Authors's Note: Target upload date on the dot! I said Sunday and here we are! I'm hoping to stick to this update schedule, but if I receive larger demand, maybe I'll surprise you with an earlier update. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!
Thanks to my beautiful reviewers so far: WriteAndDream23, LilGreenearth97, nightsinshadow and Cirque de Morte!
Refusal
Needless to say, I was immediately admonished by Edward as he flew out the back door, Bella by his side and the other mutt at their hides. I grimaced, turning my back to Edward and peering over at the wounded werewolf.
"Seth!" The other pet dog ran towards the crumpled being, crouching by his side and examining his face. Despite my maturity, I snorted. His nose was crooked with an obviousness that made me give a surprising laugh. Blood sprouted from his nose, and he cupped his face, recoiling in pain.
"I'm fine, Jake," Seth muttered, his voice muffled and subdued by his covering hand.
The Jake character ignored his assurance, frowning. "Phase," he ordered, "it'll heal quicker."
With a sigh, Seth unsteadily heaved himself onto his feet, and in a short moment, he morphed into a large furry beast. My eyes marvelled the fascinating werewolf before me. I'd never seen a shape-shifter before – having lived the entirety of my vampire life in the south, and my several travels had never included hunting down shape-shifters. 'Jake' wheeled on me, glaring wildly.
"What is your problem?" He growled, stepping towards me menacing. I suppressed a sigh.
I looked over at Edward. "Is anger management inability a side effect of being an oversized wolf?"
'Jake' snarled, his jaw clenching rigidly. His coffee skin seemed to vibrate in anger.
"Jacob," Edward warned lowly, his eyes flickering from Jacob to me uneasily. Beside him, Bella clutched his arm slackly. We'd gathered an audience. In a loose circular formation, several vampires clustered around, whilst some were safety observing from the large windows of the house. I spotted Alistair watching from the roof.
Jacob paid no heed to Edward's cautionary, and narrowed his dark eyes at me. His hands balled furiously, his knuckles turning white. I nearly rolled my eyes. This was much too dramatic. Then again, I sparkled.
In a hasty moment, Jacob snarled callously, his body stretching out, before morphing into a giant russet-coloured wolf. I had to admit, Seth had a prettier wolf. In my moment of studying the two wolves, Jacob had leaned on his hind legs, before he lunged powerfully at me, his large form sailing through the air. His smell became stronger as he drew closer. I narrowed my eyes, prepared for the short battle ahead. This mutt completely underestimated me. He must not have registered the fact that I'd lived my vampire life in a vampire army in the south, constantly in battles and fighting. His lack of skill almost made me snigger. As my eyes were trained on the lurching russet wolf, another wolf pounced in front of me, settling quickly in a protective stance directly before me, snapping and baring his canines at Jacob, who growled thunderously in return. Seth roared louder, shaking his large head, inching closer to Jacob, their snouts almost touching. In a staring battle, Jacob surprisingly backed down, bowing his head as he retreated backwards. Seth turned around, his great chocolate eyes shining as he looked at me, our eye level almost exact.
My eyes narrowed into slits as I backed a step away from the shifter. "I do not need your useless protection," I hissed, flicking my wrist, sending him tumbling through the air, landing only several meters from my feet, toppling on top of Jacob. Only enough power to put him in his rightful place. I wasn't a weak mortal – I wasn't a damsel who needed a guard dog. Seth yelped, more from surprise rather than pain. I clenched my jaw, turning on my heel and leaping up onto the roof, bypassing Alistair and crawling swiftly into the attic.
With a sigh, I sat on the seat I'd earlier occupied. Alistair appeared by the untouched chessboard, looking down at me in interest. Sensing my mental monologue about Seth, he simply sat on his chair, and set up a new game of chess. Without voicing my appreciation, I moved my pawn, inwardly screeching. Why were shape-shifters so odd?
The game continued quietly, each of us gradually ticking off the opponent's pieces. But, our comfortably peace was interrupted by loud voices downstairs.
"Let me go, Jake!" A familiar voice ordered irritably. "She's my imprint – I deserve to see her! How would you feel if I kept you from Nessie?" He questioned accusingly. Seth. I exhaled, frustrated with the dog before he even exploded into the attic.
"Ruby," my name tumbled strangely off his tongue – different from anybody else's. He swallowed loudly, halting as he saw me, my eyes boring into his bluntly. "I'm sorry," he finally stated, seeming to internally struggle. "I shouldn't have-"
"No, you shouldn't have," I agreed promptly. "I do not understand your motives, nor do I want to. Moreover, I do not care to fathom the term 'imprint'. You are a mutt," I summarised simply.
Seth's mouth fell slightly, and his bright eyes were drained of their colour.
"This exchange ends with you walking back down those stairs," I directed. The young man in front of me frowned, disheartened. Rendered speechless, he backed towards the stairs, and as his head hung, he took the first step, then paused briefly, mumbling, "I'm sorry, Ruby."
I didn't return to the chess game, instead jumping out the attic and landing softly on the grass. I flew through the trees, propelling myself into the trees, hurdling from tree to tree, branch to branch. I allowed a ghostly smile flitter upon my lips serenely. The harmonious chants of birds swept through my hearing range, intertwining with the harsh crashing of the oceanic waves on the beach miles away. The light buzzes of conversation at the Cullens became less than a whisper as I swung beneath the treetops, no destination in mind.
What was so different about Seth? Why was he insistent on helping me, apologising to me, when he didn't know me? I easily succeeded in pushing everyone way before they even turned in my direction. I shook the confusing thoughts from my mind, realising that no answer would come from my brain, only Seth's. But I didn't consider asking him an option. No, definitely not.
Eventually, after an hour of soaring through the forest, I returned to the Cullens. Instead of even approaching the house, I sprung up into my tree, seating myself on the familiar branch. I lazed against the trunk, staring at the leaves on the ground, and gently brushing them through the air, making them perform an elegant dance.
I glanced down at the base of the tree, hearing the cracking of fallen sticks and dried leaves. Seth approached the tree, only looking up briefly, before he leant down and gently placed a small object at the roots of the trunk. I frowned, my brow furrowing in confusion. With a slow exhale, he straightened up and walked back into the house. Gazing down at the small wooden object, I focussed lightly, making it gently float into my waiting, open palm. I blinked in surprise.
It was a small, carved wooden wolf. I opened my mouth, about to call to Seth, but thought better of it, slowly easing back in my position, resuming my game with the leaves as I ran my thumb along the smooth surface of the carved wood.
The next day passed as slowly as a human's speed walk. Bella had uncovered an apparent gift, a shield against mental attacks. After chucking a boulder at the brunette newborn, I had realised it was merely only mental attacks. Edward's attitude towards me did not improve, possibly because my throwing a boulder at his wife had cemented our relationship in an awkward, cold phase.
Seth seemed almost unaffected by my lack of warmth, and without falter, he always left a carved woodland creature at the roots of my tree every time I found myself lazing within its jigsaw of branches. I had no particular place to keep the wooden animals, and decided to create a hollow in the tree, where my sculpted animals sat safely. Although Seth has skirted around physically communicating with me after I snapped at him yesterday, I regularly felt his dark eyes fixed on me, boring into the side of my face as he stood at the oversized windows of the Cullens' house.
The rest of the Cullen coven had returned from their global travels, and I greeted Rosalie with hidden relief, as well as the rest of the family. Really, it was only Edward who I found insufferable. Rosalie laughed as I jeered about Edward, my eyes narrowed in irritation. Emmett had welcomed himself into our small exchange, collecting me in his muscles arms, and when I scowled in aversion to the overly cheerful contact, he set me down, rolling his eyes with a cheeky grin. Esme smiled warmly at me, having taken note of my dislike of Emmett's physical approach, and I returned it, my smile small and tight, no comparison to Esme's easy, glowing beam. Carlisle also gave me a simple smile, telling me how it'd been such a long time since we'd last had contact, and he was regretful of the circumstances in which we reunited in. I just shrugged easily in response.
It was soon after their arrival that I chose to excuse myself from the house, the social buzz making me uncomfortable. At a reasonably human speed, I wandered into the forest, embracing the peaceful serenity it offered. From approximately a hundred yards away, I heard the humble yowl of a shape-shifter, a sound I grew accustomed to upon my arrival.
Although tempted to fasten my pace and shake the wolf off my back, I grudgingly decided against it, sighing inwardly as I glanced over my shoulder, recognising the wolf form as Seth's. His sandy fur was shaken eagerly as his gangly form bounded towards me, and he fell into step beside me, his silky, clean fur brushing on my bared arm. He flicked his gaze towards me, his head barely turning. I rolled my eyes at his forwardness, but decided not to object.
We walked in silent, my own movement stealth and graceful, whilst Seth's large paws splatted against the ground roughly, and his canines flashed as he gave a wolf-like grin.
I looked forward, ignoring the overly enthusiastic wolf beside me. He huffed, bumping my side lightly with his muscled shoulder. I rolled my eyes, avoiding his advances. He bounded in front of me suddenly, kneeling and looking up with large innocent eyes. He gave a small whine, silently begging for something unbeknown to me. Unaware of his request, I shrugged and beckoned a thick stick from the ground, silently willing it to float happily by my side. With a small smirk, I threw it over Seth's head. He stared at me, and gave a cheerful howl, jumping up and bolting after the stick. I gave a small laugh, watching the wolf as he came trundling back towards me. I failed to suppress the amused smile that crept onto my face without my permission, and it seemed to encourage Seth greatly.
He took advantage of my small smile, and after he dropped the sloppy stick at my feet, he peered at my face before dragging his wet tongue across my cheek. I made a strangled laughing sound, pouncing up in a tree. He barked up at me, rolling in the dirt and yapping playfully. I rolled my eyes, and willed the abandoned stick to rise, and I once again tossed it far through the trees. Seth didn't hesitate to chase after it. I shook my head, confused by this odd werewolf.
He seemed adamant on pleasing me, in a way that had me feeling befuddled. He had no reason to stay in my presence, and his motives had me confused. I couldn't understand what he'd get out of this.
As he raced back towards me, I felt myself stiffen. His excited pace slowed disconcertingly, confused by the sudden change in my attitude, but I didn't allow myself to be affected. He hesitantly dropped the stick from his mouth, and gazed at me with his large, human eyes. He didn't seem to even notice the bright redness of my own irises, and what that entailed.
"I want you to stop whatever you're doing," I stated brusquely. "You are a shape-shifter, a natural enemy of mine, and whilst I could overlook that particular detail in certain circumstances, this is not one of those circumstances. I am merely here to witness against the Volturi, and when they leave, so shall I. Do not attempt to form a bond with me – I do not wish for one." My words were hard, cold. Seth's happy aura of confident faltered visibly, and I turned and blurred into a run before I could witness more of his inner turmoil.
As I neared the Cullens' house, I heard a loud, wounded howl in the distance, echoing and bouncing through the trees of the forest. It didn't take a vampire's senses to figure out which wolf it was.
In the long run, it was better, I told myself. I may have just stomped on his young heart, but nothing good would come of any sort of relationship between us. A vampire and shape-shifter meddling would cause all types of trouble, and I certainly wasn't eager to face that on top of the consequences I would face from the Volturi in regard to my certain powerful gift. They didn't like strong gifts kept from their reach. Involving wolves wouldn't ease my sentence.
Seth's hurt howls continued for several more minutes, before they were soothed and eased. I shook my head, irritated at myself and the strange, undead emotions this individual dog brought out in me. I'd barely had a conversation with him without my snapping at him harshly – why was his suffering bothering me so much?
I prolonged the thoughts in my mind as I approached the back door of the Cullens' house, fully aware of Edward's nosy gift. His knowledge of my thoughts wasn't something I wished for in the future.
That is, if I had one at all.
Author's Note: How did you enjoy this chapter? I had a bit of trouble writing several parts, so I hope they turned out well and you enjoyed it. I'm really enjoying writing Ruby - she's very different from characters I've written in the past, but I love the challenge of her! I can't wait to explore more of her personality with you lovely readers, which I'm trying to do gradually, as Seth becomes a more frequent character. Anyway, please review, because they mean the absolute world and I completely melt when I get an email alert from a story review, so please review! I'll be back with another chapter on Sunday!
Thanks!