Ruby shifted back into her human form as she arrived at the back door to the Wolves Den. The Den felt warm, felt like home, and it was empty. She opened the door and headed in, cutting on the lights as she stepped into her office and collapsed at her chair, a smile touching her lips as she looked down at a picture of her family. Her, Henry, Daniel, Regina and Granny, taken on a camping trip last year. Regina had been annoyed the entire trip, but Daniel and Henry kept bringing her flowers to appease her, and Ruby had carried her halfway through the woods. Then, things were so much easier. She didn't have to worry about her wolf, or have to worry about hurting those she cared about. She sighed and leaned her head on her desk. She just wanted to be with Regina, despite everything, she just wanted her family.
"Boss?" She raised her head sharply as one of her bartenders walked in, a lovely vivacious young brunette that everyone called Storm because of her eyes. Ruby however, knew that her real name was Ivana. "Everything alright?" Ivana asked.
"Yeah." Ruby sighed. "Den's closed."
"Oh, I know. It's just...this place calms me."
"Who did you used to be?" Ruby asked.
"Just a lonely village wife. Divorced now, thank the moon." Ivana replied, taking a seat near the door. "No need to tell me about you. The great wolf commander."
Ruby shook her head. "I don't feel like much right now. My wolf is going crazy." Which was an understatement. Ever since Ivana had made her presence known, her wolf was almost...purring, just like it used to do when she was with her mother and her pack. She looked up at Ivana, who was watching her with concern, even some reverence maybe. It couldn't be...could it? "You're a Child of the Moon as well, aren't you?"
Ivana's glowed bright gold, and Ruby let her own do the same in response. "Yep. I'm not an alpha though."
"Says who?" Ruby countered automatically.
"Why are you here, Boss? Shouldn't you be with your family?"
"They're better off right now. I don't want to lose control of my wolf and potentially hurt them or something. And please, call me Ruby."
"You're stronger than that. Come Run with me, Ruby. I haven't had a friend in a while. I've just been hiding out here since the curse broke. This den was made for our kind."
Ruby looked up at the brunette, who was waiting patiently for her answer. She would've rather been with Regina, trying to repair their relationship, but she was a risk right now. She rose to her feet and followed Ivana out the back door. Ivana shifted into a large dark brown wolf. Ruby shifted as well and purred as they mixed scents, rubbing against one another and she was almost glad that Regina didn't have a powerful sense of smell. They took off into the woods and Ruby felt a burst of happiness that she hadn't felt in a while. It was good to be with her kind again.
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Emma quickly lead Daniel and Henry out the back of the restaurant. Granny burst out of a side door with her crossbow. "Take them to the Den. They'll be safe there." She disappeared back inside as the diner shook as Regina and Cora continued to battle it out. Daniel took her hand and lead her down the street.
"What's the Den?"
"The Wolves Den. It's the club Ruby owns." Henry answered.
"I have a car guys."
"No time and Mom doesn't want me to see her fight. She said using a lot of my magic without fully knowing how to control it could be dangerous so she doesn't want me to use it for a while. Come on."
Emma hurried after the boys and it took them no time at all to reach the Wolves Den. Daniel pulled a key out of his shirt and unlocked the door. Emma looked around in amazement at the décor of the club. "This place looks so cool."
"It's awesome." Henry smirked.
"We should call Ruby and let her know what's happening." Daniel said, looking at Emma.
"Right." Emma pulled out her phone and dialed the wolf's number. She answered rather quickly for someone who was supposed to be running around the forest as a giant wolf. "Ruby?"
"What? Something wrong?"
"We're at the Den. Regina's crazy mother is back and they're fighting at the diner. I brought the kids here so they wouldn't get hurt."
"I'll be there in a second." Ruby said and quickly hung up the phone. A few minutes later there was a loud crash from the back as a silver wolf stepped into the club, towering over them all. Emma's hand went to her gun, but Ruby lowered her head as she approached the boys and gave each of them a lick on the cheek. There was another crash and another wolf stepped into the room.
"Who's this?" Henry asked.
Ruby shifted back with some difficulty and nearly collapsed, but the boys helped her sit down. "That's Ivana. What's going on again?"
"Cora's back and she and Regina are going at it." Emma supplied.
"Are you serious? Why can't that woman stay dead?" Ruby sighed.
"Can we stay with you?" Daniel asked.
"Sure kids." Ruby nodded. "I'll keep you safe." She looked up at Emma. "Thanks."
"Of course." They were her kids. Duh she was going to protect them. Ruby gave her a funny look, but their attention was caught as Ivana shifted back into human form. The boys quickly helped her up.
"Why don't you guys head to your rooms in the basement while we go help your mom." Ruby said. The boys nodded and headed down. She looked at Emma. "Let's go."
Emma nodded and followed Ruby and Ivana out of the Den and into the streets. They arrived at the diner in time to see Regina go flying into the windshield of one of the parked cars on the street. Cora stumbled out of the diner, crossbow bolts sticking out of her torso, making her look like a pincushion. She was weak and barely able to stay on her feet, but she continued coming straight for Regina. Ruby and Ivana shifted on instinct, racing to intercept the heartless woman's attention, keeping her away from Regina. Emma ran to the fallen mayor and tried to help her up, but was roughly shoved away almost instantly. Regina was livid. Her eyes were even glowing purple. She leaned against the car for support before swinging her arm and magically flipping a nearby car. It would've landed right on Cora, but she blocked it with her own magic and collapsed to her knees, ripping out the crossbow bolts imbedded in her chest. Ivana dashed forward and donkey kicked her onto her back. She dodged a few fireballs before Ruby leaped in, catching Cora's arm and biting down to the bone. She felt it snap and Cora howled, unleashing fire from her other hand. Ruby ran to the nearest flower pot and dove on it, using the dirt to put out the flames trying to eat away at her fur. Both wolves circled the fallen woman. Emma tried to grab Regina, but the queen pushed her away again, trying to keep to her mother as Cora slowly back to her feet.
"Regina, calm down!"
"She killed Daniel!" Regina snapped. "She killed my first love and tried to impersonate my fiancee!"
"Heroes don't kill." Emma reminded her.
"Fuck being a hero." Regina was too weak to push her off, but not so much that she couldn't conjure a sword. She ducked Emma's arms and launched it as hard as she could. Cora looked up just in time for the sword to impale her in the chest with enough force to knock her back down. "Die. For fuck's sake, die!"
Ruby paused, stunned by her lover's furiosity. Regina had almost snapped. She continued struggling against Emma, but she was too weak to do much. Cora teleported away, but it was slow, the cloud of magic several long seconds to completely cover her and spirit her away.
Ruby ran to Regina and shifted back, pushing Emma awaya and wrapping the queen in her arms. "It's okay, Regina. Calm down."
"She ruins everything." Regina whispered, trembling.
"Let's get you to the hospital."
"I'm fine. I healed myself."
"Then we'll go to the Den. The kids are there and you can rest in the basement."
Emma frowned slightly. What the hell was in basement? She would soon find out as she followed the wolves down into said basement where an underground den had been built as another lair for the Mills family. It was basically an underground penthouse. The boys were playing video games when their mothers arrived. Daniel quickly dropped his joystick to dive into Regina's arms.
"Are you okay, Mom?"
Regina nodded, the fatigue of her fight finally hitting her. She almost collapsed but Ruby caught her and carried her into another room.
Emma was tempted to follow them, but decided against it and instead focused on Henry, who came to give her a hug. "Are you two okay?" Daniel merely nodded, walking into another room and closing the door. "He doesn't like me very much, does he?"
"I'm sure he'll come around." Henry said, taking her hand and leading her to the game system.
/
Regina let out a grunt as she laid down on the soft bed. Ruby removed her heels for her and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."
"I've never seen you go crazy like that before."
"I'd hoped you never would, but…" Regina sighed, running a hand through her hair. "She pretended to be you and I consider that one of the ultimate signs of disrespect. She can't compare to you."
Ruby smiled at her words but Regina barely noticed. Her blood was still boiling and she couldn't find it in to relax. "Think she's dead?"
"If she isn't, most likely she has help. I doubt she could,'ve pulled that sword out on her own."
Ruby pulled out her phone and made a call. "Yeah, Ivana? Make rounds for me. Call if you find or see anything suspicious."
"Ivana? The bartender?" Regina frowned as Ruby hung up.
"She's a child of the moon like me." Ruby grinned. "We Ran together."
"You seem happy." Regina smiled.
"I am. It's been so long since I've had a pack or Ran with another werewolf. It was fun."
Regina took Ruby's hand. "Does she know you already have a mate?"
Ruby smirked. "She knows." She ran her thumb over the engagement ring on Regina's finger. "I love you, Regina. You know that, right?"
"I do. And you know I love you?"
"I do." A content silence fell over them for a few minutes before Ruby broke it again. "I guess I'll come back home then. I know it's only been one night but trouble seems to follow you everywhere you go."
"Not by choice." Regina retorted.
Ruby smirked and climbed into bed next to Regina. Her mate. Her queen. Her everything.
Regina leaned her head against Ruby's shoulder. The battle today had worn her out and she was honestly afraid of the future. Her mother being back put everyone she loved in danger. She won the battle but the war was far from over.
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