Chapter 54

Ruby

The image of Edith holding Atwood on the floor of his study gives me so much pain that I’m unable to sleep all night. I spend the night tossing and turning, and by morning my lips are all chewed up from nervously biting them.

I wish I could just not care about Atwood so that these things don’t pain me as much. I want to be able to run away with Cayden and not think about Atwood anymore, but now I’m not so sure if it’s even possible.

If only I had someone to talk to.

The sun is still rising when I get out of bed and shower to make myself feel better. My body is sore from the sleepless night of tossing and turning, but the warm water helps.

“What should I do?” I ask my wolf as the hot water runs over my body.

“I say to hell with the curse,” she replies instantly. “Let me mark Atwood. He’ll never look at another woman again once I mark him.”

I shake my head with a sigh.

Clearly, my wolf is too preoccupied with the thought of marking Atwood to be a good voice of reason.

Nancy would know what to say. She always knows what to say. But… She’s still mad at me. And she’s friends with Edith now, so I’m sure she hates me even more.

I get out of the shower, wrap myself in a towel, and go over to the mirror. It’s all fogged up with steam, so I use my hand to wipe it away so I can see.

My attractive reflection stares back at me with my glowing red eyes. It still feels strange to see myself looking so grown up and beautiful all of a sudden, but I guess I’ll get used to it eventually.

As I dry my hair and brush my teeth, a thought comes to mind. It’s crazy, but I feel as though I have to do this. I really need someone to talk to right now, but in order for that to happen I need to do something that is potentially stupid and pointless.

I’m going to go to Nancy’s house and try to get her to hear my point of view.

I quickly get dressed in my usual plain clothes: a gray sweater, black jeans, and boots. It’s cold outside, so I throw on my coat, hat, and scarf as well before heading out.

“Where do you think you’re going, Princess?” a guard says to me as I approach the back entrance. I bite my lip, hesitating for a moment before turning around and coming up with an excuse on the fly.

“I… I ordered a Christmas gift for Atwood and it’s waiting for me at the post office in Greenwood,” I answer nervously.

The guard comes closer, folding his arms across his chest. “You know that Lycan Atwood doesn’t want anyone leaving the castle until the storm passes. Can’t you have it delivered here?”

I look down at the floor for a moment, my heart racing, then back up to him and shake my head. “No,” I answer. “They won’t deliver it here. I tried. Something to do with the weight of the package.”

“So we’ll send someone to pick it up for you,” the guard replies with a smirk.

Panicking, I instinctively use my dazing ability to get the guard to let me go. “Oh, please,” I say, batting my eyelashes. As I do, his pupils dilate, then begin to swirl. “I really need the fresh air. I’ll only be gone for an hour, and besides, it’s bright and sunny out! No snow has fallen in hours.”

The guard looks slightly confused and doesn’t answer for several moments. Just as I’m beginning to think that he’s going to see through my daze and send me back upstairs, he shrugs and nods.

“Alright,” he says, “but only an hour. I don’t want Lycan Atwood to skin me alive if you’re late.”

“I promise,” I respond with a grin before turning and bolting out the door, across the lawn, and down the road.

Nancy’s house isn’t too far from here, and the walk is nice in the fresh morning air. No one has used the roads due to Atwood’s curfew, so the snow is still clean and untouched. The sound of my boots crunching in the snow fills my ears, and the sight of my foggy breath in the cold air makes me smile a bit. I think that my wolf likes the snow too, since she’s quiet and content for the first time in several days. I imagine that her white fur would help us to blend into the snow better, like an Arctic fox.

I cut through the woods to Nancy’s house, keeping alert for any Bears all the while, and arrive at her house from the back. Her bedroom window overlooks the backyard. I can’t see her light on, though, nor can I see her moving about inside.

Deciding to just try and knock on the front door, I start to walk around the house to the other side.

However, as I round the corner, I bump into someone.

“Ruby? What the hell are you doing here?!” Nancy shouts. She looks both surprised and angry. If it weren’t for her puffy blue snowsuit, I would actually find her intimidating. She looks like a little blue snowball.

“Nancy,” I say breathlessly, “I really need to talk to you.”

Nancy folds her arms and turns her nose up at me, looking away with a “Hmph”.

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” she says, turning on her heel and heading back toward her house. “Please just go away.”

Tears well up in my eyes as I watch her walk away.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” my wolf says. “Woman up already!”

My wolf is right. I need to stand up to Nancy and tell her everything.

“Nancy, wait!” I say, jogging to catch up with her. She quickens her pace, but her puffy snowsuit slows her down and I’m able to catch up easily.

“Nancy, please,” I say, grabbing her shoulder. She flinches away from me, her eyes wide, and whirls around to face me.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” she shouts, stamping her foot in the snow and balling her fists up at her sides. Despite her huffing and puffing, however, I stand my ground.

“Just listen to me!” I shout back, stamping my foot and balling up my fists as well. A tear escapes and rolls down my cheek. Nancy’s face softens a bit when she sees the tear. She bites her lip as it begins to quiver; I can tell she’s about to cry, too.

“Oh, Ruby,” she says, suddenly beginning to sob. She leaps onto me, hugging me. Her bodyweight throws me to the ground, but I simply hug her back as we lay in the snow. For a while, we just cry together before Nancy sits up on her knees and wipes her eyes with her mitten.

“Why did you come here?” she says with a sniff. “It’s dangerous.”

I sit up on my palms, not caring that my bare hands are pressing into the cold snow, and shrug.

“I had to see you,” I answer. “You’re my best friend. And I…” I pause, biting my chapped lip. “I need your help.”

Nancy sniffs again and stands, then holds out her hand and helps me to my feet as well. “Help with what?” she says.

“It’s a long story,” I answer.

Once I’ve finished explaining everything to Nancy, from my failed wedding with Atwood to the curse, Nancy’s round eyes are wide with a combination of awe and shock.

“So, you see that I need to escape,” I say quietly, looking down at my feet. My toes are cold inside my boots, which have become wet from standing in the snow. It’s almost been an hour and I’ll need to get back to the castle soon.

Nancy says nothing for a while. I can tell that she’s thinking.

“Alright,” she says finally. “I’ll help you. But under one condition.”

“Anything,” I say, reaching out to hold my friend’s hand.

“Promise you’ll stay in touch with me, even when you run away,” she says. “Edith is a fake bitch. You’re the only real best friend I’ve ever had.”

I squeeze Nancy’s hand and smile at her.

“I promise.”

I manage to return to the castle just before the hour is up. The same guard from before is still standing at his post.

“Got your package?” he says.

I shake my head. “It wasn’t there,” I answer with a shrug, walking away before the guard can question me any further.

I climb the stairs two at a time to go back to my room. As I reach the landing, however, I’m greeted by Atwood.

He looks awful. His face is gaunt and his dark circles are even darker than before, as though his orange eyes are swimming in two black pools. His hair is disheveled and he’s shivering slightly as though he’s cold, even though it’s rather warm in here.

“Ruby,” he says, looking me up and down. “Where did you go?”

I don’t want to answer him, not after what happened last night, but I decide that it’s better to avoid causing more drama.

“Just for a walk,” I answer quietly, avoiding eye contact. He doesn’t seem to notice my lie and instead crosses over to me.

Before I can move away, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug.

Despite his weakness, his scent is still the same and his hug is tighter than ever. Instinctively, I lean into his hug, inhaling his scent and relaxing into him before realizing what’s happening and pushing away. When I do that, he looks hurt and confused but says nothing.

Without another word, he turns solemnly and walks back to his study.

“He’s even weaker now,” my wolf says warily, raising her hackles. “Something is very wrong.”