"I'm out of step, I'm off my feet, I'm waking up inside a dream,"
angel FINNEAS
R U T H
Eve hooked her arm with mine as we walked down the marble steps together. Mae followed behind us, scanning the room and grinning when she saw a man I assumed was her partner.
Everyone else in the foyer dressed in formal attire, and I gaped at the number of guests that accompanied the room. It wasn't even all of them. I knew others were scattered around the front yard and the ballroom Mae said the gala was held in.
"How many guests?" I asked Eve quietly, trying to breathe normally.
"Around five hundred," She replied, and my eyes widened. "Half from our town and the others are the leaders and guests from the other towns."
I nodded, lifting the dress I wore with ease so that I could keep balance while walking in heels. With all the nerves building up, I forgot where they came from and if they were even mine.
"If you get uncomfortable in those heels, tell me. I'll grab some flats for you later." Mae kept her eyes on the people chattering, some exchanging glass cups full of champagne.
Thanking her, I walked down the last few steps and stood awkwardly. Who was I meant to discuss business with? Eloise didn't appear to be here yet, and I'd only spotted Ander speaking to a teenage girl. She looked like she could be his sister.
"Mae, look," Eve snickered and nudged her head toward a boy standing in the corner of the foyer alone. He was staring at the girl Ander was talking to. "I knew he was crushing on her."
"Josiah," Mae muttered with a smirk on her face, and he looked at us from across the room. I wondered how he heard her from so far away and with the sound of mingles stopping her voice from reaching him. She didn't even speak loud enough to get his attention.
"Leave him," Eve said with a bright smile on her face. "Or he'll start complaining to dad about how we never mind our own business."
"Isn't that the whole point of having a sibling?" Mae gave Eve a pointed look before making her way to Josiah, her other brother. Did they have more?
"I'm going to leave you here for a minute," Eve turned to me and spoke. "But don't panic. You're safe here, and I'm sure he'll find you in a second."
He? Which one?
I wanted to whine as she walked off, leaving me alone in a room full of strangers.
"To think you'd have run away by now," Reese's voice drawled from beside the stair railing and I snapped my head to face him.
"Should I?" I challenged.
"In all honesty," He turned his face to stare down at me menacingly. "Yes, you should."
Reese's hair was pulled away from his face making his blue eyes stand out and shine in the lights projecting from the chandelier. He wore a tuxedo with a black bowtie that hung relatively loose around his collar.
"I think I just might after this night is over," I shrugged, glancing around the room. "Unless I'm given a good reason to stay and investigate."
He remained quiet for a few seconds and I knew he was inspecting my dress. Maybe he'd seen one of the girls wear it before.
"Do you want me to leave like Mr Andino does?" I questioned.
"It would be safer that way," Reese stated confidently.
"I knew this was mafia-related," A small smile threatened to bloom on my lips as I watched Reese's eyebrows furrow.
"This isn't a joke, Ruth. This is business - a very professional and strict business-" He placed a hand on my lower arm.
"Which makes me wonder why you were stalking me before showing up to my bedroom instead of knocking on my front door like a normal person." It was my turn to sound like I'd had enough of him. "Besides-"
Reese raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue.
"Don't think I can do that right now," I removed his hand from me and crossed my arms over chest. "This dress deserves to be shown off."
Reese sighed deeply, moving his eyes around the foyer once more. I did the same, noting that the twins were now with Josiah who stared daggers at them. I shifted my focus to where Ander was standing, and saw that the girl was gone. Standing in her place was Rueben, and I instantly turned away.
"Who am I to talk to about this crime and environmental crisis Eloise told me about?" I asked Reese, and he nodded behind me.
Eloise was there as if hearing her name had summoned her. She was beautiful, dressed in a gold dress as I was, only shorter and less revealing. Her hair was held up by a gold clip and her makeup brought out her eyes.
"Did you like the dress?" She smiled at me, gesturing to it.
"I did," I nodded, grinning back at her. "It's beautiful."
"It belonged to me many decades ago," Eloise wore a reminiscent expression. "It was to one of these galas - my first. I met the love of my life that night. Ezekiel. He painted the moment he saw me for the first time as soon as he got back home."
I wasn't sure what to say, so I continued to smile. Their relationship seemed so passionate as she told me of their first meeting with a look of love on her face. It made me both glad and upset. I'd never have a love like that. To hope for it would be unrealistic and hurtful.
Then Eloise glanced up at the necklace adorning my neck and I could've sworn a look of mischief crossed her eyes.
R U E B E N
"Altogether, the number of rogues found dead surrounding our borders add up to eleven. In two months, may I add," Ander reminded me for the second time tonight. "The trees around their dead bodies have crumbled into nothing, and the grass is all rotten. How can Ruth explain that? How does your mother think a human will come up with an explanation for this?"
I wasn't looking at him. I was hearing him, but my eyes were solely focused on the woman speaking to my mother. Her brown ringlets were on display as they fell wildly down her back and over her shoulders. The gold dress she wore was somewhat familiar and when I breathed in heavily, I knew who she was by scent.
"Weren't you all about this idea when you kidnapped her?" I scolded.
"I didn't-" Ander sighed. "Look, I believe she has the potential to be a Luna. Yours? Maybe. Do you want to take that risk? Probably not. But she's already here. Not for the rogue problem, but for you."
"I don't want her." I continued to stare at her anyway.
"I'll get her out of here," Ander spoke to me, but I threw my arm across his chest, stopping him from taking another step.
"She's here to talk business, so I'll do it until Zephaniah shows up." Turning to Ander, I mentioned the Alpha of Adrastea, our nearest Galilean pack.
Of all five Galilean Packs, Adrastea was located the closest to us. The others were spread out all over the world, leaving them at a disadvantage amongst the other moon packs. Moons of Neptune, Mars and Saturn. All the remaining packs were too small to get involved, only keeping to themselves in disclosed locations. We didn't get involved with them either.
"Zephaniah? Really?" Ander narrowed his eyes on me, speculating. "You're telling me you two will act civil around her while discussing this?"
"He'll have no other choice," I replied, starting to make my way toward Ruth. My mother was no longer with her. She was alone with Reese.
"And if you scare her away?" Ander's voice projected from behind me in curiosity.
"Then you'll take her back home and she'll never want to come near us again." When Ander didn't respond to me, I walked over to Reese and the queen that stood before him.
Her back was still facing me when I reached them and Reese stopped talking.
"Great, take over," He rushed out before dashing away without delay.
Ruth eventually turned around and when she saw me, all the confusion left from her face in realisation.
"Rueben," Her eyes widened slightly. "Surely you're not going to tell me to run back to my room, right?"
For a moment, her words fogged up in my mind and her eyes were the only things I saw. They were as radiant as gems, yet as dense as a rainforest after a rainstorm all at once, and I couldn't bring myself to look away.
"Rueben?" A faint mumble of my name sounded from her mouth, transporting me back to the timeless beauty that stood before me.
"Yeah?" I spoke cluelessly and secretly admired the rest of her face.
"Can we go somewhere private to talk?" Ruth's head slightly tilted to the side as she questioned me.
Don't get attached. She's not staying for long.
The quiet grumble from my chest told me otherwise.
I sighed and steadied my thoughts while offering my hand out to Ruth, silently hoping she'd take it.
Her hand slid past my hand and hooked onto my arm as she stood beside me. I tensed when her hand enclosed around my bicep.
'I want to talk to her,' Theodoros was nudging at the back of my mind, but I couldn't let him mess up this moment, so I pushed him away. He fought back. 'I want her to see me again,' and that was it. I shut him out entirely after that, leaving him whimpering like a puppy.
"This way," I nodded toward the back doors, the glass revealing guests lingering outside.
She walked beside me without question, holding her head up high with confidence. Even when Ruth was oblivious and had tons of unanswered questions, she was holding herself up with such courage that I couldn't help but admire.
I opened the glass doors and felt her unhook her hand from my arm. Ruth walked ahead of me, and I followed. Her eyes naturally lifted to the stars, shaping constellations in the sky, and I noticed the moonlight glistening in her eyes.
"The sky looks like a masterpiece," Ruth murmured with a smile on her face, walking further on the trimmed grass to get a larger view of the sky.
I thought the true masterpiece was standing in front of me in the shape of a woman glancing at the stars with so much admiration.
As she turned to face me, her hair slid off her shoulder, revealing the bruises that made my blood boil again. I forced myself to breathe before Theodoros could leap out again. He'd make me go feral, and I couldn't risk it. Ruth wanted to discuss business, so that was what I was going to do.
"So, give me a rundown of the situation." Her voice was gentle, but I knew she was ordering me to spill every little detail.
"In the last two months, there have been dead wolves appearing on the border of my town," I crossed my arms and lifted my gaze to the moon she stared at not long ago. "The natural vegetation and soil surrounding the carcass- I'm not sure how to explain it. They've rotted faster than usual."
My eyes closed when I realised she couldn't be of any help. She wasn't educated in the matter of supernatural activities. Ruth had no idea of how big of a problem this was.
"It could be from the toxins in the wolf carcasses. They could've digested a toxic element that the soil soaked up when the bodies decomposed?" She handed her input right to me, and I opened my eyes to stare at the moon again.
I couldn't look at her yet because she made sense, and I didn't want her to see the flicker of hope that crossed my face.
"But that's only part of the reason I'm here," Ruth was glancing at me. "I'm a silent observer most of the time, and I can tell there's a hidden agenda. I'd like to know, please."
She sighed, waiting for an answer as she walked toward the stone railing in front of a memorial statue. I hoped she didn't analyse that, too, because the wolf statue howling up at the moon was dedicated to my victims.
"You're here because everyone thinks you are my destiny." I didn't hold back the truth, well, half of it.
Her head slanted to face me as she leaned against the railing. "Hm," She thought about my words for a moment, her eyes eventually landing back on mine. "If I was your destiny, don't you think I would've entered your life a little more naturally?"
My tie suddenly felt too tight around my neck and the air became humid. I had to show her now. If she had to be scared away from this place, I'd do it. Inhaling a heavy breath, I lowered my fangs, feeling them emerge from beneath my lips. By the time I exhaled, my sight had sharpened on her alone. All my senses were heightened until all I saw, smelt and heard was her.
"What's that?" Ruth asked quietly.
I heard but chose to ignore her as I waited for her to face me again.
"In the woods," She raised her voice so that it didn't sound like a whisper. "It looks like an animal."
That snapped me out of my daze. My fangs contracted, and my eyes darted to the forest, shifting my entire attention to the potential threat. I heard nothing. Maybe it was because Theorodoros was weakened that I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary. Maybe that was why I didn't pick up on the sight of Ruth heading toward the opening like an idiot.
"Ruth," I called out to her, ignoring the guests as they paid no mind to us. They hadn't noticed anything unusual either.
"I think I saw something," Ruth told me, not looking back as she lifted her dress to pick up her pace.
"So you're walking toward the danger?" I angrily hissed, wanting to grab her wrist to stop her.
"I knew you'd follow me. I'll be fine," She waved it off like it was nothing, as if my heart didn't fail me for a moment.
The trees that secluded my property were tall and thick with vegetation. It was too dark for human eyes to see right through the scattered tree trunks, but I'd learned to memorise them with my heightened vision.
"Something about this place is familiar," I heard her whisper. "I've never been here before, but I feel like I have."
Ruth looked around some more before locking her eyes with mine.
"No, I haven't been here at all, but you-" She scoffed, facing away from me as if she thought she might go crazy. "It's insane to think you're familiar. I've never met you before yesterday. But I stepped into these woods and something about being surrounded by trees, and you-"
I gulped nervously, staring at her as she continued her search alone.
"I mean, we had to have met before, right?" I froze in my spot and hoped she wouldn't remember.
Wanting to avoid the subject entirely, I asked, "What exactly did you see?"
I had to rely on her answer because my senses were of no use to me for some odd reason.
"Eyes. Animal eyes. It could've been a fox or, I don't know, a wolf?" Ruth moved her hair from her face and squinted her eyes around the forest ground. "And then I saw something else. I knocked the animal out."
I froze, turning my attention toward her. "Ruth. I want you to go back."
She glanced up at me, her eyes wide from the dark. "You said dead wolves were showing up around your town. Maybe this is why. Obviously, something else is killing them. Or maybe, they're killing each other. It could be a pack. I'm not leaving you alone here with a pack of wolves-"
"They won't get too close. Trust me. If they can sense a group of people around, they wouldn't approach," I tried to reason with her. "Now, go back and find Ander."
Ruth thought about it for a second before stepping back. Her eyes wandered around one more time before landing on something to her far right. A gasp escaped her mouth, as she parted her lips.
I didn't hesitate to step in front of her, shielding Ruth from the sight of the dead rogue I knew would soon shift to its human form. My eyebrows furrowed as I realised I hadn't caught its scent. Dead or alive, I should've been able to smell it.
"Go find Ander," I repeated, spinning around to make sure she was looking at me instead of the blood staining the soil.
Ruth couldn't see the shift yet. It was far too gruesome for her to witness when she knew nothing of our kind yet. Fangs and glowing eyes were nothing compared to the sight of the wolf's anatomy shifting to a human one.
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a/n: this was very different to the old version, but that means less plot holes (hopefully) so we are good !!