21

Ruby

I packed immediately after getting to my room and stashed the backpack under my bed. I had a suitcase packed and placed by the door just in case Olcan decided to stop by and check up on me. He'd see that I was ready to leave. I just wouldn't be leaving with him.

All that was left to do was for me to wait until midnight to meet Xavier outside, but waiting was harder than I thought it would be. I spent the time pacing back and forth in my room until I got paranoid that someone might hear me moving around and wonder why I was so excessively active late at night.

I laid on my bed after that, twisting and turning until I settled on facing the window. With the moon's light shining down, it appeared unusually bright outside. While it looked beautiful, I was worried. Xavier wouldn't be able to shift tonight, which made both of us vulnerable. I know he would still be incredibly strong, but nowhere near his best.

Natalie said she would take care of everything, whatever that meant. I was trying to put my faith in her and not worry. That is really hard to do when you are used to something always going wrong. That was my childhood in a nutshell, and my young adulthood wasn't shaping up to be any better so far, that's for sure. I wasn't sure why it was still surprising to me that Olcan wanted me dead. I had no doubt going to Romania wouldn't have been a vacation but being killed wasn't in my plans. Considering that Reika had confirmed for him that the mate bond was real and mates are protected by law…but hey, who am I kidding? The Council was the one making all the rules. They can change them, or even break them, as they see fit. Who would even know about it to challenge them on it?

Axel was the other person I wanted to castrate. Why wasn't he tearing Olcan a new one for talking about killing me! That's another thing I should stop being surprised about. Axel isn't Xavier, and he'll never be Xavier. I might be mated to him, but the connection is barely there. The only time I had even felt something towards him was during our drive here when he had opened up to me about wanting to be a good alpha. He was like a parent that would do anything to provide for his kids, and that at least I could understand. Conspiring with Olcan was something I couldn't, wouldn't forgive him for.

The hours went by agonizingly slow, but eventually, I was standing in front of my door with my backpack on. My hair was wrapped into a bun, and I pulled my hoody over my head while I zipped my sweater to my throat. Not for the first time tonight, I wished Xavier could shift. I'm sure we could cover more ground with me riding him.

I reached out and held the door handle, my hand shaking as I opened it slowly. I didn't make a sound, but I continued to move slowly, opening it just enough to slip through and taking my time to close it quietly once more.

Whatever Natalie planned to do, I hoped she had already done it. I wasn't about to go running through the house to test it out. I was sure it took twenty minutes at least to make it outside. When I finally did, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I gratefully inhaled the cool night air.

A shadow appeared from behind a tree at the forest line, and my heart skipped a beat until the shadow waved at me. I narrowed my eyes and when I realized it was Xavier, I dashed towards him. I threw myself into his arms, and he kissed the top of my head before taking my hand and leading me into the forest.

"We made it out," I whispered to him as he stared at the house. I bit my lip as the muscles in his jaws clenched. He threw his hood over his head and turned. "Are you okay?" I knew I was a stupid question to ask. He was about to run away from his home, his father, and his pack. I just didn't know what else to say.

"I will be, once we get far away from here."

He took my hand, and we started walking briskly. We stopped from time to time for him to listen to the forest. Even though his hearing was ten times better than mine would ever be, his heightened abilities weren't at their usual level because of the full moon. We were still in his pack's

territory and running into another wolf wouldn't be good. With our backpacks on our backs, it was clear that we were running away and not just going out for a late-night stroll.

"I wonder what Natalie had to do to 'take care of things'," he said as he avoided walking in a pocket of moonlight beaming down through the canopy of trees above.

"Why?"

"We made it out and made it this far. Council members are like royalty, which means they are stronger than even alphas. Their senses are heightened to the max, so I'd expected old Olcan to be on high alert tonight. He'd be the first hear when someone so much as coughed in bed, much less when two people got up and left the house."

I moved a tree branch from before my face. "Natalie's different, stronger. Whatever she did, it worked." Despite how briskly we were walking, I knew he felt like we were moving too slowly. He was going at this pace just so I could keep up. "Have you ever met any of the other Council members?" I asked as I picked up the pace to show him that I could go faster. Yes, I was tired, but knowing what I was running from was motivation enough to keep me going.

"No. Olcan's the first Council member I've met. Council members don't usually make appearances like this. They send representatives."

I didn't respond, and we kept walking until Xavier suddenly stopped. "What?" I asked, and he pressed a finger to my lips.

He pointed his head to the sky and inhaled asI started looking around us. Despite the moonlight, the forest was still too dark for me to see much. I wanted to ask him what he was hearing or smelling in the air but kept my mouth shut. I had grabbed a knife on my way out of the house, and I removed it slowly from where it was tucked into my left sleeve as Xavier turned his back to me and positioned himself protectively in between whatever he sensed and me.

"Come out. I can smell you," he growled, and my heart fell to my

feet.

Fuck, they caught us!

I remained behind Xavier when I heard leaves crunching under feet.

Hell, noo, I'm not going back, not without a fight! I stepped out from behind him, my knife in hand.

"Axel?" I looked him up and down with my knife still raised, and he looked down at the blade reflecting the moon's light. His eyes flicked up to mine and the corner of his mouth arched a little before Xavier growled and it fell away. They stared at each other for a moment and Axel rubbed at his nostrils and shook his head.

So Olcan sent him after us. How theatrical.

"Did you really think I couldn't smell you standing outside the door?" He asked before his eyes slid to me once more, and I glared at him.

"So, you knew I could hear you talking to Olcan about killing me? Yeah, that makes me feel so much better. I get the message, Axel, you care that little about me." I widened my stance. "I'm not going to Romania."

He shrugged. "Good. I'm glad. "

"What?" I asked, shocked at his response.

"Why are you following us?" Xavier added, and I finally noticed the backpack Axel was carrying.

"None of this was what I wanted," he said, and I scoffed.

"Yeah, you just wanted to get rid of the Blackmoon Pack," I snapped at him, and to my surprise, he nodded. This man clearly has no shame.

"Yes, I wanted to get rid of the Blackmoon Pack, but not like this. All I've wanted is to be allowed back onto this land. It's big enough for both packs to co-exist comfortably. All I've ever wanted is a better existence for my pack."

"Yeah, I heard you're Alpha now," Xavier replied, a growl in his voice. "What's wrong with your father?"

Axel's face morphed into one of anger. The last thing that needed to happen right was another fight between these two. "That's not important right now, is it? I'm not here to take you guys back, okay. I'm coming with you."

Xavier laughed, and I lowered my knife. Axel, however, remained serious as he waited for Xavier to realize he wasn't kidding. He wants to come with us? Why? He started all of this because of his duty to his pack, and now he is ready all of a sudden to make himself a fugitive and leave them behind? Yeah, I didn't believe him either.

"We don't need you to come with us, Axel. I think you've done enough. So, you want me to believe that you're suddenly willing to leave your pack to follow us? The Council will be coming after us and you."

"I don't blame either of you for not trusting me, but believe it or not, I'm on your side." I laughed. and he stepped forward. Xavier immediately held his hand out to block me. Axel stepped back, despite the growl that had left his lips. "I'm already on the Council's radar now, and my pack will be as well if I return to them."

Neither Xavier nor I said anything, and he sighed and held his forehead. This was the most words I've ever heard from his lips. If he was acting, he deserved an Oscar.

"Trust me if you want to, or don't. but I'm on your side. No matter what you both think, I don't want to see you die, Ruby. None of the three of us asked for this, but this is apparently how it is going to be. Fighting it, and each other is only making all of our lives worse."

Xavier's hand dropped after blocking me to adjust the strap of his bag on his shoulder. I couldn't tell if he was buying what Axel was selling, but I was (despite my better judgment). Maybe I'm stupid, but why would Olcan send him and only him to take us back? Then again, it's not like he could send Reika or Mathieu. I felt torn. It bothered me that I was so easily trying to find reasons to give him the benefit of the doubt, considering that this entire mess was his fault. As I went over the conversation between Axel and Olcan in my mind again, I realized I never actually heard Axel agree to my death. In retrospect, I realized, if anything, he had sounded surprised that Olcan had said it.

"Look, Ruby, you are my mate. I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I still have my doubts because you know a Grand Elder and it changes a lot." He turned to Xavier. "Olcan wants what's inside her head and if he gets it, he's going to kill her and everyone that knew about her. We are wasting time standing here and debating this. Besides, the Council will be hunting you guys. If that's the case, the way I see it, you need all the help you can get."

"Okay," Xavier replied, and I frowned. I stared at him, surprised he was agreeing. Axel removed his bag from one shoulder and swung it around him to open it.

"What? Are you serious?" I whispered to Xavier, although I knew Axel could hear me just fine. "Okay? Just like that?'

"He's right. If the Council gets their hands on you, we're all dead– my dad, Natalie, everyone. With Axel with us, he'll be able to protect you as well. That doesn't mean I automatically trust him. Believe me, I will be

watching him." He said that bit loudly, but Axel only kept searching through his bag.

"Here," Axel said as he approached us, three small vials of slightly brownish liquid in his hand. "I had these created by witches for my pack. It masks a wolf's scent. I was able to track you guys all too easily."

"I'm not drinking that. You said it is for wolves." I pointed out as I crossed my arms. This could be some kind of trick - maybe a sedative that would put Xavier and me to sleep.

"It masks anyone's scent. You were given it when you were taken." He took one of the vials, popped it open and drank it. "See? Make no mistake, by morning they'll be hunting us so our scents need to stop here."

I didn't feel comfortable doing this, but what other choice did I have? We had wasted too much time standing here chatting as it was. Xavier and I each took a vial and chugged it. Let me tell you, the taste was utterly repellent, but within seconds, Xavier pointed out that he could no longer smell me or Axel.

We walked on in uncomfortable silence, and I remained close to Xavier's side while Axel followed behind us. After an hour passed, exhaustion began to set in. My legs were dragging and I was slowing down, despite my initial resolve to keep up. Axel and Xavier were still maintaining at the same brisk pace they had set throughout the journey with no outward signs of fatigue that I could see.

"I'm exhausted," I said, and Xavier took my backpack. The weight off my shoulders was a relief, but my legs were still killing me.

"Where are we going anyway?" Axel asked as he removed a water bottle from his bag and handed it to me. I only stared at it before taking one from my bag. I wasn't ready to trust or forgive him that easily after what he had put me through. Not yet, anyway. Animals and insects of the night sang around me, and I wished I could mute them all. I had to admit that I, too, was suddenly curious about where Xavier was taking us. I hadn't even bothered to ask before we left.

"I don't know. First things first. I'm getting us as far away from the pack as possible. We'll put a few cities between us and this place, and then find a town with no wolf packs and lay low."

Axel stepped around us, his hazel eyes shining oddly bright as he stared at the forest around us. "Okay. Well, I have a safe house, and no one else knows about it. It's about two days' drive from here, though. If we can

make it there somehow, we can lay low more safely and take a little extra time to figure out our next move."

"Why do you have a safe house?" I asked as we started walking once more. Axel was now ahead of us and honestly, I didn't mind. I hadn't been comfortable with him walking behind me.

"All packs do. All alphas do. Wolves are very territorial, and not all packs are large. There has to be a place an alpha can go if he's challenged and he loses. That's if he survives the fight long enough to make it to their safe house. Don't you have one, too?"

I assumed that question was for Xavier, so I said nothing as I drank more water. This wasn't going to go well, I could tell. Nothing good could come from all three of us being together. They both hated each other.

"Yes, but all of those locations are known by at least two others.

Olcan will no doubt have them checked out anyway."

"Well, fortunately, mine is completely off the grid. We'll need a

car."

◆◆◆

Axel

A wolf walking almost three hours on a full moon isn't smart. By the time we made it off Blackmoon territory and found a road and a gas station, we were all exhausted and irritable. Well, I wouldn't say Xavier and I were exhausted. We were tired and definitely hungry, but Ruby was on an absolute warpath.

Neither of us had been able to speak to her until she had eaten three bags of snacks and drank the two coffees that I got at the gas station. Yes, I said got them there, not bought them there, since it was three in the morning and I had to break in.

Even with limitations of the full moon, Xavier and I had been clearly able to hear her crying in the bathroom. She came out with her face dry and her sassy attitude back to being less than appealing as if she hadn't just spent five minutes bawling her eyes out. I admired her for it, though. Our situation was one that would drive anyone crazy, and she was keeping it together better than I had expected.

It had been funny to see her standing there with a knife in her hands. I had no doubt in my mind that she wouldn't have hesitated to use it. It amazed me that she was ready to run headfirst into a fight with a werewolf, despite the obvious futility of such an action. The full moon wouldn't be enough to keep a werewolf male from incapacitating her, and she knew it. She as brave like a wolf, so I guess it made sense that she ended up mated to one…well, with her attitude, I guess it made sense she was mated to two of us.

Neither Xavier nor Ruby trusted me right now, and I couldn't really fault either of them for that. I wouldn't trust me either after the additional problems I've caused. I will always regret ever trusting that bastard Olcan. I should have known he had his own agenda. Killing Ruby or Xavier was never what I wanted.

I hope my beta had received my message and had taken my father away from the pack. While Mathieu's pack will be fine for now, Olcan might feel the need to get revenge on me and mine for me betraying him.

It was almost morning and the potions we drank would be wearing off in a few hours. Olcan will realize we're missing soon, if he hasn't already, and then we'll have people keeping an eye out for us. Or worse, rogue wolves. The faster we get out of here, the better. I looked up at the moon and buried my hands in my jacket pockets. This was going to be a journey and then some because neither of them trusted me or wanted me around. I wasn't in the mood to go out of my way to prove myself, but I'd have to work to gain their trust eventually or this would be much harder it needed to be. We had wasted precious minutes back there standing and bickering.

Also, while Ruby had been in the bathroom, Xavier had taken the time to warn me.

"I'm only okay with you being here because she needs to be protected, and I can't do it on my own if the Council decides to treat us like rogues."

"I think that's exactly what we are now, Xavier. But it's big of you to admit you can't care for her the way I can."

Of course, I knew that's not what he meant, but I hadn't been able to stop myself from razzing him just a bit. I hated how she stared at him as if he was the sun or moon and her world revolved around him. I hated how much she hung on to him as if he was keeping her grounded to the earth

while she looked at me like I might steal her panties. I've treated her badly from the start, so I know I don't deserve her kindness. But dammit, I'm not a monster.

"You have nothing to worry about," I had told him to head off the inevitable argument. "Your girlfriend is yours and yours alone."

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Why was I bothered about all of that anyway? I said it myself - I don't want to be with her - so why am I wasting brainpower obsessing about the connection she has with someone else? They were made for each other, and I was just unlucky enough to get tied into their romance. Maybe the goddess was punishing me by giving me a mate I can't really have

They were standing a few steps away from me bickering, and I honestly had no interest in listening to their conversation. We needed to find a car. I could smell rotting garbage, gas, and nature, and I frowned as I forced my senses to do better, to stretch further After a moment, I caught onto the scent I was looking for.

"There are humans near here," I said, and they looked my way as I removed my bag and placed it on the ground. "Maybe it's the owners for this place, but either way, I'm going to check if they have a car."

I started walking off when Ruby spoke. "Don't kill them."

I froze. I'm not used to words being hurtful because I rarely give a fuck about what people think of me, but that had stung. So that's what she thinks of me? That I'm a cold-blooded killer? I may hate humans, but I have never and would never kill them without reason. I shook my head and kept walking. "Don't worry, Ruby, I'll only kill them if they see me."

◆◆◆

Ruby

Axel had been gone for twenty minutes before he returned with an SUV. It was a relief to get off my legs, but the awkward silence in the car was driving me up a wall.

I was sitting in the back while both men were in the front. I don't think either of them was particularly excited about being in such close proximity to each other. I looked from one man to the next, my annoyance

peaking since neither made a move to turn the radio on. Did neither of them know that playing the radio is the number one way to cover an awkward silence? We'd been driving for almost an hour and no one had spoken since we had left the gas station.

I knew we were on the run for our safety, but at this point, I think Olcan's company would be preferable to these two brooding men. Olcan might be evil, but at least he was chatty. I hated awkward silences.

It was getting closer to dawn, and I desperately needed sleep. It had been a long night. No, a long couple of days and nights. I scooted closer to the door to rest my head against the window and sighed as I closed my eyes. They soon popped open after I started seeing more of those disturbing images behind them, the very things I didn't want to see more of.

No matter how exhausted I was, however, no matter how my legs felt like they were going to fall off, I couldn't sleep. I was haunted by the events that have happened so far, each and every time I closed my eyes. I kept seeing Olcan staring at me, and I kept hearing screaming. Falling asleep would offer me a few minutes or hours of escape from this world, but now I wasn't even being afforded that basic luxury.

I tried to bring a good image to mind, the one of Xavier and me at the hidden falls. I focused on remembering the sound of the crashing water. I focused on the feel of it on my skin and tried to remember exactly how relaxed I had felt. After a while, my eyes closed and I must have fallen asleep because whispering voices had me jumping up. Thankfully, it wasn't the voices I had heard in the halls of Xavier's house. It was just Xavier and Axel talking.

I closed my eyes once more but tried to listen to what they were talking about. I soon gave up and moved forward so I was between them.

"What are you two talking about?" I asked as I looked from one to the next.

"Private conversation," Axel replied, and I flipped him the bird.

"Once we get to Axel's safe house, our next move has to be finding a way to break through that wall in your mind," Xavier replied. Axel, who was driving, nodded. "We'll just need to find a witch, a strong one."

"One that won't tell the entire supernatural community about us," Axel added. "Witches gossip too much, and it'll be hard to find one that'll want anything to do with wolves, to begin with."

"What about Willow?" I suggested. She was the only witch I've met so far, and Xavier seemed to trust her. "If she's not strong enough to do it, maybe she'll know someone that is."

He nodded. "We'll see. You didn't sleep very long. How do you

feel?"

"Like shit. I swear I'm usually more fit than this."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Axel murmured under his breath, and I

pinned him with a glare. I was just about to give him a piece of my mind when Xavier leaned forward.

He looked from left to right on either side of the road, and soon Axel started to do the same. Is this a wolf thing? I wondered as I watched them when Xavier suddenly pinched his nostrils.

"What the fuck is that?" Xavier asked, and Axel's face twisted with disgust. I didn't smell anything however and it must be fuel with the way they both looked.

I inhaled deeply, but still, I didn't smell anything. "What? I don't smell anything."

"I can't explain it," Xavier said as he started to look in the back of the car, but there was nothing to see but our bags and me. "It's like something is rotting or dead, but there is another underlying smell as well. I feel like my eyes are going to start tearing up. What the hell is that?" The car suddenly swayed, and I was thrown against the door. "Axel, what the fuck?!"

"Something just ran across the road!" Axel yelled back, and the car suddenly accelerated. "Something's wrong here. Something is outside. That's what we smell."

"I've never smelled anything like this. What is it?"

Axel didn't respond. I leaned forward again, my hand holding onto Xavier's seat while the other massaged my shoulder that had smacked into the door. "Is it a supernatural?"

"With the incredible speed it ran across the road with, it must be. No human is that fast," Axel replied and his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

I couldn't see his face since I was behind him, but I could see his jaw and the way it was clenching. I looked over at Xavier, and he, too, looked more disturbed than I'd ever seen him. Then I remembered they still

couldn't shift. They were vulnerable with some unknown supernatural creature following us.

"Maybe it's the Council. Maybe they sent someone, or something, after us," I said as I sat back. Axel was hitting 160mph, and I knew if he suddenly stepped on the break, I'd be thrown through the windscreen.

Axel shook his head, "They would have had to track our scent. The potions haven't worn off yet. Do you have a gun?"

Xavier nodded, "Yes. Ruby?"

I had grabbed for his bag as soon as he had said yes. As the lone human here, I wasn't happy knowing that there was something unknown out there that was threatening enough to rattle two male werewolves. For once in my life, just once, I'd like the universe to give me a win. And by a win, I mean a fucking break.

My hand touched something cold. I pulled the gun from the bag, but as I handed it to Xavier, something slammed into the car. I was thrown back against the door, my head slamming against the dark glass. Axel was cursing profusely as he tried to regain control of the car.

I didn't have time to see if my head was bleeding because I had to grip Xavier's seat with all my strength until the car stopped spinning. We swerved back and forth as Xavier dived into the back of the car to grab the gun that had fallen out of my hand and onto the seat.

Something barrelled into the car on the left side where I was, and I was thrown to the other side of the car as we were sent off the road.

"Xavier!" I screamed, but as soon as his name left my lips, the car came to a stop as it slammed into a tree.

I groaned and held my head, my hazy eyes trying to focus on the roof of the car that was still spinning. Whatever was outside was definitely trying to kill us. I sat up slowly, my hand holding the back of my head. Although I couldn't see anything, I could feel the warm liquid and knew I was bleeding.

I swallowed and blinked slowly, my eyes finally focusing when Axel appeared in the space between the seats, blood running down his face from a cut above his right brow.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" He asked me as he reached out to me. I pointed to Xavier, my hand shaking because there was a large crack in the windscreen where his head had hit it. He wasn't moving.

Axel grabbed him and pulled him back so he was sitting back in his seat and not hunched over the dashboard. He started to regain consciousness as he groaned and raised his hand to hold his head.

Neither of them was healing as quickly as I knew they could. "Xavier?" I called, my voice weak and broken, "It's still outside the car."

I shouldn't have said that. I never should have opened my mouth because a second later, Axel's door was ripped off the car. A clawed hand reached in and pulled him out.

I screamed. I screamed like I've never screamed before in my life as Axel's deep cry pierced through the night, and Xavier instantly regained full consciousness. He opened his car door shakily, and I did the same. I stumbled out, and strong hands grabbed me before I could fall onto my face.

This can't be happening. We've come so far; we had almost gotten away! Xavier started pulling me, but I was looking behind me for Axel. We can't leave him, we can't just leave him. The night had fallen silent once more, and my heart felt heavy with dread.

He can't be dead! Please don't let him be dead!

"Xavier!"

"Ruby, I need you to…"

He didn't finish his sentence as he was yanked away from me. I fell backward as I watched a man cloaked in darkness climb onto him. Xavier's howl pierced through the night as he fought the shadowy figure.

"Run!" Xavier yelled. "Ruby, run!"

I can't leave him! I can't! I got to my feet, nonetheless, and started running. My eyes were blinded with tears, my body aching with pain, and my heart-breaking as I listened to Xavier's howls and cries. I pumped my legs despite the burning, but I didn't get far.

Something grabbed me and threw me forward. The pain burned through my left shoulder as I skidded on the cold highway. I tried to get up, but I only fell forward once more. I could hear slow footsteps behind me, and I rolled onto my back.

It wasn't a shadow. It was a man, but it was like no man I've ever seen. He was pale, his eyes like two flashlights in the dark, but what chilled me to my bone was when he opened his mouth and revealed his massive fangs.

I began dragging myself backward, the pebbles on the road cutting into my arms, but I couldn't stop. He was advancing on me, his lips pulling away into a wide smile.

"Please," I begged, my hot tears cooling as soon as they fell from my eyes to slide down my cheeks.

He tsk-tsked at me, and the last thing I saw as he fell onto me was his glowing red eyes. The last thing I felt was the piercing pain of fangs ripping into my throat.