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
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
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.
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
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
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
RubyFollowing my strange interaction with Atwood, I scurry back to my room with the letter still in my pocket and lock the door behind me, letting out a sigh of relief and leaning my weight against the door once I’m safely inside.There are a million things running through my head right now. Who poisoned Vivian? Was it the Queen, Alice, or even Atwood? And why did they poison her? My heart aches for poor Vivian, who had to take a special tincture from the witch to end her suffering.That leads me to my next thought: who killed Marisa Elder, and why did they steal her body and burn her house down? I find it hard to believe that it was simply the Bears who did all of this; sure, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they killed her and burned her house, but why steal the body? Why release the birds that were caged in her hut?None of it makes sense.My hands are shaking as I pull out my phone. It’s well past midnight, but I have to call Nancy and tell her what’s happening. Right now, sh
RubyNancy’s eyes widen as I tell her my theory.“You really think she has something to do with it?” she says. “But she’s so nice!”“I know,” I answer, glancing over my shoulder at the herbalist’s shop. “Lately, I’m learning that the nicest people can sometimes be the ones we should worry about.”Nancy sticks her hands in her pocket and chews her lip. “So what should we do?” she asks. “It’s not like she’s gonna give us any information, and she already kicked us out.”“There has to be a back entrance to her shop,” I reply thoughtfully, twisting a strand of my long, white hair around my finger.. It’s officially grown to its original length before I cut it, thanks to the hormones that have been coursing through my body since my wolf emerged. I’d forgotten how much I missed my long hair.Suddenly, my stomach starts to growl, making me realize just how hungry I am.“Let’s get something to eat first,” I say, grabbing Nancy’s hand and pulling her toward the cafe. “I can’t eat anything at the