Ruby's Protector

I told them. I told them that Jonathan would be the doom of this pack but no one listened to me. Everyone in the pack always used to sing praises of their future Alpha and how he would bring prosperity to the Blue Sky pack.

Whenever I tried to get them to see that the fool could never amount to anything successful in this life, they would gang up against me and chastise me for being jealous of my adoptive brother.

Now, everyone was going to reap the seed that Jonathan sowed.

“They’re in the building! Everyone, run! They’re killing everyone in their path!”

Someone was shouting loudly, warning people who already knew they were doomed to die today. My heartbeat raced as I opened the first door to my right and ran in. I ran straight toward the grand closet and hid myself inside. My breathing was so heavy and loud that I had to use my hand to cover my mouth. 

The Black Moon pack were the ones attacking us. They were the strongest pack in the Werewolf Realm. They only raided and usurped packs whose members offended them in one way or the other. They never acted unless provoked.

My useless adoptive brother, Jonathan, just had to go and provoke them by aligning himself with some fools and kidnapping the nephew of the Alpha of the Black Moon pack. I heard that the Alpha killed everyone in the packs he usurped to increase his power.

Though it sounded absolutely ludicrous to think killing people would increase a being’s power, I found myself believing the rumour because there was no logical reason as to why he would be killing everyone in a pack just because his nephew was kidnapped.

“Ahhhh! Please don’t kill me! I beg you! I had nothing to do with this! Plea-ahhhhhh!”

Those sounds came from right outside the room I was in. A tear slid down from one of my eyes. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. I was scared. Heck, I was terrified. The last time I felt this way was when I had first manifested as a wolf and I turned out to be an Omega.

That was seven years ago when I was thirteen. I could still remember the sour looks on everyone’s face when they discovered that I did not have a big wolf and there was nothing special about me. I could still remember what the Alpha of this pack said to me when he realised that I did not inherit anything special from my late parents.

“You deceived us all.”

Bang!

The door to the room I was hiding in got kicked open. I could see what was happening from the small gap between the doors of the closet I was hiding inside. I had no doubt it was the Alpha of the Black Moon pack. 

Tears began to flow from my eyes so much that my vision became blurred. I pressed the palm that was covering my mouth hard so that I wouldn’t make a single sound.

“Come out…” A dark sinister voice rumbled.

It was him. He took a step inside the room. My heart pounded inside my chest. I was going to die. I was going to die here today because of the foolishness of Jonathan. The kind of death I would suffer in the hands of this Alpha would be worse than anything imaginable.

I began to regret begging for my life when I was thirteen years old. If I knew that I would meet this fate, I wouldn’t have been reluctant to lay down my life as an apology for making the Alpha and Luna of this pack take me in, thinking I was going to be the next strongest female wolf in the pack just for me to manifest as a lowly Omega.

I should’ve let them cut my head off clean and nicely seven years ago. I shouldn’t have offered to serve them in any way I could to make up for my lack of strength. I shouldn’t have promised to make the pack flourish with the use of my brain power and wisdom.

I should’ve killed myself then. At least, I would’ve been in control of my own death, unlike now.

“I know you’re in here. Come out now, while I’m still playing nice.” The sinister voice rumbled again. The voice caused shivers to run down my spine.

This was him playing nice? After killing all those people, he claimed that he was playing nice! What would this situation be like if he was not playing nice as he just claimed? I was too scared to even think about that.

But still, I didn’t move an inch. I began praying to the moon goddess to save me. Somehow, anyhow. I haven’t achieved anything worthwhile in the twenty years that I’ve been alive. I couldn’t die just like this.

This kind of death would make all my hard work go in vain. All the nights I had stayed up late to study and become smarter, the incessant bullying I have had to put up with, the days I spent without eating, all the times that I’ve had to stand up for myself and prove that just because I had a weak wolf didn’t mean I was useless.

Would all of that hard work be for nothing?

“Don’t let me speak too much. Come out now and maybe I won’t kill you.”

Maybe? I should risk my entire life because of a ‘maybe’? Even if I were to come out now, what assurance did I have that he wouldn’t rip my head off first before asking questions? He seemed like a ‘kill first, ask questions later’ kind of person. 

He took two steps closer. The sound of his shoes against the polished tiled floor brought nothing but shivers to my spine. Three more steps and he would be standing in front of the closet. He took another step.

Badum. Badum. Badum.

My heart would expose me faster than my legs. It was so loud. I was sure that he could hear the sound of my heart pounding inside my chest.

He took another step. One more step and my life would be over.

“It’s time we end this game of hide-and-seek, don’t you think?” Without taking the last step, he reached for the closet.

Game?! He thought this was a game?! I began reciting my final prayers to the moon goddess. It was all over now. 

“Alpha!” A new voice popped up.

I saw the Alpha in front of me take a step back to face his comrade.

“Yes?” 

“We’ve found him. He was bruised in a few places but there’s nothing that requires urgent medical attention.” The new voice reported with a hint of glee in his tone.

Okay, his nephew has been found. Did that mean there was no need to kill anyone else? Thank you, moon god—

“Ah… I see,” the Alpha was the one who said this. What was he seeing? Sympathy? I hoped so.

“Also, we’ve cleared out every single person of importance in the pack. We’ve taken hostages too. But there’s one casualty.”

Every single person of importance? Did that mean… 

“He escaped. The main reason for all of this, Jonathan Willow, escaped. I’ve already sent men to go after his tracks but I doubt there’ll be success in that path. The mission has partially been completed, I think it’s time we returned home.”

Really? Jonathan escaped? How did he, of all people, get to escape the fate that he doomed everyone else to face? Why has he always been the lucky one? Why not me?

“What were you doing here? Is there someone here?”

Gasp!

Fuck, no. I just let my presence here slip. Now, I was going to be done in.

“Who was that? There is actually someone here?” I heard the sound of a sword being drawn out from a scabbard.

I pressed my palm over my mouth harder.

“Ahh, stand back, Beck. That’s my prize for all of this.”

Before I could register those words in my head, the closet doors opened and I saw a nightmare standing in front of me, clad in battle gear and a sadistic smile.

“Ruby of the Blue Sky…” 

I hated the way he said those words so smoothly. I hated that he could clearly see my teary eyes and trembling body.

“Come out now. I’ve won the game.” He spoke in a lighthearted manner as he reached out to me politely.

Alpha Lucian Pierce was his name. But the one I and every other person in the Werewolf Realm knew him as was ‘The Dark Devil.’