4 Years Later
"Mommy mommy, look!"
Arisa beamed as she saw her 4 year old little shenanigan machine running towards her, holding goddess-knows-what in her palm to show her.
"I'm certain It's another bug. That girl just loves picking up anything that moves on the ground, doesn't she?" Michael, who was on the other side of the phone said.
"And what If she does? Ruby appreciates nature more then you do. " Arisa snickered. Suddenly, Ruby fell midway running towards her and Arisa turned alert immediately, about to get up, but the little girl just gets right back up like nothing had happened and finally approached her.
Arisa could hear the other women whispering about her in the park as they clustered amongst each other while their kids played on the other side. Some of the children were in small groups, playing games, talking or just doing about anything little kids would normally do at the park, but Ruby was the only left out amongst all the children to play by herself.
It wasn't like that at first though.
It started when she had let Ruby pay with a group of girls and they had all reported to their mums how she had almost gotten them lost by taking them to the far ends of the forest just close by the park because she could 'hear voices' and wanted to follow it.
Since that day, all the women in the park had known her and had dutifully ensured that none of their kids stayed close to her. Even the women avoided Arisa like a plague and would rather gossip right in front of her. Sometimes, just for the fun of it, she'd eaves drop on their conversation and what she would hear would leave her speechless.
"No one except that blonde guy ever visits her and her daughter. Sometimes I feel bad for them. It's so sad that It's just her and the little girl."
"I heard her daughter had a mental disorder, but they're too broke to afford to pay for a medical consultation so she has to live that way. Pathetic."
"Imagine knowing my daughter thinks she can hear voices in the middle of no where. And the woman doesn't look like she gives a damn about what's going on with her daughter!"
"That blonde guy, is he her husband?"
"Hell no. He's only ever nice to her because he probably gets to fuck her. Can't you see that no man in his right senses would want to have anything to do with a psycho woman like her who probably got divorced by her husband. I doubt that child of hers was even his."
"She knows no one wants to play with her daughter and yet she still brings her here everyday. Is her life really pathetic?"
These were just few of what they had to say about them. Even her neighbors were not spared from the juicy gossip going round about her. If she was really honest, on most days, she didn't even care what they said or thought. They weren't paying her bills and she could bet that not a single one of them could even guess her last name or what she did for a living, and here they were...
And they thought her life was pathetic?
"Ruby you really have to be careful. Are you hurt anywhere?" Arisa held her phone between her ear and shoulder as she firmly held onto Ruby's shoulders before looking all over for any bruises.
"Mommy, look what I found." The girl was only ever excited to show her what she had and didn't even care about the fall. Arisa finally looked down and noticed something Ruby had in her palm all these while.
It was a spider. And the biggest one she's ever seen.
"Ruby Jason Henrietta, what have I told you about picking spiders again?
" She swapped the eight legged creature without a thought and finally got up, carrying Ruby into her arms. "That's It. We've stayed here long enough. We're going home."
"But Mommy..."
"No. And that's final." With that, the little girl 'humphed' and folded her arms with a pout on her face which honestly only made her more adorable and way far from what she had in mind when she thought she was going to look mad.
"Aww, why'd you take her spider away? She was only trying to appreciate nature" Michael's annoying voice came through the speakers
"Shut up."
She could see the women giving her side glares but she ignored them.
Her Ruby wasn't like most girls.
Okay, maybe that sounded a bit cliche but It was true. Ruby wasn't like any average normal human around in city X.
And neither was she.
******************
It was exactly 11:pm when Arisa put the last of her things into her bag before she zipped it shut and locked it.
Matthew entered the room at that moment, an unreadable expression on his face. "I've managed to put her to bed at least for an hour or so before she wakes up again."
"Thank you Matthew." Arisa beamed as she watched him sit on the edge of her bed.
"I can't believe you're really leaving."
Arisa sat on the other side of the bed, smoothing her hairdo which consisted of a messy bun with stray strands sticking out.
"It's been four years already. I think I've procastinated long enough. You didn't think I'd stay here forever, did you?"
He didn't reply, but It wasn't hard for her to miss the gloominess he felt at that moment. An awkward silence hung heavily in the room as she waited for him to say something.
When she had moved here, she had tried her possible best not to get attached to anyone, knowing her stay in city X was going to temporary, at least until she got her life back together, but then Matthew came along. He was a cashier at the mall she frequented, and soon enough, from exchanging numbers to texting almost all night to him finding out about Ruby, they became the best of friends.
In fact, they had become so close that two years later, she had shared everything with him right down to her literal death to how Ruby came about. Naturally, he doubted her at first, and she straight up morphed into her wolf form. He blacked out after that, and well, there was really no other choice left for him but to believe her.
Now, she was leaving four year later, and the two of them would miss each other. After all, he was her first human best friend and her first genuine friend ever.
"I would miss Ruby a lot. Her tantrums, her long talks, and the way she seems to forget I'm not her personal playground to climb and swing over... I'll miss everything about her."
Arisa chuckled before she finally got up and stood Infront of him, watching as he raised his head to look at her, his soft brown colored eyes sparkling with unshed tears as hers. "What about me? You're not going to miss me?"
He finally got up and pilled her into a bear hug, almost crushing her with his muscles. "Not as much as Ruby though."
She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him even tighter, not caring If he broke her bones. He could try to though.
They finally pulled away before she said, "My source informed me that Ravenna and Stephan had shortage of workers in their pack due to most of them quitting over the years. Their pack is supposed to be hosting the peace treaty ceremony they planned with the Lycan so they're in desperate need for workers."
"And that's where you come in. But what about Ruby?"
"She's coming along with me so of course she's going to be by my side."
"Arisa you know It's not too late to change your mind about taking her with you. No matter what, she's still a child. You know how dangerous your mission is and you won't want her to get..."
"She's my child obviously. We've talked about this. I would burn that pack along with everyone in it before anyone lays a finger on my daughter."
Michael suddenly pulled her and hugged her again, this time kissing the top of her head before pulling her closer in his embrace and whispering," So why don't you just do it. Then maybe you won't have to leave. It'd just be me, you and her against the world and those plastic, mouth-running bitches at the park."
Arisa chuckled again, but even she wished it was that easy. But then again, a fire was honestly nothing compared to what she planned on doing to the pack, to them. Death by fire? Now that would be too lenient, too easy... she would ensure they go through the slowest possible type of pain first of all before she leaves them to be eaten out alive by ravens while they screamed in agony.
"Arisa?"
"Mm?"
Michael bit down on his bottom lip thoughtfully before he finally asked, "You know Ruby's father might still be alive and there's a high chance you might encounter him. What will you do If that happens?"
"I would kill him." She said without blinking, without hesitation, her voice cold and void of emotion when she tightened her grip around Michael's shirt as he drew her in close just when the tears simultaneously rolled down their cheeks.