Bonded and Bred Ch. 21-23

She was a woman of no height or build, but she had not become so successful without learning how to appear strong in front of men.

And Iris noted as she peeped around her aunt, that Bill Frawnings and his son, Mark we no different than any other men – not in essence anyway.

They seemed to have shrunk, as they hunched shoulders and looked everywhere and anywhere but not at the diminutive woman in front of them.

"Well," she snapped when Bill did not speak. "Do you disagree with my role?"

He shook his head, and then sighed in resignation. "No you may speak for your brother – if it makes you feel better."

He managed to make it sound like a favour to her, and Iris just knew that Trudy would be scowling at him in full measure.

"Very well then," she said after a moment of silent fury. "As guardian to my niece then, I would recommend that this or any other courtship meeting should be postponed until we know the health of Iris's father, and until a time when she is feeling more in the mind to talk about it rationally!"

"Hah!" he barked a loud laugh that just grated along Iris's nerve ends. "No, that is not agreeable to us at all."

Trudy tilted her head to look up at the man. "Well then we are at a stalemate, and this meeting shall be adjourned until Iris's father is able to take a stand, and offer incentives and counter negotiations."

Bill looked down at this tiny woman, and his mouth went slack. "What?" he blinked in confusion.

"This meeting is over!" Trudy bit out slowly. "Take your son home or out for some food, and come and see my brother – when he is feeling better."

Bill stepped closer to Trudy. "But what if he doesn't get better?" he asked softly. "You know that a family – a clan, with no male protector would be vulnerable. The council would probably have to get involved – for they would not want to risk things descending into clan wars... they would probably insist on your niece allying – by Bonding, with someone of their choosing."

He moved so that he could see Iris properly. "Is that what you would want, girl, to be paired with a complete stranger – to be forced to Bond with another?"

"That would not happen!" James said quietly from the doorway. "For I have pledged with Iris – and she to me."

Bill turned around and his face went a dark purple colour.

"You, Atherton; what do you have to do with this?"

James gave a slow dangerous smile, "Iris and I have known each other for a while now, we have become close... we have become lovers, and we have pledged ourselves to be Bonded and Bred, we shall be married as soon as Iris's father is well enough to attend his daughter's wedding." he stepped into the room, and it was as though the room shrank – or James grew. "But until he is recovered, I have sworn myself to their clan; I am now their male protector until the leader is strong enough to take over again."

"You have informed the council of your change of allegiance?"

"I have," James nodded, as he moved around the room so that he was standing just in front of Iris, and the two men turned to keep their eyes fixed on him, so that their backs were now to the door.

"But, you, you are just one man, if you have abandoned your own clan, then they would have no allegiance to you, you will be a lone male..."

"I am afraid that you are wrong there too," this was another male, and Iris tried to peer around Bill and his son to see the newcomer, as those two turned to look as well.

"Atherton!"

The man who stood in the doorway looked to be in his sixties. But he still had an air of strength about him, even with his grey hair. His brown eyes were sunk a little deeper and his square jaw had lines etched deeply at the corners.

He looked though, just like James, how James would look in another thirty years perhaps?

He was almost obviously James's father.

"It is good to see you again, Bill," the man smiled but there was a real air of concealed danger about him.

"You too, Craig," Bill nodded. "It's just a shame that it is in such circumstances."

"Oh I don't know, I think that my son and his chosen, pledging themselves, and our being here to witness that, well that can only be a pleasant circumstance."

"Yes, well... I am not sure about that," Bill said gruffly as he shook his head a little.

Craig Atherton stepped fully into the room, and Iris now felt like she was in a small overcrowded cupboard, rather than a large waiting area, complete with several chairs and lounges.

"Be sure, Bill," Craig said in a soft menacing tone. "I want your acknowledgment of their pledge; you are to be our independent witness to this... I demand it of you."

He stood over the man; he crowded the man, as he moved closer and closer to him. "I demand it of you!" he growled again.

The room was full of suppressed violence all of sudden, as though a storm was, at any moment about to explode in the centre of it.

Iris sucked in a breath and wrapped her arms around herself as she hunched down lower in her seat.

All these people, she thought to herself. All standing around her and over her, all deciding her fate and future for her.

"I demand it of you, Bill!" Craig Atherton growled a little louder, and Bill Frawnings hunkered lower, and bowed his head, and seemed to actually shrink. "I demand it!"

Suddenly Bill threw back his shoulders. "This is all very well, Atherton, and even though you may be a council leader, you cannot force an alliance... I have not heard Iris confirm this yet – nor her guardian support it!"

Suddenly all eyes were on her, and Iris could feel the weight of the male dominance on her.

"Aunt Trudy?" she whimpered seeking support from the only other female in the room.

Trudy put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "This is your decision, child; do you agree the pledge with James?"

She looked up and her eyes met and locked with James's and she felt such a sense of love from him and for him, as their bond reasserted itself. She had sat there listening as these people tried to fight over her fate, and felt the first stirrings of anger.

Her green eyes glittered with a slowly boiling rage, but as James smiled at her, her anger simply evaporated.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes of course we are bonded – we always have been."

"Good," Trudy declared. "And as acting guardian, I support their pledge!"

Bill Frawnings clenched his fists and give a low grunt of frustration.

He would have loved to have turned and stormed from the room, but Craig Atherton was blocking him.

"Well," Craig demanded. "Do you bear witness?"

"Aye, that I do!" he snapped angrily.

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Chapter Twenty Three

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Bill Frawnings and his son left soon afterwards, as soon after his angry declaration as he could in fact, and following their departure, the people in the room, were silent for a moment.

Then James's father came and sat down next to Iris, and took her hand gently.

"So you are the young woman who has claimed my son?" he asked with a rueful little smile.

Iris smiled back and then shrugged apologetically. "I fell in love with him," she said softly. "And I could not help myself; I could not stop myself from bonding with him."

"Ah," he said and Iris saw some tension leave his shoulders, and his eyes became less guarded. "I can see that you do love him, and the bonding would have come naturally for both of you... it is as it should be between two people."

He patted her hand and then stood up, to walk over and talk to Aunt Trudy.

"I do not believe that I have had the pleasure before now, Miss Beaumont, although I have heard a lot said about you."

"Yes, well, people will gossip needlessly sometimes," Aunt Trudy said gruffly as she placed her hand in his and looked up at him suspiciously.

"You have an incredible reputation, which I do not believe was earned through idle gossip."

James sat down next to Iris, and took her hand in his. "I am sorry that I was gone for so long, but I had to make some arrangements, and I owed it to my father to tell him about you, before I went around making announcements."

"What did he say?" Iris asked softly as she continued to watch the man talking to her aunt. She could see the way that they were sizing each other up, even as they carried on a mundane conversation. The undercurrent in the room was one of guarded intent at the moment, and Iris was not sure what to make of it.

"He was not too happy at first," James admitted a little ruefully. "I mean he had never even heard your name mentioned before, and suddenly here I was about to turn my back on my family and clan, for someone he knew nothing about."

"But he changed his mind when he learned who my aunt was?" Iris guessed scornfully.

James hesitated for a moment, and he looked across the room at the two people. "No... I don't think it was that... at least... no, it was when I told him that I loved you, and that I would make the pledge with or without his blessing..."

Iris turned to look at him. Was that doubt that she had heard in his tone?

James squeezed her hand gently. "It will be okay," he promised. "As long as we are together then we will be okay."

She smiled. "Yes, we will."

**

Iris's father continued to improve and grow stronger, even after his three relatives had stopped giving him blood.

The doctor took his time in giving him a clean bill of health though, and so it was a full month almost, before Greg Beaumont was allowed to leave the hospital.

During that time, Iris divided her life into three segments. One was the bulk of her day where she continued to work as James's ultra efficient assistant. The second part was when she went to visit her father in the hospital with Laurie, so that they could be the loving dutiful daughters that he needed. But the third was the time that she and James spent together as a couple. It was a relationship that they could not indulge in any way – at all during their working hours, because the heat that simmered between them meant that control could be lost in a heartbeat... or less.

Which was proved whenever they were alone together, truly alone.

They all gathered at the hospital though when Greg was at last to be discharged.

"I shall travel with your father down to the estate, and stay with him for a few weeks" Aunt Trudy told her nieces. "I expect... hope that you two will come down for the weekend as usual, but for now you should continue with your own lives and jobs... your father needs rest, and peace, and above all he needs normality."

"But Aunt Trudy, what about your business, how can you stay away for so long and not have it suffer?" Iris protested.

Aunt Trudy smiled. "I have good people in key places, Iris; I can keep in touch remotely and keep my fingers in the pies that I am presently cooking up."

Iris laughed at her aunt's analogy. Aunt Trudy had never mastered the art of cooking, so her 'pies' that she referred to, must have been any business projects that she currently had on the go.

"Well if you are sure that you can manage, Aunt Trudy..."

"Yes, I am sure, child; I have been meaning to take a break for a while now, and so this is the perfect opportunity for me to do that."

"As much as I know that you love him, I hardly think that taking care of daddy could be considered a break though," Iris persisted doubtfully

"You worry too much, Iris. Your father is quite able to take care of himself, and he has enough household staff to be able to cover his general needs. I will be there merely to keep him company, and to enjoy a little time on his estate."

Iris's father agreed stubbornly with Aunt Trudy, and even though he looked pale and tired he was still very much their pack leader.

"Your aunt is quite right, my children. You would only be underfoot and causing me grief so stay where you are." he smiled as he said it, so that there was no hurt in his words. "I shall expect you both down for the weekend, and," he looked across at James. "And I shall expect you too, James. I shall trust my family to you, to become the protector of our pack – until I am able to take over again."

James half bowed in acknowledgment. "As you instruct, our leader, so shall I be."

It was almost a formal – if only temporary transfer of power, with some of the ceremonial words being exchanged.

For the first time in what seemed a long time, Iris felt safe, she felt truly safe for her future and that of her sister and her aunt as well. She trusted James as much as she trusted her father to always want the best for herself and her relatives.

She smiled up at James, as they left the hospital for the last time. "Thank you so much," she said softly. "For everything that you are doing for me and mine."

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, to kiss it gently. "You are the love of my life; you have opened it up, and freed me from all restraints. You have taught me how to control even my most inner demons, and released my spirit. Everything that I am now, I owe to you."

"Oh," Iris felt the tears well up in her eyes; he had meant every word of that. "I love you too James... more than anyone else in this world, I love you."

**

It had been almost six months since Greg had been discharged from the hospital, and he was almost back to full fitness.

The wedding of Iris and James was to occur on the day after tomorrow, and the house was to be invaded tomorrow, since this was where the ceremony was to be held. But for tonight it was just Aunt Trudy and Greg. His staff had all been given the day and the evening off, and so for a little while it was just the two of them.

The moon was in its first quarter, but Trudy was feeling restless.

"If you are happy to be alone for a couple of hours," she said suddenly. "I think I might go out for a run."

Greg looked up from the newspaper that he had been reading. "Yes, you have been cooped up here for weeks now; you get out for a bit... I'll be okay."

She stood up and patted his hand as she moved past him. "I shan't be gone long," she promised.

The patio doors stood open, and she watched the clouds sliding across the partial moon, as she unbuttoned the front of her dress.

She let it slid off her shoulders, and as it crumpled to the floor, she shimmered into her furry alter ego.

The grey wolf trotted down the steps, and bounded across the grass to disappear into the trees.

Trudy should have been aware of the figures by the north border, but she had spent weeks and months in the safety of her brother's estate, and it had lulled and dimmed her natural caution. She was unaware of being seen by the men as she changed without a full moon.

"They are growing too powerful, with this new allegiance... and him with his stable of females – those sisters with their air of superiority – and now we know why."

"Yes," the younger man agreed with a nod. "They need a lesson teaching to them – those sisters."

"The younger sister seemed more pliable – the older one is now spoken for, and would have given us more grief than she is worth I think. But that younger one she seemed timid – might be easier to control?"

"So the younger one then, we will get her and hold her for the full moon and then one of us will claim her for the bonding and the breeding."

"Yes we will force the bonding on her – if we have to!"

***

The morning of Iris's wedding dawned bright and sunny and she just knew that it would be a day that she would always remember with joy.

She had been reluctant at first to have a grand wedding, but both her father and James, and then Aunt Trudy, they had all insisted that they needed to make a statement, loud and clear, that this family now had fresh blood in it, there was new male – a strong male in the pack, and everyone needed to know that.

She had been doubtful at first but in the end had agreed that it was in the best interests of the family that it would be a grand and a public wedding.

She had spent yesterday and last evening with Laurie, and her father and her aunt, as the four of them sat and reminisced, of their childhood, but mostly of Iris and Laurie's mother.

"She would have been so proud of you – both of you," Greg had told them emotionally. "You have become everything that she wanted for you – and more, my beautiful, brave daughters."

The sisters both moved to curl up next their father, and the three of them snuggled affectionately for a while, whilst Trudy looked on indulgently.

Finally though she stood up. "Well as much as all of this soppiness is entertaining, I for one am tired... and it's going to be a long and important day for someone," she said with a pointed look in Iris's direction.

Iris blushed delicately as she nodded and also stood up. "It is after eleven, so I think bed would be welcome."

Laurie sat on the edge of Iris's bed as Iris slipped her nightgown over her head.

"This could be the last time that I can do this," Laurie suddenly said emotionally. "I mean even when we do all come down for the weekend, you will be with James, and I doubt that he would be comfortable with me curled up on the bed, with you!"

Iris chuckled tearfully. "No I don't suppose he would be,"

She joined her sister on her bed and gave her an affectionate hug. "We will still see each other all the time though, since I shall continue to work as James's assistant, and there is no reason for us not to meet up for lunch still... if you can get away from work as well?"

"Oh yes, I have a good hour and a half for my lunch, and my workplace is only five minutes away from my apartment – I think that was why Aunt Trudy offered it to me, in the first place."

"And since your apartment is only ten minutes away from that pub, 'Donalds', then it will still be convenient for us both.

"So not too much has to change then," Laurie said softly with a hint of relief.

Iris nodded. "I will still be and always will be your sister... and James will be your brother as well."

Laurie sighed. "That does sound kind of nice," she said as she moved off her sister's bed.

She would have left the room, but Iris stopped her. "Laurie," she said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Do you see much of that man in the apartment next to you, the one you felt that link with?"

She shook her head and a tear trickled from her eye. "No, he spends a lot of time away, I think, and he seems to work very long hours, so no I have never seen him, not properly, not since that time in the elevator."

"Oh... do you think that you might arrange to sort of, well accidently bump in to him, sometime?"

"Oh no, I don't think I could do that, I would be too embarrassed – it would be so obvious..."

"Oh well, maybe you will meet him in the elevator again sometime, after all he does only live next door to you."

"Maybe," Laurie said doubtfully, she decided not to tell her sister about the women that she saw coming and going from his apartment, when he was around. Always a different woman, always tall and dark haired, and beautiful.

She opened her sister's bedroom door. "Good night, Iris, sleep well."

**

The day dawned bright and clear, and Iris – after a night of weird and wonderful dreams, awoke with a slightly fluffy head.

But as she thought of the day ahead and everything that she had to achieve, even before she could meet James at the local church - for their wedding, she climbed from her bed with a sense of purpose.

She glanced at her watch, as she slid it from her wrist. Six thirty, and the wedding was not until eleven thirty.

"Loads of time," she said happily as she skipped off to the bathroom, to shower and wash her hair.

The morning though flew by.

By the time she came out of her bathroom, it seemed that the world had invaded her bedroom.

Her aunt and her sister were there with fresh juice and a couple of bacon rolls to keep her going.