A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been busy with school and such. Life gets in the way. Oh well. Either way, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it. The next chapter is going to have some flashbacks. We're going to figure out what happened after Amanda's death, and what happened to Ruby after she ran away. And didn't Tyler ever go after her? We shall find out soon, I promise.

Enjoy people!

Chapter 4

"I'm not leaving…I can't, not anymore." Ruby spoke, sitting on a leather sofa with Tyler's arm wrapped around her shoulder. She turned to look at her father. "I'm staying for good, Dad. I'm not running again." She felt Tyler's hand on her shoulder tighten. She glanced at him warily. "Even if I wanted too, wolf boy here would never let me get too far…"

"Ruby, I want to believe you but we can't take a chance like that…the pack needs you—"

"Mr. Cates, I can assure you, Ruby won't be going anywhere." Tyler's voice was a soft growl, his gaze switched from Ruby to Willard. "And besides, you can't keep her locked up forever." Willard sighed, glancing at Vivian, who was sitting in a chair next to him.

"I suppose we could give it a try." He glanced back to Ruby, "Are you sure you want to teach at the high school?" Ruby nodded.

"Yes, I've always wanted to teach English, and this would be perfect." Willard nodded.

"Okay than, but if you run, Ruby…" He trailed off, Ruby nodded.

"I know." She glanced at Tyler, "But I won't be running anymore."

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Ruby snapped the lid shut on her mug of coffee, quickly grabbing her leather bag from the kitchen table. She turned, walking quickly to the door and ran smack into Tyler's chest. Her coffee cup went flying, and Ruby watched as Tyler's caught the cup before it hit the ground. He smirked at her.

"In a hurry?" He set the mug on the counter next to him, his arms wrapping around her. His mouth found her neck, making a wet pattern along it. Ruby pushed him away.

"I wanted to get in early so I could check everything out—" Tyler silenced her with a kiss, pulling back after a moment. Ruby stood for a moment, relaxed, before grabbing her coffee mug and securing her bag on her shoulder. She gave Tyler a quick kiss and ran out the door, Tyler's laughter following her out.

Ruby arrived with an hour to go before school started. She had talked with the Principle the other day about a job, and he had quickly agreed, with an edge of fear to his voice, which made Ruby think that Tyler had visited him before she had. Either way, she was happy with the outcome. She was now the official English teacher at the high school. And she was excited. She would actually be teaching!

Ruby sighed in happiness, setting her bag down on her new desk. She walked around, sitting down in the chair. It felt powerful; somehow, knowing the room would soon be filled with teenagers who would have to listen to her. Yes, she was going to like this. That was, of course, if they actually listened to her…but she had a feeling they would, well, she hoped they would.

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"You're Sophia, right? Matt's daughter?" Ruby spoke. It was the end of third period, and she had pulled the young girl off to the side. The girl looked just like her mother, long dark chestnut hair, fair skin, brown eyes. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, and smart too. Ruby could see why Lucas liked her so much, even if he didn't admit it. Sophia nodded.

"You know my Dad?" Ruby nodded with a smile.

"I'm Lucas Cates' sister, Ruby." Ruby saw recognition flash through the girl's eyes.

"Oh, right. Did you just move back to town?"

"Something like that." Ruby smiled, "You know Lucas, right?" A blush made its way over Sophia's features as she nodded. Ruby smirked inwardly. Lucas really had this one hooked. "He told me about you." Surprise flashed through Sophia's eyes.

"He…he did?" Ruby nodded.

"You should get going, next period starts soon. It was nice talking to you, Sophia."

"You too, Ms—"

"Call me Ruby." Sophia nodded, smiling.

"Okay. See you later, Ruby." Sophia turned, walking off to her next class. Ruby smiled, watching the girl walk off. Lucas had picked a good one.

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Ruby watched as students pilled into the classroom, each of them giving her a once over before sitting down. Ruby sighed inwardly, turning to Sherman. Why had she agreed to this? Sherman had cornered her as she was getting ready to leave and talked her into teaching his class with him. He had said he could use a woman to help him. She had agreed, but only every once in a while. She glanced around the room, taking in all the stares. A pair of eyes caught hers. She watched as Lucas' eyebrow rose, she shrugged.

I'm not sure what happened, but here I am. She spoke through her link with Luke.

He smirked, responding. Good. Maybe you'll make this class a little more exciting.

Ruby smiled, and turned to face Sherman as he started talking.

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After school had let out, Ruby had collected her things and decided to stop off and visit Matt Donner at the police station. Ruby had always liked Matt. He treated her like a daughter, and he had always been around to talk to. When his wife died, Ruby wasn't even here. She had been off in some other place probably getting high. That's what had happened after she had run away. She had gotten involved in drugs and alcohol. Nothing good.

Ruby opened the door of the police station and walked in. She paused and surveyed the room, finally coming to a rest on a brown haired man sitting at his desk flipping through a file. Ruby smiled as he looked up. "Matt."

"Ruby…" Matt stood up from his desk, walking over to her. She gave him a hug, to which he responded, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled back with a smile. "When did you come back? I haven't seen you in…"

"A long time." Ruby filled in, giving him a small smile. "I know. I got in a few days ago. But I haven't…I would have called but…I didn't really have a phone at the time." Matt watched her for a moment, his smile slipping.

"They brought you back, then?"

Ruby managed a small smile. "Kicking and screaming, as usual."

"I'm sorry." Matt spoke softly. Ruby shrugged.

"It was going to happen sooner or later. Besides, I belong here. You know it, I know it. I just didn't want it to be true." She sighed.

"Have you…talked with Tyler?" Ruby gave a small laugh.

"Of course. Like he would have it any other way. I mean…we're fine for the most part. Tyler's got me back here living with him. He happy for now. But he'll be wanting pups soon, though…" Ruby smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Matt questioned her again. Ruby nodded, then stopped.

"We have things to work out. He still doesn't trust me. I know that. I don't really blame him, I haven't exactly done great things in the past, but…I just…" Ruby ran a hand through her hair; she sighed. "I love him. I don't want to, but I do. He's an arrogant ass, and he doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"And you." Matt spoke. She nodded.

"And me." She corrected herself. "The only reason I'm staying is to help the pack. If I can save just one person…" Ruby felt tears fill her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. "I just…need to help them. Because I know that if someone could have saved Amanda…" She shook her head, looking up at Matt with a small smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all upset."

"It's fine, Ruby." Matt smiled. "You know you can talk to me whenever you want."

"I know. Thanks." Ruby smiled. "So…still on bad terms with the pack?" Matt gave a small laugh.

"Have I ever been on good terms?" Ruby laughed as well. It was true. Matt had never been one for rules, which made it even more amusing that he was now a police officer. They head towards the door. Ruby stopped with her hand of the door, turning back to Matt.

"I wanted to say…just, I'm sorry. About your wife. I know how hard it must have been for you." Matt looked away for a moment, then back. His brown eyes had softened.

"If anyone understands, Ruby, it would be you." Ruby gave Matt one more hug before leaving the station. She ran into Sophia on the sidewalk.

"Hey, Ruby." Sophia gave her a smile. Ruby smiled back. "We're you talking to my Dad?"

"Just catching up on old times." Ruby gave her a small smile and headed down the street. She ran a hand over her face. She was tired; it had been a long day. And she was starting to get a headache. Lucky her.

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After her Dad had agreed to let Ruby teach, and live freely, he had told her she had to see Dr. Madison each week for a check-up. Not a physical one, though that was included, but mostly just too talk. He thought that she might benefit from talking about what she had gone through, when she was outside of Wolf Lake. She hadn't wanted to agree, but she knew if she didn't she would be living in the cabin for a long time. So she had. And that's why she was now walking into the small waiting room.

"Ms. Cates?" A small blond woman smiled at her. "Dr. Madison's waiting for you. You can go right in." Ruby thanked the woman and walked into the office. She froze once she had entered, glancing between Dr. Madison and Tyler, who was sitting on one of the chairs. He glanced up at her, his face remaining impassive.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" Dr. Madison, a middle-aged woman with a kind face, spoke.

"We thought it would be best if Tyler were here to support you." She smiled at Ruby, gesturing to the chair next to Tyler. Ruby hesitated, debating whether to sit or run. After a moment she decided to sit. Tyler wouldn't let her get very far anyway.

"Okay, than. Let's get started." Dr. Madison wrote something down on the pad of paper resting on her desk. She looked up after a moment. "Ruby, way don't you tell me a little bit about your sister, Amanda. I understand you had a hard time dealing with her death."

Ruby stiffened, unconsciously rubbing her wrist. She glanced at Tyler, her face hard. He didn't flinch, just simply met her stare. Turning back to the Doctor, she gave a dry laugh. "Well, I guess you could say that. I mean, I did try to kill myself, right Tyler?"

TBC…

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