BAM!
The door slammed shut behind her as Ruby was thrown into the room like a sack of rags.
The force made her stumble, and pain shot through her body. She winced quietly, forcing herself to crawl across the cold floor toward the dim corner where her mother sat.
Helena Barnette—once the graceful and beloved Concubine of the Marquess—was now barely recognizable.
Her wrists and ankles were chained with cold iron cuffs. Her dress was stained and torn, her hair a wild, tangled mess from days of pulling at it in confusion.
"Oscar! Oscar, is that you?! Have you come to see Mother?!" Helena cried out as soon as she heard the door slam.
Her voice cracked with desperation, her chained hands reaching toward the dim figure approaching.
She didn't see Ruby.
She saw her dead son.
Ruby's heart tightened at the sight. Every day, her mother slipped further away from reality, and every time, it hurt her heart just a little more.
The gentle, loving mother Ruby once knew was gone and buried beneath grief and madness since the day her brother died.
Ruby crawled closer and gently took Helena's hand. Her fingers moved slowly, writing a message into her mother's palm. "It's me, Ruby."
Helena was silent for a moment. She tilted her head like a confused child and squinted to see Ruby's face in the low light.
"Ruby?" she whispered. "Ruby, have you come to tell Mother where Oscar is?"
Ruby gave a sad, crooked smile. Again, she wrote slowly into her mother's palm. "Oscar is busy, Mother. He's gone to a faraway place."
Helena's lip quivered. "When will he come back?"
Ruby hesitated, then traced a new message on her mother's palm. "I don't know. I can't say."
Tears rolled down Helena's dirt-streaked cheeks as she held her daughter's hand tightly. "Ruby, please … go find Oscar. Tell him to come home. Tell him that Mother misses him … so much."
Ruby lowered her head.
Even now, her mother didn't really see her. Even in this moment, Helena's heart still clung only to Oscar.
Sometimes, Ruby wondered if her birth had been a cruel mistake, an unwanted echo in a family that even her own mother only cherished her brother.
"Ruby," Helena asked again, her voice rising in panic, "don't you want to find your brother? Don't you miss him too?! Or do you also think Oscar is dead?!"
Her voice cracked into a scream. Her bound hands shook Ruby's shoulders roughly, making her wince again from the bruises already spreading under her skin.
Blue and purple light shimmered faintly around Helena's body.
They pulsed like living things, whispering of her mother's grief, of fear so deep it had shattered her mind.
Sadness and fear. Those two feelings were slowly driving Helena mad.
Ruby reached up and gently touched her mother's cheek, brushing away the tears. And as her fingers lingered, something changed.
The glowing colors began to fade, melting away into a soft white light, calming her down, like the surface of a quiet lake after a storm.
Ruby wrote one last message in her mother's palm. "It's alright, Mother. We'll see Oscar again soon. I promise."
Without the protection of the Barnette family, Ruby and her mother, Helena, had no way to survive in the outside world.
They had no money for food or a place to stay, and neither of them had the strength or skills to defend themselves.
The only gift Ruby had was her strange ability, she could see the colors of people's emotions.
However, that power was useless when it came to staying alive.
If she wanted to survive on the streets, Ruby might have no choice but to become a servant or even beg for food.
It wasn't a dignified life, but at least it was better than becoming a plaything for desperate werewolves in heat.
[But if it came down to it … even selling my body might be better than letting my mother starve,] Ruby thought bitterly.
She didn't have sharp claws or deadly fangs like other werewolves, but she did have beauty, something that always drew the attention of men, even if they didn't want to admit it.
Her skin was pale and smooth like pearl. When she lowered her head, her long, curled lashes brushed against her cheeks, framing her soft, peach-shaped eyes.
Her lips were naturally red, like the color of ripe apples, tempting without even trying. And her golden hair fell in soft waves around her face, making her look delicate and innocent.
If Ruby hadn't been born with a disability, she might have been the most sought-after mate in the entire Wridal Kingdom. Men would've lined up just for the chance to claim her.
Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't born perfect, so the men of the Wridal Kingdom prefer to turn a blind eye to her.
• • •
"As of today, you are no longer a part of the Barnette family!"
Just after sunrise, Marquess Barnette gave the cold order, and the guards dragged Ruby and Helena out of the mansion without hesitation.
They weren't given a single coin, not even a piece of bread.
The only thing Ruby could carry was a worn-out bag filled with a few clothes for her and her mother.
Standing at the gates, Ruby turned around and stared at the man who had cast them aside, her father.
For years, she'd stayed quiet. She'd swallowed her anger and bit her tongue, hoping for peace, hoping to survive under his roof.
But now that he'd thrown her out like garbage, she had no reason to hold back.
Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a pile of crumpled papers. She hurled them at Marquess Barnette's face.
The pages scattered in the wind, each one filled with angry messages she'd written over the years, words she had never dared to speak out loud.
[You bastard! When I die, I'll haunt you and make sure you never sleep again!] Ruby wrote on one of the papers.
[I hope one day the Barnette family lives in filth and shame!]
[Idiot! Coward! You're all nothing but trash!]
Marquess Barnette's face turned crimson. His hands shook as he crushed the papers, veins bulging in his forehead.
"How dare you insult me like this!" he roared. "Was yesterday's punishment not enough for you?!"
He raised his cane, ready to strike her again, but just as his hand began to move, the sound of hooves clattering on the ground filled the air.
A grand horse-drawn carriage rolled into view, its body gleaming with silver and gold. And on its side, there was a crest that made everyone in the yard go silent.
Two wolves, flanking a sword and a crown.
The insignia of the Kingdom of Veritas.
A kingdom feared across the continent, ruled by a cold, ruthless Lycan King.
Marquess Barnette's mouth opened slightly in shock. Ruby rubbed her eyes, wondering if the beating had made her see hallucination.
"Why is a Veritas carriage here?" Marquess Barnette asked, barely keeping his voice calm.
"I—I don't know, Your Grace," one of the guards stammered, equally confused.
Ruby couldn't believe it either. Veritas never interfered in the affairs of other kingdoms. It made no sense for their people to show up here, especially not in front of her former home.
At first, Ruby thought that the carriage had just happened to pass by the Barnette family mansion.
But her suspicion was proven wrong when she saw the Veritas carriage suddenly stop right in front of the Barnette family's mansion gate.
Shortly thereafter, the carriage door opened, and a man stepped out. He wore robes of the finest silk, with the golden insignia of Veritas pinned proudly to his chest.
His long black hair was tied neatly behind him, and not a single wrinkle marred his clothing.
From the man's appearance, Ruby could guess that he held a high position in the Veritas Kingdom.
"Good morning, Marquess. I am the royal advisor of Veritas, Alger Bournee." A gentle smile appeared on the man's face as he said, "I hope our visit isn't too much trouble."
Marquess Barnette straightened his back immediately and forced a smile. "No trouble at all! It's an honor, truly. What brings the great Kingdom of Veritas to the Barnette estate?"
For a moment, the Marquess allowed himself to imagine grand opportunities—alliances, riches, favors from the feared kingdom.
Unfortunately, Alger didn't come for him.
His gaze slid right past the Marquess and landed on Ruby, who stood frozen, her wide eyes locked on the elegant man.
"His Majesty wishes to speak with Lady Ruby," Alger said gently. "If the lady is willing, she may join him inside the carriage for a private conversation."
Suddenly, Ruby looked shocked. She kept glancing at the carriage and back at Alger.
Alger's words revealed that the number one person in the Kingdom of Veritas was in the carriage.
Matthew Harelle.
A name so feared, most people didn't even dare speak it.
He was the monster, the shadow king, the cold-hearted ruler of the lycan kingdom.
Why would he want anything to do with someone like her?
Marquess Barnette must've thought the same thing. He turned pale, then quickly dropped to his knees and bowed low. "Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty! I didn't realize you were with us!"
Ruby rolled her eyes and said inwardly, [You dog. Always licking the feet of important people.]
Smack!
Out of nowhere, Marquess Barnette slapped the back of her head.
"Where are your manners? Bow to the King and apologize! What did you do this time to make His Majesty come all this way?!"
Ruby glared up at him, her face twisted with disbelief. [How could I have wronged him if I've never even met him?]
Ruby's glare made Marquess Barnette want to hit her head again, but his movements were stopped by a low voice from inside the carriage.
"Are all the men in Wridal this brainless and wild? Your Alpha rejects the mate chosen for him, and a father beats his own daughter."
Everyone fell silent.
Then, from the dark window of the carriage, a pair of golden eyes appeared, glowing like fire, burning as if they were about to burn Marquess Barnette to dust.