Someone

My heart pounded against my chest, but slowly, I opened the balcony door carefully. I jumped down, and in a second, I was standing in the spot where I thought I saw golden eyes watching me. I stilled and listened. I wasn't alone. There was someone here. I turned abruptly to catch golden eyes a few trees away from where I was.

" I know there's someone here," I scanned the tall trees with my eyes. My wolf was alarmed, ready to shift if anything. I could sense the danger.

Heavy breathing, I heard it, and then a russle of leaves. I turned and ran behind a tree, but there was nothing. I heard loud chatter and chuckles, and I recognized them.

" Rue, what are you doing in the woods so late at night?" I turned to face my brother and his friends. The boys wore shorts, their muscled upper bodies were bare, their eight-packs were exposed, and the girls only wore shirts. They had gone for a night run in their wolf forms.

" Rue!" Tate snapped his fingers in my face. I glanced at him,

" What?"

" What are you doing here?" he asked.

" I thought I had seen someone from my bedroom window and came to check," I muttered and turned to leave, but a firm hand grabbed my arm. I could tell it was either Hayes or Zylon from the sparks I felt on my skin. I elbowed whoever was holding me in the gut and turned, punching him in the face hard. My movements were quick. Everyone gasped.

" Fuck," the hand released me. It was Hayes I attacked.

" I'm sorry. You startled me," I fake-acted, horrified about hitting my alpha. He could see it was fake. Hayes only looked amused.

" Shit, little Rue, she strong," Shane, the gamma of the pack, laughed.

" Rue, what do you mean you saw someone, and why did you get out if you did?" Tate looked upset. I noticed Zylon, too, was discreetly searching the area with his eyes while Hayes and Shane briefly exchanged a glance.

" I'm sure there was no one. Rue can be an attention seeker sometimes," Cindy groaned, wrapping an arm around my brother's. I opened my mouth to speak, but opted to shut it. I was tired and just wanted to sleep.

" I smell something. There was someone here," Zylon murmurs. Hayes growled, and before I knew it, everyone was going in a different direction except the three girls. They glared at me, but it didn't faze me. I started walking back when Mary spoke, " Bummer, they just left. Thanks a lot, you attention seeker," I ignored her and continued walking,

" Ever since she came back, she thinks she's all that. But don't forget, to us, you will always be ugly, Acne rue!" I tried to avoid her, but she kept coming to me, speaking like an irritating mosquito. I didn't want to engage, but when she pushed my shoulder, I spun around and punched her so hard in the face that she fell to the ground, nose bleeding.

" Don't ever touch me again, or I'll swear, I'll break every bone in your body, you little mosquito," I warned and went inside, straight to the bedroom.

After an hour, I was almost drifting off to sleep when I heard the alpha's voice through the pack mind link, ' Everyone under the age of thirty should be at training, 04 A.M. It's mandatory.'

I woke up early, at 5 A.M., put on my sports bra, shorts, and running shoes, and bolted out of the house. I ran 20 kilometers around the estate and worked out before returning home. When I returned, I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. My mother and granny were there making breakfast.

" Good morning, baby," Mom greeted me. " Where's Tate?"

" I dunno," I shrugged as I went to the fridge.

" Weren't you at the training ground?" Granny asked.

" No, I was jogging and training alone," I answered, gulping my water.

" Oh, honey, training is mandatory in this pack now, and the alphas don't take kindly to absence," Mom said. Oh, I did hear through the mind-link, but I ignored it. In fact, I no longer wanted to be a pack member. I wanted to get a transfer and officially be part of the Jade Moon Pack.

' Why didn't you attend training?' a deep voice growled through the mind link, and my wolf purred. It was Hayes. Having him in my head felt strange, like he was caressing my mind with his fingers.

' I didn't want to,' I barked, shutting him out. I could feel a tug on my mind and low growls on his side. What the fuck? Why did I feel his frustration?

I ate breakfast and went upstairs to get ready for the day. Today, I would hang out with Beth and Ael.

I hopped into my Beetle convertible. She is just as I remembered her. I drove to our favorite street and parked, but as I was about to enter the cafe, I spotted Zylon standing still in front of a flower shop, looking at different flowers through the glass. He wore a black sweater, jeans, and boots yet managed to look so classic. For a moment, I paused, just staring at him. Zylon was truly beautiful. His blonde-golden hair was tousled, falling to his forehead. My heart skipped a bit. I turned before he could see me, but I wasn't lucky.

" Ruby?"