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#Chapter 29 - He heals
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The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 30 - Warning
AtwoodI wake up before Ruby. The sun hasn’t even risen yet and the castle grounds are blanketed in the soft, dim light of early dawn, but I have work to do. Thanks to Ruby’s sudden healing abilities, the deft work of my medics, and my own healing abilities, the pain from my wounds no longer plagues me.As I quietly move my sleeping mate off of me and climb out of bed, I take a moment to look down at her. She looks pained in her sleep as though she is having nightmares, but I don’t want to wake her. Ruby is strong. A few nightmares won’t hurt her.I make my side of the bed, then pull on my clothes in the dim morning light and peel the bandages off of my face. I can see a faint scar across my face in the mirror, but nothing more. Thankfully my vision wasn’t harmed by the Bear’s attack.I’m about to leave when I look over my shoulder one last time at Ruby, who has already sprawled herself across the bed and is sleeping on her belly with her mouth open. It’s funny, in a cute way. Before
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 31 - Homecoming dance
RubyGoing to the homecoming dance is the furthest thing from my mind after what happened last night. All I want is to stay with Atwood today, but when I try to go to his study to tell him that I don’t want to go anymore, he’s not there.Alice finds me standing inside his study, and yanks me out by my arm.“You should know by now not to enter the King’s study without his permission,” she snarls, slamming the door shut and locking it with one of the keys on her keyring.“I didn’t mean to,” I answer, yanking my arm away. “I was looking for him. I want to talk to him.”Alice rolls her eyes and folds her arms. “And what exactly did you intend on bothering the King about now? He’s a very busy man, you know. He’ll have even less time for you now that his beta is dead.”My heart wrenches at Alice’s words. No one told me that Kayne died. That must be why Atwood killed that Bear: for revenge.“Go on, spit it out, girl. I don’t have all day.”“I don’t want to go to the homecoming dance,” I say,
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 32 - Two choices
RubyAs I look down at the slip of paper in my hands, I’m faced with two possibilities: I can throw Cayden’s number away, giving into my fate with Atwood and becoming his mate. I can marry Atwood and become his princess. I can live in the castle until the end of my days, being abused by Alice and the Queen, loving a man who can never give all of himself to me because a woman with dark hair will forever haunt his memories.Or… I can run away with Cayden, leaving all of this behind. We could take Tamara and run far away, so far that Atwood won’t be able to find us. We’ll change our names. I’ll dye my hair and become someone else, someone that never knew Atwood, never knew Nancy, never attended the Lycan school and never saw the inside of the castle.Can I really run from my fate like that? Do I possess the power to change the course of my fate, just like how I changed the outcome of my vision?“Ruby, what are you doing out here?” Nancy suddenly says from behind me. Without thinking, I h
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 33 - Fight
RubyWhen the dance ends, a limo pulls up that has been sent by Nancy’s family and all of the girls pile in -- even Beck, who sits in the corner and glares down at the floor for the whole ride with her arms folded across her chest.We drive up a long paved driveway lined with cypress trees on either side and arrive at Nancy’s home. I knew that Nancy was rich, but didn’t expect this. Her family lives in a massive mansion that’s almost as big as the castle! It’s a lot newer and has a more modern design than the castle, but it’s still beautiful. There’s a stable off to the side with a sprawling pasture, and several small cottages -- likely for servants or guests -- are scattered around the property.The house itself has a beautiful minimalist design, with giant windows that look out over the forest and fountains out front. Nancy guides us all inside into a large entryway with tall ceilings and a spiral staircase leading up.“Everyone has to take their shoes off,” Nancy says to the group.
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 34 - Luna
RubyI wait at the end of Nancy’s driveway in the cold for Atwood to come and get me. When the car pulls up, I’m both disappointed and relieved to see that he sent a driver; disappointed because I really could have used his comfort right now, but also relieved because I know that he would probably yell at me for what I did at Nancy’s party.I don’t know whether Nancy will forgive me this time. To be honest, I don’t even know if I can forgive myself after what I did. If I don’t get my anger under control, there’s no telling what I’ll do the next time someone makes me mad.As Atwood’s driver takes me home, I can’t stop thinking about my vision of Beck. Sure, she’s been a bitch to me, but that doesn’t mean that I want her to get hurt. Now that I know that I can change the outcome of my visions, I know that I have to find a way to stop Earl from hurting her. But how?The castle is quiet when I return. As I pass by Atwood’s study, I can see a light coming from underneath the door. Part of
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 35 - Emerging
AtwoodI should have suspected that Ruby would break in here after her questions. I should have put a better lock on the door, or posted a guard here to keep her from getting in. I shouldn’t have had my head buried so deep in my work that I wouldn’t notice this sort of thing.“Are you satisfied with your snooping?” I ask, my voice shaking as I try my best to stay calm and not yell at the girl simply for being overly curious.She gulps. She looks terrified.“I-I’m sorry,” she says, backing away from me as I step into the room. “I-It’s just that… Alice and the Queen keep talking about Luna, and… I keep having these visions…”Of course it’s her visions. Of course, of all things, her visions would show her this, would show her the one thing that I would have preferred to keep a secret forever.She knocks into a table as she backs away, knocking it and the items on it to the floor. The small hand mirror -- Luna’s hand mirror -- clatters onto the stone floor and shatters. Ruby gasps and sto
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 36 - Edith
RubyDays go by after I broke into Luna’s room. I barely see Atwood the entire time; he pretty much stays in his study all day these days, and when I do see him, neither of us puts in much of an effort to talk to one another. I’m still angry about the way that he yelled at me, and how he won’t just tell me about Luna or this supposed “curse”. How am I supposed to be his mate if he won’t just talk to me?To make matters worse, Nancy won’t talk to me at school anymore. The days go by slowly without her there to make me laugh, and word quickly gets around about my violent outburst at her sleepover, so everyone is avoiding me and talking about me behind my back.I’ve never felt more alone.My etiquette lessons with the Queen only become more strict and more frequent now, too, but at this point I’ve simply run out of energy to stand up for myself. I think Alice and the Queen are pleased with themselves: they know they’ve broken me by now.I get home from school one day and head straight to
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 37 - A thong
RubyAs I glumly enter the front doors of the school the next morning, all of the students in the entryway lift their heads to stare; but they’re not staring at me.They’re staring at Edith.Perfect Edith, in her perfect uniform, with her perfect hair and perfect smile. Within minutes, Miss Perfect is surrounded by curious students who are complimenting her hair, asking what her perfume scent is, and asking where she’s from. Aside from Nancy, I never had such treatment on my day of transfer. And now, even Nancy won’t talk to me.With my head hanging low, I leave Edith with her new gaggle of friends and walk over to my locker. Nancy is already at her locker, but when she sees me coming she slams it with a “Hmph” and struts off.“Hey Ruby,” Edith says, walking up to me while I rifle through my locker for my textbooks.I stop what I’m doing, pause for a moment as I try to collect myself before I have another blow up, and turn toward her with a fake smile on my face.“Yes, Edith?”She hol
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The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 100: What’s in Store
RubyThe feast goes on for some time longer, well into the night. Some of the guests begin to go home, leaving gifts for Atwood and I, while many others stay and continue to party.“Feasts are always like this,” Atwood says, swirling his champagne around in his glass with one hand and poking at his cake with his fork with his other hand. “On a few different occasions, we’ve had to escort partygoers out of the castle because they simply wanted to party all night.”“It’s refreshing,” I respond, taking a bite of cake. The cake is moist and not too sweet, with buttercream frosting. It practically melts in my mouth. “I’m happy to see people dancing and having fun, especially after what happened at my birthday party.”Admittedly, however, I’m starting to get tired -- and Atwood can tell.“Come on,” he says, standing from his chair and holding his hand out for me. “Let’s sneak out the back here. Everyone is too drunk to notice. I’m getting tired of all the noise.”I nod and take his hand. We
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 99: The Royal Wedding
RubyBefore I know it, I’m standing behind the church doors, waiting to walk down the aisle.The morning feels like a blur. As I stand here now, my heart racing with butterflies in my stomach, everything else feels so small and insignificant. All that matters is right now; the flowers in my hand, the veil on my head, the sweat on my palms.It’s just like my vision.I know that when those doors open, Atwood will be standing at the end of the aisle. Nancy and the other bridesmaids -- Beck is one of them, surprisingly enough -- will be standing off to one side, while Atwood’s groomsmen stand on the other side. The priest will be smiling at me, his robes a vibrant combination of red and gold.Tamara will walk ahead of me, tossing flower petals down at my feet while the wedding guests look at their new Princess in awe.And at the back of the room, the shadow figure will be there. It’s always there, watching, lurking.I will ignore it.I will marry Atwood and pretend that the shadow figure
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 98: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
RubyAtwood says I was sleepwalking last night.I think it was something else.All I remember is waking up in his arms on the forest floor, but my body feels… strange. Like there’s a bit of me missing inside.After I woke up in Atwood’s arms last night, he insisted that we return to the castle in case I start sleepwalking again. I obliged and let him carry me back. He took me straight to my room and didn’t leave my side for the rest of the night, which would normally make me happy, but it only solidified my suspicions that something else happened in the woods.I can’t explain it, nor can I understand it, and I don’t want to try right now. The wedding is today and I just want to focus on that, focus on joy. Perhaps it is just my nerves and it will dissipate after the wedding. Regardless, I’ll take Nancy’s advice and see a therapist. Maybe that will help.Polly comes and wakes me up in the morning. I’m surprised to see that Atwood is already gone, no doubt preparing for the wedding and
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 97: Sleepwalker
AtwoodThe last time I slept in the forest, I was just a pup.It was a warm summer night. Lawrence, Freya, Paul, Kayne, and I had spent the day playing and hunting in the woods where it was cooler beneath the shade of the trees. Eventually, we became so exhausted from our day of playing “grown ups” that we all flopped down in a big pile beneath the pine trees, still in our wolf forms, and fell asleep right then and there.I remember that I had felt so much bliss that night. It was as though sleeping outside was in my nature. Even when my mother punished me the next morning for not coming home that night and forbade me from ever sleeping in the woods like a “scoundrel” again, I never regretted it.Now, as Ruby suggests that we sleep in the woods tonight after our hunt and our animalistic sex, I feel the same bliss that I felt that summer night all those years ago.And my mother isn’t here to tell me I’m not allowed.Ruby and I shift back into our wolf forms and find a good spot beneath
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 96: A Guilty Conscience
RubyLater in the evening, after we’ve spent a few hours just walking around the castle grounds and enjoying the nice weather, Nancy goes home.Even though it’s much warmer outside than it has been in a while, my face and hands are freezing from spending the day outside so I decide to head in to warm up. I can still hear a bit of commotion in the ballroom as the wedding reception is still being set up when I get inside.My stomach starts to growl and I realize I haven’t eaten all day, so I head toward the kitchen to find something to eat.When I enter the kitchen, Atwood is already there. He’s sitting at the counter with two plates of food.“Perfect timing,” he says with a smile, gesturing to the other plate. “I figured you’d be hungry after trekking around the castle grounds with Nancy all day.”I can’t help but smile at Atwood’s kindness as I take a seat at the kitchen island. The food is still steaming, fresh off the stove. It’s a simple plate of vegetables, chicken, and rice, but
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 95: The Bear Hostage
Ruby’s POV“I’ll always protect you, no matter what.”Atwood’s words stick with me, even after he leaves me to go back to the wedding preparations.I know that he’ll always protect me, but how can he protect me against something that may not even exist? How can he protect me against something that has manifested in my own mind; a token of my own guilt and fear?When Atwood leaves me to go back to the ballroom, I still feel as though there are eyes staring at the back of my head. When I turn around, however, there is nothing there.Just then, the sun comes out from behind a cloud and shines through the small stained glass window in the alcove. It casts deep red and purples on the castle floor, and for a moment, I don’t feel so afraid.Maybe I just need to go outside. Maybe some fresh air will help.I run back up the stairs, taking two at a time, and head back to my room to get changed. I send a quick text to Nancy to ask her to meet up at the castle, to which she immediately replies wi
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 94: Wedding Preparations
RubyAfter we finished cleaning up Vivian’s room last night, Atwood told me that he had a lot of work to do for preparations since the wedding is almost here, so I decided to sleep on my own. My bed felt cold and empty without him there, but I knew that it would only be forty-eight hours until we’re officially married and will share a bed every night.I’m awoken this morning by Polly knocking on my door. She has a sweet smile on her round face; a massive improvement from Alice’s mean mug waking me up every morning.“Good morning, Princess,” she says with a curtsy, entering my room and opening the curtains to let the morning sun in. “I hope you don’t mind, but Lycan Atwood has asked me to wake you early this morning.”“What for?” I ask groggily, sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes.“Your wedding dress fitting, of course!”My eyes widen and my heart begins to flutter. It hasn’t fully hit me yet that our wedding will be so soon, but hearing that my wedding dress will be fitted today fi
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 93: Acceptance
RubyWhen I was first whisked away from my home to live in the castle and be Atwood’s bride, I thought I would hate it. And truthfully, I did hate it for a long time.But now, as I wake up in the warmth of his hidden bedroom, with his scent filling my senses and the feeling of his lips on my skin, I’m glad that I’m here. Fate has a strange way of making things happen.“Good morning, little bird,” Atwood whispers in between gentle kisses on my chest and neck.Last night, we made love for the first time. I thought that we would follow tradition and wait until marriage, but like so many other things that have happened over the past few months, the outcome was different from my expectations.For the first time in months, I feel peace. Alice, Edith, and the Queen are gone; I’ll be marrying Atwood in just a couple of days; and I’ll return to school in a few weeks as the Princess of the Lycan Kingdom.While the whereabouts of the Queen and her minions are still unknown and there is always th
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 92: The Room
AtwoodAs soon as Ruby says that she experienced the void, memories of my time there come rushing back. More than anything else, memories of what Vivian said to me there flood back into my mind.“Visit my room more... Turn on the lights and light the fire... Let both yourself and Ruby enjoy the room, rather than shutting it off from the world. Most importantly, uncover my painting; I like to watch from there.”Her words ring in my head as though she’s speaking them to me in this moment, but I know that’s not the case. Vivian has finally crossed over to an eternity of peace. From now on, she only exists in the snow that falls from the sky.I’m okay with that. I think Ruby is, too.I stand up and start getting dressed.“Get dressed,” I tell Ruby. “I want to show you something.She throws on her robe and follows me out of my hidden room, taking my hand as we exit the study into the cold, dark corridor. Everyone else in the castle, aside from the guards who are watching the entrances lik
