Chapter 19

CALEB

“Daniel, let it go,” Ruby yelled, her hands swishing at her sides. Goddess, she is extremely drunk. “He didn’t really mean it, like not actually.” She said to me, squeezing in between us and trying to push us apart.

“I think your little friend needs to be taught a lesson, Ruby.” I said, lifting my chin and glaring Daniel right in the eyes.

”Who do you think you are—“ he started.

“The First Prince of Lycan,” I thundered, my anger getting the best of me. “And you’ll do well to remember it.”

“Both of you, stop!” Ruby cried. “I can’t watch you suffer, Daniel, just let it go. He’d break your neck.”

Daniel didn’t break my gaze, but said, “Fine. I’ll call you in the morning, Ruby. Get some sleep. Don’t you dare touch her.”

I laughed, somewhat amused that he thought he could give me an order in my own home. “Don’t you dare come back here.”

Without another word, Daniel picked up his coat and left. He gave Ruby a gentle look before closing the door, and then he was gone.

“Who was that?” I asked, trying to keep my voice firm, but not unkind.

“I told you,” Ruby said, looking somewhat confused. “That’s my warrior. His name is Daniel. He is my best friend.” She started playing with a loose thread on her sleeve.

I sighed, “Best friend, huh?” That was not exactly a comforting thought. Her male best friend, in the dark with her, drinking wine.

I remembered our argument earlier, when I admitted I didn’t feel like I could trust her. This is how she acts? She goes and drinks with another man right after I told her how deeply I hated betrayal.

The anger dissipated though as I watched her, so small and innocent looking. She looked like she was about to fall asleep.

Ruby squinted, like she was focusing very hard on my face. “Yes. I met your best friend Joseph, so you had to meet my best friend Daniel. Now we’re even, so it’s fair.”

“Fair?” I asked, “I don’t exactly think it’s fair I find my fiance in the arms of another man at the end of a long day.”

Ruby cocked her head, “I don’t think it’s fair I know all about the other girls you’ve slept with. I don’t want to think about my husband with any other women.”

She swayed a bit, and I caught her, her body felt so much more fragile in my arms than I had expected. “Let’s sit down, okay?”

“Okay,” she said complacently, letting me guide her back to the couch. It took a few tries to orient her properly, but finally I had her propped up comfortably against the armrest.

She tried to pick up her wine glass from the floor, but I pulled it immediately out of her grasp. “No more of that for you,” I said, placing it on the kitchen counter where she couldn’t reach. There were three empty wine bottles next to the sink.

She’s going to have a horrible hangover tomorrow.

“What is your relationship with Daniel, really?” I asked, watching her struggle to roll over on the cushions and face me.

“What is your relationship with me?” She asked, sighing in a goofy, overexaggerated manner.

“You’re my fiance,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “How much did you and Daniel drink, was that all you?”

“Enough.” She said primly, squeezing her eyes shut and then opening them wide. “I think you have nice hair.”

I raised an eyebrow and struggled to keep from laughing. She really was far gone. “Thanks, Ruby.”

“It’s a shame the rest of you is so annoying.” She said, resting the back of her hand dramatically over her eyes.

“Annoying? You think I’m annoying?” I ask, tilting her chin to face me better.

”Very,” she said somberly. “You always told me I was silly. Never stupid, but silly because I liked Lucas.”

”It’s a silly thing to do,” I told her.

“No, but you didn’t get it. And you would make me so mad at state dinners because you would always eat all of the spinach puffs first, and those were my favorite. And that’s rude.” She said.

“Maybe,” I conceded, watching her grimace at the memories.

“And when you stole my favorite pen, I know that was you, and if you say it wasn’t you’re lying.”

“I did not—“

”Just because you returned it doesn’t mean you didn’t also take it! You used half the ink! That’s so rude!” She exclaimed, exhaling loudly.

So that’s what Ruby thinks about when she thinks of me. I could barely hold onto my chuckling. Apparently I’m not an unbearable ass.

“If you hate me so much, Ruby, why was I the first person you thought of when you wanted to get out of your marriage with Lucas?”

My stomach twinged a bit when the question left my mouth. I couldn’t explain it, or maybe I didn’t want to, but I truly wanted to know the answer. What do you think of me, Ruby? I thought.

I shook my head a bit, was I trying to prove to myself that she thought I was special?

She didn’t say anything back for a moment, her eyes closed like she might be in pain. “You hug me…you call my name…why…everything hurts and you hold me…” she trailed off, her body shuddering.

”What?” I whispered, unsure what she was seeing. I knew I couldn’t trust any of the words she said now, she had had far too much alcohol, but I couldn’t stop myself.

I scooped her up into my embrace, holding her head close to my chest. I could hear her heart beating, fast like a hummingbird, and I could feel her delicate breathing on my shoulder.

I knew I was getting myself into trouble. I knew the right thing to do was pick her up and take her to her bed. I should cover her with the blankets and turn off the lights so she could sleep off the wine she had earlier.

I sighed into her neck, I couldn’t help it, I was becoming fond of her, even if she was irritatingly headstrong and argumentative.

But should I be letting her become fond of me? The pain of thinking that Ruby had fallen for me felt like a knife in my gut. I could not let anyone love me, and I refused to ever fall in love with anyone ever again.

That path was closed to me. And I couldn’t risk opening it.

But still, I didn’t want to let her go. I held on more tightly, and let the evening tick away.

We might have both fallen asleep, I wasn’t sure how long we laid there. But It startled me when I felt her entire body tensing, her brow suddenly covered in beads of sweat.

She moaned quietly, like she had been wounded.

”Ruby?” I said, pressing my hand to her forehead. She was burning up. ”Ruby what’s wrong, can you hear me?”