Author's Note: This was to be the first installment of "How They Got Where
They Are", but my inspiration died. If you really want to know anyone
else's history, leave a comment in the reviews.
Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own the Nightworld, the Soulmate Theory, Julian, Blaise Harman, or the last name Redfern. I DO own all the characters besides them tho, and Angel is mine.
The Story of Ruby
My name is Ruby Nicole Kitritch. I was born in Vermont on January twenty- ninth. Herein is the story of my life, my family, and my friends; my entire past and possible future. My parents were Sergei and Valerie, but they left me to fend for myself at thirteen so they could join a select group of Circle Midnight. They have since perished at the hands of humans. After three years of living on my own, I was asked to join a wolf pack. Unfortunately they were all killed by Hunters, save Jason and myself. We managed to escape to Long Island, where we hoped to find refuge. This is my story of survival and acceptance into Circle Starlight.
* * *
I stepped off the plane and breathed in the smell of diesel fuel, freshly- poured pavement, and sweat from at least a hundred people. Jason followed at my back, backpack clutched tightly in his hands. "Welcome to J.F.K. airport," the stewardess greeted as we got to the front of the cabin. I smiled and nodded, making my way nimbly down the metal stairs. We forty passengers carefully exited the 727and darted across the runway to the terminal. Once inside the sprawling complex I quickly led Jason to baggage claim. After picking up our four suitcases we hailed a cab to a Motor Inn in a small place called Smithtown. After getting settled I locked the door while Jason sat down on one of the double beds.
"So what do we do now?" I turned to face my traveling companion, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Dark-red ringlets of hair settled in a jumble on top of my shoulders, but left a clear view of jade- green eyes that now had the cynical look of experiences seen well before their time. Though my graceful body didn't betray my 'shifter strength, it had gotten me out of and also into trouble before. I might be an exotic dancer, but I was not a whore. As I looked at Jason, I took in his features too. Charcoal-black hair covered his head like a fluffy mop, a stray lock falling into his emerald eyes. Those eyes had a haunted look to them, his pale face serious.
"About what?" Jason sighed and stretched his tall frame out to its full six-foot height, resting his head on well-muscled arms. Although he looked strong and was, he rarely used his super-human strength to scare or hurt people. That was what had kept him so low in pack rank, the fact that he didn't like using force to get his point across. I had no problem with that.
"I thought you said you had connections here? That's why we came in the first place." I sat down next to him, one hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find another pack, Jason. I promise we will." The frightened look in his eyes worried me, but I didn't say anything. With a shrug he turned over and went to sleep. About an hour later I also went to bed, but I couldn't get to sleep for a while. Images from a week ago came to haunt me, dragging me back to that awful night…
It had been a late night at The Polecat, and all I'd wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. But the sight of the trashed apartment stopped me in my tracks. Chairs, tables, and a couch were thrown about the room, and a fern was sitting amidst soil and shards of a clay pot. I smelled blood everywhere, and a sick feeling formed in my stomach as I went into Arianna's room, turning on lights as I went. Blood was spattered across the walls, handprints clearly visible in the drying liquid. Arianna's body was lying face down on her bed, a fist-sized hole in the middle of her back. Slugs were imbedded in the walls above the oak headboard, silver glinting in the light. A shotgun had taken her out. In my room lay the bodies of Sean and Jasmine, their throats slashed and multiple stab wounds to their chests. A tear slid down my cheek as I closed Jasmine's lifeless dark-brown eyes. Hunters had come in and killed them in our own home. Arianna had been second in pack rank, but she'd been helpless to prevent her death and the deaths of the younger wolves. Sean had been a wolf for ten years, having been attacked along with his best friend Aaron at the age of ten. Jasmine and he had been dating for a few years, and both were good people. The phone rang suddenly, slamming my heart into my throat. I picked it up with shaking hands. "Hello?" My voice came out as a squeaky whisper.
"Ruby, is that you? It's Jason."
"Jason, where are you? What's going on?" His voice sounded high and frightened, a very bad sign right now.
"I'm at Eryn's house, but I just came from Council Rock. Everyone's dead! Only Arianna, Sonya, Gavin, Dora, Aaron, Liona, Sean, Jasmine, and you were missing. Are the others all right?"
"I found Arianna, Sean, and Jasmine in my apartment so far. They're all dead too. I haven't checked next door, Sonya's room, or Liona's room yet." A pause on the end seemed to last forever.
"I'll be right over."
"Jason wait, I need to ask you something. Was Tyler at Council Rock?" Another long pause came over the line, and I knew the answer even before he said it.
"I'm sorry, Ruby." I hung up the phone and sank to my knees, a sob tearing itself from my throat.
"God damn it!" I screamed to no one. Tyler and I were dating, and sometimes we even danced together at The Polecat. He was a friend, a date, and a pack member. We were lower alphas, but we were supposed to protect subordinates nonetheless. But against Hunters you were lucky enough to escape alive, especially some of the older ones who had been hunting us for years. A knock sounded on the door, and a moment later Jason walked in. We embraced and then searched the guys' apartment next door. It was the same story in there; overturned furniture and blood on the walls. Our leader, Gavin, was lying in the living room, a silver knife still stuck in his heart. His mate Sonya was in the hall, a bullet in her brain. Jason found Aaron and Dora in Tyler's room, their bodies riddled with bullets. Dora was barely eighteen, a freshman at DeMille University. Aaron and Sean were juniors there, and both had wanted to be field biologists. Dora had wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Sonya was a doctor, always willing to help people, and Gavin had been a fireman. But now they were dead, thanks to humans who thought all non-humans were bloodthirsty killers. Jason sighed and shuffled back to my apartment, but a minute later I heard him scream.
"NO!" I ran into the hall, then realized he was in Liona's room.
"Please, not her too." I stopped dead when I saw the scene. Jason had Liona's body in his lap, his hands covered in her blood. He throat had been slashed, and a bullet was in her lungs. She had probably died painfully and slowly, and a shudder went up my spine.
"No Liona, you weren't supposed to die. You survived so much, just to be taken out by humans?" Jason had dated Liona for a few months, and they confided in each other about everything. I sat there crying for all our lost friends and watched Jason rock his murdered girlfriend…
"Liona, wake up. Come on Liona, wake up!" The frantic voice pulled me back to reality, and I sat up with a start. Sweat poured off my body, and I was gasping for air. That had been the most vivid remembrance since the murders. Jason was crying for Liona in his sleep, and a lump rose in my throat. I got out of bed and padded over to him, putting a cool hand on his bare shoulder when I reached his side. Apparently he had gotten changed for bed when I was still dreaming.
"Jason, wake up. You're dreaming." His eyes snapped open, hand reaching to cover mine. His skin was slick with sweat and feverishly warm.
"Ruby?" Sobs choked his voice, and I sat on the bed and stroked his hair to calm him down. "Can you stay with me?" Smiling, I pulled back the covers and climbed in beside him. It wasn't sexual, but touch and closeness is like a security blanket to 'shifters. Tomorrow I would contact two people and pray they could help us.
Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own the Nightworld, the Soulmate Theory, Julian, Blaise Harman, or the last name Redfern. I DO own all the characters besides them tho, and Angel is mine.
The Story of Ruby
My name is Ruby Nicole Kitritch. I was born in Vermont on January twenty- ninth. Herein is the story of my life, my family, and my friends; my entire past and possible future. My parents were Sergei and Valerie, but they left me to fend for myself at thirteen so they could join a select group of Circle Midnight. They have since perished at the hands of humans. After three years of living on my own, I was asked to join a wolf pack. Unfortunately they were all killed by Hunters, save Jason and myself. We managed to escape to Long Island, where we hoped to find refuge. This is my story of survival and acceptance into Circle Starlight.
* * *
I stepped off the plane and breathed in the smell of diesel fuel, freshly- poured pavement, and sweat from at least a hundred people. Jason followed at my back, backpack clutched tightly in his hands. "Welcome to J.F.K. airport," the stewardess greeted as we got to the front of the cabin. I smiled and nodded, making my way nimbly down the metal stairs. We forty passengers carefully exited the 727and darted across the runway to the terminal. Once inside the sprawling complex I quickly led Jason to baggage claim. After picking up our four suitcases we hailed a cab to a Motor Inn in a small place called Smithtown. After getting settled I locked the door while Jason sat down on one of the double beds.
"So what do we do now?" I turned to face my traveling companion, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Dark-red ringlets of hair settled in a jumble on top of my shoulders, but left a clear view of jade- green eyes that now had the cynical look of experiences seen well before their time. Though my graceful body didn't betray my 'shifter strength, it had gotten me out of and also into trouble before. I might be an exotic dancer, but I was not a whore. As I looked at Jason, I took in his features too. Charcoal-black hair covered his head like a fluffy mop, a stray lock falling into his emerald eyes. Those eyes had a haunted look to them, his pale face serious.
"About what?" Jason sighed and stretched his tall frame out to its full six-foot height, resting his head on well-muscled arms. Although he looked strong and was, he rarely used his super-human strength to scare or hurt people. That was what had kept him so low in pack rank, the fact that he didn't like using force to get his point across. I had no problem with that.
"I thought you said you had connections here? That's why we came in the first place." I sat down next to him, one hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find another pack, Jason. I promise we will." The frightened look in his eyes worried me, but I didn't say anything. With a shrug he turned over and went to sleep. About an hour later I also went to bed, but I couldn't get to sleep for a while. Images from a week ago came to haunt me, dragging me back to that awful night…
It had been a late night at The Polecat, and all I'd wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. But the sight of the trashed apartment stopped me in my tracks. Chairs, tables, and a couch were thrown about the room, and a fern was sitting amidst soil and shards of a clay pot. I smelled blood everywhere, and a sick feeling formed in my stomach as I went into Arianna's room, turning on lights as I went. Blood was spattered across the walls, handprints clearly visible in the drying liquid. Arianna's body was lying face down on her bed, a fist-sized hole in the middle of her back. Slugs were imbedded in the walls above the oak headboard, silver glinting in the light. A shotgun had taken her out. In my room lay the bodies of Sean and Jasmine, their throats slashed and multiple stab wounds to their chests. A tear slid down my cheek as I closed Jasmine's lifeless dark-brown eyes. Hunters had come in and killed them in our own home. Arianna had been second in pack rank, but she'd been helpless to prevent her death and the deaths of the younger wolves. Sean had been a wolf for ten years, having been attacked along with his best friend Aaron at the age of ten. Jasmine and he had been dating for a few years, and both were good people. The phone rang suddenly, slamming my heart into my throat. I picked it up with shaking hands. "Hello?" My voice came out as a squeaky whisper.
"Ruby, is that you? It's Jason."
"Jason, where are you? What's going on?" His voice sounded high and frightened, a very bad sign right now.
"I'm at Eryn's house, but I just came from Council Rock. Everyone's dead! Only Arianna, Sonya, Gavin, Dora, Aaron, Liona, Sean, Jasmine, and you were missing. Are the others all right?"
"I found Arianna, Sean, and Jasmine in my apartment so far. They're all dead too. I haven't checked next door, Sonya's room, or Liona's room yet." A pause on the end seemed to last forever.
"I'll be right over."
"Jason wait, I need to ask you something. Was Tyler at Council Rock?" Another long pause came over the line, and I knew the answer even before he said it.
"I'm sorry, Ruby." I hung up the phone and sank to my knees, a sob tearing itself from my throat.
"God damn it!" I screamed to no one. Tyler and I were dating, and sometimes we even danced together at The Polecat. He was a friend, a date, and a pack member. We were lower alphas, but we were supposed to protect subordinates nonetheless. But against Hunters you were lucky enough to escape alive, especially some of the older ones who had been hunting us for years. A knock sounded on the door, and a moment later Jason walked in. We embraced and then searched the guys' apartment next door. It was the same story in there; overturned furniture and blood on the walls. Our leader, Gavin, was lying in the living room, a silver knife still stuck in his heart. His mate Sonya was in the hall, a bullet in her brain. Jason found Aaron and Dora in Tyler's room, their bodies riddled with bullets. Dora was barely eighteen, a freshman at DeMille University. Aaron and Sean were juniors there, and both had wanted to be field biologists. Dora had wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Sonya was a doctor, always willing to help people, and Gavin had been a fireman. But now they were dead, thanks to humans who thought all non-humans were bloodthirsty killers. Jason sighed and shuffled back to my apartment, but a minute later I heard him scream.
"NO!" I ran into the hall, then realized he was in Liona's room.
"Please, not her too." I stopped dead when I saw the scene. Jason had Liona's body in his lap, his hands covered in her blood. He throat had been slashed, and a bullet was in her lungs. She had probably died painfully and slowly, and a shudder went up my spine.
"No Liona, you weren't supposed to die. You survived so much, just to be taken out by humans?" Jason had dated Liona for a few months, and they confided in each other about everything. I sat there crying for all our lost friends and watched Jason rock his murdered girlfriend…
"Liona, wake up. Come on Liona, wake up!" The frantic voice pulled me back to reality, and I sat up with a start. Sweat poured off my body, and I was gasping for air. That had been the most vivid remembrance since the murders. Jason was crying for Liona in his sleep, and a lump rose in my throat. I got out of bed and padded over to him, putting a cool hand on his bare shoulder when I reached his side. Apparently he had gotten changed for bed when I was still dreaming.
"Jason, wake up. You're dreaming." His eyes snapped open, hand reaching to cover mine. His skin was slick with sweat and feverishly warm.
"Ruby?" Sobs choked his voice, and I sat on the bed and stroked his hair to calm him down. "Can you stay with me?" Smiling, I pulled back the covers and climbed in beside him. It wasn't sexual, but touch and closeness is like a security blanket to 'shifters. Tomorrow I would contact two people and pray they could help us.