RubyAtwood doesn’t wake for the rest of the night. Doctor Yang says that he’ll still need some time to recover, but I don’t mind. At least now I know that I don’t need to worry about him.The events over the last 48 hours have completely exhausted me. As soon as Doctor Yang gives me the green light to sleep once he’s finished monitoring my concussion, I practically pass out immediately and fall into a deep sleep.While I’m sleeping, I start to have incredibly vivid dreams. I’ve never been someone who has particularly vivid dreams, but I feel as though something has changed within me now that I’ve marked Atwood.The dream starts off in the infirmary. I sit up from my hospital bed and look around to see that the infirmary is bright with sunlight. All of the other beds are gone. I’m completely alone.All of the aches and pains in my body are nonexistent now. Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I stand slowly and walk toward the window as though I’m in a trance.Outside, it’s brig
AtwoodWith every minute spent after Ruby marked me, I can feel my mind clearing up and my symptoms fading. My body still feels painful and weak, but mentally I feel even more clear than before my condition got bad.I just wish that my mother would believe that.When the sun rises, I feel incredibly energetic after spending two days resting in a hospital bed. Ruby is still sleeping on my chest, and though it pains me to leave her, I have things that I need to tend to in my kingdom. The attack from the Bears no doubt did a number on my castle, and I will need to address the deaths of some of the party guests and take care of their families.I gently slide out from under Ruby and leave her sleeping in the hospital bed while I dress. She’s still soundly asleep, even snoring softly, as I kiss her on the top of her head and exit the infirmary.There is no doubt in my mind that my servants have worked hard to clean up the castle after the attack, because the once-bloodied corridors are now
RubyI’m not sure when I fall asleep in Atwood’s study, but at some point during the night I feel myself being gently lifted out of the plush armchair that I was reading in and being carried to my room. I don’t need to open my eyes to know that it’s Atwood who is carrying me; his scent fills my body with warmth and his strong arms hold me tightly against his chest.He lays me down in my bed and gently pulls the covers up around me, then plants a soft kiss on my forehead and quietly leaves the room. I find it a little strange that he still isn’t sleeping in the same bed as me now that we’ve marked each other, but it doesn’t worry me anymore like it used to. Perhaps he’s simply busy or not ready to share a bed yet. Truthfully, I’m not sure if I’m completely ready, either.My dreams aren’t nearly as vivid as they were before, which only further leads me to believe that that “dream” I had wasn’t a dream at all, but rather some sort of vision or prophecy.You are so much more than you real
RubyA couple of days pass, and soon the castle is quiet once more. The survivors of the attack have all been treated for their wounds and sent home. The damage from the attack has been repaired by the expert builders that Atwood hired, and everything feels somewhat normal again.On the third day, Alice wakes me up bright and early. She’s even grumpier than usual, but seems to be restraining herself. Perhaps Atwood had words with her about how she treats me?“Atwood has requested that you return to school today,” she says, rifling through my closet for my uniform. I’m glad that I tossed my soot-covered clothes in the fire last night, because it would be difficult to explain myself if Alice found them.She returns with my uniform with a huff and tosses it down on my bed as I get up and head to the bathroom.“You know,” she says from the other room as I brush my teeth, “you should really be grateful that the King is being so kind as to let you return to school. If it were up to me, you’
RubyI’m just waking up on Saturday morning and have just gotten out of the shower when there’s a knock at my door.“Just a minute!” I call out. I know it’s Atwood because I can smell his scent through the door, and frantically put on my robe before answering.He looks me up and down. I’m almost positive that I can see a bit of an erection form in his pants when he looks at me, but I pretend that I don’t see it.“Get dressed,” he says, holding out a box with a ribbon. “I’m taking you out.”I take the box from him and take the lid off to reveal a beautiful red dress.“Where are we going?” I ask.“Shopping,” he says. “Just you and me.”Before I can say anything else, Atwood turns on his heel and walks off -- likely to hide his erection, which makes me giggle a bit. I head back into my room and pull the dress out of the box.It’s a short dress with long sleeves and a black collar. When I put it on, the skirt swishes beautifully and it matches my hair well. I put it on with black tights a
AtwoodThe weekend passes quietly. Ruby seems to have enjoyed our outing, although it also seems that something has been on her mind since we split up in Greenwood. I won’t press for information, though; if there’s one thing I’ve learned recently, it’s to let Ruby figure certain things out on her own time.I spend most of the weekend working, although I do make an effort to spend a little bit of time with Ruby each day. I want to be near her and make her feel comfortable, so I try to dine with her at least once a day. If there wasn’t a blizzard outside, I would ask her to go on walks through the woods, perhaps even in our wolf forms; but it’s too dangerous, since the Bears are far more powerful during the harsh winter. Still, it seems that she is growing more comfortable with me, since she’s been spending more time reading by the fireplace in my study while I work.It’s Monday now, and Ruby is at school.I’m in my study, finally nearly caught up on all of the paperwork that I fell beh
Ruby“Keep your coat on, Ruby,” Atwood says as he solemnly descends the stairs. “We have to go somewhere.”The grim look on Atwood’s face makes my heart start to race. He comes down the stairs and grabs his coat off the hook.“Where are we going?” I ask as we step back out into the cold and head toward the car.Atwood simply opens the passenger side door silently, shutting it behind me once I get in. He gets in on the driver’s side and pulls out of the driveway.“Atwood?” I ask as we start to drive down the road.He grips the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white.His demeanor is frightening me at this point, but I decide not to ask any more questions and just let him drive in silence.Soon enough, as we turn down the winding roads with tall pine trees on either side, I start to realize where we’re going.We’re headed toward my village.My mind starts racing a million miles a minute. Did he find out about my plans to escape with Cayden? Is he going to confront the both
Ruby“It’s all my fault,” I whisper to myself as I slow down, panting from my sprint through the woods.I shift back into my human form and sit down on a boulder, pulling my knees up to my chest and burying my face in them.Atwood catches up to me. He shifts as well and quietly sits down next to me.For a long while, neither of us says anything. We just sit next to one another on the rock in silence, hardly moving.When I finally look up, I see that it’s begun to snow again.“They herded them all in there like cattle,” I whisper as I look up at the snowy trees.Atwood reaches out and rubs my back. I lean into him, letting him comfort me. His scent fills me with a bit of strength, but it’s not enough.“If it wasn’t for my stupid birthday party…”“No,” Atwood says firmly. “The Bears would have done this regardless of your birthday. You had nothing to do with it.”“I could have at least tried to protect them if I was here,” I say.Atwood sighs. “There’s no way you could’ve known. And you