Ruby's Heart, A Blue Moon Coven Chronicle

38. Eripuit ~ {Rescued}

Arriving at consciousness was a torpid affair. The sounds of bustling had lifted the level of awareness in Ruby's body slightly but not enough to combat the copious amounts of sedative she'd been given.

She'd awakened once and was panicked, frantic at not recognizing anyone around her. Then the memory of her dead child hit her and the wailing that came from her was enough to stop those who were moving in the halls. She'd been injected quickly with more sedative, to calm her.

The room felt warm as she began to drift to wakefulness slowly. Her eyelids fluttered softly as awareness grew. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered grief. Her hands moved to cover her abdomen but she found that they were restrained. 

Her eyes opened then as she pulled at the wrist restraints, realizing only then that her hand was entwined with another's. Pale blue eyes fixed first to the hand that was holding hers. Then her gaze drifted over the leaned-over body that belonged to the hand. It was a young man it seemed, with dark hair and long eyelashes that were currently resting against the topmost part of his cheeks. 

She watched him while she held still, not wanting to wake him. He looked as though he'd been through battle and had finally found peace. She felt an urge to touch him and her hand moved, she'd already forgotten she was restrained. She looked up at the ceiling and then let her eyes close as she felt her body was still so heavy, and there was pain. It was then that the silent stream of tears began to leak from the side of her eyes to wet a trail to her hair.

It was the sound of sniffling that awoke Ryan.

"Ruby?" He whispered as he lifted his head to look over where his mate lay crying as softly as she could. "Ruby, I'm here. I'm so sorry Ruby, I'm so sorry I failed you and our pup." His voice was gravelly, sore from his own grief and wavering with emotion. He squeezed her hand lightly. She seemed to rouse from that action.

"Pup?" Her sniffles paused as she opened her eyes to meet the hazel-eyed Ryan. She had been about to ask him a question but she was stilled by the emotion in his gaze. 

"I lost a child," Ruby said solemnly. "A girl. I must have lost my mind because I imagined myself as a wolf." 

Ruby's voice was detached and dreamlike. She wasn't certain of her surroundings past the fact that she was in a health facility. She looked at the man again and though she felt so many strong things just by meeting his gaze, she could not find a smile. 

"They killed her. The doctor and my husband." Ruby whispered as she looked down and then back up to the man who had tears running from his eyes. 

"And I didn't stop them. I was too stupid to know." She began to sob then again. Her head pressed back into the pillow as her hand gripped tightly to Ryan's and her sobs devolved to tired whimpering hiccups.

Ryan stood and leaned over her to let his hand rest against her hair. He petted her gently to soothe her as he pushed the button for the nurse.

~~~

The trackers had been scouring and dismantling the estate for hours. The moment Ruby was returned to the Blue Moon coven mansion a team was dispatched. 

"We are definitely missing a larger picture Scott" Caspian lifted one of the books from the shelf. It was an old leather-bound journal. He fanned through the pages to see that each one was written upon in a very delicate feminine script.

"There are over fifty journals here, and look at the dates. Some of these are older than we are, and that's pretty fucking ancient." Caspian slid the book into a box, wedging it with all the rest.