A Wolf's Pride (55 page)

The very idea
of waking to the pain that filled every inch of his body was beyond
abhorrent to Ryan, unconsciousness offered an escape from the pain
but awake he would feel everything. Nevertheless, he could feel his
body stirring, his mind waking, his wolf snarling in agitation. The
scent of strawberries penetrated his mind and he was awake
instantly. He grunted against the pain, only to inflict more upon
himself as his tongue came into contact with the silver bar one of
Chloe’s brothers had forced ruthlessly into his mouth. His gaze met
Chloe’s watering violet eyes, the tears streaming down her face
crushing his heart even as her hand touching his face muted the
pain. He cursed the metal in his mouth, he wanted to talk to her,
plead with her not to cry especially if those tears were for him.
Her hands left his face and he growled angrily until they moved to
his mouth, pulling the accursed bar free.

“
Chloe,” he
purred. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I can withstand anything but
your tears.”

“
Ryan, what’s
going on? Who did this to you?”

“
Would you
believe me if I said it was your family?”

“
They wouldn’t,
not after I told them how I felt about you.”

“
Angel, they
shot me. There isn’t anything they wouldn’t do to get what they
want from me.”

“
What do they
want? Whatever it is, give it to them!”

“
I can’t
angel.”

“
Why not? This
is your life we’re talking about.”

“
And the lives
of my family, my clansmen are at stake. They want me to tell them
where the clans are so they can exterminate us. They’re talking
genocide Chloe. I can’t allow it. I won’t.”

“
I’ll talk to
them,” she suggested. “They can’t get away with doing this to
you.”

“
No Chloe. They
can’t know that you’ve been up here, that you’ve seen
me.”

“
Why? What
they’re doing is wrong. They can’t think that they’ll get away with
it.”

“
Angel, if they
see how loyal you are to me, they might turn on you. You can’t say
a word to them, not one.”

Her lips
trembled. He was right and they both knew it. “Fine, let’s get out
of here then. If you just break free of these restraints, we can
leave. There’s a rope outside the window, I managed to climb down
it and I think it’s strong enough to carry both of our weights. I
think we might be able to get near the ground, we can jump and run
away.”

“
What on earth
were you thinking?” he snarled angrily, his teeth sharpening into
the beginnings of fangs. “You could have been really hurt.
Are
they hurting you? Is
that it? Were you trying to run away from them?”

“
No Ryan,” she
began, her voice heavy with guilt. “Compared to what they’ve been
doing to you, they’re treating me like a Queen.”

“
There’s no
pain?”

“
No.”

“
Are there any
scars? Any reminders of what happened?”

“
No.”

“
You’re eating
okay?”

“
Yes.” Her
answers were short, monotone before she snapped angrily, “Ryan,
what are you doing? I’m fine, you can see that. I’m not important,
you’re the one that’s being tortured!”

“
If I could
stand I would give you the most delightful punishment for saying
that angel. There’s nothing and no one more important than
you.”

“
Ryan, focus!
You can be mad at me later. Right now we have to think about
getting you out of here. Can you break free?”

“
If I could
have done I would have. The shackles are silver, if I pull against
them my skin burns away and the nerves beneath are damaged so I
can’t move. The blades are made of silver too, having so many in me
is infecting my bloodstream, my heart is weakening me with every
beat it takes.”

She looked at
the knives, they were dealt with easily enough. Her squeamishness
had died right around the time, half of Ryan’s organs had littered
the ground by her feet. It was the shackles that were the problem
and her eyes wandered to the thick metal hurting and constraining
her mate. “The key! Where’s the key?”

“
I don’t
know.”

“
What do you
mean ‘I don’t know’?”

“
I was a little
too busy to notice where your father put the key what with him
torturing me and all.”

“
Ryan, I…” She
trailed off, how could she respond to that?

“
I’m sorry
angel, it’s not your fault.”

“
Yes it is. You
warned me and I chose not to listen.”

“
They’re your
family, it’s to be expected that you want to think the best of
them.” He stopped, his wolf’s snarling bringing his attention to an
unwanted problem. Her father was coming, his superior hearing could
hear Harry’s distinct footsteps as they climbed the stairs. If he
wanted to escape this place, he would have to be quick. “Chloe,”
his voice was sharp, authoritative. “Listen to me. Will you help me
get free?”

There wasn’t
even a moment’s hesitation. “Of course I will.”

“
Do you have
access to a phone?”

No.
“Yes.”
I’ll get one for
him even if I have to steal it from the devil himself.

“
I want you to
call Tobias –”

“
Tobias?” she
questioned. “Why not Sebastian?” Her brows drew together in
confusion. Why would Ryan want his daunting cousin rather than his
gentle brother?

“
Tobias isn’t
just my cousin, he’s the King. No one will dare question his word.
Chloe, your father is coming. Listen, call Tobias and tell him
what’s happening. He’ll find us. He’ll help us escape.”

“
What’s the
number?”

“
866 852 7319.
Repeat it to me Chloe.” Apparently fear was very good for the mind,
she recited the number perfectly. “Angel, you need to put the bar
back in my mouth and then leave. Quickly.”

Her heart
stopped, remembering the burnt blisters the silver had created
around his mouth. The inside of his mouth was probably in just as
bad a state but she knew he would never say anything. Ryan always
bore his injuries stoically around her as though any sign of
weakness would encourage her to leave him. She knew he wouldn’t say
anything should she replace the pain inflicting metal. What her
family were doing to him was torture and she wouldn’t participate
in it. “I can’t Ryan. I can’t do this, I can’t hurt you and I won’t
just leave you here to suffer.”

“
You have to
Chloe otherwise he’ll know something’s going on and I’ll never get
out. He’s close angel, hurry.”

Her heart
twisted within her chest as she lifted the metal. It was
unexpectedly warm within her grip reminding her that mere minutes
ago it had been pressed within her mate’s mouth, eating away at his
flesh. With trembling hands, she inching the bar closer to his
bruised mouth.

“
Wait!” he
called. Her eyes widened questioningly. “A kiss angel. A quick kiss
to tide me over until we can be together again.” He was breaking
her heart with every word. The kiss was quick and gentle. Mindful
of his bruised lips, she gently brushed her lips against his,
wishing that they could have more, the few minutes they’d spent
together hardly seemed enough. Seeing him had only made her want to
be with him more, she missed him already and they hadn’t even
separated. “Now put the bar in and run, pull the rope up behind
you. I’ll distract him for as long as I can so he doesn’t see it.
No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you have to make
it back up to your room unseen. Don’t come back down, promise me
angel.”

“
I
promise.”

Though it
pained her almost like a physical injury, she placed the bar in his
mouth, tears running down her cheeks as the smell of burned flesh
filled the air. His head jerked to the side, silently telling her
to be quick and leave. She backed away from him, her eyes locked
with his until she reached the window. She hesitated when the rope
was clasped tightly in her palm, wondering whether it would be
better for her to simply wait with him and confront her father head
on.
No. I have to go. If I’d listened to
Ryan in the first place, he wouldn’t be in this situation. I have
to listen this time around. His family will come and help
him.
Both hands now on the rope, her body
tensed to leap from the window, she turned back to him. “Ryan,
don’t forget to look for the key. When I come back with help, I’m
going to need it.” He nodded quickly, eager for her to be out of
the room. “I love you.”

Her hands
shook as she climbed up the rope, desperate to reach the top before
her father or anyone else could see what she was doing and know
what she’d done.

She had just
made it past the window when she heard a voice float out onto the
wind from Ryan’s room. “Are you ready to talk now mutt?” The sound
of her father’s voice made her heart sink. In the back of her mind,
she’d still been desperately hoping that her father wasn’t guilty
of hurting Ryan but Harry’s voice was unmistakable.

There was a
muffled reply before Ryan’s voice could be heard. The words were
faint, the sound of his voice getting weaker the higher she climbed
but from his tone, Chloe guessed he was telling her father to piss
off. When she was about half way up the rope, the light from her
open window shining into the night like a beacon, she heard Ryan’s
first scream. She stopped, her eyes looking downward instead of up
towards her final goal. For Ryan to scream out in pain something
horrendous must have happened. Remembering the promise he’d
extracted from her, she forced her eyes to look upwards, pulling
herself up the rope.

He screamed
again but she didn’t stop, she needed to reach the top. Her eyes
began to water, tears running freely down her cheeks as his
agonised screams filled the night air. Her destination was blurry
now but she continued moving steadfast, the motions stiff.
One hand in front of the other, pull. One hand in
front of the other, pull.
She repeated this
mantra, instructing her body to move until her bedroom window was
in reach. Unconcerned for her own personal safety, she swung hard,
throwing herself inside the room and pulling the rope up behind her
before she sank to the floor. It was harder to hear his screams
from her bedroom, but she strained her ears to do so, silently
offering Ryan her support all the while increasing her
determination to help free him from this place.

Don’t worry
Ryan, I’ll do whatever it takes to help you escape. Whatever it
takes.

Chapter Forty
Seven

If I manage to
pull this off, I think I deserve an Oscar,
Chloe decided as she checked her appearance in the mirror. Her
eyes were swollen and red with deep bags beneath them. The night
had been the longest one she could remember and it showed on her
face. She had spent the majority of it awake on her bedroom floor,
crying as Ryan’s screams floated through the air to reach her ears.
It was only in the early hours of the morning that his yells had
subsided and she had allowed herself to succumb to the lure of
sleep. Her haggard appearance would however work in her favour.
She’d told Ryan she had access to a phone, it was time to make good
on her word.

She walked
towards the door and opened it as though she had every right to
walk freely about the place. Her independent adventures lasted mere
moments before a heavy hand landed on her shoulder stopping her a
few feet from her bedroom door.
I was
definitely right to pick the window over the door,
she decided.
I would
never have made it to Ryan and I wouldn’t even know what was going
on.
She smiled at the man who was
preventing her from moving on, it was part of her plan to get
caught. So far everything was going well.

“
I’m sorry but
you can’t walk around here alone,” the man instructed, guiding her
back towards the bedroom.

“
No one told
me,” she responded innocently. It was true. None of her family had
ever said she was meant to be a captive in her room, their actions
implied it, but they hadn’t ever said the words directly to her.
“Well if I’m not allowed to leave then maybe you could help
me.”

“
With what
exactly?”

“
I want to talk
to one of my brothers or my father, anyone of them is fine. Could
you bring one of them down here?”

“
Of
course.”

“
Thanks.”

She was once
again within the confines of her room, standing in the doorframe.
The man’s eyes wandered over her frame, noting how she swayed
weakly, a frown becoming etched on his face. “Are you sure you want
to talk to them now? I think you should get some rest, you look
like you need it.”

“
Thanks for
your concern but really, I’m fine. I probably look terrible right?”
He nodded silently and she scowled silently.
Ryan would never say that. He’s really spoilt me; a normal
man will never be good enough now. Only my own personal werewolf
will ever do.
She forced herself to smile.
“Trust me when I say that I know my limits, I look a lot worse than
I feel. I’m a little tired and I’ll rest…as soon as I speak to one
of them. Don’t look so worried.”