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By the time the grizzly goes still, I’m covered in its blood with chunks of its flesh in my teeth. Panting, I jump off the bear, adrenaline running through my body like the bolts of lightning that sent me here.
As if on cue, there’s one final flash, and in it I see Raina. My ancestor, the great mother. As the burst of light fades, I realize the truth of it all.
Raina brought me here. So she could show me.
She wants me to fight for Ruby like Cassius fought for her. It doesn’t matter that I’m descended from Raul, Raina has blessed us. She’s spoken.
And I will obey.
I shift into a human to assess my wounds, but they’re already healing as if Rachel’s power still courses through me. I loom over the bear, staring in awe at the carnage, and bend to rip a claw from its paw. I’ll drill a hole through it and give it to Ruby on a necklace.
Proof that even a grizzly bear won't keep me from her.
And neither will our packs.
Chapter10
Ruby
Sitting in my brother’s car with Jax driving is unsettling enough, but Jax manhandling me and throwing me in the back seat was humiliating. I look out the back window as the bar shrinks into the distance and watch Rachel speed away on her motorcycle, followed quickly by Ryder. My blood is still boiling. At that moment I really wanted to kill her. Thinking back now I realize how crazy that was.
“Tell me the truth, Ruby,” Jax says from the front seat. I turn around and our eyes meet in the rearview mirror. He looks tortured, hurt, and I rub my arms to warm myself up, trying not to look too guilty. “Chase is clearly more to you than some guy who saved you from a bear.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I roll my eyes and look out the window, pressing my head to the glass and wishing to see Chase running beside the car and trying to stop us. “If you ever touch me like that again…”
“You’re never going to accept me as a mate, are you?” His knuckles are white as he grips the steering wheel and his eyes watch me so intently it makes me squirm in my skin.
“How could I? You’ve been like a brother to me my whole life. I can’t just flip a switch and get all hot and bothered for the boy who threw my doll in the firepit and laughed at me for weeks.”
“But you can flip a switch for him?” He looks over his shoulder, eyes burning with pain. “You can’t forget childhood mistakes, but you can ignore centuries of animosity and violence?”
“Chase isn’t responsible for the mistakes of his ancestors…” I mumble and he rolls his eyes at me.
“If you want to destroy this pack, you’re doing a damn good job!” Jax growls and it feels like a slap to the face. “We all have a responsibility to the pack, and you being the last high-ranking female means you carry more weight than any other woman. Yet you squander it, throw it away, all for some biker trash?”
The car screeches to a stop in front of my house and I see Cole waiting for me on the porch, his eyes murderous.
“I won’t fight for someone who doesn’t want me, Ruby,” Jax warns. “I hope that mutt is worth losing the best option you’ve ever had.”
He gets out of the car and slams the door behind me, his shoulders hunched with disappointment, and as he passes Cole he throws him the car keys and walks in the house.
I’m frozen in place in the back seat, watching Cole as he descends the stairs one by one, his eyes focused on the car and his fists clenching. I click the automatic locks as soon as he’s outside the door and Cole sneers at me, waving the keys in front of the glass.
“Let’s not play this game, Ruby,” he snarls. “Get out or I’ll pull you out!” He unlocks the doors with the key fob and opens the door, resting his head on the frame and looking me over. “So, he’s going to be a problem then.”
“Maybe you’re the problem!” I snap and try to push past him but he holds me down.
“Lineage is the problem, sister,” he says coolly, his eyes cold and distant. “We have a responsibility, and it’s on us alone. If you’re so willing to taint our pack with the darkness in his heart, then it should mean nothing to you to mate for duty.”
“It’s not like that! He isn’t tainted! You’re blinded by hatred, you can't see what’s right in front of you!”
“What I see is you running from responsibility like a spoiled brat, while I’m scheduling semen donations with half the damn pack!”
I wince, looking down. I’d wondered how he planned on doing it, part of me thought he’d enjoy sleeping with all the eligible girls. He plans on artificial insemination. He doesn’t want to touch them just as much as I don’t want to touch Jax.
Cole sighs and holds his hand out to me and I take it hesitantly. He pulls me carefully out of the car and into a tight hug. His shoulders relax as his breath shudders out of him, and a tear slips out of my eye.
I love my brother, I love this pack, but I love Chase more. Even if it doesn’t make any sense. Even if I just met him. I need him in my life like I need air in my lungs.
