A Wolf's Pride (48 page)

“
Today?”

“
Yes.” His grip
tightened before he continued almost as though he expected her to
try and escape. “You haven’t changed your mind have
you?”

A faint smile
crept across her lips, apparently she hadn’t been the only one
worried about rejection. “No, nothing could be further from the
truth. I missed you too. Don’t go off like that again.”

“
Never. Being
away from you for just these few days has been a true test of
willpower. I only managed it because I knew I was working towards a
goal, you.” He paused for a moment, revelling in her scent before
continuing. “Chloe, are you ready to do this?”

“
Yes.”

“
I have to warn
you, I might seem more aggressive tonight. My wolf and I will be
merging. Don’t be afraid of me.” There was an undertone of fear in
his request as though he expected her to run from him once again
when she saw the darker side of his nature.

“
I’ve been
through this part remember? I know what you’ll be like and I could
never be afraid of you Ryan. Never.”

Closing his
eyes, he let any lingering doubts fade away. He had waited long
enough, it was time to claim his mate. “Let’s go angel.”

Releasing her
from his iron grip, he turned her round to face him, kissing her
hard and fast, with all of the pent up desire he’d had to suppress
while away from her. Their tongues clashed as they both sought to
taste more of each other. Their hands were frantic, pulling at
clothes in a desperate attempt to reach skin. Their moans of
pleasure were quickly coupled with groans of frustration. They
weren’t close enough, they could never be close enough.

He pulled away
abruptly, grasping her hands before leading her from the room and
down the halls. She should have been nervous, apprehensive at the
idea of what was about to happen, but nothing could have been
further from the truth. Excitement filled her, nervous anticipation
thrumming through her veins the closer they got to the door. Since
the first day he had left, she’d been planning this night in her
mind, leading herself through exactly what would happen and after
long talks with Alex and Erica she knew exactly what she was going
to do.
Ryan’s never going to know what hit
him.

“
Are you ready
for this Chloe?”

The sound of
his voice snapped her out of her mental musings and she was
surprised to see that they were already outside. Her eyes scanned
their surroundings struggling to see through the night. After a few
moments had passed she gave up, realising that continuing was
futile, instead letting Ryan guide her through the darkness. He
stopped in front of what she vaguely recognised as a car and she
smirked in approval. Things were already going to plan.

“
Get in angel,”
he growled. Already his voice was deeper, rougher, the sound
washing over her like an aphrodisiac.

Following his
instructions, she opened the door and lifted herself in. His mouth
opened as if to speak but she cut him off before the words could
leave his lips. “I know Ryan. Seatbelt.” She buckled herself in and
watched as he stepped back from the car.

The
transformation began to wash over him and she watched with vivid
fascination as he began to shift in front of her very eyes. He
turned to her, his amber eyes wild with desire and need, his
beautiful mouth contorting into a deadly muzzle and bellowed,
“Run!”

His imperious
command snapped her out of the daze she had fallen into and she
sprung into action, pushing hard on the accelerator and speeding
into the distance. She had a plan and for Ryan she was determined
to see it through to completion. The rough terrain was covered
easily beneath the wheels of her 4x4, the bright headlights
enabling her to see. Her heart was racing as she drove, checking
constantly in the mirror to see whether Ryan was right behind her.
Satisfied that there was enough distance between them she turned
sharply, it was time to implement the first stage of her plan. Her
foot never eased from the accelerator pedal but as the car drove
on, crashing through all it came into contact with, she began
stripping. She pulled her jumper over her head, momentarily
blinding herself before rolling down the window and throwing the
cloth into night. She continued on for a moment, looking down at
her shirt in contemplation for a moment trying to decide just how
far she was going to go with this.

“
I’ve started
now,” she decided. “I might as well go all the way.” The shirt was
removed in the same way as the jumper and thrown out of the window
as well. Removing her trousers took a little more skill but she
eventually managed it, throwing them out of the window. Dressed in
nothing but her underwear, Chloe smiled. The trail had been set,
now it was time to implement the next stage of her plan.

She drove
straight for a few moments before turning sharply and going back
the same way she had come a safe distance from her original path.
The drive to her next location was hectic but she soon made it to
the stream. The water was deep in certain places, but she managed
to cross without much difficulty. Upon reaching the other side, she
stepped out, shivering instantly. While the air had been cool when
she was clothed, practically naked it was almost freezing and for a
moment she contemplated backing out of the next stage of her plan.
Shaking off the indecision, she walked into the stream, wading
through the water until she reached a section that was deep enough
for her to drench her entire body in water. Soaked through to the
skin, she trudged back to the car turning the heating on full blast
as soon as she was safely inside.

Her teeth
were chattering from the cold that had seeped into her despite the
warmth in the car, nevertheless she couldn’t bring herself to
regret her actions. “That should keep him occupied for a while.”
She smirked, pleased that he hadn’t caught up to her yet. After
having long talks with Alex and Erica she had realised just how
important the chase was to Ryan and had begun implementing a plan
to make it a good one for him. According to her new friends, the
better the chase, the better the claiming. “After all that I’ve
done, this claiming should be mind blowing.”

She had
thrown her clothes away hoping to create a fake trail for him to
follow before washing herself, masking her scent in the stream. She
drove wildly, hoping to throw him further off he trail but as time
continued to pass with no sign of Ryan, she began to think her plan
had gone a little to well. She hadn’t seen any trace of him and was
beginning to grow apprehensive as darkness pressed in on her.
Regardless, she continued driving, the longer he chased after her,
the better things would be for him and as she was fast learning,
what was good for him was inevitably fantastic for her.

A loud howl
filled the air and she knew without a hint of doubt that he was
coming for her. The howls grew closer despite the pressure she was
putting on the accelerator before a large brown wolf appeared
directly in her path. Unlike the last time they had gone through
this, she eased up on the gas and pulled the car to a halt. The
wolf grinned at her, at least she interpreted the wide display of
sharp teeth as a grin, before transforming into a human as it
approached. Chloe eased herself out of the car, trembling as the
cold air blew over her still damp body but as Ryan’s eyes took in
her exposed body, she shivered for an altogether different
reason.

“
What are you
doing?” he snarled, ripping his shirt from his body and wrapping it
around her.

“
Making the
chase better for you.”

His frown was
severe. “At the expense of your health? Never do something like
this again. Not only are you putting yourself at risk, you’re
pushing my control to its very limits. How do you expect me to
react when you’re wandering around here naked where anyone could
see you?”

“
I’m not
naked,” she snapped. “Besides, I thought we were the only ones out
here.”

“
I hope so, but
the forest belongs to no one.” He lifted her into his arms and his
heat began to warm her instantly. He ran, his stride swift and
sure, taking them back in the direction from which they had come.
“I didn’t expect you to get so far away,” he commented casually as
he ran, his breath calm and steady.

“
I didn’t
expect you to take so long to find me.”

“
I was taking
my time. Savouring the extent that you’d gone to to make this a
good chase.”

“
And what makes
you think that I did any of that for you?” she smirked.

“
Who else would
you do it for?” he asked seriously, the menacing promise of
retribution embedded in those few words.

“
Calm down,”
she laughed. “You’re the only one I’m willing to freeze my ass off
for. There’s no one else. Now, just how far away are we from that
cave? An open fire sounds like a great idea right about
now.”

“
We’re not
going to the cave.”

She turned
her head upwards to look at his face. “Then where are we
going?”

“
We’re already
here.” Her eyes widened as she looked at the erected structure.
“You didn’t think I’d allow my mate to suffer a second time now did
you?” he purred, sliding her down his body and letting her feet
touch the ground.

Chapter Forty
One

She took in
the wooden cabin with wide eyes, surprised at the presence of a man
made structure so far from civilisation. The cabin was small, tiny
even, and as she examined the wooden exterior she came to the
conclusion that it was even smaller than the apartment she’d lived
in before coming to live with Ryan. It couldn’t have housed more
than a single room, two at an extraordinary push of the
imagination. Nevertheless, it looked solid, a building with four
walls, windows and a roof. A place where insects wouldn’t be
swarming. She hadn’t thought it possible but in that instant her
love for the man standing at her side multiplied.

His hand was
soon cradling the small of her back, leading her into the warmth
the cabin offered. Heat instantly engulfed her, warming her chilled
body and drying the droplets of water still on her skin. Her eyes
darted around the small room quickly, instantly locating the source
of warmth. An open fireplace took up the length of one of the small
walls and she pulled away from Ryan’s grasp, racing to the fire.
The thick rug beneath her feet was a welcome cushion for her bottom
as she sat down, extending her arms towards the flames. Ryan sat
down beside her, giving her an additional source of warmth and she
leaned into his solid body, resting her head on his muscled chest.
When she was certain that she was no longer in danger of catching
pneumonia, she began to properly examine her surroundings,
absorbing everything with discerning eyes. Looking around the space
confirmed the ideas she’d entertained about the smallness of the
space. The cabin was made up of only one room, a bedroom judging
from the large bed that dominated the space. Small windows were
dotted periodically around the square room giving brief glances of
the outside landscape. Despite the lack of furniture, it felt safe,
comforting.

A frown
quickly appeared on her face and she lifted her head to look at
Ryan. “What’s going on? Why are we here and not at the cave? Aren’t
we going through with the claiming?”

He growled
angrily at her suggestion, momentarily frightening her as the loud
sound rumbled through his chest and into hers. “The claiming is
going to happen. Here.”

Her frown
deepened. “I thought the claiming had to happen outside. What are
we doing
in
here?”

“
We are
outside.”

“
Don’t be
stupid Ryan,” she scolded, slapping his leg lightly. “You said the
claiming couldn’t happen indoors, that it wouldn’t
work.”

“
We aren’t
inside stone walls, I don’t feel trapped right now. Everything that
you see here I made myself, I’m providing for you, the instinct is
satisfied. You were terrified when we were in the cave. I can’t
take you screaming like that, as though you fear for your life.
You’ve screamed like that far too many times since you’ve been with
me. No more, not when I can prevent it.”

“
You built
this?” she asked incredulously. “Without any help?”

“
Of course. If
other people helped then I wouldn’t really be proving myself now
would I?”

“
How? How did
you manage to get all of this finished in three days?”

“
I didn’t. I’ve
been working on this for a while now, almost since we got back to
the estate after the full moon. I was cutting down more wood for
this the day Lucinda attacked you.”

“
Still…this is
a lot of work to have managed in so short a time.”

“
I work a lot
faster than your average human. I was planning to do more, but I
couldn’t take the separation from you anymore. As it stands now,
the cabin isn’t very big so it didn’t take long to erect,” he
leered, taking her hand and placing it between his legs where she
could easily feel his prominent erection. “Just like it doesn’t
take much from you to make me erect.”

The amber and
brown shades that his eyes alternated between seemed to have
reached an equilibrium and as she looked into them, Chloe felt
herself being drawn in by the chocolate brown. She closed her eyes
to better savour his rich scent. Remembering the many times Ryan’s
hardness had pressed against some part of her caused her brow to
crease as her mind worked frantically before a seductive smirk
appeared on her face. Ryan deserved a little relief. Just because
they couldn’t make love properly, it didn’t mean they couldn’t let
off a little steam.