Little Ruby Red

Five

Caleb

Walking back from Ruby’s house gave me plenty of time to think. It was going to be hard not to get involved with her business, but the kids at school had to learn to lay off her. After all, she would become their Luna one day.

I hated bullies. Just because she wasn’t a wolf, it didn’t give them the right to alienate her at school. I intended to contact the principal the second I got home, but my mother greeted me with a frosty reception as soon as I walked through the door.

“Caleb, back in time for dinner? Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise already?” Mom teased in a mocking tone.

She stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a black Chanel dress with a white lace collar. The finely stitched material hugged her slender figure like it had been hand-painted onto her skin.

The way she gripped the bannister rail with her red talon-like nails, leaving crescent-shaped marks on the woodwork, reminded me of a vulture who was ready to strip the meat off a carcass.

I narrowed my eyes and replied with sarcasm. “You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.” My retort hit a raw nerve. The outraged look that tensed her face said it all.

I didn’t have time for her snarky comments. Not that she could think of anything to say in response. There were more pressing matters that needed my attention. First, I had to fix things at school for Ruby. I noticed Mom’s eyes narrow into two fierce slits as I nudged past her, heading to my room.

I made sure I locked my bedroom door, not wanting anyone to barge in whilst I was on the phone. The walls weren’t exactly thin, but werewolves could hear just fine. Often I would find a servant loitering outside my door. No doubt spying on me and reporting back to my mother. I grabbed my cell phone from the bedside table, only to notice a message icon on the home screen.

I opened the text. It was from an unknown number, but the contents of the message gave away the sender’s identity.

"Hi, Caleb, your mom gave me your number. I wanted to ask if you’d like to go see a movie with me tomorrow night. Rachael."

I deleted the message without a second thought, and then scrolled down the phone contacts, finding the number of Lakewood elementary school's principal, Mr. Lyle. I pressed the call button and waited for him to answer.

“Hello?” Mr. Lyle answered the phone, sounding a little nervous and surprised that I was calling him. It was only natural, I suppose. To be contacted by my parents, or me, usually meant that there was a problem.

“I hope you’re well, Mr. Grant?” he gave a formal response.

“Hi, Shane. I’m fine, thank you,” I responded, hearing him breathe a sigh of relief at the other end of the line. “Actually, I was calling on behalf of a student.”

“Who?” he replied, sounding confused.

“Yeah, Ruby Knight.” I offered him her name.

“The human?” he answered, again in the same puzzled manner.

“Yeah, the human, but that’s irrelevant, right?” My voice came off a little clipped and defensive. “What I’m saying is, the other kids are giving her a hard time, and that has got to end,” I emphasized, in a serious tone.

There were no two ways about it. The bullying had to stop today.

“They are? Well, that won’t do at all. We don’t tolerate that sort of behavior at our school.” Mr. Lyle sounded just as outraged as I was. “Behaviour such as that needs to be stamped out,” he finished.

“I’m glad you think so too, Shane,” I replied, satisfied with his response.

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why have you been asked to deal with this?” he inquired.

I had been expecting him to ask me that. It was a valid question and one that warranted an answer.

“I haven’t been asked to deal with it. This is a personal matter that needs to be handled with discretion. She’s my mate,” I revealed.

“She’s yours . . . oh my . . .” Mr. Lyle spluttered with shock. “Well, that would make her the future Luna. Mr. Grant, I will handle the matter myself,” he reassured.

“Congratulations on finding your mate, Mr. Grant. Such a bright little button she is too. She’ll make an excellent Luna someday.”

Relief flooded through me, glad that it went as well as it did. Apart from the initial shock of hearing that Ruby was my mate, there wasn’t a single hint of judgment in his voice.

“Thank you, that’s so nice of you to say. I’m happy to hear that she’s doing great at school. She’s been through a lot, and moving from one state to another hasn’t been easy on her or her mother,” I explained, careful as not to disclose too much personal information.

We ended the call, having decided on an appropriate plan of action. Children need to be educated about treating others how they would like to be treated. They were only six years old, and that had to be taken into consideration. There was a better way to approach this issue without harsh discipline.

It made me wonder if what I had to say influenced matters, somewhat. The second I mentioned that Ruby was my mate, the seriousness of the matter increased tenfold. It’s safe to suggest that if everyone had the same reaction to her being the future Luna of Lakewood, then my little Ruby Red wouldn’t have any more bad days at school. I’m betting that come tomorrow, everyone’s going to be lining up to be her friend. The only issue I had was that my parents would find out sooner than I would’ve liked them to.

I was confident that Ruby’s dilemma would be resolved. I was also certain that my involvement would spark a whole new chain of events.

One thing about living in a werewolf community was that gossip spread like wildfire. I’ll give it an hour before my mom comes to hammer down my door.

Rachel’s text floated to the forefront of my mind. I planned on having words with my mother about giving Rachel my number. I wasn’t sure if she passed it to her during or after my party. It didn’t matter either way. Nothing would ever happen between us.

Plenty of werewolves had other relationships before they met their mates. Usually, high school flings. I couldn’t see the point. It was just a waste of both their time. And if feelings developed, well, that would only get messy when one of them found their mate.

The only problem with my situation was that my mate was human. She may grow up having a few boyfriends throughout high school. How was I going to prepare myself for that blow?

I'd just have to cross that bridge when I come to it and hope that I stand a chance of winning her heart someday.

The sound of glass shattering against a wall shook me from my thoughts. The distinct echo of heavy footsteps on the stairs caused my heart to hammer inside my chest. Everything happened so fast, that I barely got a chance to react before my mother began pounding her fist against the other side of my bedroom door.

“Caleb Grant! Is it true? Open this door before I break it open!” she screamed, enraged.

I quickly scroll through my phone contacts searching for the one person who would be there for me, no matter what. It dialed through, ringing twice before there was an answer.

“Caleb? Hey, we were just talking about you,” my best friend, Aaron, said.

“Aaron, I was wondering if I could crash over at your house for a couple of days?” I asked desperately.