Chapter 106

Ryan didn’t want to be the protective, jealous, overbearing mate but when he saw her with the so-called assistant, Michael, he was furious. He could not have another man touch his mate while he longed for her. The ache in his chest for Ruby had been eating him up since she moved to Romulus.

He missed her smile, her voice, her body against his so he was elated that they were spending the night together. Ryan planned to discuss the elephant in the room but the previous day had been a long, tiring one for them so he dozed off almost immediately after hitting the bed, promising himself that he’ll get more time to do other bed activities with her early the following morning.

In his usual fashion, he groped around the bed hoping to grip Ruby’s waist and pull her to his chest.

“Ruby?” He murmured, still half asleep.

With no response, he thought she was still asleep but never had she not replied to him unless she was not in bed.

He tore his eyes open to see the other side of the bed empty. Still disorientated from sleep, he wiped his face and looked around the room for a clue to where Ruby was.

“Ruby?” He said louder this time.

It was clear that she wasn’t in the room so he pulled on one of the comfy robes hung in the wardrobe and poked his head out the door. To his dismay, he saw Ruby and the so-called assistant looking too comfortable for people who were not lovers. They were in the middle of a laugh, he could not help but notice the twinkle in her eyes, a twinkle he did not remember seeing yesterday after he surprised her. Suddenly, he felt like an imposter, there was something both of them shared and Ryan felt out of the loop.

Distance in this case did not make their heart grow fonder, it created a wedge in their synchrony and uneasiness in their once blissful relationship. Was this the kind of thing he signed up for? Was that Ruby’s arm on the so-called assistant’s bicep? Soon, Michael’s arms were wide open as he leaned in to hug her.

Now, that was something Ryan could not allow. Ever.

He charged towards the duo forgetting that he was in the palace. Luckily, Michael noticed him and stopped mid-hug.

“You can not go about hugging other people’s mates!” Ryan roared.

Michael flinched at Ryan’s reaction and stepped back.

“I’m I –”

“I, I? Save it, assistant, save it.”

Ryan was boiling, his face was red hot. The glare he shot Micheal could send him to his grave. He inched closer to him but before he took another step, Ruby pushed him.

“What are you doing, Ryan?”

Ruby stared at him in disbelief.

“I’m protecting you from this predator!”

I’m protecting our relationship, he wanted to say.

“What?” Ruby’s gaze was still on Ryan.

“Uh…I’d leave now,” Michael muttered. They did not notice when Michael slipped away.

“What is what, Ruby? What is what?”

“Can you quit the yelling? I would not want to draw attention.” Ruby walked away. He grabbed her hand before she walked far.

“Wait, Ruby. Wait.”

“Ryan, you should know better than going physical with Michael.” Ruby forced her wrist out of his grip and folded her arms against her chest.

With this stance, Ryan knew she was angry but wasn’t it right to protect the one he loved?

“I know better than to watch your so-called assistant touch you like that, Ruby,” Ryan said, harshly. He worked his hand through his hair in frustration.

“My assistant. My assistant. Michael is my assistant.” Ruby said the words slowly like she was talking to a toddler and she was damn sure Ryan did not like that. “Is this jealousy I sense?”

“Jealousy?” Ryan let out a harsh laugh. “Jealousy,’’ you say. This is exactly what you’d have done. You’d never let it be if you saw a woman who is not my mate flirting with me.”

“One. Michael was not flirting with me–”

“I saw him. I saw you laughing and brushing nonexistent dust off him. He was–”

“Two, I wouldn’t work myself up because I trust you, Ryan. I trust you.” Ruby was hurt, it hurt her that Ryan did not trust her.

“I trust you, I don’t trust your assistant.” He pointed in the direction where Michael stood earlier.

“He has a name,” Ruby said. She was tired of the argument.

“Can you stop defending him for a second? This isn’t about him anymore. It’s about us.”

Ruby scoffed and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

“You know what? I’m heading back to Bloodmoon.” Ruby was clearly dumbfounded at that. She could not believe they were having a big fight after all they had been through.

He walked past her into the room they previously shared. While stuffing his clothes in a bag, he noticed the necklace he had wanted to give her, that went into the bag too. He was too angry to think about giving her anything.

Deep down, Ryan knew stalking off to Bloodmoon would not fill the hole in their relationship but he expected Ruby to come after him. Her absence increased the fire burning in his chest.

“To hell with you, Michael,” he muttered. “You’ll see what happens when you take a guy’s mate.”

* * *

Back at Bloodmoon, Ryan stayed locked up in his room. His mind occasionally wandered to Michael. He had devised various means to teach him a big lesson. He had never been this angry at anyone or a situation. He could not bear looking into the mirror, for the fear that he was going to be terrified by what he would see.

The situation with Ruby would have been salvaged if she actually listened to him and not her assistant. It infuriated him that she was defending him. What if she was in love with him? Ryan feared that would happen. Michael seemed like a charming man, one that lured women with smooth-talking. Those sea-blue eyes of his were what ladies these days were attracted to.

Ryan caught himself before he went too far with the thought. He didn’t want to believe Ruby would fall for a man because of the color of his eyes. He couldn’t bear the thought of her being with another man. Ruby was his and it was going to remain that way forever.

He noticed that he was going crazy with the thoughts eating his brain so for the first time that day, he decided to leave his room for a walk. Maybe the fresh air and flowers would calm him.

“Ryan!” That was Damien. Ryan was not in the mood to socialize or even carry out duties. Though he knew it was impossible, he wished everyone would ignore him.

Ryan turned around to see a confused Damien.

“Damien…” He muttered, stopping in his tracks. What did he want?

“You look shaken up. Is everything fine? How about Ruby?” Damien asked, creases forming on his forehead.

“I do?” Ryan had made it a point to act casual. He wasn’t the one to wail about his problems to everyone. He preferred no one knew about the rift between him and Ruby. It was embarrassing to imagine.

“Yes, I heard you visited Romulus, so I figured you wanted to get time with Ruby.”

“Um, I wanted to see how things were going there. Not like I don’t trust Ruby to handle it…I just…” Ryan cleared his throat, unable to meet his friend’s eyes. Damien looked unsure, it was clear that he wasn’t buying Ryan’s lie.

Earlier, Ryan had wanted to inform Damien about the effect of the distance between Ruby and him. He had planned to ask Damien if he could stay with Romulus to be near Ruby but with the way things went, he did not think it was a great idea.

“Ryan, as love is a beautiful thing, it can also be dangerous. Watch out for anger and pride.”

Ryan was shocked at the statement. Did Damien know about the fight?

“I’m– thank you.” What did that mean?

“Delphine and I went through rough patches too, it’s normal for that to happen. It’ll be terrible if you do not fight for the things you love. At least, give it a fighting chance.”

Before Ryan could cook up another lie, Damien stalked off.

Has Ruby told Delphine about it? Did Delphine then inform Ryan?

He hated that he had to fight with Ruby but maybe that would bring clarity to their relationship. As Ryan said, it would be terrible not to give this a fighting chance. He was not a quitter.

* * *

Ruby was devastated when she realized Ryan had actually left for Bloodmoon, she thought he was bluffing. It saddened her that he would pack his bags and leave without seeing things from her angle. She knew it was deeper than him seeing her with Michael.

Before accepting the role at Romulus she didn’t expect it would cause a big fight between them, she thought their bond was strong and Ryan would understand the responsibility she was faced with.

She would have gone after him immediately but she had a meeting with the elders and it would have been disrespectful to leave without informing them. The meeting with the elders had been an important one.

First, she had to settle issues that were under her control. Michael.

Michael knew she had a mate, it would be dishonorable to hit on her. Ruby was sure he was not out to destroy her relationship with Ryan.

“Ruby.”

She has been lost in thought that she did not see Michael come in.

“Michael.”

“I–”

“I’m sorry about how things went with Ryan earlier today. Trust me, he’s not mean…he is going through a lot.”

“I understand. Although, I may have overstepped my boundaries. He didn’t feel safe with me.” Michael offered a small smile.

“It’s not about you but I’m glad you understand…”

“I believe you should give this a fighting chance. You’re an intelligent woman but believe me when I say love can also do the worst to people. You both love each other, it would be sad to let this get in the way.”

Michael ensured to create a safe distance between both of them. He had not meant to cause an argument. Ruby had complained she was tired from all the work and he offered a hug as a friend, as something who wanted the best for his boss, he did not expect Ryan to see them at that moment. Truthfully, Ruby was the kind of woman he wanted to be with. Beautiful, smart, responsible, kind, and everything in between but he knew he had to find his somewhere else. She wasn’t his mate.

“Fighting chance…” Ruby mulled over it. She couldn’t fight for relationship miles from her mate, she had to go to Bloodmoon.

“I’m glad that you’re giving this a thought.”

“I’m going to Bloodmoon,” she blurted.

Michael smiled encouragingly. He was proud of the steps she was taking.

“I leave everything under your care. Oversee everything. I will inform the elders of my departure, and see that the palace activities run smoothly.”

With that, Michael left the room.

Just like Ryan had done, she stuffed a few belongings into a bag, and in minutes she barged out of the palace on her way to Bloodmoon. Whether Ryan liked it or not, they were going to give this a fighting chance.