Ruby’s Pride

by Romy Lockhart

  The demonic expression on his face is enough to let me know I was right. My heart doesn’t quite break because it wasn’t completely engaged in the first place. It just hardens as I walk away, slamming the door on one shitty chapter of my life. If I’d known it would cost me my relationship with my father, I still wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. It’s their loss, not mine. If that makes me a bitch, so be it.

  Chapter 31

  I’m at home lying on the couch ignoring my father’s calls when Crystal jogs in and finishes her warm down before coming my way.

  “You’re home early,” she tells me, probably because the sun’s still scorching the sky outside and I’m usually slinking in sometime after midnight. “What’s wrong?”

  I’m all out of talking so I just shrug and switch my ringing phone off. Her gaze drops to my naked left hand and she bites down on her lip. She won’t go there. She’s too respectful of other people’s feelings.

  She’ll wait for me to mention it, which I will eventually. Once I’m less pissed off about Adam’s opportunistic bullshit. I mean, I probably would have slept with him even if it was obvious he was only after me for my dad’s money, but I guess he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to make a play for the job if we just had a fling.

  Crystal seems to think for a second before she picks up the landline. “Pizza?”

  It’s a weak one, but I manage a smile. She waits for me to nod to call in our usual order to the place down the street. It’s not something we do a lot, but usually if she’s had a bad break-up it’s what we wind up eating for dinner. Followed by ice-cream, if we have any.

  I lay back and sigh. I feel hollowed out, and that feeling isn’t going to go away any time soon.

  The wet feeling on my neck makes me shrug. “Ugh, Crystal, when did you get a dog?”

  “I didn’t get a dog,” she says.

  “Then what...” I blink my eyes open and see the sky above, clear and bright. I glance to my side and see a lion, his tongue lapping at my neck. What the... Oh, right. I’m in my cat-suit on the yellow brick road, poppy fields either side of me. I glance around but the rest of the guys are not here.

  I remember Corwin’s warning about the pride, and for a moment, I stiffen. What if this is one of them? My panic recedes once he moves his head and I see his scar. Warner. How the hell did he find me out here? No use asking, I suppose. He won’t be able to tell me.

  I sit up and he moves back, staying close but not crowding me.

  “That was a rather unpleasant walk down memory lane,” I tell him. “Couldn’t have gotten here a little sooner?”

  He nudges my leg and I start to move forward, before remembering the stream. Last thing I want is another dip in that freaky pond. Shivering I look beyond it. I transport myself over it and look back to see Warner leap over it to get to me. He moves onward, coming back to nudge my leg when I don’t immediately move too.

  We walk on past the poppy fields and I realize Warner is being careful to nudge me into the centre of the path whenever I start to veer closer to one side. I wonder if the fields are incredibly potent, enough to send me to sleep if I just kind of get too close.

  “You must have dragged me out of that field,” I tell him, wondering why he didn’t wind up sleeping. But then that makes me wonder if I’m still actually asleep, and just in another dream. Oh hell no, Ruby. Don’t even go down that path. If you’re perpetually dreaming that’s your reality now. You’ll go mad if you constantly question it.

  We walk onward past the fields just as the sky above begins to darken. I’m still in my cat-suit, but not for long. I cringe when I realize I didn’t bring my red dress or my purse along with me. I’ll be stuck with the ruined nightdress.

  Warner becomes human in front of me, takes my hand and leads me off the path into the woods. I follow without question. The woods are a little creepy here, but nowhere near as much as at The Woodcutter’s. He leads me carefully through the trees to a little cottage that appears to be empty, though he seems rather familiar with it. We go inside and he lights a few candles from a box of matches he picked up on the sideboard near the door.

  “What is this place?” I ask, knowing he can’t answer me.

  It’s definitely lived in. There are drapes and ornaments, and cupboards with boxes of food! Actual pre-packed food. I go directly to the glass-fronted cabinets in the little kitchen area and open one of the doors. Some of the stuff looks like cereal, but I don’t see a fridge for milk so I ignore those and pick out a small jar of nuts and a box of sweet-smelling marshmallow looking things.

  “Finally,” I say as I put the marshmallow-things on the table and open the jar of nuts.

  Warner is watching me curiously as I eat, but he remains mute. Just as well. I don’t think I can stand to listen to another man telling me what to do right now. I eat a few of the nuts before I screw the jar shut again. They taste pretty good, but I’ll save the rest for later.

  “I walked away from your brothers. They were at Dorothy’s house the last time I saw them.”

  He nods, as if he knows that. I’m not sure how he could know. I pull open the marshmallow box and pop a purple one into my mouth. It swells a little in the wet warmth of my mouth before starting to dissolve. There’s a sugary taste with a hint of berry once the mallow has dissolved into nothing on my tongue. Nice, but also kind of weird. I close the box and notice Warner’s gaze has dipped a little lower than my face. I look down and flush at my exposed breasts.

  My cat-suit has become my torn night dress. Signaling the fact that it’s well and truly nightfall. I groan and try to pull the material together. There’s not enough to tie it closed and I can’t think of a way to fix it. If I rip more off the skirt I’ll wind up flashing the world every time I take a step.

  Warner holds up a hand as if he’s telling me to wait a moment, before he moves swiftly out of the room. I glance through the doorway and see three doors down a narrow hallway. He comes out of the final one and thrusts something at me. It’s a dress. A white dress that’s kind of hideous-bridesmaid-ish, but is also decent. I smile. “Thanks.”

  I turn away and strip off the ripped night dress. Warner hisses in a breath. My smile widens. I probably should have left the room to change, but I was curious to what his reaction might be. I find out the full extent of it when I toss the new dress over my head and spin back around. It’s not as ugly as I’d assumed on first glance. The skirt is layered but it hangs well and only to the knee. It’s almost a perfect fit. There’s just a tiny bit of room in the skirt and it’s a little tight in the chest. Enough that my cleavage seems more impressive than usual. I give Warner a good looking over and my gaze lingers on his suddenly hard cock.

  “Don’t scrub up too badly, do I?”

  He smiles, shaking his head. Okay. I can get answers out of him if I make sure to ask yes or no questions. That’s a start.

  “Do you believe I’m your mate?” I ask quickly, hoping to get a snap answer.

  He nods slowly, his expression becoming curious once more. He’s totally wondering where I’m going with this.

  “Do you want to mate with me?”

  He nods again, and takes a step closer to me.

  I’m not sure what I’m doing here, but I know I’m alone with a gorgeous man who saved me from permanent slumber in the poppy fields. There’s so much more I want to ask him, but there’s nothing he’d be able to give me an answer for.

  So I move closer to him and trace the bottom of his scar with my fingers softly. He reaches out to stroke my hair. Then he surprises me with a kiss. It’s a little jerky and hesitant, but once his lips are flush against mine, he makes a guttural noise and pulls me close. I gasp and he fills my mouth with his tongue. It’s not the smoothest of kisses, but he makes out like he means it and every touch enflames me, the scratch of stubble against my face adding to the roughness of his embrace. My heart starts to race as his right hand moves to grasp my ass hard under the floaty skirt. The low moan that pulls through him at
that touch is so fucking sexy I feel the first sparks of desire burn through my body and ignite furiously. He rocks against me and I want this stupid dress out of our way. He breaks the kiss and I stare at him intently.

  “I need you,” I breathe out, gasping when he lifts me up bride-style and carries me into the hallway.

  It feels even better than the first time he carried me. He holds me by the ass and I know this time it’s on purpose. When he lays me down on a soft, comfortable bed, I sink into the mattress for a second before I realize I’m not naked yet. I pull off the dress and dump it on the floor. He climbs over me and I feel his lips on my throat before he moves downward. His tongue traces my right nipple until it’s a hard wet point. I writhe under him, feeling his erection so close to where I need it to be. I just want him to drive it home now. I want him to fill me. To spill inside me.

  “Fuck,” I curse, realizing I’m practically wishing pregnancy on myself. I already fucked two of his brothers without protection. Now I’m going to let him come inside me too?

  I take one look at his scarred face, and I know that I want this. Him. Consequences be damned.

  He’s stopped what he was doing, and I realize I swore out loud.

  “I want this, Warner. As much as you do.”

  His pause is momentary before he dips his head back to my breasts. He arouses my left nipple the same way he did my right, teasing it into a hard point. I’m so wet I can barely stand the torture of his shaft rubbing against the slickness between my legs. I just want him inside. I want him to claim me. I’m his. I move my hips and he lifts his head, gazing at me intently.

  He sits up and parts my legs wider before taking his shaft in hand and rubbing the tip of it up and down my wet slit. Then he stops and pulls on my arm to bring me up for another rough, desperate kiss. The low moan he brings from me as his stubble scratches my face seems to make his cock throb against me. I wriggle in his arms, trying to get him to push inside.

  I don’t understand why he won’t. I don’t know why he’s taking this so slowly.

  He pulls back and gazes intently at me, and I see the gold glow of my acceptance of him as my mate in the reflection of his eye. It’s not what he was waiting for. I don’t know what it is, until it happens.

  It’s like being hit with a jolt of lightning. I gasp in a breath as I’m given a vision from his perspective that comes complete with feeling. He’s lifting me into his arms and carrying me into the woods. He’s full of emotion, his heart full as he gazes down at me. He’s telling me he accepts me as his mate.

  “Oh, Warner,” I whisper. “I feel the same way.”

  His gaze is questioning though, as if there’s some doubt. My eyes glowed for him, and I meant what I said. I’m not sure what’s still wrong. At least, I’m not sure until he links with me a second time and shows me something else. Something that hasn’t happened yet. He has his arms around me in this vision, and my belly is swollen. I touch his hand and move it over the bump so we both feel it when the baby kicks. It’s an emotionally charged moment and it takes me a second to be pulled back into the present. Where he’s still waiting on my answer.

  I bite down on my lip. He’s asking if I’m ready to deal with the consequences of what we’re about to do. It’s a lot, and I’ve been pretty blasé about the whole protection issue this whole time. Is this really what I want? Hot sex, with incredible men, yes. Hell yes, a million times over with a cherry on top. A family? I’m not so sure. And that’s kind of fucked up.

  I close my eyes for a second, resting my head against his. I have to let go of everything I thought I knew to give him an answer. I have to listen to my heart, rather than my raging libido. Five seconds of meditation is all it takes.

  “Yes,” I whisper, nodding quickly. “I want all of it, Warner.”

  He smiles and lays me back down, and I raise my hips to meet his thrust as he pushes his cock deep inside my pussy. He slams into me hard and fast as I wrap my legs around his back, and the climax I hit seconds later makes the room feel like it’s spinning around us. As soon as he spends his first load, I push at his chest and he allows me to pin him to the bed under me.

  “Okay, wild one,” I say as I catch my breath. “It’s time to show you what slow feels like.”

  I spend all night showing him there’s more than one way to fuck a woman, and he holds me close when I start to wane, his fingers stroking over my flat stomach as he catches his breath. I close my eyes to that vision of us together, and I let it grow as I drift into sleep, imagining Corwin, Ransom and Ax crowding us to touch my stomach too. The last thing I feel is Warner’s lips brushing my shoulder as he breathes out a happy sigh.

  If this is what it is to be mated, I never want to go home.

  Chapter 32

  I wake up alone, and I’m a little disappointed but not entirely surprised. Warner has proven his restlessness time and again. I just hope he hasn’t gone far. Considering I’m not too sure where we are, though I’m certain I could find my way back to the road without too much trouble, and really that’s all I need to do.

  I use the real bathroom before I get dressed, taking my time under the warm shower and wondering not for the first time whose cottage this actually is. A cursory glance around makes me wonder if it belongs to a witch. The all-white clothing in the closet would seem to suggest so.

  I wonder again how Warner knew about this place. He must know who lives here. I can’t help wondering how well he knows this woman. It’s definitely a woman’s house. There’s too much lace and scented stuff in the rooms. Not to mention the closet-full of dresses.

  A creak in the other room catches my attention as I’m slipping into my shoes. “Warner, thank goodness you’re back...” I stop at the bedroom door-frame, my heart stopping on sight of the approximation of a man in the hallway.

  His head almost touches the ceiling and his body is all muscle covered in a fine layer of rust-colored fur. He looks like a horror movie wolf-man, in a lighter color, with a scraggly mane around his face and slitted glowing red eyes.

  “Not Warner,” I whisper, stepping back into the bedroom and slamming the door.

  My heart is hammering in my chest as I lean against the door, petrified he’s going to push to get in. Where the hell is Warner? I’m going to kill him when I get my hands on him, for leaving me here for this creature to find.

  I hear him move, slowly, as if he’s a horror movie psycho with all the time in the world. His dumb little victim isn’t going anywhere, right? He can take his time scaring her half-to-death before he actually lands a killing blow. I jump back from the door as an ear-splitting scratching noise comes from the other side. It stops and I hear a deep, throaty chuckle.

  “Little witch, little witch, let me in.”

  I shiver at his clearly amused tone. He’s a predator playing with his prey. It’s almost enough to send me scrambling around the room for a hiding place, until I click on to what he just called me.

  Little witch. It’s morning. I have my magic. I can use it to stop him.

  I take a step back, trying to think about what I can use it to do. I’ll need to act fast once he decides he’s had enough of torturing me mentally. Setting him on fire seems like a bad idea for this pretty little house, but it’s all I can think of. I don’t know why I’m so quick to go for burning in these situations. It’s not a pleasant way to hurt someone, and it’s also too destructive. Not to mention the fact that it’s apparently my own weakness. I’d probably only wind up killing myself.

  No fire. What else?

  He scratches the door harder and I jump, bumping against the end of the bed-frame.

  “Open the door, witch. Don’t make me come and get you.”

  He laughs and rage soars to the surface. That fucking fucker. He’s enjoying this.

  “Come in or don’t, freak-show. See if I care,” I call back, sure to fill my voice with disgust.

  There’s instant silence. I’ve pissed him off. It pulls a smirk onto my face. Assholes are all
the same. Triggered by mockery. Enough to fly off the handle and do something fucked up.

  The final scratch on the door is deafeningly loud. The wood splinters and I see three of his sharp claws poking through, right before he pulls the door out of its frame. Wood cracks and falls in a crumbling heap and I’m left staring at a lion-man with a bloodied paw and death in his gaze.

  “Now you will die.”

  “No,” I tell him. “Now you will.”

  I envision transporting him into the lake near my mates’ cabin, that darkness I haven’t banished yet waiting to devour him whole. He doesn’t disappear and I almost kick myself for even thinking it might work. I can only transport myself. Fuck!

  “Bold words for a pathetic human.” He spits out the last word like it tastes bad.

  “They’re not just words,” I say, my gaze falling on mirror over the dressing table.

  I will it to shatter and the shards to pierce my enemy’s skin.

  It happens so quickly I almost miss the mirror pieces moving toward him before they embed in his flesh. He barely flinches, even though one pierced an area close to his heart.

  Shock fills me as he drops to his knees after grinning like a damn fool. Did I just kill him? Oh fuck. Oh no. This can’t be happening.

  “The others are coming,” he tells me, as blood dribbles out the corner of his mouth. He grins and all I can see is a shiny band of red covering his teeth. “You won’t survive.”

  He falls forward and the shard comes out of his back. I move away from him, wishing I could take my choice back. The mirror had seemed like my only weapon. My best chance to come out on top in a battle I had no hope of winning using physicality alone. I didn’t mean for it to kill him.

  I shudder as I look for a way past him. He’s blocking my only real exit, and I have to step over his motionless body to get out. I’m possessed by a horrible case of the shakes as I move toward the front door of the cottage. If what he said was right, I have to hurry the hell up and get to the Emerald City before the pride can get their claws on me.