Ch. 3 - Just Fine

Ruby POV

I was so happy Sebastian was finally home. I cried for days when he first left, even though I acted like it was nothing big when saying goodbye to him. It was hard for me to show my feelings completely. Most of my life, people feared me and even tried to harm me. Sebastian was the only one who looked at me like I wasn't some freak.

"You look like a slut." Shelia walked into my room in a yellow frilly dress.

"You look like a damn bumble bee. What are you trying to attract, honey or a man?" I rolled my eyes at her, my hands pushing up my tiny breast in a dark purple dress I wore. My boobs were so small I barely had anything to show off.

"At least I don't need to stuff my bra to look like a woman." Shelia puffed her chest out, her large knockers nearly bursting from her dress. She was actually very pretty, but she dressed ridiculously, and that voice of hers was like nails on a chalkboard. Five minutes alone with her and the boys went running.

"Whatever! Get out, loser." I shoved her through the door frame.

"Mom! Ruby is hurting me." She screamed like a pesty little child.

"Get a life, Shelia. It's pathetic how you constantly hang around me like I'm the only person you care to annoy."

"You think I actually care about you. Please, you're pathetic and dangerous. The king and queen should have killed you as a baby. Our pack deserved better, and they know it. That's why everyone hates you." She scuffed at me, then turned and walked away. She was insufferable.

"What is going on here?" Luna Kiera nearly exploded after overhearing us bicker.

"Nothing Aunty. I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize!" Luna Kiera looked at me with dark eyes. Her wolf, Athena, was rowled up, which was never good. "That little runt actually dared to say you should have been killed as a baby?"

"It's fine aunty. She is just jealous. Shelia needs all the attention, and it drives her crazy that everyone talks about me. Not that it's good things they say, but it's still attention she'd rather have on her."

Luna Kiera's eyes softened to me. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry she is so cruel to you. I've told your mother time and time again she needed to put an end to this behavior. Shelia better straighten out at this school I'm sending her to, or I will banish her, for all our sakes." Kiera's hand fisted, and Athena rose inside her again.

My hand reached out, softly intertwining in her fingers. "Aunty, please don't make a fuss about this. Shelia is just a stupid teenager. She is harmless, and Mom does a lot for us, for me. Please don't be mad at her. It literally breaks her heart when you are upset. She is doing the best she can, and it's amazing."

"I know. Maggie has always been an amazing woman, and I value her friendship incredibly, but I know what it's like to have a toxic sister like Shelia and how dangerous it can be. It can't be tolerated, Ruby." Her hand brushed my cheek, admiring my face for a moment.

"You look just like your dad. He was such a handsome man, loyal to the bone." She looked away sadly, deep shame and regret clouding her eyes. My family never told me about how my parents died, but my pack in the South never let me forget.

My dad was Luna Kiera's Beta from her former pack. He died saving her, and my mom, she was Kiera's best friend who went crazy from some creepy stories of a dark forest containing such evil she killed herself, even tried to kill me too.

"Be careful, Ruby. There is such a thing as too loyal. Don't let yourself be harmed out of some false obligation to family, especially if that family doesn't love you back." I could tell she truly feared for me.

"I will, Aunty. I promise, Shelia is no threat. Just a bratty child. We fight like all siblings do, and there is nothing more to it."

Kiera nodded to me, not believing a single word I said. I knew her fear came from her own relationship with her foster sister. Stories most didn't dare speak about.

"You look beautiful. You're going to make a special Alpha so happy one day." She winked at me like she knew my future.

"Alpha?" I scuffed at the thought that someone that powerful could want some unstable freak like myself. I didn't radiate any status, certainly not Luna.

"Don't sell yourself short, little girl. You are more powerful than you'll probably ever realize. An Alpha would be damn lucky to have such a fierce woman by his side." She kissed my forehead and left me alone to finish dressing for the grand celebration of our Alpha returning home from training.

I giggled a little with embarrassment at my Aunty's words. My Aunts and Uncles always thought I was some magical creature, and I loved their praise. Too bad no one else felt that way.

I thought a moment, remembering that stranger I met a few days ago. He was certainly an Alpha, and he seemed more than interested. Maybe I was meant to be a Luna? His Luna! Scarlet purred inside me at that thought.

I shook my head at the ridiculousness of me being a Luna. My people would hate me, fear me instead of love me. I wasn't meant to be Luna. I was meant to explore our world and probably end up alone. It was fine, though. As long as I had my best friend and the few I considered true family by my side, I would be just fine. Besides, I didn't need an Alpha or mate to feel pleasure from a man. I just needed me, and I would be fine. Just fine!

I let out a huff of frustration, admiring my body in the full-length mirror. I was gorgeous, a little different, but still just as beautiful as the rest.

'Damn right we are. After we catch up with Sebastian, we should find a nice man for the night.' Scarlet rumbled in my chest. She had been so worked up since the day we left the South. Between meeting a dark, handsome man and Sebastian returning home, I was filled with so much excitement.

'We'll see. Professor Williams is always willing to meet in some dark corner.' I chuckled deviously to my wolf, her agreeing that an older man would be just what we needed tonight. Boys my age never paid me much attention, so I usually found comfort in older men looking for a youthful girl to make them feel young again.

First, we needed to celebrate our friend, though. My loyalty to Sebastian was unwavering, and as much as it annoyed me, I knew it had a lot to do with him being my Alpha. It was programmed into both my wolf and myself to protect him, whether physically or emotionally. We needed to show him our support today, and then, once everyone was asleep, I needed to show my body some love.