Ruby sprinted from the library before she could lose her nerve. She had to do this. She had to. The nausea swelled as she thought about what the wolf had done, what she had done the night before.
Billie.
He didn't deserve what she'd done to him. No one did. She deserved whatever it was Spencer and the mob chose to do to her.
She was a monster.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she felt the wolf asserting herself, trying to take over. She fought her, tried her best to stuff her back in the crevices of her being where she belonged, but it was no use. The wolf was stronger. The wolf had won.
Everything faded around her, leaving only the blackness.
The wolf smelled them, all the towns people. She smelled their fear, their hatred, their aggression. They'd cornered her in an alley and there was nowhere to run.
She snarled, her hackles rising and the hair along her back standing at attention. She planted her paws, growly and preparing to pounce. She saw the older man raise the gun, and then…he was gone.
Suddenly it was a different man in front of her—this one she sensed was different.
"Ruby, I know you're in there, so listen to me. It was Spencer, not you. Don't let him trick you into thinking you're a monster!"
She knew that voice—somehow—she wanted to trust him, but she couldn't take that chance. She snarled again, hunching further, instinct still firmly in control.
"Alright, alright, poor choice of words. Please, Ruby. I know you. I know the real you, and I know you can control the wolf, Ruby. Ruby, it's me, David."
The words resonated. She felt them to her very core. This man accepted her, trusted her, all of her. Taking a deep breath, she let go of the fear, the shame. She was not merely wolf or woman. Both were a part of her, and both were good. She was not the monster here; not unless she chose to be.
She didn't.
Ruby sat back on her haunches, bowing her head before David just before he threw the cloak over her. Instantly her very being was rearranged, the wolf deferring to the woman.
"You saved me," she said in awe.
"No," he replied offering her a smile and a hand up. "You saved yourself. I just reminded you of what you already knew."