#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