Page 3 of Ruby's Strength

Two

Ruby

Life right now couldn’t get any better. Two of my brothers found their mates and our small family is starting to grow, with some cubs on the horizon, not that anyone knows yet. It will be good to have little ones around.

“Hey, Ruby,” Gabe calls, walking into my living room where I’m sprawled out on the couch reading a book.

“Gabe, my favorite twin.” I close my book and sit up.

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes and plops down beside me. As soon as he does, a new scent envelops my senses. It’s spicy and smells like pine trees and cinnamon. My body starts to tingle, and my mind stops racing for the first time in forever. I’m caught up in the scent when Gabe grabs my kindle out of my hands. “What are you reading today?” He starts reading aloud and my cheeks immediately burn. “‘His large hands gripped my dress and tore it from my heated body.’ Jesus Ruby, you need to find your mate so you can get laid already.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk Gabriel. I know what you’re up to-”

“And you’re going to keep that little gem to yourself, Ruby, until I figure it out.”

I don’t know what he’s so worried about. Everything will turn out the way it is supposed to. I quirk my eyebrow at him. “Why are you here? Aren’t we supposed to be meeting at Cole and Aubree’s in about an hour for family dinner?”

“I wanted to see if you were up for a run. My bear needs to get out, he’s been clawing at me all day.”

“Sounds good, give me a minute.”

I go into the kitchen and check the squash casserole and see that it’s almost done. I turn my oven off and leave the dish inside to keep it warm.

“Tell me you made your rolls too,” Gabe begs, lifting up the kitchen towel that is covering my rolls that are still rising.

I smack his hand, and he pouts. “Get out of that. You’re going to mess them up, and then you won’t have any rolls for dinner tonight.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you out there.”

I go outside and around the house for some privacy before I change into my bear. I meet Gabe in the yard where he has already shifted into his bear. We run off into the forest and go out for a good forty minutes before we get back to my house and shift back. There’s always something special about changing into my bear. Not only do I have better senses, but my second sight is even stronger, not that it helped today. Yeah, I smelled it on Gabe, but I didn’t know what it meant. Whatever it is, it’s important.

“You want me to drive tonight?” Gabe asks while I’m putting the rolls into the oven.

“Sounds good. I’m going to take a quick shower before we leave.”

“And by quick, you mean you need me to take the rolls out of the oven?” He mutters, knowing full well that I can hear him.

“Thanks, Gabe,” I call from halfway down the hall on my way back to my room.

I shower quickly but spend extra time getting ready for tonight, making sure my hair is done and not just thrown up in a ponytail. I even put on a little makeup, which I usually don’t bother with. I pull on a long sleeve, cranberry colored t-shirt dress and leggings to match. I decide on my leather knee boots to round out the outfit and check myself out in the mirror to make sure I look okay. I shake my head at my reflection. Why am I trying so hard? I’m only going to be seeing family tonight, and they don’t care what I look like. I spray on my favorite perfume and then put my coat on.

When I walk out of my room, Gabe is distracted by whatever he’s reading on his phone. I wish he knew that we all love him no matter what. He’s got such a big heart and is one of the most loyal people I know. He’ll figure it out, I just hope it’s before anything terrible happens.

“You ready?” I ask, causing him to shove his phone into his pocket and look up at me.

“What did you get all fancy for?” He pulls a chunk of my hair. “You even did your hair. You never do your hair.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Leave me alone you goof. I just felt like it, that alright with you?”

“You look nice is all, you never dress up. It’s nice to see you like this. You deserve a mate Ruby, and if things keep going the way they are, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon.”

My stomach twists. Even though I want a mate more than anything in this world, I don’t think I’m cut out for it. I saw what it did to my father when my mom died and left him alone. The older I got, the more I could feel and understand my father’s pain. Nothing in life is certain, I’m not sure I’m willing to go through what he did. Then I look at my brothers and see how happy they are. I feel the love they have for their mates. Saying no to something like that would be hard.

Shaking my head, I sure am glad I don’t need to worry about that now. I’ll see it when my mate comes, and I can figure it out before we even have to meet. I go into the kitchen and grab the casserole that Gabe kindly wrapped up for me and put the warm rolls into a basket, then put them on top of the casserole dish. “I’m ready,” I call.

“Good I’m starved. You think Aubree made something for dessert?” Gabe questions immediately making me giggle.

“Well, she is a pastry chef Gabe, and she makes a dessert every time we come for family dinner. So I think the odds are good.” I laugh and nudge my brother. “Come on, let’s go. I have a good feeling about tonight.”

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