Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
“H ey, Ruby.” Lena looked up when her sister came barreling through the kitchen door. Her eyes widened when she saw Ruby, soaking wet and fuming. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Ruby peeled off her coat and hung it by the back door. “Just big, idiotic men being big and idiotic. Oh?… hi, everyone. What’s going on here?”
Ruby took in the scene in front of her. Lena was sitting at the kitchen table with several large colorful balls of yarn in front of her.
Theo sat across from her, his hands up, fingers spread with yarn strung between them like he was holding it up for Lena who seemed to be attempting to knit. This was new.
Phoebe was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall. Lucifer was curled up in her lap. Ruby could hear him purring from her position by the door.
“I’m knitting!” Lena said happily.
“I see that, but?… um?… why?”
Lena shook her head with a laugh, exchanging a do you see what I’m dealing with here? look with Theo . How the hell long had Ruby been gone that Lena had bonded with Theo already?
“I thought I could take up knitting as a way to bring in some extra money.”
“Lena…”
“No, really, it’s a good idea! I was talking to Rafe about his Etsy shop…”
Theo burst out with a laugh. “Wait, Rafe has an Etsy shop?!”
Lena shot him a look, one that Ruby was sure she used to use on her preschoolers.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Phoebe giggled from her spot on the floor.
“Anyway,” Lena went on. “I think I could set up a shop.” She frowned at the needles in her hands. “Once I figure out how to work these.”
“Right.” Ruby toed off her boots and left them by the door. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Thanks.”
“We should probably go,” Theo said, attempting to untangle the yarn from his fingers.
“Thanks for the fun afternoon, Lena,” Phoebe said, gently nudging Lucy from her lap.
“Of course, but don’t you want to stay and see your brother?” Lena asked and Theo laughed.
“Nah, it was much more fun hanging out with you.” He planted a kiss on Lena’s forehead and she beamed.
“Thanks, guys,” Ruby said, walking toward the front door with Theo and Fee. “Did anything?… um?… strange happen while we were gone?”
Phoebe looked at her, eyes filled with sympathy. “Everything was fine. Your sister was perfectly fine.”
“And no fucking Highlanders were sniffing around here either,” Theo said.
“Thank you,” Ruby said again, overwhelmed with the number of people currently in her corner.
“See you again soon, I’m sure!” Fee called over her shoulder as the two made a run for it back to Theo’s truck.
Ruby sighed, returning to the kitchen. Rafe’s truck was still sitting dark in the driveway. She had no idea if he was inside or if he’d wandered off somewhere. She knew he wouldn’t go far.
He was her ride to work, after all.
She went back into the kitchen and found Lena wrestling yarn away from the cat.
“Hey, Lena, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure. Of course.”
Ruby looked her over. She looked okay today. Less tired than she had the night at the bar, less disheveled. Ruby should probably take the opportunity to tell her the truth about their current situation.
“So, here’s the thing…” She cleared her throat. “It’s just that… It’s kinda hard to explain but…”
Lena laughed. “Ruby, just spit it out!”
“Okay, here goes. Rafe is a werewolf and so is his brother Theo. And there’s a third brother who I’m assuming is equally hot and he is the new Alpha of their pack, except Theo and Rafe haven’t lived with the pack for a year, because their father wanted them to fight it out in some sort of ultimate death match and so now Rafe thinks he’s a horrible person, but I swear Lena, he’s really not despite his overall glowering vibe?—”
“Ruby, take a breath.”
“Right. Sorry.” She gave Lena a weak smile. “A lot has happened and I hate lying to you, but I couldn’t figure out how to tell you and not sound crazy.”
Lena pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, I can’t say you don’t sound crazy.”
Ruby snorted.
“Are you sure this isn’t like the time you were certain Casper the Friendly Ghost was living in the attic?” Lena asked with a sigh, the exhaustion returning to her face.
Ruby shook her head. “Ha. Ha. No, it’s not like that at all. Remember the night in the garage? Well, he was in there because the night before he’d gotten injured as a wolf and I dragged him in there to heal.”
Lena nodded slowly, considering. “What is he still doing here then?”
“Well, that’s kind of the part I didn’t want to worry you about.” Ruby fiddled with the ends of her hair. Her bun had tumbled down a while ago.
“Tell me.” The force in Lena’s voice was almost comforting. Her cut-the-shit voice. Ruby had missed that voice.
“I was sort of attacked. By a wolf.”
Lena’s mouth gaped open. She dropped the ball of yarn and Lucifer smacked it triumphantly across the kitchen floor.
“But I’m fine, obviously.” Ruby gestured to herself showing off how perfectly fine she was even though her insides were a confused soup of anger, hurt, and lust. “Rafe was there and he saved me and then sort of took it upon himself to protect us, I guess.”
“Mmhmm. So, you’re not dating?”
“Well?… it’s complicated.”
“What were you fighting about?”
Ruby slouched back in her chair, allowing herself the pouting she’d wanted to do all day. “How did you know we were fighting?”
“It was kind of obvious when you walked in.”
“He keeps trying to convince me he’s dangerous or whatever and that I should forget about anything between us, but it’s bullshit.”
“I mean, he is a werewolf. Sounds kinda dangerous.” She said it, werewolf , like she didn’t really believe it, like she was just humoring Ruby.
“There’s something else.”
Lena sighed. “How could there possibly be more?”
“Rafe thinks you’re some kind of seer, like with psychic, future-telling powers.”
Lena’s eyes widened like two full moons.
“What are you talking about?” She shook her head, her dark hair slipping over her shoulders.
It used to fall in thick black waves but now it was thin and washed out.
“Don’t start this crap again, Ruby,” she warned.
“I have enough to deal with right now. I don’t need you adding to it. ”
“We need to get you help, Lena. You need to control the visions instead of letting them control you. It might be the only way?—”
Lena stood abruptly, her chair legs scraping loudly across the wood floor.
“Ruby, stop.” Her face looked exactly the same as when they were little girls, and Ruby would tell ghost stories before bed.
Lena hated that. She hated that Ruby surrounded herself with the macabre after their parents’ death.
It made no?sense to her. Just like everything Ruby had just said made no sense now.
“Lena—”
“No. Just stop. You can play whatever kinky games you want to play with your boyfriend but leave me out of it. Don’t try to pretend my health is some kind of supernatural power.
That’s not how things work, Ruby.” She gathered the ends of her robe in her hands like the train of a ball gown.
“The doctors will figure it out. I’m sure of it.
End of discussion.” She turned and stormed from the room.
“Lena, wait!” Ruby shouted after her. “It’s not a game! You can’t keep pretending this is going to just go away!” Ruby’s words were met with the sound of Lena’s door slamming overhead and then nothing but echoing silence.