CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

Ruby stared dumbfounded at Hestia.

To say she was shocked to see her at her door was an understatement. Her palms were pressed together, begging the guard to let her through. Ruby's eyes moved over her frame. The arrogant, self-centered, pompous, always put-together woman she knew wasn't the same person who stared back at her. Hestia looked completely different. She wore a purple cardigan with a white top peeking through and dark ripped jeans. Her blond hair was in a messy bun. Her eyes were swollen and red as if she had been crying for a long while, and her stance was slouchy.

Ruby heard her wolf howl, pulling on her restraint as she extended her claw. She saw Hestia as a threat, adding her to her list of people whose demise was a necessity for her happiness, and she couldn't blame her beast's aggressive thoughts—she could imagine anyone else at her door, even Aiden. Still, never Hestia with gloomy blue eyes staring dejectedly at her.

"Ruby," Hestia said, her voice croaked and almost inaudible.

The myriad of emotions drumming in her system made her too stunned to speak. She just stared at her, and Hestia squirmed under her gaze as if uncomfortable. Ruby recalled all the things the woman before her had done, and she tried to predict what her presence in front of her house meant.

Hestia took a step forward, but the guard—who still eyed her cautiously as if he was aware of the dangers her presence indicated—stretched out his hand, stopping her. Hestia whined and looked from the man's hand and back to Ruby.

"Please, I swear by the Goddess, I am not here to cause any trouble," Hestia sniffed, wiping the rogue tear that escaped her eye.

Ruby almost believed her pitiful acting. Hell, if it was a different person standing before her, she would have believed immediately, but it was Hestia. The woman who made a vow to make her life miserable from the moment she set eyes on her, the woman who would do anything in her power to snatch Noah away. The thought made the anger she felt towards Hestia bubble inside her.

"What do you want, Hestia?" Ruby asked, not shocked by the amount of spite that filled the simple words she uttered.

Hestia visibly winced, and her eyes grew glassier with more tears. "I promise, I just want to talk."

"There is nothing for us to talk about."

"I know you are angry with me, by the goddess. You wouldn't want to breathe the same air with me, but please just hear me out."

Ruby sensed for her wolf. A human may pretend, but their beasts always made their true intentions known. Expecting to feel the familiar hatred that radiated from Hestia whenever they conversed, Ruby was shocked to sense the beast's demeanor matched Hestia's.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ruby asked. Her stance was still cautious. She still didn't trust Hestia. She knew firsthand how skillfully the woman masked her true colors.

"Can I please come in?" Hestia muttered, her eyes moving from the guard to Ruby, holding a silent plea. "I've walked a long way."

Ruby looked out to the front of her house; evidently, no car was packed. Surely, she knew the entitled princess had packed somewhere and walked the short mile to lie, but she didn't call her out.

"Then I guess you know the way back to wherever you came from," Ruby spat, not giving in to Hestia's fake drama. "You have no right to come knocking on my door, so go away."

Ruby watched Hestia's face contort from hurt to pain. Tears ran down her face as she took a step towards the door, but Ruby didn't waste any more time before slamming the door shut.

"Ruby, please!"

She heard Hestia's loud cries from the other side. She felt annoyed by the drama she was causing outside, which would definitely disturb her neighbors. Hestia was a fool if she thought she would happily listen to her. The time for reasonable conversation had passed when she almost made her believe that Noah was cheating.

Her wolf's vicious snarls ripped into her mind, disturbing the frail stability she had created to keep her rising anger in check. Getting angry only meant provoking the energy she had managed to subdue inside. Ruby could still hear Hestia's voice as she walked into her bedroom. She thought about calling Noah, but she pushed the thought away. Noah had more serious matters to attend to, and she could only imagine how upset he would be when she informed him.

Ruby grunted in frustration as she stirred restlessly in her bed. Her wolf barked out of control in her mind, begging her to let her out to silence the crying woman who was disturbing their night rest.

An hour had passed, and she could still hear Hestia outside her door. Ruby gritted her teeth as she rose from her bed. She had never been one to disturb her neighbors no matter what, and she was sure Hestia's noise was a bother.

She marched towards the door. The closer she got, the louder the whimpers became. Ruby didn't know what had come over Hestia. She remembered the saddened look she had back at the pack's hall when Aiden had announced to the pack that she was his mate. Ruby expected her to leap for joy at the opportunity to rival Noah, but she looked somber—like she was bothered with something else and unconcerned by the news.

Was something wrong with her? Ruby thought as she placed her hand on her door. Her wolf barked louder as she sensed the decision about to be made. It shunned her to ignore—to overcome her naivety, forcing the memory of all the pain Hestia had caused her to replay in her mind, but Ruby pushed it away. She knew the decision she was about to make was stupid, but what other way to find out her true intentions than to listen to what she had to say?

Hestia had already told her the most hurtful things she could think of. She knew she could take a few more—definitely not lying down this time—if Hestia switched like the chameleon she was.

Ruby threw the door open once more to find Hestia still standing in her spot. The guard stood protectively in front of the door, unaffected by her cries. The man stepped aside, and Hestia looked up, expectancy glowing in her blotchy eyes.

"Why don't you just leave?" Ruby said in a final attempt to drive the woman away.

"Please, just a few minutes."

Ruby stared at her, contemplating her decision. The mere sight of the woman infuriated her, and she was about to let her into her space.

"You have ten minutes," Ruby said before she could change her mind.

Her wolf huffed inside her, pissed, but she didn't take her eyes off Hestia as a small smile lifted her lip. Ruby searched for a manipulative glint in Hestia's eyes but didn't find anything, which made her more on edge.

The guard turned and gave her a skeptical look. Ruby smiled at him in assurance. She knew he would be on high alert and would be ready to help if she called out to him. And besides, Ruby knew she could take care of herself; she had her wolf and the powers that made her both feared and adored by the pack—although she vowed not to use it again, she wouldn't have a choice but to if she needed to defend herself.

Hestia sidestepped the guard and entered the house. "Thank you so much."