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#Chapter 99: The Royal Wedding
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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 1 -Runaway
RubyMy heart pounds as I run through the dark forest.I’m not even nineteen yet, still a high school student, but I’ve been forced into a marriage to a man who I haven’t even met, and I don’t even know why.The Lycan King.When the King’s men came to me two weeks ago and told me that I would be married to the King, I was completely distraught.Any girl would feel lucky to be married to the Lycan King, although I feel far from lucky. In my eyes, the Lycan King is a brute, an unlovable man whose family only ever cared for killing all of the hybrids such as myself.The Lycan King is rumored to be ferocious, caring only for his arrogant family’s obsession with purebred wolves and killing all hybrids. I knew as soon as I saw my vision that if I were to marry the Lycan King, he would put my darling sister, Tamara, to death, because she is too human to survive in the werewolf world. There’s no way I could be this brute’s mate, either; we’ve never even met, and everyone knows that wolves ne
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 2 - Curse
Atwood I find it amusing that I didn’t even have to track down my runaway bride. She simply climbed into my car, completely oblivious to the fact that I am the man she was running away from. I admit, I didn’t believe her story about her grandmother. Her story about the wedding gown and the wild dog was laughable, but I kept it to myself. It wouldn’t hurt to take her where she wanted to go just in case she was telling the truth about her sick grandmother, and besides, we could catch her if she tried to make another run for it. I could catch her. Hunting women down is the last thing I want to be doing, truly. I mean Ruby no harm, even though she unknowingly said some awful, untrue things about me in the car. In time, she’ll learn that those things aren’t true. I’m not like my parents. Still, I have no choice but to marry this girl. She’s barely nineteen, three years younger than me, but it’s fate. All of this mess started about a month ago. I was sitting in my study one morning
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 3 - Go to Palace
Ruby I look up at the King and his henchmen. The King shakes his head and gestures for his henchman to rise, then hands Tamara to him. I begin to cry out in protest, but the King simply raises a finger to me and I am silent. “Your sister will be taken care of,” he says softly, then walks toward me. I scamper back further into the corner and raise my hands in defense, prepared for the King to beat me. But he doesn’t. He crouches in front of me and gently takes my hands in his, pressing my fingers to his lips and looking into my eyes. I can feel myself tingle at his touch, but I am unsure as to whether the sensation is fear or excitement -- perhaps both. Although I would let him kiss my hands forever, there is still a part of me that fears him, so I pull my hands away. The King drops his gaze, looking defeated. “Your sister,” he says after a pause. “She smells like a human.” “She’s a hybrid, isn’t she?” he asks. I nod nervously. His scent, so close to me now, fills my senses and
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 4 - Nightmare
My dreams are full of horrible visions. Blood covers my body. Tamara’s sweet little face in front of me, so close I can reach out and touch her cheek, but then suddenly she is far away at the end of a long, dark tunnel. “Ruby!” she screams. “Help me!” I’m running through the tunnel as fast as I can, but she only gets further away until I can no longer see or hear her. I spin around, looking for an exit, but when I turn around, there is only a brick wall behind me. I turn back toward where I was just facing. Another wall. I’m trapped. The walls come closer, squeezing me. I look up to see the moon far above me. It’s full, and I can hear the howls of wolves. I try to howl too, to call for them to help, but no sound comes out. When I wake, I’m covered in sweat. Where am I? The room is dark, lit only by a couple of candles on the bedside table and a fire burning in the fireplace. I can smell Atwood. A cold hand touches my forehead, and I flinch. As I flinch, pain shoots up my
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 5 - Princess
Ruby I’m not sure exactly what time it is when I wake up, but when I finally come out of my dreams and open my eyes, there is sun shining through the large window to Atwood’s chambers. I yawn and roll over to shield my eyes from the bright sun and stretch, extending my arms above my head and flexing my feet. As my half-open eyes scan the room looking for a clock, I finally find one sitting on the mantle and jump up when I see that it’s already three o’clock. How did I sleep for so long? I throw the covers off of myself and swing my legs over the side of the bed, jumping up. I’m not sure why I feel the need to rush myself out of bed, but truth be told, I feel great There is a soft, purple velvet housecoat laid across the chaise waiting for me. I slip it on over my nightgown -- not taking a moment to consider how Atwood or whoever else had been able to even put me in a nightgown when I was passed out -- and take a second to relish in the feeling of the luxurious fabric on my skin.
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 6 - Celebration
RubyAtwood doesn’t reply.There is a knock on the door, and Atwood calls for them to come in.An older, middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper gray hair pulled back into a tight bun walks in as though she is floating. She wears a long gray dress with a pristine white apron, and shiny black shoes. Atwood turns to look at her and she bows to him, then nods politely to me.“Ah, perfect timing,” Atwood says with an uncharacteristic smile. “Ruby, this is the head housekeeper, Alice. She will be entirely responsible for you and your sister. Whatever you need, just ask Alice.”Alice nods her head to me again. “Lovely to meet you, Miss Ruby,” she says.There is something cold and calculating about this woman. Despite her cordial appearance in front of Atwood, I can tell that she doesn’t like me. There’s a hint of anger and coldness behind her eyes as she looks at me.Once we’ve finished our greetings, Atwood dismisses me to go and prepare to see the doctor.I meander back toward Atwood’s cha
The Lycan's Runaway Bride #Chapter 7 - Time for school
Ruby At 6:00 a.m. sharp, I am awoken by the curtains being opened to let in bright sunlight that hurts my eyes. I groan and squint against the harsh light, dazed by this unceremonious wake up call. “Time for school, princess,” Alice says, yanking the blankets off of me to expose my body to the chill of the room. I groan again and shiver, sitting up. “You couldn’t be a little nicer about it?” I grumble under my breath as Alice scurries off to the closet. I’m not sure if she heard me, but if she did, she’s not showing it. I look over to Atwood’s side of the bed to see that he isn’t there. In fact, the blankets on his side are still tucked in neatly, as though he never got in bed in the first place. Come to think of it, I don’t remember him ever coming to bed last night. Maybe he’s busy, or waiting for my birthday to become close to me again. Part of me worries that maybe he’s waiting to see if my wolf will appear before he consummates our relationship. What would happen if my wolf n
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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
