TWO — Worst of the Reinhart brothers

RUBY

"You heard me, Ruby. That girl will become my breeder. What you saw us doing is a rehearsal for what we'll be doing in the future in this room. So you might as well get used to it."

My heart knotted in immense pain. In an angry fit, I marched up to him, hitting his face again. And his chest and anywhere else my fists could land. 

"How could you be so mean, Colt? After everything we've been through, after all the vows we made, how could you throw me aside like this?!"

"Get a damn grip, Ruby!" He gritted out, catching my flying fists and giving me a rough push. "I'm only trying to fix your failure as a woman. Yes, we vowed for better and for worse on our wedding day. This is me being there for you in your worst. Maybe not the way you want but you left me with no choice."

He let go of me and I staggered a bit, staring incredulously at him. How could he be so brazen?

"Besides, you got no right to be mad at me because you lied to me. You didn't tell me that you were barren…"

"I'm not barren!"

"Then why can't your womb hold a fetus like others do? Why is it taking forever?"

I had no answer to that. I just knew my heart was caving brutally at his cold and harsh words. 

He just severely wounded me, trampled on my dignity and left a lasting scar on me. And I had to save a bit of it.  Had to save a bit of myself.

"Alright," I breathed out. "Go ahead and take her as your breeder. But I won't be here when it happens."

His eyebrow curled casually. "What do you mean by that?"

I tightened my fists and took a deep breath. "I, Ruby Quinn, reject you, Alpha Colt Reinhart, as my mate and as my Alpha…"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm rejecting you, Colt! I'll never be the woman you'd toss aside just to entertain your flings. I'm not gonna be saved for later. Or shoved under the bus because my mate has gotten tired of me. I'd rather break this bond…"

"Ruby,…" he tried touching me but I sidestepped him. 

"Don't touch me with those filthy hands. You make me feel more nauseous. I already broke my end of the mate's bond. Feel free to accept the rejection anytime."

Looking around the room, I felt a heavy tide of melancholia, knowing that I would never be back here anymore. 

"I'm not gonna accept the rejection. You have no right to reject me!" He yelled. It must be his ego getting hurt. He wasn't saying that because he loved me or didn't wanna lose me. 

"I'm soon gonna feel the pain from the smeared bond. But your pain will be more severe if you hold on to a one-sided bond. I don't think you're ready for such pain."

He gasped. "What do you think people will say—"

"I'll have someone come pick up my stuff." I cut in, stopping him from spewing his nonsense. "Goodbye, Colt."

I turned to leave and his question echoed from behind me. "Where are you gonna go?"

I slammed the door, refusing to give him an answer. He didn't deserve to know that. And he shouldn't care because I just stopped being his mate. 

The urge to cry enveloped me but I couldn't do it here. Not here in the streets. Minutes later, I was in a taxi, heading to the only place I could go. Crying in the taxi wouldn't be nice either. So I held the urge and the pain from the broken bond that was slowly sinking in. 

The taxi stopped at the address I gave. I stepped out, staring at the gigantic building of the biggest hotel in the Pack. 

Clutching at my coat to keep away the cold breeze, I headed inside. Heading to the receptionist's desk, I tried to put my tears on a leash and conceal the agony in my face. People still regarded me as their Luna and I wouldn't wanna give them something to wag their tongues about. 

"Hello. Good evening." 

The receptionist looked up. Her eyes widened a bit in what seemed like recognition. But I ignored it.

"I wanna see Killian Reinhart. Is he still a guest here?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Is he expecting you?"

"No. Not really. But would you tell him a friend came to see him?"

"One minute." She picked up the telephone while I stepped back a bit, looking around. 

Indulging myself into staring at others, to distract myself from my pain. 

"Ruru?" A male voice called out from behind. Only one person calls me that. 

I turned. It was him, Killian. Colt's cousin and also, my childhood friend. His long hair was sleek and sticky like he just left the shower and hadn't blow-dried it yet. His 6'7 height always left me a bit enthralled, and his extremely handsome face was his charm. 

He had a firm resemblance with Colt but the world would pick him as the better-looking version. I, on the other hand, would pick Colt over and over. That was how much I loved him. 

He smirked. "What are you doing here?"

Seeing him melted down all my agony, and before I knew it, I rushed into his arms bawling my eyes out.

"Whoa, Ruru. Don't do that out here. People are staring, Luna." He added the last word for emphasis. 

"Fuck them." The pain I was feeling was killing me. I needed to cry it out.

He held me back and gently asked. "What happened?"

"Colt cheated on me. I caught him with another girl in our bed. He said so many mean words to me so I rejected him. I'm sorry if that was stupid of me but I had no choice. He trampled on my dignity…"

"You did great." He cut in stiffly, holding me tighter. "I'm proud of you."

My rambling ended. Knowing someone was on my side healed my lonely and broken heart a bit.

Minutes later, we were in his suite and I was lying on his bed, while he was leaning against the window, staring at me. 

"Are you hungry? The room service brought that minutes ago. You can have it." He gestured at a trolley of food. 

"I'm not hungry. I haven't had much of an appetite in days."

"Why?" He asked, coming closer and sitting on the bed, next to me. "Why do you look so pale too? Are you sick?"

"I've been feeling nauseous lately."

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"I went. But he already left for an appointment so I didn't get to meet him." My voice was sad and low. He played with my hair strands.

"When women feel nauseous, doesn't it always mean that they are pregnant?"

My eyes popped. "What?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying—never mind." He chuckled lightly. His fingers caressed my cheeks. It was soothing. "I'm really sorry about Colt. Even though it's hard to believe he would treat you like this."

"All men are scum," I muttered bitterly. 

"I'm offended." He gasped, feigning a groan. 

I chuckled lightly. "You know you're an exception. I mean, you're a good friend —"

"Yeah, now I'm double offended."

"What? Why?"

"Because Ruru, you're just saying that to make me feel better. You don't mean it. You've always thought of me as the worst of the Reinhart brothers. You think the worst of me. You tagged me as a bloody casanova…"

"Which you are!" I snapped. His brows shot up, in a bit of anger. "Killian, you're an amazing guy, but your reputation speaks for itself. And it's not just me. The whole pack gave you that tag, because of your history with the ladies. And now, Colt just became a damn heartbreaker, like you. I guess it runs in the blood."

I was back to sobbing. His thumbs continuously wiped at my tears.

"I might be a casanova and the worst guy on earth. But don't ever compare me to Colt. We're nothing alike. Not anymore."

"What's the difference?"

His eyes softened. "Well, for starters, I would never make a woman as delicate and beautiful as you cry. Ever."

If I didn't know better, I would let my heart flutter at how sweet and calm he said those words. But it's Killian. The biggest playboy of the century. I should know better than falling for his charms. 

He looked me dead in the eyes, caressing my hair, and said. "Spend the night here, Ruru. I'll go get your stuff from Colt's house. You don't ever have to see that motherfucker again."

"You….you want me to stay here with you?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Indefinitely."