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##Chapter 82: The Swan Artifact
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2023-02-21 17:59:06Related chapters
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 83: The Mystery Buyer
RubyThe rest of the week goes by all too slowly now that I’m done with school and the mystery of the curse has been solved. Most days, I just read in the library or walk around the castle grounds. Atwood walks with me sometimes, but he’s also been busy with the herbalist.Apparently, the person who bought the toxic ashroot came back after Atwood had the herbalist destroy all of the plants. We were right in assuming it was Alice; there’s no doubt in my mind that the Queen conspired with her as well.We’ll find out tomorrow, because tomorrow is Christmas.Now that it’s Christmas Eve, it’s time for the auction. I decided not to tell Atwood about the brooch after all since he’s been so busy that I don’t want to bother him with such silly things, but I did tell him that I’ll be going to the auction.“Sure,” he says to my request to go to the auction. He’s sitting at his desk, holding a packet of papers in his hand. From afar I can see lots of handwritten notes, with photographs of various
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 84: The Confession
Ruby“Wake up, Ruby! Wake up! It’s Christmas!”I’m awoken by Tamara, who is jumping excitedly on my bed. When she sees my eyes open, she falls down to her knees next to me, giggling.“Merry Christmas, little rabbit,” I say, reaching out and pinching her cheek.The sun has just barely begun to rise, but Tamara is already wide awake, excited to see what gifts Santa Claus has left for us. Soon, I think she’ll stop believing in Santa, although admittedly I dread those days. Seeing the magic in my little sister’s eyes every Christmas, even when we were living in poverty and I could barely afford a single gift, has been what has made me still love Christmas even after our parents died.My mind flickers briefly to the brooch and the oddly familiar mystery buyer from last night, but I decide not to let it bother me. It’s just a brooch; sure, it was a valuable artifact, but it’s okay. I know that my mother wouldn’t have been upset with me for selling it like I did. I know that she would unders
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 85: Christmas Morning
Ruby Although the confrontation with the Queen and Edith put a bit of a damper on the morning, Atwood, Tamara and I decide not to let it bother us for the rest of the day.“Go on,” Atwood says, taking a seat on the sofa with a fresh cup of coffee. “Tamara, I think Santa left you quite a few presents last night.”Tamara’s little face lights up with the prospect of opening presents. She looks at me questioningly first, then starts to dig in when I give her an approving nod.While Tamara opens her presents happily, I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit down on the sofa next to Atwood. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives me a little squeeze.“I’m sorry it had to be on Christmas,” he says to me through our mindlink.“It’s alright,” I respond. “I just hope that they don’t try to do anything horrible later on.”Atwood squeezes my shoulder again apologetically and leans over to me, planting a kiss on the top of my head. As I nuzzle down into his chest, I feel very small and safe in
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 86: Where is My Wolf?
RubyI have some trouble falling asleep due to the anxiety from everything, but when I finally do eventually drift off, I find myself in a peaceful dream.In my dream, the castle is quiet and bright. I’m walking through the corridors wearing a white dress that flows behind me; is this my wedding dress?Ahead of me, there is a familiar figure. It’s Atwood, dressed in a tuxedo with his hair down, turned away from me. As I approach, he turns around.“You look beautiful,” he says with a gentle smile, and holds his hand out. When I take his hand, he pulls me close. Suddenly we’re dancing again, just like we did at my birthday party, spinning around the corridor as he leads me like I’m a feather in his hands. At the end, he dips me and leans in for a kiss.I close my eyes to kiss him, parting my lips slightly as I await his kiss, but it never comes. When I open my eyes, the castle is dark and empty. Atwood is gone.“Atwood?” I call out.There is no answer. I start to panic as I realize that
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 87: Ambushed
AtwoodI’m awoken in the morning by the sound of screaming.“Lycan Atwood! Lycan Atwood!”The young maid, Polly, bursts into my study. I fell asleep sometime in the early morning on the couch after a sleepless night caused by worrying about the situation with my mother and wondering where Alice is.“Lycan Atwood!” Polly pants as I groggily sit up, rubbing my eyes. “I’m so sorry to wake you…”“It’s alright, Polly,” I respond. The mousey brown-haired young maid looks completely frazzled as though she just saw a ghost. “What’s wrong?” I ask.“It’s Miss Ruby,” she says breathlessly, pointing in the direction of Ruby’s room. “She’s fallen ill.”My mind suddenly begins to race with a million things. Did Alice return in the night? What did she do to my Ruby?I abruptly stand to go to Ruby, but am stopped by a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness. My brain feels foggy, as though I’m in a waking dream. Am I still asleep?“Sir?” Polly’s voice fades in and out of reality, her usual sweet and chip
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 88: Help From the Other Side
RubyI feel like a prisoner in my own body.Is this how Vivian felt?Alone, helpless, and weak?No matter how hard I look for my wolf, she’s not there. It’s as though she never existed. Without her, I feel even weaker than I did before she emerged. The Bears will kill me and I won’t be able to stand a chance, not without my wolf.I want to kick and scream and claw and bite when the Bear rips me out of Atwood’s arms, but I can’t. My limbs feel like rope, as though all of the muscles have fallen limp and useless.I know what the Bear is going to do to me. I can see the glint of the blade in his hand, the droplets of red on the tip where he cut his finger. The snow falls on the blood, turning it from a bright red to a muddy pink color.He’s going to drive the blade into my heart. The pink blood drips on my chin as he holds the knife above me.“No!”Atwood’s screams echo through the blizzard like the distant howling of the wind. He’s close; I can still smell him. Using what little strengt
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 89: Wings
RubyIt all happens so fast. Time has continued moving; the wind has begun to blow again, the snow is falling, and the sound of Atwood’s screaming echoes in my ears like a siren. It all feels too quick now after spending what felt like an eternity in a state of limbo.The Bear brings his knife down, but misses my heart. The blade slices in between my lower ribs with a searing pain, but I feel stronger now. My wolf has returned, but something else is there, too. Something new.I kick the Bear off of me, taking him by surprise as he’s launched backwards. The other Bear simply looks on in astonishment as he stands over Atwood, still holding him down.“Get her!” screams the first Bear, scrambling back to his feet as I slowly stand and pull the knife out of my side.“Ruby, Run!” Atwood calls.The two Bears advance on me, shifting from their human forms into their Bear forms. I feel small beside them in my human form, but something in me tells me not to shift yet. Instead, I take Atwood’s a
Last Updated : 2023-02-21The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 90: Vengeance
Atwood“It’s the Queen and the others,” the guard says. “Sometime during the night, they escaped. They’re nowhere to be found.”Of course they did.“What happened to the guards posted at their doors?” I ask.“They were injected with some sort of sleeping potion,” he replies. “They were found sleeping on the floor when the new guards went to relieve them this morning.”My head throbs a bit at this information. Clearly, Alice was going around with all sorts of potions last night. I had always thought that she was loyal to the crown; just not my crown, I suppose.“So be it,” I respond, tightening my grip on Ruby’s small hand. “Send out a search party once the blizzard clears. For now, just make sure that they can’t get into the castle. If they’re found, arrest them immediately.“Yes, sir,” the guard replies with a bow.With a sigh, I open the parlor door and pull Ruby inside.Polly has already lit the fire and set up the blankets and hot drinks for us, so all Ruby and I have to do is sin
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
