Chapter 84

Ruby

“Come on out,” the herbalist says, suddenly looking far more sinister than the woman we met in the shop earlier as she brandishes a gardening trowel in her free hand. “Give me the phone.”

I want to tell her to buzz off, but she’s got my friend, so I comply and slide the phone across the floor to her. She catches it under her foot and crouches to pick it up, yanking poor Nancy along with her, then stands and opens it.

“Password,” she says.

“Um… 9286,” I answer, gulping as I watch her open the phone. She taps on the screen a few times, likely deleting the picture, then pockets the phone.

“The police are already on their way,” she growls, gesturing for me to come away from the door. “If either of you says anything about that room, just know this: I could mix up a poison with that plant that would kill you instantly.” She shoves Nancy over toward the corner and lets go of her collar, leaving her whimpering there as she marches over to the hidden door and shuts it, then shoves the table back in its place with a huff.

Once the herbalist has finished covering up the evidence, she grabs both Nancy and I and yanks us up the stairs to the shop. The customers are gone and the “open” sign has been turned around so that no more customers come in.

After what feels like an eternity, two police officers walk up the steps to the shop and knock on the door, peering through the glass. The herbalist scurries over to the door and lets them in.

“Oh, thank goodness, officers!” she says, clasping her hands together. The two officers step into the shop and eye Nancy and I suspiciously while the herbalist blubbers her convoluted version of the truth.

“They came in earlier, demanding information regarding one of the forbidden plants!” she says, laying on the act as thickly as she possibly can. “Then, when I asked them to leave, they came back and broke into my shop!”

One of the officers looks around at the shop. “Did they steal anything, ma’am?” he says.

“Well, no,” the herbalist says, “but they were about to. I found them in my basement, where I grow much of my stock that you see here, and they were snooping around looking for valuable plants.”

The police officer who was looking around frowns and walks over to Nancy and I.

“I’m going to have to ask you young ladies to come down to the station with me,” he says. “We don’t take theft lightly here in Greenwood.”

Nancy and I comply and follow the police officer out of the shop while the other stays to take the herbalist’s statement. We look at each other nervously while he puts us in the back seat, then drives away.

Once we’re at the station, the officer allows us each to make one phone call. Nancy calls her mother, while I dial Atwood and nervously bite my cheek as I wait for him to pick up.

“Lycan Atwood speaking,” he says in a professional tone. I pause, half considering just hanging up, but then gather my courage and speak.

“It’s Ruby,” I say into the phone, my voice shaking. “I… I got into some trouble in Greenwood.”

“Where are you?” he says.

“I’m at the police station.”

Atwood hangs up without saying anything else.

Soon enough, Nancy’s mother shows up and she’s absolutely fuming.

“Nancy Greene!” she bellows as she storms into the police station. I’ve never met Nancy’s mother before, but they look almost identical. The only difference is that her mother’s hair has gone a bit gray and she’s a bit more chubby than Nancy.

There are already tears streaked down Nancy’s face. “I’m sorry!” she whines. “It’s not what you th-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” her mother says, grabbing her arm and yanking her toward the door. She stops when she sees me and scowls. “Is this your little friend?” she says. “The one who keeps getting you into trouble over and over again?”

“Mom, it wasn’t Ruby’s fault,” Nancy says, tugging her arm away from her mother.

Her mother ignores her and steps closer to me, jabbing her finger into my chest. “Stay away from my daughter,” she growls. “I don’t care if you’re the Princess-to-be. You’re nothing but a troublemaker!”

With that, Nancy and her mother both leave the police station. Nancy gives me one last apologetic look over her shoulder before they disappear.

Almost as soon as Nancy and her mother leave, another familiar face steps into the police station.

“Lycan Atwood!” the receptionist says, standing from her chair and bowing respectfully. “What brings you here?”

Atwood looks over to the bench where I’m seated, then back at the receptionist. “I’m picking up my mate,” he says.

The receptionist glances at me, looking surprised, then nods and smiles at Atwood. “She’s all set to go,” she says. “The shop owner decided not to press charges.”

With a nod at the receptionist, Atwood turns back to me with a deep frown drawn across his face. He doesn’t need to say anything for me to know that he wants me to follow as he turns on his heel and strides out of the police station.

Once we’re back in the car, he grips the steering wheel tightly so as to control his anger.

“What on earth did you do?” he says quietly, through his teeth.

“It’s a long story,” I answer, “but you have to promise that you’ll hear me out. Completely.”

I’m not sure where my sudden confidence came from, but it seems to please Atwood. He removes his hands from the steering wheel, keeping the car in park.

“Go on,” he says.

“It’s about the curse,” I say. “The curse that killed Vivian.”

“Who told you that?” Atwood interrupts suddenly, but then calms himself again. “Sorry. Continue.”

“Well… I was doing some digging, now that we’re mates. I know I should’ve told you, but… I didn’t think that you would want me looking into it. That day that you found Nancy and I at her house, I hadn’t been there to comfort her about her boyfriend. We had gone to Marisa Elder’s hut.”

“Marisa Elder?” Atwood says, his eyes widening. “Why her?”

“I thought that maybe she could help us figure out some kind of cure for the curse. But when we got there, she was dead. Someone had stabbed her through the heart. We thought that that was the end of it, but it wasn’t. We went back later and found some letters. Letters from Vivian. I did some more digging, and… I found a letter from Marisa in Vivian’s room, behind her painting. Marisa said that there was no curse, that it was a plant that was killing her. Someone was poisoning her.”

Judging from the shocked expression on Atwood’s face and the calmness of my wolf inside of me, I know now that Atwood was never to blame for the poison.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he says quietly.

I look down at my lap and fiddle with my fingers as embarrassment sets in. “I thought maybe it was you,” I say. “I didn’t know if I could trust you, or anyone for that matter. But I know now. And I’m sorry.”

Atwood reaches out and gently brushes my cheek with his forefinger.

“I’d never do anything to hurt you,” he says softly. When I look at him, there is pain on his face. I feel terrible for not trusting him, but at the same time I know that he doesn’t blame me for it.

He moves his hand beneath my chin and tilts my face so that he can kiss me gently on the lips, then pulls away again.

“Tell me more,” he says. “Tell me what you did to get arrested.”

I tell him about the herbalist’s shop, about how we originally only went there to ask questions but that the herbalist was suspicious. I tell him how we broke into the back of the shop -- he seems disappointed in me for doing that, but doesn’t say anything just yet -- and I tell him about the secret room with all of the toxic ashroot.

When I’ve finished explaining everything, Atwood merely nods and puts the car in drive.

“Are we going back to the castle?” I say.

“No,” Atwood says. “Not yet. We’re going back to that shop.”