Chapter 12

I fell out of the bed, scrambling away from him as he advanced. I was nearly at the door when he grabbed me by the back of the neck. lifting me off the floor without effort. His breath was hot and sour in my face, “You are nothing without me, you cannot defy me.”

He raised his other arm to strike me. But then the door burst open, and I was dropped as the sound of Lucas’s scream pierced my ears.

“Don’t you touch her, you bastard!” My father’s voice echoed.

He was standing above me, a candelabra waving frantically in his hands. Lucas held his hands up to his temple, where a streak of blood was beginning to trickle down his cheeks.

“I’ve always liked you, Lucas, but take one more step and I won’t hesitate to strike you again.”

Lucas lowered his arms, a smile breaking across his face. “This is all a misunderstanding. You must have seen the news reports by now, you know how delicate your daughter is. I–”

“No!” My father countered, his eyes blazing with fury. “No more, I don’t care what show you’ve put on all these years.”

“We’ll tell them the truth. The reporters, the media, the Lycan King if we have to.” My mother’s small voice struck me like a bolt of lightning as she emerged from behind my father. She looked so small, but so brave.

Lucas looked between the two of them, dumbstruck that I could have possibly turned them away from him. He exhaled, clearly frustrated and hiding it very poorly like a man who wasn’t used to losing. “I won’t intrude on your hospitality any longer, then.”

He looked at me and reached out to take my hand, leaning down like he meant to kiss it. My father levelled the candelabra at him, and Lucas hesitated before retracting.

My mother was shaking as he left, but rushed immediately to my side to check for injuries. Tears rushed out of my eyes as I pulled her into an embrace, my father petting my hair like he had when I was a child.

“I’m so sorry Ruby,” my mother whispered, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “You’re safe now, go to sleep. Your father and I will make sure he’s gone.”

I crawled back under my sheets, pulling the covers up to my chin as my father turned out the light. I listened intently to their footsteps retreating down the hall, wishing someone could stay with me. The room seemed darker somehow, despite the glittering glass from the broken window scattered over the carpet.

I sighed into the pillow, willing myself to sleep. The breeze blew quietly, creaking the tree branches outside. They began to crunch more loudly, and finally a heavy set of feet landed on the balcony. I gasped, snatching the clock off my nightstand and ready to fight. “Get out! Or I’ll–”

Caleb emerged into a beam of moonlight, his sharp features illuminated by the glow. “Now how is that a welcome for your future husband?”

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted, throwing my nightstand clock at his head. He ducked it, letting it soar through the open window into the yard. “I thought you were Lucas again!”

“Lucas again?” He asked, and I gestured to the broken glass, realization dawning over his face. “Persistant guy.”

I groaned. “It’s three o’clock in the morning, Caleb. What do you want?”

“Joseph just had a delivery of jewelry made, and I thought this would match your dress nicely.” He pulled out a small, velvet box, hinged on one side. Unclasping the front, he opened it to reveal a glittering necklace, full of brilliant, scarlet stones and speckled with a geometric series of diamonds.

It was beautiful, but instantly made me sick. I knew this necklace, and I knew its history, even if Caleb didn’t. I saw this before in a past life, when on my birthday my husband Lucas had gifted this same piece of jewelry to his mistress Harper.

I tried desperately to push the painful memories away, but the horrible sinking feeling in my stomach wouldn’t fade. It couldn’t be simple coincidence, could it? Am I changing the future by making new choices?

“Oh,” I said, “it’s beautiful. Um, thank you.” I said, reluctant to touch the gems.

I looked up to meet Caleb’s eyes, watching my expressions. “You know you can say ‘no thanks’ if you don’t like it” He said, raising an eyebrow slightly amused. “If it is going to belong to you, it needs to be something you genuinely like, not just something I want to see you wear.”

“Really?” I asked, touched.

“Yes, really. Goddess, Lucas has been a piece of shit to you, hasn’t he?”

“His behavior made it a lot easier to call off the wedding,” I replied, sitting down on the bed.

Caleb eyed me from a few steps away, but made no move to join me. “So, my little scheming bride, what do you have in mind for our public debut?”

I pulled out my notebooks from under my bed, and laid out the work I had done earlier that day to create a perfect, irreproachable public image for the two of us. We would need to convince the citizens of the Lycan Kingdom that my reasons for backing out of the marriage with Lucas were legitimate, and in order to do that, we had to concoct a believable story about how we met and fell in love.

It wouldn’t be enough to explain the horrible things Lucas did and was intending to do, we needed to also be sympathetic to the common people. Otherwise, we were a pair of crazy nobodies attempting to slander and destroy a beloved royal figure.

I giggled, imagining the look on Lucas’s face when he watched the interviews we were going to give. Oh I would relish it.

“The most important part of that plan,” I said, focusing more intensely on Caleb, “is that you change your public image.”

“What’s wrong with my public image?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and affecting a pouting expression.

“Nothing, except for the fact that everyone within our borders is convinced you are a heartless womanizer who can’t be bothered about the state of the Kingdom.”

“Harsh,” he said, amused.

“But true,” I countered, “none of our plans will work without the support of the press and the media behind us. The Lycan King has already announced that he plans to have Lucas named as the heir apparent in six months, but only if he manages to secure the signatures and approval of the Alphas and the Council of Elders.”

Caleb nodded seriously.

“So, our task is to get those powers that be over to our side, and ensure that we have their support before that goes to a vote. The only way to do that is to prove we are legitimate candidates for the throne, and we can’t do that if the Alphas and Elders think you’re too busy fucking.”

Caleb groaned, “If only I were.”

I ignored the comment and continued, “As long as you don’t have six other girls hanging off of you, I think we’ll be heading in the right direction.”

“Six? That’s low for me,” he chuckled, tilting his head to one side.

“It’s still much higher than the national average,” I responded, sinking a little further into the mattress.

“Fair enough. I’ll let you get some sleep, Ruby, you look exhausted, especially after that little visit from Lucas”

I nodded, looking around at the broken glass covering the floor like bits of frost. I’d have to have that cleaned in the morning before I stepped on it.

“Ruby,” Caleb said before he stepped out the door. “What would you think about coming to live with me?”

I stared at him for a moment, stunned by the question. ”What?”

“It’s not safe for you here, you must be able to see that. Your parents’ have no security as it is, and they don’t have the budget to hire any more. If you’re going to continue living here, who knows when Lucas will try to break in next, or send any of his henchmen to scare you or worse.”

I hadn’t thought about this, but he was right. Lucas appearing in my room had been a shock, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Still, living with Caleb? Even if I wasn’t in love with him, I doubted I could put up with the sounds I’m sure came from his chambers every night.

“I’m not sure I want to fight my way past your fan club every morning just to get to breakfast,” I said. “I doubt I have much in common with the Caleb-obsessed women you keep around.”

He laughed at that, leaning in mischieviously. “So, you do care if I’m with other women?”