worried him
more than the overpowering fragrance of his own. “Chloe, you’re
bleeding.”

“
I’m bleeding?”
she scoffed, tears falling unhindered down her face. “You’re the
one that’s bleeding. Oh God, you’re going to die! What were you
thinking?” She pulled her bloodied jumper over her head and pressed
it to the large wound.

“
I was thinking
about you like I always do. I won’t die Chloe; I still have so much
to live for. I have you.” There was pain banked in the depths of
his warm brown eyes but he was smiling and Chloe had to choke back
a sob.

“
What’s wrong
with you? You’re hurt, more than simply hurt, and you still have
time to spout off things like that.”

“
I always have
time to reassure you. You’re my mate, my own personal angel. How
could I die when an angel is watching over me? Please Chloe, you’re
bleeding. Show me.”

She lifted
the hem of her shirt. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was
now fully aware of the sharp pain in her side. The cut wasn’t deep,
the blood pouring from the wound superficial in comparison to the
large amounts that Ryan was still losing but his eyes narrowed, a
growl slipping past his bloodied lips.

“
Chloe, go to
the infirmary and have the doctors take a look at that.”

“
What are you
talking about Ryan? You’re dying and you want them to have a look
at this tiny thing.”

“
Yes Chloe. Go.
Do it now.”

“
No. I have to
get you help.”

“
What you have
to do is have yourself seen to first, then worry about
me.”

“
I’m going to
get you help Ryan.”

He growled.
“Chloe, go and find a doctor, have that cut looked at.”

“
Shut up you
idiot! I’m not going to leave you like this to do something so
ridiculous. God Ryan, I have to get help. I don’t want you to
die.”

“
I’m not going
to die.”

“
I’m so sorry,
I have to leave you by yourself. I’ll be as quick as I can. I’m
going to get you help. Just wait here and don’t try to move you’ll
only make it worse. I’m not really sure how it could get worse but
I don’t want to risk it.”

“
You sound as
though you care,” he murmured remorsefully.

“
I do care, you
stupid idiot,” she scowled. Running her hand gently through the
messy strands of his hair she placed a brief kiss to his scalp, the
only place where blood wasn’t covering him. “I’ll be back as quick
as I can.”