R U B Y
Since we've been here for two days, that meant I'd been asleep for two days.
Xavier made me a sandwich. I immediately wolfed it down and asked for another. He finished his and vanished while I continued to munch on mine, eating much slower this time around.
He'd been quiet the whole time, and I could understand why. So much was happening. Too much was happening. At every turn so far, we collided with a wall. Every time a new solution presented itself, the walls started closing in. Before we knew it, we ended up trapped once more.
I looked down at the piece of sandwich left and pushed the plate away. I didn't see an end to this, especially now with this new vampire threat. I could feel it in my bones that things were about to get so much worse.
"Finally full, huh?"
I glanced over my shoulder at Axel, who stood leaning against the door.
His face lacked any expression as he stared at me.
I said nothing as I looked away. I closed my eyes and listened as he pulled the stool out beside me and sat down at the island with me.
When I opened my eyes, in my peripheral vision I could see him just staring at me. "What?" I asked as I tilted my head to look his way.
He didn't say anything and continued staring at me.
I held his stare with narrowed eyes. I didn't have time for this. Whatever game he was looking to play, I wasn't interested. I felt too tired and too worried to deal with his bullshit. "Seriously, Axel, what do you want? Am I sitting on your favorite stool or something?"
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
I stared at him. This wasn't what I was expecting, especially not from him. Was he being serious? Am I supposed to believe he actually cared? Less than an hour ago, he'd been looking at me suspiciously because I wasn't still in bed or battling for my life like he assumed a weak human should be. "I feel fine, Axel."
He tilted his head to the side. "The night we were attacked, I heard you. You didn't want to leave me behind. Why?"
Oh, for god's sake. I looked away and sighed. I picked up and ate the final piece of the sandwich, chewing slowly.
Axel rested his hand on the counter as his eyes continued to bore into me. "You were worried about me," he added.
I shook my head. "I wasn't."
"I know you're lying, Ruby." He leaned forward somewhat, his finger tapping against the counter. "I can tell because the octave in your voice changed, so you might as well tell me the truth. Why were you worried about me?"
He wasn't going to let this go…I could see that. I had no idea why he cared about this, but I didn't have an answer for him. I was too busy trying to figure it out myself. Why had I cared? He was the only reason we were running from the Council to begin with. So what if he finally realized he'd fucked up and now wanted to be on Xavier's and my side? He
could switch back on us at any time. He'd made it clear multiple times that his only priorities were his position as alpha and protecting his pack.
What if he was ever given an ultimatum: protect me or to remain an alpha? I wonder how that would turn out.
I smoothed my brows down as I turned to look at him. Thinking about all of that now would neither solve nor help our current situation in any way. If it ever came to that, we'd handle it then. I'd handle it then. "I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Just let it go, okay?"
"Okay," he replied easily as he leaned away from me.
I felt like I could finally breathe again. Actually, there had been something I wanted to ask him. "How are humans turned exactly? Do you know how long it takes before they start to change?"
He turned to face the island and replied, "You don't need to worry about that. I think you would have turned by now. That vampire was only feeding." He looked suddenly lost in thought.
"Are you scared?" I asked.
He looked over at me as if I'd spoken a language he didn't understand.
I could see it in his eyes the same way I could with Xavier.
This was new territory for them both. "No," he replied.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I can tell when you're lying too."
His lips curved with a small smile. "So you think you know me now?"
I peered down at his arm, noticing yet another fading red line. Another wound he must have suffered while fighting the vampires. It started from just above his elbow and went all the way down to the middle of his forearm. I couldn't imagine how painful that must have been. "You know a lot about vampires,"
He turned his body to face me once more.
I scowled a bit because I hated it when he did this. The closer he got, the harder my heart pounded. It confused me even more and knowing he could hear it didn't help matters.
His brow rose. "I said I was told to never look inside the book. I never said I listened."
I couldn't help it…I laughed. It slipped out before I could stop it. "Of course you did. You listen to nothing and no one," I chided with a smirk as I shook my head. I should have expected something like that from him.
"That's right," he replied quickly and proudly. I rolled my eyes yet again.
"My pack is one of few that still hold wolf history close," he explained. "As the years pass, things change and things are forgotten. That can't be helped, but we must have a place where history is kept and honored. No doubt, the Council has information on vampires stored away as well, but I won't be relying on them. Olcan showed me exactly how naive I have been when it comes to the Council and how they operate. My father might know more, so I'll consult him and the book. I had my beta move him to somewhere safe after we left. Olcan can't be trusted." His jaw clenched. "I know that now."
If only he had figured that out earlier, but it was in the
past. When I eavesdropped on his conversation with Olcan, he'd revealed his father was ill. "What's wrong with your dad?"
He looked angry at this question.
I raised my hands. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious."
"My mother died a few years ago during childbirth," he replied. "My baby sister died with her."
My eyes widened and I bit my lip, mentally slapping myself for being nosy.
"My dad hasn't been the same since. As an alpha, he carried on for a while as best he could. But unlike Xavier's father, he wasn't able to hold his broken pieces together." His eyes began to dance over my face.
Heat began to crawl up my skin. "Do you have any other siblings?"
He shook his head. "No. It's always been just me."
I could've been wrong, but I sensed so much loneliness in that response.
Axel must have realized it as well because his eyes darkened before he looked away. He got up and walked to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"I, um, I wonder what happened after we left, after Olcan realized we'd left." I wasn't very subtle about trying to change the subject. "Do you think he's still there?"
He finished half of the bottle in one swig. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."
"When are we leaving?"
He shrugged. "In a day or so maybe," he answered before finishing the rest of the water. "It's best if Xavier and I are back to full strength before we leave."
"I saw him, you know," I offered spontaneously.
Crossing his arms over his wide chest, he leaned on the sink.
"The man that saved us, I saw him just before I fell unconscious," I went on. "I wasn't able to see his face, but I want to know who it was. Why did they save us?"
Axel didn't meet my eyes as he uncrossed his arms to hold the edge of the sink. "I want the answers to those questions as well. I hadn't smelled anyone else, which is surprising since he must have been fairly close in order to have made it in time to save us. It wasn't another wolf."
Instinctively, my hand moved to my neck again.
Turning his head towards me, his eyes were glued to my hand as it covered the spot where my wound should have been. His grip on the counter grew tighter. "Vampires have become myths. In fact, some don't even believe they ever really existed. If they attack now, so many will die. How have they survived for so long without being found?"
I truly wished I knew the answer to that. "I didn't smell what you guys did, so maybe they've been hiding around humans. Maybe in places where there are no werewolf packs that could sniff them out?"
"Perhaps," he said thoughtfully. "They would have an endless supply of food and humans to turn. I wonder just how many of them there are now, if they've been in hiding for all these years."
This was a troubling thought. There could be an army of them now, scattered all over the world. I would think a full- scale attack was only a matter of time at this point. But why would they show their faces now, and to us? A thought occurred to me and I sat up straight. "They attacked us on a full moon, but the potions we had drunk were still masking our scents. Maybe they thought they were attacking humans and not werewolves."
Nodding his head at this, he stepped forward. "You're right. That must—"
"You guys need to see this," Xavier suddenly announced from the doorway then turned and walked away.
Axel and I shared a look before following him.
What now?
We followed him into the living room.
I immediately took a seat, my attention drawn to the female reporter on the television.
She stood at the scene of a gruesome crime‒an entire family killed. Every single victim had been drained of their blood.
My eyes widened as I realized what she was saying. I gazed over at Axel and Xavier in shock.
Xavier changed the channel.
This time a male reporter told of a similar killing in another city – a jogger murdered in a park. This victim, too, had been drained of his blood.
Maybe they hadn't only attacked us because they hadn't been able to tell that Axel and Xavier were werewolves. They attacked us because they were making their kills more public.
"They're slowly coming out of hiding," I said as I hugged myself.
"I'd say they are coming out of hiding rather quickly," Axel objected. "If they continue this, the humans will become aware of them. And guess who they'll be finding next?"
"Werewolves," I said under my breath.
Axel nodded. "Not just werewolves...the entire fucking supernatural community will be discovered," he growled through clenched teeth. "No offense to you, Ruby, but humans won't be able to handle this discovery. Vampires are starting a war and they don't even know it."
"Maybe they do," Xavier stated. Axel and I looked his way.
His eyes were glued to the television as the reporter continued to speak. "It's like you said, Axel, they're making their kills known. For years, they've remained hidden. Now they are becoming sloppy with their kills, enough to make the news. Something is going on here. We have to head back to the pack now."
Axel stepped forward. "Yes, but we can't travel tonight."
Xavier nodded and turned the television off with a hard look on his face.
I didn't like the look he had. I wasn't sure what it meant because it was the first time I'd seen him like this.
Xavier threw the television remote down and combed his hair back from his face. "I know. We'll leave at dawn." He glanced at me as if to ask for my input.
I nodded slowly.
He sat down and so did Axel.
No one moved or spoke for a while until Axel got up to get us all drinks.
I've never been someone that drinks alcohol, even socially. Suddenly, I craved it in the dim hope that it would numb my senses, if only for a while. Why? Because tomorrow would be a new day and by now, I knew it would come with new problems. This might be the last time I got to sit in comfortable silence with both Xavier and Axel for a long time to come.
This could be the last time I felt like I was out of danger and protected, especially since it was clear—a time was coming where no one would be safe.