Chapter 5.

Eliza was sleeping safely inside after there were no more tears, she did need that sleep. Ruby was sitting on the porch swing, staring at the empty streets. It was two in the morning and not a single citizen was in the streets.

She hadn't slept since she woke up from her deadish state. Too scared she might not wake up again and realizing how many nightmares she was bound to get.

Ruby found herself standing up to take a walk in the middle of the night. Her legs were carrying her along the way and she didn't really care where she was going. She discovered that she was in the middle of the woods. Not really energetic enough to walk back, the brunette sat with her back resting on a tree and her eyes started scanning the place around her.

"A nice forest?" Ruby commented, releasing a deep breath and looking down at her hands in sadness, "Did you really have to go, Mira? You promised and now...what am I supposed to do?" She whispered lowly, her eyelids needed sleep but she was too afraid to close her eyes.

She heard a twig snap and looked around in alarm. Ruby gasped at what she saw, frozen in place as she stared at yellow eyes with amber-gold swirls.

Eyes that belonged to a wolf. A werewolf.

Ruby knew, from Van, that werewolves could turn on full moons and only then or at least before the curse was broken but Noah was dead which narrowed it down to one person, Nicholas.

"Selfish British dick...hi," She breathed out, remaining in her place as she tried to contemplate if he understood what she said and could recognize her or not. The wolf made its way towards her, confirming the crazy thought.

A jet black wolf stopped in front of her, hiding the moonlight with his figure, it wasn't too big, like a year old dog mostly, he used his head, nudging her a little hard as payback for calling him, Selfish British dick. She huffed out, falling back before she pulled herself up, glaring at him.

"What? Is that not what you are?" She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as he nudged her again, "You've gotta admit. You are but with a cute accent."

He nudged her once again before she rolled her eyes, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles, "Don't expect me to take anything back, that's what you get for killing your soulmate's entire family. Live with what you get."

His yellow-amber eyes had something different in them as he sat down on his front legs, looking at her with some sort of guilt and remorse swirling in his eyes, "Stop looking at me like that," Ruby trailed off, shaking her head.

He pretended to look confused as she threw her head back, sighing. Ruby patted her lap and looked at him as he came over and sat on her lap, laying his head on her chest. She just hugged the wolf close to her chest and ran her hands through his fur as he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Why do you have to look like such a cute puppy?" Ruby raised her eyebrows, asking before mentally facepalming herself. How did I end up here?

She huffed out, questioning, "Why you? Of all the people in the entire world, the universe chose to make you my soulmate or the other way around since you're the doggy here. Just why you?" Ruby rolled her eyes as he let out a low growl when she called him 'doggy' which caused her to chuckle.

"I mean if the mate-ish lovey-dovey version of me wanted a bad boy. Why didn't she just go for Van?" Ruby asked, smirking as he growled at the mention of the raven-haired vampire, "He's the older hot mystery."

He growled out, causing her to shrug and purse her lips in a straight line, "Let's face it, he has more chances with me than you do, now."

Before he could try and nudge her once again, she whined out, running her hands over her face, "Ah, how I wish I could just sleep..." Ruby trailed off as the wolf nodded his head, almost encouragingly, "I can't."

The wolf tilted his head, as though asking why, "Because I'm scared." She whispered out, "I insult old vampires and stand in front of them but sleep? I am afraid. Pathetic," Ruby chuckled humorlessly, "I don't even know why I am telling you this, majority of my problems is because you just...exist and do the things you are used to doing; hurt people."

Expecting a nudge because of how harsh but true that must have sounded, Ruby only heard a whisper in the back of her mind, "Don't worry. Just sleep."

"Was that you?"

"What? You are used to speaking telepathically with all of your friends?" Nicholas mocked answering, Ruby rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him, "Well, then don't question it."

"I can't sleep, Nick. It ain't that easy."

"It is," He spoke up once again, claiming, "Don't worry. I'll be right here when you wake up if you want me to."

He stood up on all fours and went behind her back and lied down, "C' mon," Nicholas encouraged her.

"You don't mind?" Ruby asked, furrowing her eyebrows before he shook his head. She bit her bottom lip, contemplating the thought before resting her head on his fur and lying there, staring at the stars before her vision began to blur and she drifted off to sleep, with her head resting on his warm and soft fur.

_______________

Ruby was lying down on the ground, surrounded by the grass as she gazed at the stars, with her head on Nicholas' chest as he pointed out constellations for her. Making her forget all about the grief and pain for the loss of her loved ones.

Her head was resting on his chest, as she listened to the vibrations of his words when he spoke and his calming heartbeat. One of his arms pulled her tightly against him, his hand gripping her waist. The other hand continued to point towards the sky.

"And what's that one?" She wondered, pointing towards a constellation.

"That's Sagittarius," He named it before smiling down at her.

"My sign!" She squealed out, making Nicholas chuckle at her reaction.

He joined her laughing, nodding along, "Yes it is," Nicholas laugh died out as she sat up, looking around her with a confused frown on her face.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Ruby shook her head, standing up as she claimed, "I am supposed to be having a nightmare. Unless this is my mind's version of a nightmare," She huffed out, meeting Nicholas' ocean blue eyes, "Which is very unrealistic..."

She rubbed the back of her head, almost freaking out before he stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders to soothe her, "Hey, calm down. darling. You're making a big deal out of this."

"No. no. I am not supposed to be calm. I am supposed to be a crying mess. I am supposed to be in pain," Ruby scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she took another glance at her supposed dreamland, "Not on Cloud 9!"

"I make you feel like that?" Nicholas asked her, smirking smugly before she glared at him.

Ruby rolled her eyes, "I liked you much more when you were a wolf."

He chuckled at her comeback before proposing a deal, "C' mon. give me a chance, to make you forget all of that pain." Nicholas told her, sensing she was about to say no, he added, "I dare you unless...you are scared of me and the feelings I could spice up."

"Oh, no, you didn't," Ruby shook her head, as an involuntarily smile took over her face.

"Oh, but I did, darling."

"A small chance?" Ruby conditioned, raising her eyebrows as he nodded, a glint of hope dancing in his ocean blue eyes, "Ok, why not?"

She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. Nicholas was overwhelmed with happiness, that he snaked his arms her waist, embracing her before he lifted her, spinning her around as her melodic laugh echoed through the fields of grass and lilies.

"You don't know how happy you've just made me," He smiled down at her, like actually smiled, not smirked or grinned. A genuine, adorable, and contagious smile.

"You've got dimples. They're cute." Ruby noted, beaming up at him and before he could respond to what she said, Ruby was running across the field, "Catch me if you can!"

_______________

Ruby and Nicholas had been running through the fields, laughing and having the time of their lives.

Ruby was so happy that she forgot about her problems, for now. However, there was still this voice of guilt in the back of her head saying how he killed her aunt and he was the reason that she almost lost her big sister. Yet, there was this little girl inside of her that hasn't been out since she lost her parents. The little boy inside of him, that only she knew how to bring out, seemed to know how to bring the real her out.

The girl who was almost out of her teenage years who was filled with life and happiness was brought back by the almighty Nicholas King. Just like he brought out that side of her, she brought out the little boy inside of him. One that hasn't been out for a thousand years.

She did something that his family couldn't do even though they had a thousand years to try, and it took Ruby just mere moments.

"You read?"

He rolled his eyes, finding her surprise quite offensive, "I am a vampire, not a barbarian."

"Well, there's uncultured bastards and then there's you...," She shrugged her shoulders, holding back a chuckle.

Nicholas sported a small smile at her comment before asking, "What do you read?"

"What do I not read."

"That much?"

"Mhm," Ruby nodded, running her tongue over her bottom lip, "I read fiction, science fiction, horror, mystery, basically anything. You name it, I have most likely read it or it's waiting on my list."

Nicholas raised his eyebrow, "You have a list? That's impressive."

She crossed her arms over her legs that she was holding to her chest, "I am in med school, it's like sending yourself to hell. Time is not something I have much."

He nodded, chuckling at her peculiar use of words even though Nicholas knew she liked her major, "I like this, our bonding."

"We're not bonding. Nick," Ruby shook her head, grimacing at the word, it just helped the guilt sink deeper into her, "You are just trying to make up for killing my family and you want me to forgive you, which, by the way, is never going to happen."

She attempted to rise to her feet, taking his arms off of her, "Ruby, please...I am sorry...I don't know what else to say or do."

"Maybe you shouldn't have killed my family to get your global domination? Yeah, that's probably it."

Nicholas sucked in a deep breath, "I had to do it, for you, for me...For many reasons that you have yet to know but if you could just—"

She interjected, questioning with doubt filling her doe brown eyes, "Nick, can I trust you?"

"Of course you can, how is that even question?"

Ruby nodded, crossing her arms, "Then tell me where the hell Andy and Will are?"

Nicholas paused, sighing. He wasn't expecting that question. She shrugged her shoulders, pursing her lips in a straight line, "That's what I thought...All of this was just an act."

"Ruby, wait. I can explain," He tried, reaching out for her hand before she pulled back, "I can't trust you with this at the moment, but—"

She scoffed, shaking her head, "You can't want me to trust you and not do so in return. It goes both ways, you know."

She gave him no chance to reply before walking away from him. Ruby thought it would be hard to get out of that dreamland world but when she imagined herself back in the real world, it just happened.