A Wolf's Pride (37 page)

“
Are you in
much pain?”

“
I’ve felt
worse. It isn’t unbearable.”

“
Well as long
as you’re feeling better, that’s all that matters.” A loud growl
filled the room and Chloe frowned in confusion. “Was that your
stomach?” The sound was reminiscent of a growling stomach but it
was so much louder that she had to ask for confirmation.

“
Yes, but
that’s a good sign.”

“
You could have
fooled me. It sounded as though you were starving.”

“
Well I’ve had
to regenerate my stomach so it’s completely empty and I’m
technically starving. Don’t look so worried love. The fact that I
grew it back is a good thing. It means if I eat something it has
somewhere to go and if I eat something I’ll have more energy to
heal and I’ll recover faster.”

“
So if you eat
you’ll get better?”

“
In a word,
yes.”

“
I’ll go and
get you something to eat then.” Her hands moved quickly and deftly,
cleaning and rewrapping his wound. Satisfied that he wouldn’t bleed
to death in her absence, she smiled at him. “So where do I get food
from, so far it’s just appeared in front of me when I need
it.”

“
The kitchens
love. You just go in and tell the cooks that you need food for your
mate, they’ll sort you out.”

“
Mate?” She
rolled the word across her tongue, trying to get used to it.
Despite Ryan’s repeated assertions that they were mates, she had
never acknowledged his claim, never referred to him as her mate.
“It sounds so different to the normal terms of husband and wife or
girlfriend and boyfriend or partner even.”

“
I wouldn’t
know. What’s so different about mate?”

“
I don’t know,
it sounds a little more permanent.”

“
It is more
permanent angel. Mates are born for each other and are destined to
be together. The only way to truly separate mates is through death.
I don’t think anything can get more permanent than
that.”

“
So we’re
mates? You’re mine and I’m yours.”

The smile he
gave her could have rivalled the sun in brightness. “Yes Chloe.
You’re my mate and I’m yours.” His hand reached for hers, gripping
it tightly.

Her face
flushed with heat. “I should go and get you something to eat before
you starve to death or something. Where are the
kitchens?”

“
They’re on the
ground floor so take the stairs all the way to the bottom.” His
brow creased and he let out a loud groan. “I’m not very good at
giving directions.”

“
Will there be
people on the ground floor that know where the kitchens
are?”

“
Of
course.”

“
Well then I’ll
just ask one of them. Who knows, they might even take me there
directly.” She squeezed his hand before releasing it and standing
on her feet. “I’ll have a quick shower, make myself look
presentable and then I’ll head out.”

“
Do you want me
to come with you?”

“
No. You’re
injured, getting out of this bed will only make you worse. Just
stay here and wait for me to come back.”

“
Be careful
Chloe. If you think you’re in the slightest bit of danger then call
out for me and I’ll come to you.”

“
Don’t be
silly, I’m just going to get some food. Besides, I can’t stay in
here forever. You want me to live here, people are going to have to
get used to my presence and trust that I’m not secretly plotting
your downfall. That isn’t going to happen if I don’t interact with
people. I’ll be fine Ryan.”
Or at least I
hope I will. I don’t want him to worry; the idiot will only end up
making his injuries worse by trying to come with me.
Walking away from the bed, she made her way into
the bathroom, showering and dressing quickly.

“
I won’t be
long.” She smiled, kissing him softly before leaving the
room.

True to his
instructions, she walked out of the room, found the nearest flight
of stairs and walked all the way to the bottom. There weren’t many
people on the ground floor but she ran up to the nearest person, a
tall, thin teenage boy.

“
Excuse me?”
she called.

He turned to
face her, his grey eyes fixing her with a penetrating stare.
“Yes?”

“
Could you tell
me where the kitchens are?”

He smiled,
although the normally friendly gesture seemed cold. “Sure. If you
just follow this corridor until you come to the first right
turning. Take that and then walk down that corridor, take another
right and then go left when the hall splits. The kitchens are at
the end of that corridor.”

Logging the
instructions into her mind, she grinned at the young man. “Thank
you.” Smiling, she took off, intending to follow his detailed
instructions. After the second right however, his directions no
longer mapped out onto her surroundings. There was no left
turning.
Maybe he meant right,
her mind decided, her feet moving appropriately.
Chloe continued walking, desperate to find if not the kitchens then
another person to guide her. She wandered for minutes, becoming
more and more lost with each step she took. There were no people
around her and she wasn’t even sure of how to go back the way she
had come. She was truly lost. She groaned, hitting her fist against
the stone wall. The pain that radiated through her hand told her
that it wasn’t a good idea to do so but nevertheless, she hit it
again, trying to vent her frustration. Ryan wouldn’t get the food
he needed at this rate.

“
Chloe?” The
familiar voice immediately had her attention and she turned to find
Alex, a three seat wide stroller in hand with three sleeping babies
in each seat, looking at her curiously. “What are you doing down
here?”

“
At the moment?
I’m proceeding to get lost.”

“
Are you
looking for something?”

“
Yes. The
kitchens. I got directions from someone but they were wrong and
there was no one around to get new ones from.”

“
Well whoever
gave you directions got them completely wrong. The kitchens are in
the opposite direction from here.” Chloe groaned angrily in
frustration. “I can take you if you want,” Alex responded, slightly
surprised at Chloe’s dejected tone.

“
Really?”

“
Yes.”

“
Please take
me. Ryan’s stomach has grown back and he says he’s starving and
that to get better he needs food for energy.”

“
He’s right,
wolves need a lot of food to keep themselves going and even more to
heal from an injury especially one as extreme as Ryan’s. Follow
me.” Alex began walking, leading Chloe in the opposite direction
she had wandered in.

“
You seem to
know a lot about wolves, just how long have you been
here?”

“
Not even a
year at present. You pick up this information quickly because the
‘you don’t understand because you’re human’ spiel gets very old,
very quickly.”

Chloe nodded
in understanding, glancing around the empty halls. Throughout the
duration of her stay she had yet to see a corridor that was devoid
of a single person, what was so special about this one? “Alex, do
you know why there’s no one here? Why are you the only person in
it?”

Alex
chuckled. “Don’t you remember? My garden is at the end of this
particular corridor. No one but me or those I’ve expressly given
permission to can enter. Because I spend so much time down here
people got worried that they would accidentally hurt me or bruise
me so the things that were along this corridor moved to less
dangerous areas.”

“
Dangerous?”

“
When you have
a mate that’s perfectly fine with executing those who dare to harm
you, people begin to think of walking near you as a dangerous
activity.” Alex laughed and Chloe couldn’t help but join in. The
hall that they were walking in now looked vaguely familiar and the
number of people in it had drastically increased. “We’re almost
there now.”

Now that there
were people around them words from a conversation Chloe had had
with Ryan a while back came unbidden to her mind.
‘The next time you see Alex, invite her for a
walk and you’ll see. Men cling to walls when they see her pass to
avoid accidentally touching her.’
Remembering Alex’s earlier words Chloe decided to see just how
true Ryan’s words were. Her sharp violet eyes watched in amusement
as a path magically appeared before them. Just as Ryan had said
there were people clinging to walls, their bodies pressed tightly
against the stone. Others simply fled upon the sight of her walking
unassisted through the halls, running into nearby rooms and
shutting doors tightly behind them. Needless to say the sight was
unbelievably funny and laughter spilled from Chloe’s
lips.

“
What’s so
funny?” Alex asked confused.

“
Nothing,”
Chloe responded, trying her best to stifle her laughter.

“
Right,” Alex
drawled in response. “We’re here.” They had stopped outside of a
pair of large double doors, the irresistible smell of cooking food
confirming that it was the kitchen. “Do you want me to go with you
with you?”

Chloe’s mind
pondered the question.
If I go with Alex,
things will definitely get done. But I don’t want help. Ryan is
my…mate, I want to be able to take care of him myself. Besides, I
was telling the truth earlier, if I keep avoiding interacting with
the people that live here they’ll continue to see me as a threat
and Ryan will keep getting into situations where he’s in
danger.
“No,” she gulped. “I can do this by
myself.”

“
Are you
sure?”

“
I’m just going
to get something to eat. How hard can it be?”

“
If you’re
sure.”

“
I am.”
Not.
“Go on. I’ll be
fine.”

“
Okay, if it’s
what you want. I’ll see you later okay?”

“
I’ll be
spending the day with Ryan. He needs me.”

I’m glad that
you’ve finally realised that,
Alex’s
sighed, though outwardly she said nothing. “We’re family. We’ll be
visiting to see how he’s doing later.”

“
Thanks for
your help Alex.”

“
Thanks for
agreeing to stay with Ryan. It means a lot.”

“
We’re mates,”
she replied, the word feeling more and more natural on her tongue
the more often she used it.

Alex nodded
as if those two words explained everything before turning to walk
away. Another chuckle escaped from Chloe’s throat as she watched
from a distance the crowded hall give way for Alex to proceed. When
her laughter died down, she turned to regard the door.

“
I can do
this,” she told herself. Repeating the confidence boosting mantra,
she gripped the door handle and pulled hard.
Ryan needs me to do this, so I’m going to do it.

Chapter Thirty
Two

Chloe pulled
hard against the door handle, the muscles in her arm visibly
pulsing from strain and yet the door didn’t move an inch. She
pulled harder and yet the effect was the same, the door stayed
closed, though she was sure that her shoulder had been wrenched
slightly from its socket. Taking a deep steadying breath, she
grasped the handle with both hands. The door may have been heavy
but it wasn’t as thick as the door that led into the estate and she
had a purpose, the door needed to open. With both hands wrapped
around the handle, she pulled harder, spreading her legs wide to
act as a balance. Slowly but surely, the door began to ease open
and as it did the delicious scent of cooking food wafted into the
hall.
If this door wasn’t so damn thick I
would have just been able to follow the smell to the
kitchen,
she fumed internally, becoming
aggravated as the memory of the young man leading her astray
wandered to the front of her mind. When the door was open wide
enough to slip through, she released the handle, surprised when the
door began to shut of its own accord. Her legs moved quickly and
she darted in just as the door closed behind her with a loud
slam.

The kitchen
was abuzz with activity, voices yelling loudly over each other as
instructions were thrown back and forth. The air was hot with steam
and she gripped her collar, fanning herself lightly as her eyes
continued to wander over her new surroundings. The large room was
filled with multiple stoves, each manned by at least one person.
Preparation tables ran the length of one wall though they were
partially obscured by the sheer number of people working at them,
chopping, cutting and slicing away at different foods. She stepped
forward and was very nearly bowled over by someone as they ran past
her to complete a task. The kitchen staff were so used to loud
noises that they hadn’t registered the slamming of the door and
Chloe’s arrival into their domain.

Eyes
flittering back and forth Chloe tried to find a suitable gap in
activity to slip through but quickly found there was no such thing.
It was either rush headlong into the throng or stay on the
sidelines and achieve nothing. Ryan’s pallid face floated to the
front of her mind and her hands clenched into tight fists, she
needed to get this done. A single steadying breath was all she took
before rushing into the wild flurry of kitchen activity. She was
almost bowled over again but quickly righted her feet and moved on.
Her eyes had spotted the man that she thought she recognised as the
sous chef by the slight differences in his uniform, he was her goal
and she was determined to reach him.