Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
She makes a shuddering noise. “Okay. I trust you. But I don’t understand why this is so important.”
Without replying, I open the door. A man stands there, around Ramsey’s age, with a small scar on his chin. “You’re Ruby.”
I nod, stepping back. The man walks into the room and quickly shuts the door behind him, his eyes scanning over the apartment. His expression is passive, almost serenely calm. He’s wearing a black jacket and cargo pants, looking ready for action.
“What’s this about?” Mom says, her voice shuddering. “Why do you have to handle this now?”
“My name’s Liam, ma’am. I’m not sure how much your daughter told you. But the fact is, neither of you are safe.”
“Not... safe.” Mom looks at me, her eyes becoming even wider pits, with even more fear in them. “Not safe, Ruby? What’s happening here? I thought it was about the gym.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I panicked and lied.” My voice cracks. “Something happened when I was out. A man tried to attack me. And somebody...somebody saved me, stopped him.”
I look at Liam into his calm face. “Was it Ramsey? Am I crazy?”
“You’re not crazy,” he says calmly. “What you saw, it was real. But I can’t comment further than that. It’s not my place.”
A shimmer moves through my body, pulsing as I think about his answer.
He didn’t say no. He said he couldn’t tell me.
Is Ramsey the wolf?
It’s the only way it can make sense, these feelings inside of me, of making love with Ramsey and gently laying my head on the wolf’s heaving silver-furred shoulder. They have to be the same.
Making love...
A moment later, Master Pete’s in my head.
Only a slut thinks of sex, no matter what terms are used.
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Ramsey?”
“And the wolf,” I say, looking closely at Liam, seeing if he gives anything away.
“The wolf?” Mom says.
I wince. I was too busy trying to feel Liam out. My mouth is doing funny things, and my thoughts are still too chaotic.
And now I’ve looked at Mom instead of Liam and lost my chance.
“Pack quickly,” Liam says, striding over to the window. “They’re out there.”
“Who’s out there?” Mom says.
“Hunters,” Liam says, his back turned. “That one was inexperienced. But there will be more. Men who know what they’re doing. We need to get you out of the city, both of you, to keep you safe.”
“To Ramsey?” I ask.
“Yes,” Liam says. “To Ramsey.”
“Ruby....”
I walk over to Mom, placing my hands on her shoulders. Her chest rises and falls quickly, sweat sliding down her forehead, her eyes twitching wider every few moments as though in time with her heartbeat.
“I’m keeping us safe,” I tell her. “I’m going to explain everything. Really. But I can’t, not right now.”
The word hunters bounces around my mind.
“Mom, I’m sorry...but we have to run again. Just like before. Just like the other times, except this time, we’re not alone. We have help.”
“We don’t know this man,” Mom whispers.
“He knows Ramsey.”
“The man you’ve known for a week?”
“Mom, please,” I say, struggling to hold back more tears. “Just trust me. That’s all I can say right now. Trust me and know I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“To us,” she says, brushing a tear from my cheek after a moment. “Okay, Ruby. Let’s go.”
Liam steps forward. “Do you need help packing?”
Mom sighs, nodding to the suitcases in the corner. “Most of my things are still in there. Ruby might, though.”
“I’m fine,” I tell him, walking toward the bedroom.
“Just be fast,” Liam says. “I don’t want this to get even more out of hand. Fucking hunters. Fuck...I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Mom waves a hand. “I have a feeling there are bigger things to worry about now.”
I go into the bedroom, close the door behind me and lean against it for a moment.
The wolf is mine, Ramsey is mine, the wolf is mine.
My mind flips over, and my belly does the same, nerves trying to stop me from moving, but then I start quickly packing my things and stuffing clothes into a bag.
I almost laugh as I pause, wondering what Ramsey would like more, then I keep going.
My bed sits in the corner, small and sad-looking, with the sheets pressed into place. Part of me wonders if this is the moment, poof, and I’ll be sitting up, morning sunlight filtering through the window.
A knock at the door quiets my thoughts.
“We need to go. Now.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ramsey
I sit in the meditation room, my eyes closed, trying to focus on my breathing and my breathing alone.
My wolf batters at the walls of my resolve, howling to be set free, gnashing its teeth inside of me when I think about the alleyway.
Her.
The room of the safe house is scent-proof, closing me in with the candles, nothing else but earthy tones in the air. That’s all I can think about, the earth and the scent, or I’ll snap again.