Chapter 10

Ruby made her way over to Howlers and walked to Ryker’s front door. She was thankful that Deacon handed over his key to get into the club but said to not tell Ryker that it was him who gave it to her. Apparently, Ryker only trusted Tasha and Deacon with the keys. She hesitated when her fist hovered over his door.

What the hell should I even say?

I’m going to assume “take me now” is out of the question?

Yes, yes it is.

What about I need you?

I am not going to say that either!

Then I am out of ideas.

As Ruby argued with Scarlett, Ryker yanked the door open. His nostrils flared, and he growled as he came face to face with her. Ruby jumped back having no idea if this was out of rage or something else. He took in a deep breath, and she could see that his pupils widened, aroused by what he smelled. She locked eyes with him and felt heat radiating between them. It felt so welcoming that she nearly took a step forward and hoped he would embrace her. His eyes felt as though they could see into her soul, and they softened enough to make her feel as though he wanted her soul to reach out to his. Time went by slowly as if they were the only two people in the world, and the world was waiting for them to take the next steps closer to each other.

Just before she took that step, Ryker cleared his throat, and the moment shattered in a million pieces. She almost heard them hit the floor inside her, and a whimper escaped her. If Ryker heard it, he ignored it.

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to talk to you about last night and make sure we clear the air before my shift tonight. You are my boss, and I did not want tension in our working relationship.”

Ryker leaned his shoulder against the inside of the door frame with a smirk that made him so damn sexy it made it hard for her to not tell him so. “Boy, did your parents train you well. That was a pretty diplomatic speech.”

Ruby growled, there went the political approach. “Are we cool or not? Because I can try to find another job here or move on to another pack if I must.”

Ryker rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Keep your panties from twisting. You can stay here.”

“If I am going to stay here, then you need to stop with the territorial bullshit. You got me?” Ruby poked him in his chest with her claw out. She made sure to use just enough pressure to ensure he knew they were out.

“My wolf and I have come to an agreement that it will not happen again.”

Ruby’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. He was fighting his wolf last night? That could explain it.

Mmmm his wolf? Is it just as sexy as he is? If so, can he break that agreement so we can lick him?

You are seriously no help.

“Oh?” was the only thing she could muster.

“It’s pretty simple. We haven’t been laid in a while. We both have recognized how attractive you are. However, you are a liability that I can not afford.”

You know that million of pieces? Yeah. It just doubled.

Ruby had to stop herself from whining. Even though they stood there, trying to show one another that they were not interested in each other, the heat remained. That welcoming hug of a feeling was within arm’s reach…but his words had popped any notion she had in that moment’s bubble.

“Good to know, so you keep your horny ass from scaring off any chance I have at a normal life here, and I will do the same.”

The hood of her robe was down, so when she turned quickly to leave, her hair whipped around for dramatic effect. Ruby paid attention to how hard her feet were connecting with the stairs as she made her exit, so he would not catch that his words got to her. As much as she did not want them to, they did.

Well, it’s better this way. He is the most frustrating male I have been around, and I do not need that kind of headache right now!

* * *

Four weeks later…

In the past few weeks,Ryker had kept his word. He did not interfere with her life at all. Not once did he step into the club while she worked. There were a few males who had flirted with her, and he did not come charging in acting as though she was his mate and needed to defend her. It was peaceful, and she got the hang of bartending in their time apart. Though, some small part of her missed him because she also had not seen Ryker since that day of their settlement.

Tasha and Deacon helped Ruby put small amounts of money away so she could save up for her own apartment. They never made her feel as though she was a burden in their home, but instead had integrated her so much into their daily life that it seemed as though Ruby had lived with them her whole life. There were days she left the apartment to give them their alone time and even went out on a date with a wolf from within the town. It did not pan out because he told her he was too intimidated by her Alpha aura, which Ruby chalked up as an excuse because she thought the date was overall boring, and he just didn’t want a second one, which was fine with her. Not only was the date boring, but he bored her as well. The only thing he could talk about was his old pack and how much he missed being in it. He was thrown out for hitting on a she-wolf that the Alpha had his eye on. It was a few years ago, and Ruby had a sickening feeling it was Tyson before she transferred there.

It was the Full Moon that night, and Ruby was excited for it. Tasha explained that Howlers was always closed on Full Moon nights so everyone could do what they needed that night. This time, the town was throwing a party. The center of the town had posts that they added string lights around to give it a more celebratory feel. Ryker had speakers from the club set up so they could play music to dance to. Local restaurants had their chefs cook up some amazing food for everyone to eat. Then, when the moon was at its peak, some would choose to go on a run.

At night, the town always felt a little chilly. It was a perfect excuse to use the red robe that she had fallen in love with wearing. It was somehow breezy during the day and cool at night. Almost as if the temperature matched what she needed it to be when she wore it.

Or I just have lost my damn mind.

The party started around seven, which Ruby thought was weird. It was the same time that the club opened. Ruby asked Tasha if Ryker was behind this gathering as they got ready in Tasha’s bedroom, and her answer somehow disappointed her.

“Nah. There are a few owners of the shops in the town that get together from time-to-time to be like the town’s council. Every few months, they do something like this to make us more of a community.”

“Oh. Almost seemed like something Ryker would do since he was basically behind creating this community.”

“Well, I will say that I think he convinced those guys to come together for things like this.”

Ruby wanted to ask more questions, but then Deacon burst into the room. “Are you girls still getting ready?! Come on! I’ve been standing by the door for the last ten minutes!”

Tasha threw a shoe at him, missed, and hit the wall. “You know us she-wolves like to spend time on ourselves so we look our best! Go wait at the party if you are that impatient!”

“You know, I like it when you get all fiery.”

Tasha threw the other shoe at him just as he quickly vanished back out the door and closed it. “I swear, I will figure out why I actually love him.”

Ruby smiled at her friend. “Uuuum, because he’s funny? Because he treats you the same way he did the day you two met? Just to name a couple as to why I would love him.”

“Hmmph. I thought girlfriends chose their friends’ sides!”

Ruby looked around the room as if she was searching for something. “Do you see anyone else in here? Because I don’t.”

Tasha’s hands were on her hips now. “What’s your point?”

“I’ll choose your side when others are around but tell your ass you are wrong when we are alone.”

“Damn it. You just have to go and argue with logic.”

“Only way to win.”

Ruby and Tasha finished getting ready, which only took them another ten minutes, and then made their way down to the party. Deacon decided to be a little chivalric and wait for them outside their apartment building. He held out his arm to walk her down, and Tasha gladly looped hers around his.

I want what they have. They are so cute together.

In time.

What makes you so sure?

I can feel it.

Ruby could hear the music from the apartment, and now it almost seemed as though they were inside Howlers instead of in the middle of the forest. People were dancing in the middle of the town, others were at the tables off to the side that were filled with food. Ruby could not tell what was there because of how large the crowd was around it. There were some tables with chairs set up as well, which Deacon explained were from the restaurants so no one had to stand all night. Looking around, Ruby realized that this community had to be around two hundred people.

I had no idea there were that many people here. “Are there people from out of town here?”

“Nope. During these nights, Ryker’s Witch strengthens the barrier she has in place so no one can find it. It gives us some privacy and no issues during stuff like this.”

This Witch seems to help out Ryker a lot.

I wonder why.

Tasha did not waste a second before she pulled Ruby onto the makeshift dance floor. Ruby laughed when they collided into a few people as Tasha dragged her into the middle and began to jump and move her body to the music like she was getting lost in it. Ruby tried to apologize to those they bumped into, but none of them seemed to care. They, too, were losing themselves in the moment. Ruby shrugged her shoulders and decided to do the same.

It did not take long before Ruby found herself closing her eyes and allowing her body to move freely along with the beat. Tasha had pulled her into a duo kind of dance that Ruby messed up entirely because she was not used to dancing like that. Tasha laughed and didn’t seem to mind, but tried to teach her how to dance along with her instead. Not too much time had passed before Ruby got the hang of it and had the biggest smile on her face as she did.

I feel… free.

Someone came up behind her and wrapped their arm around her waist. They pressed themselves against her and timed their body with her own so they could sway to the rhythm in tandem. At first, Ruby wanted to round on the person and give them a piece of her mind, but the person behind her felt familiar, and a sense of calm washed over her. It continued until her body began to feel so hot that she wondered if she could possibly have a fever. It was not common for Shifters to get sick, but there were times their bodies would rise to those kinds of temperatures if something was wrong.

Ruby chose to ignore it and continued to dance with the person’s arm still wrapped around her. As she tried to turn around to see who it was, a male in front of her began to growl.

“Let her go.”

Un-fucking-believable!

Her eyes connected with the male in front of her, and it was not who she expected. As a matter of fact, Ruby had no idea who the male was that was growling at her and the guy dancing behind her.

“Excuse me?”

This shit just keeps getting better.

Ryker… it was Ryker behind her.

“I said let her go!” The tall, lanky, brown-haired, green-eyed wolf snarled.

“She is not yours, so I don’t have to do shit.”

“She is not yours either!” Another male growled that was not the original male that growled at Ryker.

Ruby’s head was beginning to spin. A chorus of males began to snarl and growl at Ryker to let her go. Ryker did the opposite and held onto her tighter as he yelled at the wolves to back off. Ruby’s body temperature seemed to spike as her heart rate picked up. The world started to spin, and her knees got weak.

“Shit. DEACON!”

Before Ruby knew it, she felt herself not on her feet anymore. Her body felt weightless as two powerful arms wrapped around her. Cold wind hit her, and it made goosebumps spread across her skin that made it feel as if she were on fire.

What is going on?

Her wolf gave her no answers. Instead, she could feel Scarlett in her mind, pacing and panting.

Ruby then felt her body connect to something soft… fabric. It was fabric that she felt on her back. Why do I feel fabric?

Her vision cleared, and she looked around the room. Every inch of the room was decorated in earth tones except for the carpet. There was warm white that brightened the room. The walls were a tan color, but the ceiling was white as well. Her eyes spun around once more, making her dizzy. Ruby blinked a few times, and her vision cleared again.

“What’s happening to me?”

“You don’t know?” Ryker sounded flabbergasted.

Ruby tried to scoff at his question, but it came out garbled. “Why would I ask if I knew?”

“Ruby, you’re going into heat.”

Well… as if my life couldn’t have gotten any more complicated.