Ruby
“No, I want to,” I replied, not feeling very brave but wanting to let Caleb share his special place with me. I peered over the edge of the balcony and cringed. “Just don’t let me fall, okay. It’s a long way down to the bottom and that stone paving looks very unforgiving.” My attempt at a light-hearted joke to cover my fear didn’t go unnoticed by Caleb.
He flashed me a killer grin. “Here, give me your hand.” He grasped hold of my hand, threading his warm fingers between mine as he led me up the narrow, uneven steps.
Chunks were missing in the stone. I had to tread carefully. I could imagine these steps becoming deadly when it rained. My sandals felt like they were slipping on the smooth surface, and that was while they were dry.
I clutched hold of Caleb’s forearm to steady my
Ruby After saying good night to Caleb, I trudged up the path towards my front door, clutching hold of my bag and the book that I borrowed. The light was off in the sitting room but the bluish glow of the TV was flickering through the curtains. No sooner had I closed the door behind me, my dad called out, “Lock up, behind you!” I did as he asked before turning my attention to the stack of packing boxes, brown tape, and dust sheets in the hall. A subtle reminder that they planned on moving soon. “Hey,” I popped my head around the sitting-room door, acknowledging my parents. They were both lounging on the sofa. Dad was sitting slouched with his legs stretched out and had a bottle of low-calorie beer in hand. He had his pajama bottoms on. His rip
Caleb The ground shook with aftershock tremors of another blast. They had turned the hillside into an excavation site. The bulldozers, drilling equipment, explosives, and trucks, had all arrived late last night. The extraction machinery covered each cavity that had been made on the rock surface. Thanks to floodlights, the team had been hard at work throughout the night, blasting their way through the bedrock to the soft, purple mineral beneath. The pack knew what was happening, but the humans just assumed that they were experiencing earth tremors. I slid off my ear defenders and wore them loosely around my neck. “Aaron, how soon did the Geologist say she could get her team here? I want to make sure that we get rid of it all.” I tosse
CalebAaron ignored my reproachful glare and continued in his humored tone, “So, as soon as she finds out that her dead dog is her werewolf boyfriend, she’s going to be totally freaked out for sure.” He slid his arm around my tensed shoulders. “Or ...” He raised a hand in front of us both, slowly clenching it into a fist. “After she hears you out, and you explain everything.” He poked my chest with his finger, giving me a more serious look. “She’ll think it was cute. Finding her lost in the woods, sticking around, being there for her, when she needed someone. She’s gotta understand you were scared to tell her what you are, right? I mean, it’s a pretty big secret to trust someone with. It could’ve compromised the entire pack if she’d taken it badly. At least her mom is now married to Aiden and has a hybrid kid. She can’t out you, without outing h
Ruby The gentle summer breeze blew my gown around my legs as I waited in front of the school entrance, along with my family. Dad had dressed Sam in a cute little black suit that matched his. Both had their blond hair gelled back into a suave style. I tickled Sam under his chin, making him giggle. “Who’s being such a big boy today, huh?” He hadn’t asked for his pacifier once since we left the house. Mom hoped he would grow out of needing one. He had gone through so many, popping them all with his teeth. I stood around idly, sparing the odd glance at each car that pulled into the parking lot, seeing more of the students from my year arrive with their families. Mia was the first of my friends to show up with her parents, followed by Tegan and her Mom, who arrived a few minutes later. “Hey,”
Ruby “I’m making some coffee, do you want some?” Mom offered. Her voice dragged with fatigue. It had been a long day, and we had only been home an hour. Dad went somewhere with Caleb and Aaron; they left straight after the Ivy Orchard. I was so glad to see them getting along again. Aaron, who I’d now had been introduced to, reassured me he would bash their heads together if they started fighting again. The only time I saw Dad scowl at Caleb was when I handed back his suit jacket. Clean from showering, I leaned against the kitchen counter beside Mom. “Yes, please. I’m tired. I don’t want to fall asleep and forget to meet Caleb.” I ruffled my damp hair with a towel before tossing it into the laundry basket. “Yikes, I’m stuffed, after e
Ruby It’s true what folk say, you have a fight-or-flight response. Everyone does. It’s all to do with self-preservation, to escape to safety, or a fierce desire to attack back. All my rational thoughts flew through the window and all I could think about was my mother and Sam. My mom had stopped screaming, and that was when I expected the worst. My world spun off its axis, time slowed down, and my legs weren’t as fast as I willed them to be. The rush of adrenaline surged through me, and without even thinking, I was thundering down the stairs, jumping the last four steps. Sam’s high-pitched shrieks were like a red rag to a bull to me. Just like a knife through my heart. The impulse to save them fuelled me to burst through the kitchen doorway, intending to grab the first thing that I could find to use as a weapon and take that person down.
Ruby Tyler didn’t flinch this time as I stepped closer. I lowered the knife and placed my free palm in front of me. “Just let him go,” I spoke. “Please,” Mom begged. Her entire body was shaking. Tears were leaking from her eyes, dripping from her chin. Her hands were trembling as she reached out for Sam, who was wailing for her with his little arms reaching forward. “Just let us go home, and we won’t tell anybody.” Tyler’s terrified eyes flared wide as he shook his head. “You can’t go back there. Don’t!” He startled me as he stepped toward us. He stopped himself as if he was having some sort of mental conflict, then turned to Mom. “They’re after him. Your house is the first target.” Mom’s legs almost gave out, and she stumbled. “How long do we have?” Her trembling voice came out as a stra
Caleb The hot evening sun cast its blinding rays through the windshield as I drove. It was like a glowing ball of fire heading straight for us, dazzling my vision and having me reach around for my Ray-Bans in the center console. Aiden sat beside me in the passenger seat with his elbow resting out of the open window. The sharp, chemical scent of the burning mineral polluted the clean mountain air, bombarding my nostrils with a pungent, smoky aroma. Aiden drummed his fingertips along the edge of the roof. “I’ve got a bad feeling, Caleb. I thought that if something was going to happen, it would’ve happened during the ceremony.” Those were concerns we seemed to all share. I enforced security all around the football field, I made damn sure of it. Apart from a slip of the tongue from P
Ruby The cold, wet sensation from the ultrasound gel made me tense for a moment, watching the small screen with eagle eyes. As the black and white image appeared before us, it was clear to see that there was not one, but two babies nestled together, side by side. Caleb scrubbed a hand over his shocked face, edging closer to the screen. "Well, I'll be damned," the doctor breathed out with surprise. "There is no doubt about it, you're having twins. Do you want to know the sex?" she asked, invoking mixed feelings within me. Part of me wanted to keep it a surprise but the terrified part of me needed to know for sure. Caleb gave me a look which suggested that he was fine either way. God love him, his eyes were glossing over with proud tears of joy
Ruby "I still remember the first night that we laid like this while watching over Alex. It was the same when Raine was born," Caleb reminisced. Something somewhere caused the room around me to distort, like ripples spreading wide across a calm lake. "Ruby," Caleb's youthful voice called out to me from somewhere beyond a dream. "Babe, you better wake up or else we're going to be late for the obstetrician appointment," I heard him say. Temporary confusion fogged my brain until I realized that I had been dreaming again. Part of me felt the loss of what I hoped our future could be as it slipped away, and the other part of me was relieved that I woke up at that point before the beautiful vision altered into something that could only be de
Ruby As the years rolled by, Caleb and I looked back on our lives with no regrets. When that time eventually comes when we have to leave this world behind, we would be taking a lifetime full of beautiful memories with us. My heart was full, my life was fulfilled. There was nothing that I would change or do differently. Everything was as it should be. With each lumbered step, my slippers brushed over the soft-pile carpet of the stair landing until I stopped to pause outside the old nursery that once belonged to my children. I thought that we had been bestowed a gift from the heavens the day I found out that we were having twins, but little did I know how much more my heart could contain the moment I discovered that I was to become a grandmother. The Goddess had blessed our family many times, and now my son, Alex, was the proud
Caleb Ruby turned on the steps of the town hall, facing away from the jubilant crowd. Snowflakes clung to the tips of her lashes, melting as they kissed her rosy cheeks. She tossed the bouquet of white and blue flowers behind her, and as she did so, the women rushed forward, shrieking deliriously, all snatching at the spinning object as it burst apart like a fragrant petal bomb. It was Grandma Lizzie who unwittingly made the save. She walked straight past the jostling females and caught the flowers against her chest. Her face blanched as she realized what had happened and tossed the bouquet away as if it was a hot potato. “Once was more than enough for me,” she joked. “Although, I wouldn’t mind a good old roll in the hay with one of those wolf boys. They've got abs that I could scrub my laundry on and then some.” She winked a
Ruby The emotion blazed in Caleb's eyes as I walked down the aisle; his mouth hung agape and his brows started to bunch in the middle, giving me the reaction that any bride longed to see. Caleb swallowed hard, causing his Adam’s apple to bob nervously in his throat. There was no sign of humor on Aaron’s face as he observed his friend's special moment. Instead, his expression was one of relieved happiness. Now that his best friend since childhood had found his soulmate, he adopted an air of accomplishment as if all was now right in the world. As the strong notes of the traditional wedding march came to an end, I released Dad’s arm and came to stand beside the love of my life. Caleb mouthed the word “Wow” as he lifted my chin with his fingers, and breathed, “You look breath-taking, love.”
Ruby “Are you okay, kiddo?” Dad asked, his expression softening as he clasped hold of my trembling hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I swallowed away the dryness before answering, “I just want everything to be perfect, that’s all.” “And it will be,” Dad was quick to reassure me. “I know how much this means to you; Caleb knows it too. He’s probably memorized his wedding vows off by heart. I bet he was up all night Googling templates from the internet,” Dad remarked in an attempt to make me laugh. His best efforts worked like a charm. I gazed through the tinted windows and out onto the wintry streets. Ice glittered the scraped roads and sidewalks, and some of the maintenance guys were shoveling grit salt on the main walkways throughout town.
Ruby I turned from side to side, admiring how the full-length wedding gown swayed with my movements. The white sweetheart bodice helped to boost my humble assets, glittering as the Swarovski crystals captured the light. The long, silky skirt gracefully swished around my legs, sending a wisp of cool air around my thighs. Dad made my day when he produced a pair of custom-made Sketchers in Bride White. He paid a seamstress from Montana to sew lace into the leather and add sparkles around the soles. It meant I would be comfortable all day long, especially as my ankle still ached from standing for long periods. “Are you ready, sweetheart?” Dad asked, through the closed door. He had resisted the urge to look at me in my wedding dress, pacing the hall outside mine and Caleb’s room like a caged animal.
Caleb "Yeah, plenty of thing’s spring to mind, but there is one that is owed a confession," Dylan said as he grinned at Aiden, then edged his chair away to maintain a safer distance. "I was sixteen, and Aiden was eighteen," Dylan began to confess, much to Aiden's interest. Upon hearing his name, he folded his bare muscular arms across his chest. "He borrowed my bike without my permission and ended up buckling the front wheel. He never said anything to me, and put it back in the garage in the hope that I wouldn’t find out what he’d done. I found it the following day and smelled his scent all over it, so I knew that he had used it. I was passive-aggressive, and in an act of vengeance, I sabotaged a burrito that he’d been saving in the fridge by filling it with laxatives. I watched as he devoured it for lunch, and asked if I could hang out with him and Vanessa that day. He was rather reluctant because he wanted to fool around with her while her dorm was
Caleb Aaron tipped the empty Tequila bottle upside down to prove a point. “No way! We’ve gone through the second bottle already?” He turned to my father with an accusatory tone. “It was opened twenty minutes ago.” Aaron’s face was partially hidden beneath his Batman mask, but the whites of his bulging eyes were visible among the black face paint. He had been doing rather well, talking in a gruff tone to imitate the caped crusader's voice, but the sheer shock at how fast my father could sink his liquor caused his pitch to raise a few octaves. Dad gave a casual shrug of his green padded shoulders as he raised the shot glass to his lips and downed the contents in one large gulp. Even I had to admit that was pretty good going, considering he was wearing a pair of oversized hulk hands