Seventeen

Lucian's POV:

Ruby entered the conference room with a shy expression, drawing the attention of everyone present. I could see the apprehension in her eyes as she almost stumbled upon entering, feeling the weight of all the Alpha's stares.

"Hmm, please come here," one of the elders, Alpha, said. Ruby walked slowly to the designated spot, her eyes scanning the room, clearly uncomfortable with the intense scrutiny.

"Please calm down, Ruby. The elders just want to ask you some questions," Tyler suddenly interjected, sensing her unease.

I glared at Tyler for speaking out to the elders without permission, but I remained silent, curious about what the elders had to say. Nonetheless, I believed Tyler had acted wrongly.

"Yes, we are calling on you, Ruby, to shed some light on something," one of the elders spoke after releasing a deep sigh.

Another elder picked up from there, "Yes, we have some concerns about you, so we thought it best to hear from you directly," added another elder.

Ruby appeared worried, wondering what the elders intended to ask her.

"Could you please let me know what you're curious about?" Ruby politely inquired of the elders.

"Yes, Ruby, can you tell us about your ancestry? We are all perplexed by it," the Head Alpha asked, his confusion evident.

Ruby became lost for words, and I could sense her confusion.

"What do you mean by ancestry? How would I know about that?" Ruby replied sadly, genuinely perplexed by their inquiry.

The elders exchanged suspicious glances among themselves. Tyler immediately spoke up at the request of the elders.

"Could you please let Ruby leave? I told you she knows nothing," Tyler nodded.

"Yes, she may leave," the Head Alpha responded, calling the guards to escort her out.

As soon as Ruby left the hall, the elders instructed one of the guards to investigate her ancestry information for clarification on their arguments. The guard promised to carry out the task once the meeting concluded.

Everyone stood up and prepared to leave. Tyler left the meeting with Ruby, leaving me increasingly upset to see the elders allowing Ruby to live with him. I took a step back, observing them from a distance, as I am still working for Tyler and the council did not want Ruby to suspect anything.

***

Tyler's POV:

The words of the young elder with the gift of visions kept replaying in my mind, and I mulled over them in various ways.

"What if Ruby truly comes from a lineage of powerful witches... What if it's true?" I pondered, trying to unravel the mystery surrounding Ruby.

According to the elders, it seemed plausible that Ruby indeed descended from a lineage of powerful witches. I acknowledged this possibility within myself.

Thoughts about the current strained relationship between werewolves and witches also crossed my mind. I worried about what the council might do to Ruby if they discovered she wasn't just an ordinary human.

Concern for her well-being consumed me as she entered my car, and I started driving without speaking, respecting her silence.

I could sense Ruby's emotions in that moment, and I allowed her to remain silent, unsure of how to approach the situation. However, after some distance from the conference hall, I decided that silence would only worsen her mood instead of solving her problem.

Attempting to lighten the atmosphere, I made a joke, but she didn't seem to respond as expected. Her smile was fleeting, so I abandoned the uneasy jests.

"Tyler, can you please tell me what happened at the hall earlier? I was completely lost," Ruby asked me, her confusion evident.

"Oh, I'm sorry I should have informed you, but I wanted to wait until we got home before discussing it," I replied with a forced smile.

"Yes, please, I would like to know," she responded.

"Okay, we were just discussing an issue regarding a significant figure in our kingdom who had done something wrong. The elders felt that it wasn't something concerning you, which is why they asked you to leave," I quickly concocted a short tale, hoping to ease her mind. Although I felt uneasy about withholding information, we had made a pact at the meeting not to let her know anything, and I had to keep my mouth shut, knowing the elders were already aware that she was staying with me.

Deep down, I knew she didn't believe my words, as her expression revealed, but I tried my best to convince her, even though she was difficult to persuade.

After dropping her off at home, I discreetly went out to meet with the guard who had been assigned to investigate Ruby's ancestry. I left my house immediately and went to the bar where we had arranged to meet.

A few minutes later, the guard arrived, and I gestured for him to take a seat.

"Please have a seat. I apologize for bothering you," I said to the guard, offering him a chair in front of me.

The guard sat down, and I wasted no time in explaining the purpose of our meeting.

"I need your assistance. I want you to report back to me promptly with any information you find about Ruby," I politely requested, waiting for his response.

"No problem, sir. I promise to report everything to you," the guard replied.

I expressed my gratitude to the guard for his loyalty and assured him that I would repay him someday.