Ariel’s P.O.V. (Continued)
It was Ruby who arranged everything for me in the human world and sent me here when things became unbearable for her. I was only sixteen, and still remember both me and Ruby crying our hearts out when she was about to leave me here. Her wolf, Mist, was also angry, and heartbroken, but we didn’t have any choice. It was she who forced me to learn self-defense at first, and then she enrolled me in various courses related to skills in weapons, and various martial arts forms. Thanks to her, I was capable enough today that I could not only defend myself but also earn enough to fend for myself.
I was lost in my thoughts when my phone started ringing again. At the same time, Stella also entered the room with a food tray in her hands. I looked at the screen of my phone and immediately picked up the call when I saw Ruby’s name on the caller ID. “Don’t come here, sweetie, no matter what your father said,” she said in a tone filled with fear and desperation. “Ruby…. What happened? Why… why are you scared?” I asked her immediately in a worried tone while standing up.
“Just listen to me, love. Run away from where you are now. Don’t come back.” She didn’t answer me, but her words made my heart start beating furiously. “You pathetic woman,” Suddenly, my father’s angry roar made me tremble hard in fear. I heard Ruby’s scream after that. “Ruby….. Ruby,” I yelled at the top of my lungs in fear when Ruby continued screaming. The call cut off after that, leaving me in a dilemma. I looked at Stella and Martha, who were also stunned. I had no desire to go back, but I couldn’t stay calm after listening to Ruby’s scream. My father couldn't kill her because it would eventually kill him too, but I was still worried for Ruby now.
“What is happening, Ariel?” Stella asked me in a worried tone. “I… I don’t know… I… I think I need to go back home,” I answered her with a bit of hesitation, but I knew that there was no other way for me to assure Ruby’s safety. I couldn’t believe that my father actually hit her. I didn’t know why but I had this hunch now that Ruby was in more danger than it seemed now. “Shall we go with you?” Martha asked me in a worried tone, too.
I smiled and looked at my friends. “Are you doubting my abilities, love?” I asked her in a teasing tone, trying to erase the tension among us. She huffed while glaring at me. “If my hunch is right, and what we heard, he actually hit your stepmother,” she answered me in an angry tone. We were all capable women who could defend ourselves. We loathed the men the most who hit or looked down on women. I could understand their concern, but we were nothing in front of werewolves.
“It seems so, Martha. But don’t worry. I can handle this,” I assured her, and then walked towards the cupboard. There was no way that I would leave Ruby alone when she was in danger, and I knew this. My father was an a****le, and after what I heard over the call, there was no way that I would leave Ruby without ensuring her safety there. If it were not for her wolf, I would have brought her here with me a long time ago.
The Next Day:-
“Ms. Rosewood,” the patroller greeted me in a polite tone while bowing a little. “There is no need to be formal with me, Marshall,” I punched his shoulder playfully while answering him with a light smile. He was my junior here at school, and I was really surprised to see him at the post today.
He smiled shyly and raised his hand to take my bag. “Aaahhh… I told you, no need to be formal. I am capable enough to lift my bag,” I refused to give my bag to him in a polite and friendly tone. “It seemed that you have changed a lot from the last time we saw you, Ariel,” I looked in the other direction when I heard a friendly tone. I perked up when I saw Asher, my father’s Beta’s son, coming towards me. “Asher!” I cried and ran towards him. He was of my age and like a brother to me. He laughed while embracing me securely when I jumped into his embrace.
“I am so happy to see you,” I whispered to him while hugging him. Asher was one of the few people here who never bullied me and always saved me in difficult situations. “You shouldn’t have come, Ariel,” he whispered so lowly, and I stiffened. We had so many werewolves around us who could listen to our conversation easily. So, I understood his behaviour completely. “I am here for Ruby,” I answered him almost speaking inside his ear. He slowly put me down while taking a deep breath.
“Let’s go home,” he said, and I nodded while taking my bag from the ground where I threw it earlier. I bid farewell to Marshall, and walked towards Asher’s car. I sniffed harder and stopped in my tracks near his car when I got whiffs of different scents around us. Some of them didn’t belong to our pack. “Why do we have wolves from another pack here, huh?” I asked Asher in confusion while looking around. I raised my brows when I saw so many eyes on me. I was a human but had some perks of being an alpha’s daughter that no one knew except Ruby. My senses and my reflexes were better than a human's. My strength was also better than an average human woman.
He immediately grabbed my arm and almost dragged me towards the car. “You will know once we reach the pack house,” he grumbled while almost pushing me inside the car. “Hey,” I yelled when the anger started building up inside me. I hate being manhandled by anyone. It was not like I couldn’t handle him. It was just that I didn’t want to involve myself in a fight right after setting my feet here. “I am sorry, Ariel…. But we need to go,” he muttered while hopping into the driver’s seat.
I grimaced and looked out of the window when he started driving the car towards the pack house. All I needed right now was to see Ruby. I would deal with him later. He was a beta, but I was still an alpha blood. I couldn’t stand disrespect and he manhandled me in front of so many wolves. I scoffed when I saw that there was no change in the infrastructure of the pack. The same old buildings, parks, and roads welcomed me. I left home almost eight years ago, and yet there was no change. It showed how clumsy, and careless alpha my father was.
"Why do we have so many strangers here, Asher?” I asked him again after some time when I saw so many strangers all around the pack. “Our pack is in the middle of merging, Ariel,” he answered me in a bit of a cold tone this time. I raised my brows in surprise, but I was not shocked. I anticipated this long ago. “Which pack has taken over?” I asked him in a calm tone.
“The Blood Moon Pack,” he muttered again in an angry tone. “The Blood Moon Pack? You mean, Alpha Killian Knight?” I asked him in surprise, and he grunted angrily this time. I chuckled and looked out of the window once again. I might be absent here, but I have kept my knowledge updated on what was going on in this world. Alpha Killian Knight was known for his cruelty. He was known as a real beast. Not only was he cruel in human form, but his wolf was also the most ruthless wolf in this world.
I sighed when Asher stopped the car in front of the pack house. There was no one outside the house, and that didn’t surprise me. But I was still curious to know where Ruby was because there was no way that she wouldn’t come out to receive me. “Where is Ruby, Asher?” I asked him impatiently this time. He sighed helplessly and looked at me. “She is locked in her room by your father, Ariel,” he informed me, and I felt like killing my father at this very moment.
“Bastard,” I cursed to my father, and I opened the door to go inside the pack house, fuming in anger. “Ariel…. Wait,” Asher yelled behind me, but there was no way that I would let him come my way right now. “Alpha Rosewood,” I roared at the top of my lungs as soon as I reached the living room. My father was on his feet the next second, snarling at me, asking me to submit him. I snarled back while taking an attacking stand. He might be an alpha, but I was also a trained assassin, and he had no idea about who I am now.
“Where is Ruby, Rosewood? I demand her presence here,” I roared once again while giving my father the truth that I was not going to submit to him. I never called him, Dad, and didn't even show him the respect as my father. That was why, I called him by his last name in an arrogant way. “I told you, Dad, that it was a waste to call her back. See how pathetic and disrespectful she is towards you,” Sapphire, who was also standing beside him, spat immediately while looking at me with a disgusting gaze. “I am not here for any of you. I am here for Ruby. Bring her here, and I will be out of your hair with her the next second,” I put my demand in front of him in an authoritative tone, still having my eyes locked on him.