Chapter 4 : Ruby

HARPER

~~~

The morning sun didn't bring warmth the next day. It only brought forbidden memories of last night's encounter with Mason.

I backed my car into the driveway of the lodge, turned off the ignition and stepped out. My back ached, stiff from the cheap motel mattress, and my mind was messy with things I shouldn't be thinking about.

Shoving the thoughts of Mason and the electric touch of his hands from last night deep into a corner of my mind, I marched up the steps.

I had a lot to do today. I needed to clean my cottage so I wouldn't spend another night in a motel, and then figure out how to navigate the nightmare my life had become.

I slid the brass key into the lock and twisted it. It didn't turn.

What the fuck?

I frowned and jiggled it, forcing it to turn until the metal nearly snapped. Nothing. I pulled back and looked closely at the deadbolt. It was brand new. What the hell was happening?

"Looking for a way in, fatso?"

A sharp, giggling laugh cut through the quiet morning air. I turned around to see two young pack members leaning against the fence line. Their eyes raked over my brown hoodie and the tight stretch of my jeans, filled with absolute mockery.

"She's so huge," the second one whispered, loud enough for me to hear. "Look at those thighs. No wonder the Alphas rejected her."

The familiar sting of humiliation flared in my chest, but I forced my posture straight. I turned away, intending to ignore them, but that didn't deter them.

"The Alphas asked us to tell you the lock has been changed," the first girl spoke again, her voice sounding serious this time.

I whirled around in shock, my brows pulling into a deep frown. "They what?"

"They said to tell you," the second girl added. "To come by the pack house if you need entrance into the lodge."

My fist clenched tightly around the key I held as I glared at them. Furious didn't even begin to describe the fire that ignited in my veins.

Ignoring the two girls, I whirled around. My shoes slammed against the gravel as I stormed away from the lodge and headed in the direction of the pack house.

They had given me twenty-four hours to think about their ultimatum, then Mason had broken into my room last night. Now they were locking me out of my own place?

I was done being pushed around.

When I burst through the front doors of the pack house, the grand foyer felt just as suffocating as it did five years ago. The guards at the door moved forward to stop me, but the pack Beta, Aiden, stepped into the hall and held out a hand, halting them.

"Where are they?" I snapped.

"Harper," Aiden said, his voice cautious. "You shouldn't be here."

"Where are they?" I repeated, my chest heaving. "Tell the Alphas to get out here right now and explain why my mother's lodge is locked."

Aiden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "The Alphas aren't available. They haven't returned from their morning run yet."

My blood boiled with rage. I wasn't going to leave until I confronted them.

"I'll wait," I grounded out, crossing my arms and dropping into the plush sofa. Aiden didn't say another word to me. He just turned, muttered something inaudible to the guards and walked away.

Apart from the loud ticking of the clock, the silence slowly lengthened. When I couldn't sit still anymore, I got up and started to pace.

"Well, well. Look what the wind blew back into our territory," a soft voice purred from the hallway.

I froze, my entire body turning tense as a beautiful, slender redhead stepped out from the shadows.

Ruby! Her name alone tasted bitter in my mouth. She moved with a deliberate, slow grace, a smug, provocative smile plastered across her perfect face.

But it wasn't her face that caught my attention. It was what she was wearing. It was the exact same shirt Mason had been wearing in my motel room last night. The very one my palms had been pressed against.

My stomach plummeted into a cold, sickening abyss as I tried to ignore the sharp twist of betrayal in my gut. After all, he had rejected me years ago, and I had rejected his offer last night. But still, it hurt.

Years ago, before the triplets shattered my heart, Ruby had been the absolute bane of my existence. Always trailing after the Donovan brothers, she had spent years making my life a living hell, weaponizing my weight against me.

Back then, I had swallowed the insults, ducked my head, and cried in secret. But I wasn't that broken little girl anymore.

I turned my face away and ignored her, but that only made her more vicious.

"Still can't look me in the eye, I see," she drawled, stopping beside me and adjusting Mason's shirt on her body. "Though I suppose it's hard to see anything over that massive frame of yours. Seriously, Harper, did you eat the entire city while you were away? You're humongous."

"Keep my name out of your mouth, Ruby," I said, my voice dangerously low as I stepped toward her. "I'm not in the mood for your childish games."

Ruby chuckled, a cruel, mocking sound. "Childish? Oh, I'm just stating facts. You were a joke five years ago, and you're an even bigger joke now. Literally."

My hands curled into fists as she stepped closer, her eyes flashing with venomous triumph.

"Did you know after you ran away, the Alphas came straight to me?" she leaned close and whispered so only I would hear. "I became their lover, their comfort. I've been warming their beds for five years while you were rotting in the city. So you are of no importance to them anymore. Just a fat, pathetic charity case."

Something inside me snapped. Five years of suppressed trauma, Derek's mocking voice, the pack member's remarks, and Ruby's venomous taunts collided into a blinding flash of pure, unadulterated rage. My vision went completely red.

Before she could utter another syllable, I lunged forward.

My hands wrapped tightly around her neck, the raw strength of my inner wolf finally breaking free, and slammed her onto the hardwood floor of the foyer.

"Ahhhh!" she shrieked as her back hit the ground.

I pinned her down, straddling her waist, and brought my fist down, striking her across the face.

"SAY IT AGAIN!" I screamed, the five years of agony fueling my knuckles. "Say it to my face again, you bitch!"

Ruby gasped, her nose bleeding as she twisted beneath me, completely overpowered by my rage and my weight.

"Help! Guards!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Within seconds, the heavy footsteps of six pack enforcers flooded the foyer. Strong, brutal hands grabbed my shoulders, ripping me off Ruby.

I fought against them, snarling and kicking, but they were too many. They pinned my arms behind my back, forcing me to my knees.

Ruby scrambled up from the floor, wiping the blood from her nose. Her smug facade was gone, replaced by a mask of pure fury.

"Arrest her!" she commanded, her voice ringing with authority. "Lock her in the dungeons for attempted assault on a high-ranking pack official!"

The guards didn't hesitate. They instantly obeyed her.

As they dragged me backward toward the metal doors that led to the cells, reality crashed down on me like cold water. Ruby didn't just warm the Alphas' beds like she claimed.

She held a position of authority in the pack, and she had every legal right to lock me away.

I thrashed against the guards' iron grips, my shoes dragging across the floor as I was hauled away. Through the blur of my hair, I looked back at the foyer.

Ruby stood by the hallway, smoothing down Mason's shirt. She looked at me, a cruel smile spreading across her bloody lips as the dungeon doors slammed shut, sealing me in the darkness.