Chapter 23

The morning sun beams illuminated the inside of the room just enough through the black out curtains that Ruby stirred awake. Her body contorted in weird ways as she stretched herself out. Her arm landed on the other side of the bed, and it was empty. Ruby looked over and did not find Ryker beside her. She felt under the thick comforter and noticed that the area where Ryker should be was still slightly warm.

Hmm. I wonder what got him out of bed already.

Ruby rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Some of her body felt sore from the night before, but she smiled at the memories. Ryker had been insatiable the night before and caused them to have several rounds of exquisite sex before exhaustion had taken over. Ruby remembered falling asleep with his arms tightly wrapped around her. There was not much time before she fell asleep for her to savor the moment. She showered again, since the shower they took last night together had no meaning with them having sex a few more times afterwards. When she was finished getting herself clean, she walked to her old room for clothes. The newly formed mate bond told her that Ryker was still not in the apartment. Another benefit to a mate bond was the possibility of sharing a mindlink like a pack bond. Ruby scrunched her face at the reminder that Ryker admitted to having a small pack this entire time but tried to shove it away. He at least admitted it and planned to add her in.

Ryker? She reached out hoping that the bond would allow them to connect.

Ruby?

Holy shit. We do have a connection. Didn’t think that would actually work.

Yeah, me too. Did you need something?

Where are you at?

Walking the barrier.

Need help?

No, not right now. I think I felt something on the other side this morning. Deacon was already out here, so I had him come with me.

Ruby wanted to roll her eyes, but he at least wasn’t trying to keep her from helping him this time. Okay. Be safe.

Ruby pulled on some clothes and thought of Tasha. Since she moved out into Ryker’s place, she hadn’t been able to see much of her friend. Ruby thought that since Deacon was off with Ryker, she should go over and see if Tasha needed any help with turning Ruby’s old room into a nursery.

As Ruby walked out of the club and into town toward Tasha’s, she passed a few people heading to the shops. Each person bowed their head as if addressing the Alpha. Ruby has been here for over a month, and this never happened.

In Rogue territory, no one had to bow to an Alpha since they were outside of the pack laws and politics. It didn’t matter that she was most likely more dominant than the wolves here either. Without the pack connections, most wolves tend to ignore those feelings. That’s what made Rogue life easy. The hard part was surviving without the pack’s security and cities for jobs and food.

Do they feel the mate bond to Ryker? Does the whole town actually see him as their Alpha and now me as their She-Alpha?

That might be the case.

When Ruby arrived at Tasha’s apartment, Tasha opened the door and hugged her as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. She didn’t mention to Ryker that she was headed here, so she had no idea how Tasha would have known.

“How did you know I was here?”

Tasha laughed, “pregnancy. This pup is making my nose so damn strong I can smell everything in this town!”

“That sounds incredibly annoying. That means you smell when people haven’t showered in a while?”

“Don’t even get me started.”

Ruby laughed while she walked into her old room where the bed was dismantled and a bassinet rested inside the opened closet door. The room was a mess, so she was glad that she had come over to help. Tasha told her how she planned to donate the bed to a family that was looking into buying one across town. Deacon was in the middle of taking it apart when he felt someone on the other side of the barrier.

Ruby was confused at the mention of Deacon feeling that way with the barrier’s magic. “I thought only Ryker had access to the barrier?”

“Technically, yes. But Ryker had to connect someone else to the barrier in case…” Tasha paused as if to choose her words carefully, “well, in case Tyson managed to find him and kill him. The barrier needs someone tied to it to remain intact. If he dies, anyone can find this place.”

“So what is the difference between their connections?”

“Ryker has full control over the barrier’s magic. Who to add to it, who to revoke access to it, and even who can remember that this place is here. He can also feel when someone is too close to it for comfort. Deacon can only feel if someone is near.”

Ruby opened her mouth to say something else that was on her mind about the whole hidden pack bond, but Tasha’s eyes had found the mate mark on Ruby’s neck and cut her off.

“When the hell were you going to tell me you two are officially mated!”

Ruby’s mouth was held open, unsure of what to say next.

“You bitch! The first thing you try talking about is the stupid barrier! NOT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE NOW MATED TO RYKER!”

Ruby laughed so hard she started to hold her sides. She didn’t know why she found Tasha’s freak out so funny, but she did. “Deacon didn’t tell you?”

Tasha’s eyes were so wide, Ruby thought they were going to pop out of her head. “That asshole knew you two were mates and didn’t tell me?!”

Ruby laughed even harder as Tasha continued yelling about them being deceitful and not worthy of being her mate and friend for keeping things like this from her. Then it hit Ruby why Deacon may not have told Tasha. Ruby asked him to keep it to himself for the time being. Deacon kept his word and never told anyone, not even Tasha.

Good man.

Tasha made Ruby go into all the nitty gritty details. From the moment they realized they were mates into last night. Ruby tried to breeze over all the details from Ryker and her marking each other and the sex, but Tasha wasn’t having it. Ruby smiled and struggled in her mind at first to share everything. After what happened with Mack, she was a little afraid to divulge and create a stronger bond with the she-wolf. Then Scarlett reminded her that not everyone was going to backstab Ruby like Mack did. After a few minutes of Tasha begging, Ruby’s struggle was whittling down into nothing.

I can trust her… she did help save my life.

When Ruby’s story was over, Tasha danced with joy. She was apparently rooting for Ryker and Ruby to get together and was excited that her instincts were correct. As they talked, Ruby put all of the pieces of the bed into a pile, then helped push the mattress against the wall so they could walk through the room without tripping over it. Once that was done, Tasha mentioned taking the bed to the new owners today.

Ruby was lifting all of the wood pieces to the structure, but they were rather heavy. Tasha mentioned that they were oak, which was a very dense wood, and Ruby was thanking the Goddess for their supernatural level of strength at the moment. She was able to carry all of the pieces of wood with only a minor amount of struggle. Tasha made a fuss that Ruby was carrying it instead of her, but Ruby argued that she didn’t need to be carrying such heavy weight while pregnant.

“I’m not an invalid! I can do this myself.”

“I’m not saying you can’t! I am saying you shouldn’t.”

“Just because a baby is up in here,” Tasha made an exaggerated gesture around her belly, “doesn’t mean I can’t carry that!”

“No. It means you shouldn’t carry it! And because of a baby being up in there,” Ruby exaggerated Tasha’s belly in the same way, “everyone is going to start wanting to do things for you! So get used to it.”

“Maybe these wolves need to keep their noses to themselves!”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Every wolf can sense that a she-wolf is pregnant at a certain point! Even without the baby bump. It’s not like they’re trying to be rude. They’re trying to help.”

Tasha growled as Ruby carried the pieces of wood down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Ryker’s voice filled her head.

Red, I need you to come out to the entrance. His voice was calm, but there was some edge to it that she could not figure out.

Inside the barrier?

There was a pause.

No. Outside of it.

Ruby looked behind her at Tasha. “Do you know what is going on?”

Tasha shook her head, “no. Why?”

“Ryker needs me to come out to the outside of the barrier.”

Tasha’s eyes widened a little but seemed to stop herself and change her face to become blank. “Do you want-”

“Absolutely not. You stay here.”

Ruby set down the boards on the ground and started to walk towards the entrance. She stopped and turned to face Tasha “before you argue, we don’t know what is waiting on the opposite side. Tyson could be on the other side. None of us will ever risk you and the baby.”

Tasha growled, “damn dominant wolves and their bossy bullshit.” Then she ripped open the door to her building, and Ruby could hear the stomping through the cement.

Ruby couldn’t help herself and laughed. As she walked toward the entrance, Scarlett’s presence bubbled underneath her skin.

I’m ready if you need me.

Do you think what is waiting for us on the other side is dangerous?

I can’t tell. What is the mate bond telling you? Rainer is giving me nothing.

Ruby tried to pull on the mate bond for a reading. It did not surprise her that the mate bond revealed nothing. Ryker was stoic and not showing any emotion.

Nothing.

I think Tasha was onto something when saying dominant wolves were bullshit.

It did not take Ruby long to get to the entrance. Before she stepped through the barrier, she took in a few deep breaths to settle her nerves. Scarlett remained just under her skin to shift at a moment’s notice.

Stepping through the barrier’s magic was a feeling she would never get used to. The feeling of static buzzing across her skin felt unnatural. The magic that allowed her to shift into a wolf felt completely different, comforting even. It was like oil on water. They would never mix.

Difference between Shifter magic and Witch magic.

When she passed through and was on the other side, Ruby’s heart leapt at the sight before her.

“Jeremy? Mom? Dad?”

Jeremy’s green eyes brightened when recognition hit. Heather and Davis immediately choked up, and tears streamed down their faces. Ruby’s eyes filled with tears as Jeremy ran toward her. Jeremy’s arms tightened around her and threatened to nearly break her, but Ruby was not going to tell him that. To know that she was in her brother’s presence made the tears that welled in her eyes spill onto her cheeks. Both of their knees gave out, and they crashed onto the ground as they held one another. That was when she felt two other sets of arms wrap around them, and a chorus of sobs filled the silence. Their bodies shook as they cried, overwhelmed with emotions that they could not sort through in the moment. None of them thought that they would see each other again.

After a few moments, Jeremy loosened his hold and pushed Ruby’s body away just enough to look at her. His facial expression conveyed that he was not fully believing that she was in fact in front of him. Jeremy’s eyes were red and puffy from the crying, but his eyes were bouncing all around as if he was taking in the sight of her. Heather pushed Jeremy out of the way and pulled Ruby into her arms alone. Another round of sobs came, and Ruby joined in. Davis did not fight Heather in any way to have his own moment. Instead, he hugged both of them. Ruby had no idea how much time had passed. No one moved until the tears stopped running down their faces.

When the moment came, her parents helped her to her feet, and she could only smile. She was surrounded by the only people that mattered to her before she found a new home in Wolf’s Den. Her heart felt so swollen with happiness at seeing her family’s faces and only wished that she could bring them into Wolf’s Den and keep the rest of the world locked out.

Jeremy returned to being in front of her, pulling her back into a hug.

“Is it really you?” He choked.

“It’s me, Jeremy.”

Jeremy swallowed hard and tried to settle his breathing. “Tyson told us you were killed! We didn’t want to believe him, but we couldn’t find you.”

Ruby pushed Jeremy slightly back so she could look at his face and used her thumbs to wipe his tears from his cheeks. “I was here. Ryker saved my life.”

Jeremy looked back at her mate. “Thank you, Ryker. Words aren’t enough for what you have done, but that is all I can offer for now.”

Ryker smiled softly and bowed his head back, “no need to thank me. I’m thanking the Goddess myself for that day.”

Jeremy looked at him a little funny and then at Ruby. It took him a few seconds, then his eyes zeroed in on her mark. Shocked was an understatement of what flashed across his face. “You..” Jeremy looked over at Ryker, “and you… you two are mates?”

Ruby giggled, which was a welcomed sound after the emotional tide that struck her from moments ago. “Yeah. Crazy right?”

Davis looked over at Ryker, “she is yours?”

Ryker looked at Ruby and smiled. “Yes, she’s mine.”

“You kept her safe this entire time?” Heather choked as she tried to not cry again.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Heather made her way over to Ryker. She looked small in comparison to the large man, but that didn’t stop her from pulling him into a hug. Ryker was looking a little awkward as his arms stayed at his sides for a moment. Then he smiled and hugged Ruby’s mother back.

“How can we ever repay you for keeping our daughter alive?”

Ryker shook his head. “You really don’t need to do anything. She was always mine to protect. I’m just glad her wolf brought her here.”

Davis looked around the area as if he was expecting something. Then he looked at Ryker again. “Are we able to talk inside of your barrier? Tyson’s men are all over the place. I would like to discuss what happened with you all and have some time with my daughter.”

Ryker nodded and held out his arm as if to show them the way. “Please, step through.”

Deacon led her parents and brother through as Ryker walked up next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Is this what you felt earlier with the barrier?”

Ryker made a face. “This and some others. I managed to make the barrier’s magic redirect some other wolves in different directions. But I recognized your family thanks to the Mate Bond. If we hadn’t completed the bond, I’m not sure I would have known. Your father is right. Tyson’s men are all over the place. Get inside.”

As they stepped through the barrier, all Ruby wanted to do was tell her family to stay.

I wonder if I can convince them to do that…