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#Chapter 68: Christmas Shopping
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The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 69: Bearer of Bad News
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
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 70: Ashes to Ashes
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
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 71: Ruby’s Confession
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
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 72: Sneaking Around
RubyAtwood’s words stick with me for the next few days.“I’m going to marry you first,” he had said.Before, when I had first been whisked away to the castle, the thought of marrying Atwood practically made me sick. Now, it only makes me excited.I don’t see Atwood much over the week, partly because I’m too busy with my midterm exams but also partly because he’s busy working to protect the hybrid villages and preparing a memorial for my village. I appreciate that he’s communicating with me on the matter; feeling connected to his work also makes me feel connected to him.It’s Friday now, and I’ve just completed my last midterm exam. Just one more semester and I will be finished with school entirely. I wonder if Atwood plans on marrying me once I’ve graduated.Once I’ve finished my exam, I hand it to the professor and head out of the classroom to go gather my things.Nancy is waiting for me at our lockers. She’s been living at home again this week since her parents have returned, but w
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 73: A Vision Come True
RubyNancy parks the car along the side of the road and we start to make our way to the warehouse.“You okay?” she says as she walks alongside me. She’s wearing a tight, pink mini dress with a fluffy pink coat and a pair of heels. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”There’s a line of students waiting to be let in by the security guards. Nancy and I get our places in line before I turn toward her and tell her the truth about the location.“Remember the vision I told you about Beck and Earl?” I whisper so that others can’t hear. Nancy nods, concern and recognition flashing across her face as she starts to realize what I’m about to say. “This is the place.”Her eyes widen. “Are you sure?” she says. I can only nod solemnly.As much as I would like to enjoy the party, I know that I have to keep an eye on Beck and Earl. Maybe I can stop the events from happening, just like with some of my other visions. I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to do that when Beck just refuses to listen to me.
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 74: Stand Together
RubyThey emerge from the dancing crowd, sweat clinging to their foreheads and their faces rosy from the alcohol.Earl holds Beck’s hand as he pulls her behind him. He’s headed for the back rooms.They don’t see me as I quietly follow behind, keeping a safe distance. Beck stumbles a bit, but Earl catches her and holds her tightly around her waist as he weaves through the throng of people to take her somewhere secluded. As I watch her head loll over onto his shoulder, I know that he’s already given her the drug that he’s going to use to take advantage of her.In a way, as I follow them, I feel as though I’m following myself from that night during the student council party when Donna and Earl drugged me and took lewd photographs of me. I had nearly forgotten about it now that so much has happened since then, but now it all comes flooding back like a nightmare, and sobers me.Earl guides Beck past a group of people who are having a rowdy drinking contest, then down a narrow hallway.“Hey
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 75: Edith’s Ultimatum
RubyEdith is sitting in the armchair by my fireplace when I enter my room.“Well well,” she says, uncrossing her legs. She stands and saunters toward me with her arms folded across her chest. “Look who came home.”“Oh, piss off, Edith,” I growl, tossing my boots down on the floor. “I’m not in the mood.”“Aw, but you sure were in the mood to sneak out of the castle against your mate’s wishes, weren’t you?” she says. She crosses over to my vanity, picking up my tube of lipstick and turning it over in her hand, then smirks and pockets it.“Yeah, I was,” I say, brushing past her and heading into the bathroom to take my makeup off. “And I’m glad that I went, because a friend needed me,” I say.It feels strange to call Beck my friend, but I mean it. If I hadn’t been there at the party to stop Earl from going further and revealing his disgusting behavior to the entire school, who knows how many more girls he would have hurt in the future.“Well, let’s just say this,” Edith says condescendin
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 76: One Side of the Story
RubyWhen I get back to the castle, I quickly grab a few slices of toast from the kitchen before retreating to my room to read the letters.Thankfully, the letters are still stashed safely away underneath my mattress. As I sit down on my bed and take a bite of my breakfast before untying the bundle of letters, I’m glad that Edith didn’t find them last night when she was in my room.The letters are old and yellowed, some wrinkled with water damage; but they’re still readable.I unfold the first letter and begin to read.“To M:I’ve fallen ill. The doctor doesn’t understand my symptoms. I’ve lost contact with my wolf, and I feel weak and vulnerable. Every day my fever grows worse, and my body aches. I can barely hold my pen as I write this…I don’t think this is any ordinary sickness. The Queen warned me of a curse last night. Could this be the curse that befell the Lycan King’s wife during the final summit when she ate the berries?Please let me know if you have any information that pe
Last Updated : 2023-02-21
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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
