Page 20 of Cursed by Death (Ruby Jane #1)

“ W hat is the meaning of this?” Rally growled as he stalked up to our little group. He looked relaxed and at ease, completely at odds with his voice.

I felt Ginger relax behind me. I could tell that now that Rally had come to our rescue she immediately felt safe. I wasn’t going to take it as insulting, she didn’t really know me yet or what I was capable of. She, like everyone else, thought I was the only human here amongst the shifters.

Either I could keep my secrets hidden away like I always did or I could show them just what I was made of. Probably not smart to go there just yet. Some secrets were made to forever stay hidden in the dark, it was the only way to keep me safe.

The men Rally had been with in the parking lot of the underground stood behind him now. They were the same ones who stuck by his side at the funeral. His closest pack members, the most trusted of his people. I really needed to learn their names because the only one I knew was Hunter and he’d taken the baby out of his stroller and was holding him in his arms.

I didn’t like that the baby was anywhere near this but as I looked through the crowd I realized there were children of all ages spread throughout the crowd.

I didn’t know how I felt about this but I didn’t think it was my place to judge them. Not with how I’d grown up, I really had no room to talk. And, besides, for all I knew it probably was always safe for them to be here. Maybe people were just going to be assholes because of my presence here.

Wasn’t that a delightful thought?

I usually wasn’t hated on sight like this and had to at least get the chance to run my mouth off first. Garth had taken one look at me and hated me immediately and I thought he’d been looking for me and had hated me before he’d actually ever laid eyes on me.

“Why’s this bitch here?” Garth said as he jerked his thumb behind him in my direction.

I had tried to warn him when I told him the last time that he wasn’t to call me a bitch again. So really it wasn’t my fault what happened next, he’d asked for it. Really.

I moved faster than a normal human, and in a bit of a blur. There was really no point in hiding myself here amongst these people. They weren’t going to hide what they were so I didn’t know why I should put so much effort into hiding myself.

I kicked the back of Garth’s knee and heard it make a sickening popping sound. He screamed as his leg buckled and gave out under his weight.

He crumpled to the ground in a whimpering ball as he clutched at his injured leg.

I stood over him with both of my knives out and in my hands. I hadn’t even thought about unsheathing them, I’d just done it. All the practice I had been doing over the last several years was really starting to pay off.

The crowd of shifters was deathly silent as I felt every single pair of eyes on me. I only had eyes for ole Garth crying like a baby. Never take your eyes off of your enemy until you knew they could no longer harm you.

I pointed the tip of the blade in my right hand down at him. “I told you, Garth, not to call me a bitch and I meant that. My name is Ruby Jane. Please, in future, do not forget it and I suggest you use it instead of bitch. Oh, and don’t ever talk to Ginger like that again or next time I’ll permanently maim you.”

“Did you see her move?” someone whispered in shocked awe.

“I thought she was supposed to be human,” someone else whispered but I didn’t see who it was because I wasn’t looking into the crowd.

I really wanted to tell them all that I was human enough but seeing as they weren’t human at all I didn’t want them to take that the wrong way or for them to be insulted by it.

“Ruby,” Rally said quietly and I looked at him. He was staring down at the knives held in my hands.

Well, shit.

I slid them safely back into their sheaths and muttered “sorry” under my breath. I really hoped I wasn’t blushing too badly. The red hair and pale complexion made it impossible to ever hide when I was feeling embarrassed.

Rally cupped my cheek very gently with his hand and his amused eyes stared into mine. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, baby. You’re my mate and tonight a guest amongst my people. If anyone should be embarrassed here it’s me, not you. If anything, it shows their lack of respect for me that anyone here would treat you so disrespectfully. To disrespect you is to disrespect me and my authority. Don’t you be sorry and don’t you be embarrassed.”

Nice words and I even knew he meant them. But I really did not want these people to end up resenting me after only my second interaction with most of them.

I realized then that I wanted them to like me even though I wasn’t sure why I cared. I barely knew any of these people, they shouldn’t mean anything to me.

But they did.

And I couldn’t even be mad about it.

Rally took me by the hand, threading his fingers through mine, and he pulled me along behind him through the staring crowd of shifters. We left Garth where he was, moaning and crying on the ground.

I reached back to grab a hold of Ginger’s arm, making sure I had a good hold on her so that she didn’t get left behind in the crowd. I had promised her I wouldn’t leave her alone and I always tried to keep my promises.

Rally stopped at the front of the crowd and turned to face all of the watching people, forcing me to turn with him. His guards or men or whatever he called them fanned out behind us but sticking close, close enough to reach out and touch us.

I did not want to be the center of attention and on display like this and I found myself again wishing that I hadn’t practically forced Ginger to come along because she looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. I had a feeling I was going to owe the poor woman some serious apologies after this night was over.

That is, if she’d still talk to me after this. I wouldn’t be able to blame her if she ran away and never looked back. It was a good thing she was moving into the guest house because it would be too damn hard for her to hide from me there.

“We come here tonight so that I can accept the challenge against me and my rightful place on the throne,” Rally spoke loudly and clearly so that everyone could hear him. I had a feeling his voice carried all the way to the back of the crowd. “But before we get to that, I would like to tell you all that yes, the rumors are true. I have found my mate. She stands beside me right now. Her name is Ruby Jane and several of you have already seen her before because you came to her family friend’s funeral to show your support to your new Princess.”

I shifted uncomfortably at that last bit because I was no Princess and never would be.

I also wanted to kick Rally in the balls and I wanted to do this very badly. He had not mentioned any of this to me previously, he’d just asked me to come for his challenge and be here to support him.

“She is not a wolf,” a male voice called out and I was thankful this one didn’t have scorn or sarcasm in it. It wasn’t hostile in the slightest. In fact, it sounded quite respectful, just like he’d been trying to state a fact and nothing more.

Rally dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Correct. She is not a shifter at all. But she is still my mate. I felt it hit me when I first laid eyes on her in the underground and I have felt that tether that ties her to me every second of every day since. My heart beats for her and her alone. If you’ve been lucky enough to find your own mate then you know exactly what it is that I speak of.”

I had no idea what he was talking about because he hadn’t shared the intimate details of our new-found connection with me. I found myself angry that I was first now hearing about this in a crowd full of people who were watching and likely dissecting my every facial tic and finger twitch.

I had absolutely no idea that Rally now thought his heart beat for me.

And part of me felt bad because I didn’t feel that way about him at all.

I didn’t want my heart to beat for anyone but myself. I wanted to be the only owner of that particular organ. That didn’t mean that I was opposed to finding love in another person, because that wasn’t the case at all. I just did not ever want to feel owned by another person, or ruled by them. There was a fine line to walk between love and ownership. I wanted one without ever being exposed to the other.

I valued my independence and my freedom more than I would ever value most things, more than normal people would probably value them. I blamed it on my fucked up upbringing. It had left me jaded and afraid of basic things such as trust and love.

If I only ever trusted in myself then I could damn well guarantee I’d never be let down. I had no problem being my very own rock.

I felt like Rally was literally throwing me to the wolves tonight and just the thought had me shifting uncomfortably on my feet.

“Good for you and all of that. Really.” a deep male voice called out condescendingly as he pushed through the crowd of people and stepped out in front of us.

He was bigger than Rally. Both taller and broader. He probably had a good fifty pounds on the prince.

I could tell his words had been sarcastic and he’d not meant them to be taken to heart in the slightest.

Why were there so many assholes here amongst the wolves tonight? Was this their normal behavior? How exhausting it would be to deal with this bullshit day in and day out.

I didn’t know how Rally could stand there with a friendly look on his face and not tell the rude assholes to fuck all the way off.

“But I personally didn’t come here tonight to hear about your human mate. I came here to challenge you and I say we get that challenge started. I’ll even promise you that after I kill you I’ll let her leave here safe and whole if she promises never to return to this place ever again and leave our people alone. She’s an outsider, she doesn’t belong here.”

I was getting really sick and tired of being treated like my humanity was something I ought to be ashamed of. Especially because I valued that part of myself so much, it was precious to me.

I wished I could be entirely human and these people were acting like that part of me was no better than a horrible disease.

I no longer wished to be here tonight. I wanted to go home. I wanted to grab Ginger and the baby and get us away from these people. And then never return.

Ginger never treated me any different or acted like I was lesser than her or other in any kind of way. She treated me like we were becoming friends and that meant something to her.

“Since when is it a crime for our mates to be human?” Rally growled, having finally lost the friendly look on his face.

Oh good, now we were both mad but for two different reasons. And he wasn’t mad at me but I was certainly pissed at him.

“There are several people here tonight with human mates and they stand beside them proudly. A lot of them even have children, children which they have also brought with them tonight. They have always been accepted amongst our people and treated no differently. Why should my mate be any different?”

“Because you’re a fucking Prince. Or have you forgotten that?”

I had had more than enough of this bullshit and it was getting us absolutely nowhere.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one because the man who had been giving Rally grief lunged towards him and attacked.

People screamed and I was proud of myself for not having been one of them.