A Wolf's Pride (51 page)

Chapter Forty
Three

Standing
outside the heavy doors that led into the kitchens, Ryan could
easily make out the sound of Chloe’s infectious laughter amidst the
many others on the other side of the door. Before the claiming, he
might have felt anxious leaving his mate alone in a room where the
majority of its occupants were male but things were different now.
His mark was in place, the two seemingly vicious bites against her
neck acting as a warning to others about the consequences of
approaching Chloe with bad intentions. He should have been
relieved, she was beginning to find her place within the estate and
people were accepting her. Now that he’d claimed her, those who had
entertained notions of Chloe being a hunter had put their concerns
to rest. After all, no hunter would tie themselves to a wolf. Word
had also spread about the kindness she had shown towards those who
had tried to harm her or make her life difficult and people were
now eager to find themselves in her good graces.

Things had
been going well, extraordinarily well, until she’d asked him what
day it was. Unaware of the importance of the question he had
answered quickly and without hesitation, ‘Sunday’. A sad look had
come over her face instantly confusing him. She had been quick to
explain her family tradition to him, reminding him that despite her
constant smiles, she still thought of her family. Her expression
had fallen further when she realised this was the third Sunday she
would be missing and his heart had fallen along with it. She had
perked up when he offered to continue the tradition with him and
his family, rushing off to the kitchen and leaving him behind to
deal with the details and his swirling thoughts.

“
She sounds
happy,” Sebastian commented, coming to stand beside him.

“
Yeah,” Ryan
sighed.
She sounds happy but is
she?

“
I’m proud of
you Ryan.”

His brow
furrowed in confusion at Sebastian's words. “Proud of me?” he
repeated. “Why?”

“
There were
times when I really thought you were going to mess this up, that
your actions would push her further and further away until she was
out of your grasp. But you’ve really changed.” Sebastian nudged him
lightly with his shoulder. “See, I told you that when your mate
came along things would be different, you would be different and I
was right.”

How much have
I really changed? I’m still keeping her from her family. She’ll
never truly be happy until that problem is dealt with.
Groaning aloud in frustration, he ran his hand
over his face. His head flew up as the scent of strawberries came
into the hall.

“
Ryan,” Chloe
beamed, rushing towards him. Despite the fact that his identical
twin was standing right beside him, there was no hesitation in her
step as she walked into his arms, pulling his head down for a kiss
that shook him to the very core. He pulled away slowly, reluctantly
and forced a smile onto his face for her sake. “Breakfast is almost
done,” she purred before turning to Sebastian. “Is everyone
ready?”

“
As requested
we’re all waiting for breakfast in the dining room, all that’s
missing is the food.”

“
It’ll be out
any minute now I promise.”

“
Okay, I’ll
just leave you two to it then.” He smiled warmly at the couple
before walking back the way he’d come.

Ryan’s grip
on Chloe tightened as he made a decision he was sure he would
someday regret. Entwining their fingers, he pulled her down the
halls into a secluded room. Her body shivered slightly in response
to his actions. He had done this before, taking her from something
else that required her attention and pulling her into a darkened
room before proceeding to love her senseless. She was already
growing wet at the mere memory. This time however, he didn’t take
her into his arms, kiss her until she was breathless, touch her
body until she was desperate for him before sinking into her wet
heat. He paced in front of her, an action she was becoming familiar
with. He was thinking about something, trying to come to a
decision. She waited patiently; there was no rushing him when he
was like this.

“
Angel?”

“
Yes.”

“
Are you happy
here?”

“
Of course I
am.” Her arms easily pulled him against her and she inhaled deeply.
“I’ve got you, why wouldn’t I be happy?”

Good
question.

“
Why did you
ask me that Ryan? Aren’t you happy?”

“
I’m more than
happy Chloe. The word isn’t good enough to describe how I feel with
you here. I’m more euphoric than happy.”

“
Good, then
let’s go. The guys in the kitchen have probably taken breakfast out
already. Your family is waiting.”

She pulled
against him but he shackled her wrist within his hand, stopping her
in her tracks. She looked at him, confusion swirling in the depths
of her violet eyes. “They can wait. This is important.”

“
You’re scaring
me Ryan. What’s going on?”

“
Do you miss
them angel?”

“
Miss who Ryan?
Stop talking in riddles. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

“
Your family.
Do you miss them?”

She sighed,
relieved that his questions weren’t related to something more
serious. “Of course I miss them Ryan. They’re my family and I love
them.”

He pulled her
back against him, holding her tight. “Will you stay with
me?”

“
Of course I’ll
stay with you Ryan. I love you remember?”

“
Would you stay
with me even if they didn’t want you to?”

She sighed
exasperated against his chest. “Ryan, my family can be a little
overbearing sometimes, well…no more overbearing than you are,” she
chuckled trying to lighten the sombre mood. “But they want the best
for me and that’s you. Why would they try to separate
us?”

Because they
want to kill me,
his mind automatically
supplied.

“
Even if they
didn’t want us to be together, it wouldn’t matter. I’m a grown
woman, I make my own decisions and I choose to stay with you. We’re
mates after all and mates don’t separate, ever.”

It was the
answer he was looking for. “Do you remember when you first got here
I told you that I wouldn’t keep you from your family
forever?”
No matter how much it pains me
to even think about letting them breathe the same air as
you.
She nodded. “If you want to, really,
really want to, you can call them.” The words were torn from his
throat and he sincerely hoped she turned him down.

She lifted
her face; smiling as though he’d just offered her the moon and his
heart fell. “Really? You’ll let me call them? Ryan, thank
you.”

“
It’s only if
you really want to. Don’t call them if you don’t feel like
it.”

“
Of course I
want to. When can I call?”

I might as
well get this over and done with quickly.
“Now if you want.” Pulling away from the warmth of her body,
he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, placing the
small device in her hand. Her eyes darted towards his, checking for
confirmation. He nodded though it pained him.

Her fingers
were quick as she dialled, the familiar number flying easily into
the phone. Tapping her foot against the ground, she waited
impatiently for someone to answer.

“
What!” The
anger in her normally calm brother’s voice shocked her into silence
for a moment. “If you’ve got nothing to say then take a hike. Don’t
call this number ever again.”

“
Hey, hey, hey,
calm down Daniel. I thought you might have missed your only sister
after being gone for a few weeks but apparently that isn’t true. If
this is the reception I get for calling, then fine, I won’t do it
again. Bye.”

“
Chloe?” he
gasped shocked. “Chloe, is that you?”

“
Do you have
another sister somewhere? Who else would it be Dan? If you’re
expecting a call then I’ll just hang up.”

Her joke
wasn’t well received. “Don’t you dare hang up on me. Dad!” he
called out. “Dad! Come here, Chloe’s on the phone.”

Harry’s booming
voice was the next one she heard. “Chloe are you okay? Has he hurt
you? Where are you?
You don't understand
just how worried we've been. We've been going out of our minds
knowing that a wolf has you and not knowing just where you were or
what was happening to you
.
”

“
Calm down
dad,” she laughed.

“
Chloe, this is
serious. A werewolf, a monster, had you as his captive. You must
have escaped, tell us where you are so we can come and get
you.”

She scowled
at the terms her dad was using to refer to Ryan, ashamed that when
she’d first arrived she’d used the same words to describe the
wolves. “Firstly dad, Ryan isn’t a monster.”

“
So that’s the
name of the werewolf that took you.”

She saw no
point in denying it. “Yes. He’s a good man.”

Harry snorted
in disbelief. “You’re too kind for your own good. You’ve just
admitted that he’s a werewolf not a man. Wolves are vicious, blood
thirsty creatures that wouldn’t hesitate to tear your head from
your shoulders and feast on your corpse. How can you not see
that?”

“
Secondly,” she
continued, ignoring her father’s hurtful words. “The very idea that
Ryan could hurt me is laughable. On that matter he’s more than a
good man. He’s a saint. He protects me dad, from anything and
everything.”

Ryan couldn’t
have been more proud than he was in that moment. Despite her
family’s flagrant disapproval, she was defending him, them, at
every turn. He reached for her, caressing her cheek before clasping
her hand in silent support.

“
I protect you
Chloe. This family protects you,” he snarled. “Do you know how
worried we’ve been? For all you claim he’s a good man, he still
kidnapped you and don’t tell me he didn’t, I have a witness that
will attest to the fact that he did and you tried to run away. What
happened between then and now? People don’t just start defending
their kidnappers which leads me to believe that nothing has really
changed.” A vicious snarl slipped past Ryan’s lips at the mere
idea, his fangs becoming increasingly prominent the longer Harry
spoke. His relationship with Chloe had progressed in leaps and
bounds since that first day they’d met, there was no need to remind
her of how they had started.

“
It’s okay
Ryan, calm down. What exactly are you saying dad?”

“
He’s
threatening you isn’t he? Trying to convince us you want to stay
with him so that we’ll give up searching for you. It isn’t going to
happen mutt. She belongs with us! You hear me? She belongs with her
family not a monster.”

“
Dad, stop it.
You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“
I know exactly
what I’m saying Chloe. We can’t see you. For all we know you could
be mottled with bruises, peppered with stab wounds, covered in
bites, slowly turning into one of them.”

A blush crept
to her cheeks at her father’s words. He was partially right. She
was bruised, the imprint of Ryan’s fingers still showing against
her skin from when he’d claimed her, the force of his grip almost
painful. She had been prepared to scold him for the bruises but the
horrified look on his face when he’d seen them in the bright light
of day had told her that he was punishing himself enough. Since
then, whenever they made love he treated her with the utmost care
as though she were made out of glass.
At
least most of the time,
her mind purred,
remembering the few times she’d managed to break his grip over his
control, the coupling that followed so frantic and wild she never
noticed the bruising grip he had on her until the next day when the
evidence began to show. She had been bitten but she wore the mark
like a badge of honour, sorely regretting the fact that she
couldn’t mark him in return. The skin around the bite reacted with
extreme pleasure as soon as Ryan touched it sending bolts of
electricity directly to her core. She shivered slightly at the
memory. But stabbed? The very idea was laughable, even when he was
trying to punish her he never caused her physical harm.

“
Dad, Ryan
isn’t threatening me. In fact, he’s the one that suggested I call
you guys. I’m going to tell you exactly what I told him. I’m a
grown woman, I make my own decisions and I choose to be with
him.”

“
You don’t know
what you’re saying,” Christian screamed.

“
You don’t know
the terrible things he’s capable of. He’ll probably kill you in a
mad fit of rage. It’s not safe to be with him.”

Ryan had had
enough. He snatched the phone from Chloe unprepared to let her
family’s vile words be heard any longer. “That’s it,” he snarled.
“I’ve had enough of this. I let my mate speak to you because she
missed you and this is what you have to say to her? I don’t know
how you treat your women but our mates are treated like the
treasures they are. I’ve never intentionally hurt Chloe and I never
will.”