A Wolf's Pride (8 page)

The decision
made, she pushed her foot harder against the gas pedal and sped
forward. Her eyes widened as she spotted a large brown wolf
standing in the middle of the road, the animal wasn’t moving as she
raced towards it and she instinctively eased up on the accelerator
and swerved to the side of the road. The car had not crashed as she
thought it would have done and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning her gaze back to the road, she glared at the
wolf.

Silly thing,
it should have moved.
The wolf began to
walk forward, serving to increase Chloe’s perception of its
stupidity.
So it moves now when its life
isn’t in danger anymore? I should have just run the thing over. I’m
running from a madman, I can’t afford to spend time waiting
here.
Placing her hands back on the
steering wheel, she prepared to drive off once again. The wolf
however once again prevented her from escaping. She couldn’t seem
to take her eyes from it as its body began to twist and contort
before her gaze.

The wolf’s
fur receded and was replaced by smooth tanned skin. The long muzzle
that formed its mouth, shrunk, its shape transforming into a human
jaw and lips. The wolf’s legs buckled and lengthened as it
sauntered towards her door until Ryan stood fully formed at her
side. Her head moved jerkily, her neck twisting until she could see
his face. Her heart was beating frantically within her chest, so
hard that she was surprised she couldn’t see it moving within her
ribcage. Fear was coursing through her veins but she couldn’t seem
to move, to do the sensible thing and run away. He was smiling at
her as though nothing strange had just occurred and his relaxed
attitude only served to scare her more. Her mind went blank, but
her mouth did what was instinctive, essential to her continued
survival, she screamed, long and loud.

The changes
happening within his mate’s body had Ryan throwing the door open
wide, determined to reach her and sooth her concerns. Her heart was
beating much too fast, her lungs were burning as her screaming
deprived her of vital oxygen. If he didn’t help her she would most
likely faint. He reached for her seatbelt and met only with Chloe’s
generous bosom and realised that in her mad dash for freedom she
had failed to put it on.

My mate and I
are going to have a serious talk one of these days. She’s
constantly putting herself in danger. First with that unsafe
apartment she was calling home and now, not wearing a seatbelt
while speeding. She should think about me more, what would I do if
something happened to her?

Pulling her
from the car seat, he pulled her into his arms, muffling her
screams with his chest. “Hush love, I’m here,” he crooned, stroking
the short strands of her hair. “You’re safe. Nothing is going to
hurt you.”

“
Get away from
me!” Chloe shrieked, pushing wildly at his chest. “I’m not going to
let you eat me, you monster.”

That
hurt,
Ryan mused, greatly displeased by
Chloe’s perception of him.
Why would she
say something like that?

I don’t
know,
his wolf began, its tone
sarcastic.
Maybe its because you just
transformed right in front of her and she comes from a family of
hunters who have probably been poisoning her mind since she could
speak.

It was you who
suggested it.
Ryan reminded it.

She needs to
know what she’s dealing with, the sooner she does, the sooner the
claiming can happen.

You have a
one-track mind.

When it comes
to her? Yes. I don’t like the idea of her walking around unclaimed,
what if someone tries to take her away?

You make a
very convincing point,
he
conceded.

Pulling her
closer, he stopped her moving by pressing her hands tighter against
his chest. “I’m not a monster Chloe, I’ve told you this before. I
told you what I was when we first met; it isn’t my fault that you
chose not to believe me. Please stop screaming, your throat is
going to be rubbed raw.”

“
Why the hell
should you care? You’re going to eat me no matter what I
do.”

“
Chloe, this is
the last time I’m going to tell you this, I’m not going to hurt
you. Though I do admit that you look delicious.” She squeaked in
response, resuming her struggles to be free. “I don’t mean
delicious as in dinner, I mean as in I want to taste you, every
inch of you. I want to kiss, suck and lick your entire body so that
the taste of you never leaves my mouth. Is that so bad?” He smiled
warmly, trying to reassure her.

“
Yes it is.
You’re a werewolf, my father and my brothers told me all about you.
I know exactly what you want to do to me.”

“
They lied,” he
growled. The reminder of what her family was angered him greatly
and he released her from his embrace, grabbing her arm and guiding
her to the other side of the car. Throwing the door open, he forced
her inside, buckling the seatbelt around her body. “Chloe, I don’t
care if you’re angry, wear a damn seatbelt. If the car had actually
crashed you couldn’t just get up and walk away, you might die or
don’t you care?”

“
Of course I
do, I want to live.”

“
Good.” He
slammed the door, entered the car and started to drive. “Chloe, I’m
not what your family would have you think of me and one day you’ll
see that.”

Ignoring him,
she watched the scenery pass by as he easily reclaimed the few
miles she had put between them and his home. Minutes passed by
before she gathered the courage to ask him about his
condition.

“
So how old
were you when you were bitten?”

“
Bitten? By
who?”

“
My father used
to tell me that werewolves bit humans and turned them into wild,
savage beasts.”
What he forgot to mention
was that they would be arrogant as well.

“
I wasn’t
bitten.”

“
Then how are
you what you are?”

“
I was born
this way, all werewolves are.”

“
My dad says
that you become a werewolf by being bitten.”

“
Seeing as I’m
the werewolf here, don’t you think that you should believe
me?”

“
Why would dad
think that you bit humans then?”

“
How am I meant
to know how the mind of a psychopath works?”

“
Don’t talk
about my dad that way,” she snapped.

“
It’s true,” he
responded simply. She turned away from him, once again subjecting
him to silence and he cursed his stupidity. They had only known
each other a day, she had no reason to trust him over her
family.
But soon she will.
He reassured himself. “It’s not exactly a myth
that werewolves bite people,” he began, watching her from the
corner of his eyes. She shifted, turning towards him slightly and
he continued. “We did it thousands of years ago. When our males
found human mates, they would bite them and change them into what
we are.”

“
You said I was
your mate, are you going to bite me? Oh god, you want to turn me
into a werewolf! No, no, I don’t want it.”

“
Calm down
Chloe, I can’t change you into a werewolf.”

“
But you just
said…”

“
I said it
happened thousands of years ago, we don’t have the ability to do
that anymore.”

“
Why?” she
asked, genuinely interested in what he had to say so long as he
wasn’t entertaining ideas of changing her into what he
was.

“
I have a wolf
in my head, we share each others thoughts, feelings, desires,
everything. But because we share everything, I also have to deal
with its instincts. My wolf isn’t constrained by reason; it’s an
animal in the truest sense of the word. It wants what it wants,
consequences be damned. We have to grow with our wolves to learn
how to deal with the urges. It takes us about seventy years to grow
from a child into an adult. Those that were changed from human to
wolf didn’t have that time and were driven mad. They became the
wild, savage animals of myth and legend. We aren’t like
that.”

“
I still don’t
understand why you can’t change people into wolves
anymore.”

“
The instinct
is what guides us, it’s how we evolve to survive. If something
happens that threatens our existence then the instinct changes and
so do we. The mates that went through the transformation process
ended up getting themselves killed.”

“
And how does
that threaten the existence of your species?”

“
We only get
one mate and wherever she goes, a male will follow without
hesitation. If you died right now, I would find a way to join
you.”

“
You can’t be
serious,” she scoffed.

“
I am Chloe.
You and I are meant to be together, in life and in death. Soon
you’ll see that too.”

“
And what if I
don’t?”

“
We’ve got
forever to make you love me Chloe. I know that you’re mad at me
now, but you can’t stay angry forever.”

“
You might have
forever but there is an end point to my lifespan.”

He laughed,
“Do you think that I would let you die? Trust me Chloe, that isn’t
going to be an issue.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I never said I
wasn’t going to bite you love.” He grinned, baring his elongated
canines. “I am. Don’t worry it won’t turn you into a werewolf,
you’ll stay exactly as you are, but you’ll live as long as I do. So
we will have all the time in the world to deal with your trust
issues.”

“
I don’t like
you,” she stated adamantly.

“
Is that so?”
he purred and she felt her treacherous body responding to him. His
hand landed on her knee and began lightly tracing patterns against
her bare flesh. Her body was instantly flooded with heat from his
simple touch. His hand moved slowly up her thigh, but it was all
the more potent for its measured seduction. Her breath hitched in
response as he began caressing her inner thighs and she
unconsciously moved to give him more room. “I don’t think that’s
quite right Chloe, I think that you find me attractive.”
As any mate should.
“I’m
willing to work from that shared common ground, like will come
after.” His voice deepened in tone as he became caught in his own
web of desire. Stopping the car in the middle of the road, he
reached across the small distance that separated them. Cupping the
nape of her neck with his hand, he pulled her close and pressed his
lips against hers.

The feel of
his lips on hers, sent a bolt of electricity straight through her
and Chloe gasped instinctively, frightened by her body’s extreme
response to his. His mouth was blistering against hers, sending
waves of heat through her before it settled at her breasts and
between her thighs. Her breasts felt heavy, the nipples tight and
sensitive while she could feel her body readying for him as she
became increasingly wet. His tongue slipped through her parted lips
with practiced ease, meeting her own and drawing it into his mouth.
He groaned in pleasured torment, unable to fulfil the demands of
his raging body. Pulling her closer, he proceeded to taste her more
fully, his slick tongue leaving no corner of her mouth unexplored.
The exquisite scent of his mate’s arousal had his wolf stirring
with interest.

Mark
her.
The wolf demanded and he couldn’t
resist complying with the request.

He could feel
her lungs beginning to burn due to the lack of oxygen and he pulled
his mouth away, smiling gently at her before beginning to place a
string of kisses along her jaw. Chloe’s body trembled slightly in
response, her body pliant beneath his questing fingers. “Good
mate,” he purred at her ear. Taking her earlobe into his mouth,
Ryan bit gently at the soft flesh, smiling as Chloe trembled
beneath his talented mouth.
Sensitive
little love, that’s good.

The short
blonde strands of her hair were easily moved to expose the creamy
skin of her neck and he kissed his way along the silky smooth
column. His shaft was harder than he could recall it ever being but
he was trying valiantly to suppress the demands of his body.
Not here, not in this place. Even if I could, I
wouldn’t, she deserves better. But I must mark her.
His tongue swept out of his mouth, licking her
skin as he prepared her for his mark. His already sharp canines
became even more so and as he ran them gently over her skin, her
hands rose to grip tightly on his forearms, silently urging him to
continue his exploration.

Her breaths
were now coming short and fast and the hot air against him was
making his body even more heated, threatening to snap his tenuous
control.
There’s no more time.
He decided before pressing his fangs firmly
against her neck, Chloe moaned loudly at the sensation and he
smirked against her skin, immeasurably pleased that his mate was
enjoying his attentions. He was careful not to press too hard lest
he break the skin, that would happen at another time, but his mark
was now firmly in place. The visible mark would fade before he gave
her the more permanent one, but the invisible sign would always
remain. His scent was now firmly embedded on her skin telling all
of his kind who would come looking for retribution should anything
happen to her. He kept his fangs entrenched in her skin for a few
additional seconds, reluctant to end this moment. His tongue moved
firmly against her, soothing the abused flesh before he pulled away
from her.