LOGINRuby's POVThe boutique was exactly what Malcolm had described, small, well lit, and very organized. The woman who had spoken to me on the phone was already at the door when I arrived. Her name was Diane and she was brisk and efficient and did not waste time.She had pulled eight options, all gowns, all in my size range. She had laid them out in a private fitting room at the back and she stood to the side while I looked through them without hovering too close.I ruled out three of them immediately. One was too stiff, one was a colour that did nothing for my skin tone, and one had a neckline that I just did not feel comfortable in. The remaining five were all genuinely good options. Diane had done her homework. I tried on four of them.The one I picked was a deep burgundy. Floor length, with a fitted bodice and sleeves that came to the elbow. It had a small slit at the side that stopped just below the knee. Nothing dramatic. It fit well across the shoulders and the waist and did not pu
"What is funny?""You," he said and kept a straight face. "The way you said that, like you were bracing for a fight."I said nothing."Ruby." He said my name in that way that he stressed on the last syllable, "I am not a dictator.""You made me quit my job,""I handled that badly and I already apologized for it. That is different. I had reasons for that. An art competition is not the same thing."I looked at him. "So you are not going to tell me not to enter.""Why would I tell you not to enter a competition?" he said. "You want to chase your dreams, chase them. Enter as many competitions as you want. If you win, even better."I sat there for a second not sure what to do with that response because I had genuinely not prepared for it."Okay," I said."You seem surprised," he said."I am a little," I said."I do not have a problem with you having ambitions," he said. "I have a problem with you being unprotected in situations where I cannot account for your safety. Those are two differen
Ruby's POVI did not know what to say to that so I did not say anything. The room was quiet for a moment. Then Malcolm's eyes dropped to my wrist. He looked at it the same way he did before. That focused, still look that lasted just a moment too long.I had been waiting for the right time to ask about it and I decided that the right time was probably not going to announce itself so I might as well just do it now."Why does the mark bother you so much?" I asked.He looked up at me."Every time you see it you get this look," I said. "You went through my room because of it. You have been staring at it since you first noticed it. I want to know why."He exhaled slowly. He looked at the mark again and then back at my face."Do you know what it means," he said. "To be marked by a man."I blinked. "What?""When a man marks a woman it means something. It is not casual. It is a claim. It is saying that she belongs to him."I felt something go cold in my stomach. "And you thought someone had ma
Ruby's POVI drew for a long time after that.I was not thinking about what I was making. I was just letting my hand move and seeing what came out. That was always how the best stuff happened for me.I was maybe thirty minutes in when I looked down at the page and stopped.I had drawn a girl. She was tall. She had slim, long legs and a small waist and the kind of proportions that people described as willowy without making it sound like an insult. She was standing straight with her chin up and her arms loose at her sides like she was comfortable just existing in her own body. I stared at her for a while.She did not look like me, or she did not look like the me I saw when I looked in the mirror. She looked like the me that sometimes appeared in my head when I was not paying attention. The version of me that I defaulted to when I was imagining myself doing things, taller, thinner, taking up less space.I had read about body dysmorphia once. About how your brain could show you a version
He smiled at that. "If I were you, I would still chase my dreams. Contract or no contract. Whatever arrangement you are in with whoever you are in it with, that is separate from who you are as a person and what you want for yourself. You should not have to shrink what you want because someone else is uncomfortable with it."I did not say anything."That is just my opinion," he added."I've heard you," I said.He nodded and then reached into the bag he was carrying. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it out to me. I took it and unfolded it. It was a flyer, printed on good paper, not the kind people made on a home printer. It had a photo of a large open gallery space at the top and bold text underneath.ARTISTS CONNECT. ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION AND COMPETITION.I read further down. It was an open competition for artists at any level. You submitted a piece or a series of pieces. A panel of judges reviewed them. There were different categories—Painting, sculpture, mixed media, di
Ruby's POVI could not sleep properly. I kept waking up and then lying there staring at nothing and then almost falling asleep and then waking up again. By five in the morning I gave up and just got out of bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress for a while doing nothing. Then I got up, brushed my teeth, put on my gym clothes and decided to just go. The gym was quiet that early. That was the thing I liked about going before the rest of the world was awake. There was nobody to look at me. Nobody was doing that thing where they glance over and then look away too fast. It was just me and the equipment and whatever was playing through my earphones.I started on the treadmill. I was not pushing it, just a steady walk to get my body moving. I had my playlist on and I was looking at the wall in front of me and trying not to think about the email I had sent last night.I had quit a job I actually liked after one day because a man I was contractually tied to did not approve of it. When I put
I leaned closer to the door and she stopped talking on the phone. I moved away from the door. Who was I kidding? Some werewolves actually had sharp senses and could know when someone else was around them. They could easily pick up the scent.“What's it about the Ruby girl?” Her caller on the other
The phone vibrated in my hand. I stared at the screen before finally picking the call. I was almost losing hope that he was purposely avoiding my calls.“Hello?”“Ruby,” He responded with just my name.“I've been calling you. You didn't pick my calls.”“I know and that's why I called back. I'm sorr
The world seemed to tilt sideways. I pulled the car over abruptly, my heart pounded so loudly that it affected my breathing.My hands were trembling again, the same way they trembled when they held Mom's papers, except this time, it felt worse. It felt heavier and crushed my spirit more.“Are you s
“Everything listed seems believable to me. I took a loan for you, and you've got to repay it. It shouldn't be that hard to comprehend.”My fingers trembled as I held the papers. Mother watched me with an expectant stare. It told me that she saw me as nothing more than a bill, and she finally had to







