Chapter 6 Ruby

Ruby

The third time I woke up, I felt like myself. I felt rested, but I was still in a room that wasn't my own. I laid there unmoving, but my sleepy eyes were on the black ceiling. The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness, only illuminated by one lamp that was standing by the door. I waited patiently until I felt truly awake before untangling my hand from the sheet to wipe at the corners of my eyes.

I replayed the events that had led me to be in a bed that wasn't my own and fisted my hands. How many days have even passed, I wondered?

I wasn't dead, so that was something, but how long would that last? What had happened in that alleyway hadn't been a dream. Xavier had transformed before my eyes and killed three men. Natalie had created some kind of alternate reality inside my head, and then she magically put me back to sleep after I woke up from it.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply before exhaling and then repeated the act once more. I could easily imagine that everything that had happened was impossible, but I would be foolish to do that when I had seen it all with my own eyes. Maybe what had happened with Xavier was a dream.

I rolled onto my side and my heart skipped a beat as I looked into Xavier's eyes. He was sitting in a chair at the far end of the room with one leg crossed over the other. I could only tell it was him when he leaned forward into the light. He was wearing a white T-shirt and washed-out jeans, and even in the light, his face was unreadable as he stared back at me.

He placed his elbows on his knees before interlocking his fingers before him. All I could see as I looked at him was the creature I had seen the previous night, but I was surprised at myself for not feeling fear.

I should be screaming and banging on the door. I should be doing something other than staring at him.

"How are you feeling?"

I sat up and looked down at the white nightgown I was wearing. "You didn't change my clothes, did you?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

"I assure you there is nothing flat on my body except for my stomach."

He combed his hand through his hair, and I watched as the silky strands jumped back into place. "How are you feeling?" he repeated.

"As good as anyone who's been abducted."

He reclined in the chair, and his face was once again hidden. "Abducted?"

I sighed. I wasn't in the mood to play around with Xavier. I was already calmer than I should be. If he was going to kill me, he would have already, right?

"What happened?"

"You already know. You saw something you shouldn't have."

Well, that confirmed that I wasn't dreaming, and I wished it wasn't so because now I had questions. A lot of them. "I don't remember what I saw."

Maybe if I pretended I hadn't seen anything, he'd let me go. I had a bad feeling about where this conversation was going, and considering that I knew he could rip me to shreds, I shouldn't say anything to upset him. I shouldn't even be thinking certain thoughts. What if he was reading my mind?

He got to his feet and walked over to the bed, his hands buried in his pockets, and my body went stiff. But what really got me was when he stepped into the light and his eyes were as black as they had been that night.

I swallowed hard and threw the covers off me. I stood and looked up at him, into his obsidian eyes, and slapped him across the face.

"You knocked me out."

He reached up and touched his cheek, his head turned to the side. The side of his mouth twitched, and my eyes widened, shocked at what I had just done, but I stood my ground, my legs shaking. If I was going to die, I'd rather die bravely anyway.

"That's what you're worried about?" His head turned back to me. "When you know I could have done so much worse?"

"Are you going to kill me?"

He stepped closer, and my heart started to hammer in my chest. He looked me up and down, as if he was sizing me up, and I clenched my fists so much my nails began to dig into my flesh. Was he checking if he could swallow me whole?

I crossed my arms over my chest and, to my surprise, a smirk found its way onto his lips. It was small, but it was there.

"You're hiding your fear very well, but I can smell it." I lifted my hand again to slap the smug prick, and he caught my wrist. "Hit me again, Ruby, and I will hurt you."

"Where am I? I want to go home, Xavier. I don't care what you are. I'll keep my mouth shut, just let me go home."

He threw my hand down, and I stepped back as I held onto my wrist. He hadn't squeezed me, but if he had so much as a muscle spasm, he would probably shatter the bone in my arm. I had slapped a werewolf. Me, Ruby Saunders.

The black in his eyes disappeared, and he crossed his arms over his chest, causing his shirt to stretch taut over his bulging biceps. I turned away, my eyes scanning the room. "Just let me go."

"I can't do that, and you know it."

I spun on my heels, my temper getting the better of me. "I don't know shit! I don't know shit! I don't even know what you are! What I know is that three men died, and I got knocked out. And now I'm here. And what the hell did you and Natalie do to me? You know what? I don't want to know. I want to forget all of this, and that means you, her, and this entire mess. Now let me go!"

"Any human who learns about werewolves has to die."

My heart stopped beating. I hated how calmly he had just said that. Did I even hear him correctly? I couldn't have.

"What?" I raised a shaky finger to his face as I forced all the bravado I had to the surface. "You've got to be kidding. You're joking, right? How does that make sense, Xavier? That was something you were aware of? And now you're saying something like that so casually, as if you weren't the one who chose to reveal yourself to me?"

We stood in silence for a moment, my angry eyes piercing into his. I watched his face shift from relaxed to furious within seconds. When he took a step toward me, I stepped back, tripped, and fell onto the bed.

"You humans are all the same." His mouth was barely opening as he spoke, but his voice was projecting throughout the room. He was pissed, livid, and my fear pinned me to the bed as he leaned over me. "You humans are all ungrateful. You're ungrateful. I saved you from being raped and murdered, but yes, that was my mistake."

He stood up and stormed from the room and my body jerked as he slammed the door. I swallowed, despite how dry my mouth was, as tears began to roll down my cheeks. I wasn't ungrateful. He had saved me from a horrible attack. But now I was going to be killed by werewolves?