Red {Wolf Rebellion I}

Chapter 18~This Would End~

Dedicated to @1_sammie for all of the support with Red!

"Some nights I wish that this all would end."
-Fun, "Some Nights"

Chapter 18~This Would End~

Not long after, I found myself in the strange metallic room from earlier. I shivered as I glanced at the table. I'd been so ignorant before, so eager to believe whatever lies Red concocted.

My breathing caught in my throat when I thought about my team. What they must be thinking of me right now. Adam, Scarlett, Phoenix, Jasper, Ginger. I wondered if they hated me now, and what exactly Claret had told them. By now everyone would know that we were gone, and I had to wonder who would be sent after us.

It was protocol that team members were never sent after one another, there was too much of a liability if someone hesitated because they couldn't terminate a Rogue.

I'm going to get them out of there, I swore.

I collapsed onto the couch, pulling the afghan over me as if I could block out the world around me. Now that I was alone, my tangled thoughts consumed my head as I tried to decipher truth from reality.

Why had Claret gone on that Hunt the night we left? Red officials were never meant to be anywhere near a Hunt, not even to supervise. It was all too easy for something to go wrong, and for someone to end up dead. Whatever followed would have been chaotic, and all too easy for wolves to attack.

And I still didn't understand why my door had been locked. If Claret had known, she would've stopped us before we had made it five feet. I hadn't even known our rooms could be locked. Yet another mystery I'd have to ask Carmine about later.

I knew eventually I would have to confront Claret, but the outcome of that confrontation was what sent a chill of fear and apprehension down my spine. Regardless of what I thought of her now, she was definitely someone I'd rather not cross.

The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake sometime later.

"Ruby, we're done." Carmine's voice floated to my ears and I opened my eyes.

His words registered in my head and I felt my heart rate pick up. "Really? When are we leaving?"

I sat up, reaching to throw the afghan off, but Carmine's hand trapped mine. His skin felt like fire against mine, though I'd just been under a blanket. "Whoa there, red. You can relax. We aren't leaving anytime soon."

I frowned, not understanding. "But-we have to go now. Why aren't we going?"

I looked at Carmine, and he shook his head. "We've drawn out a rough plan for now, but-" he paused, "Ruby you have to understand. There's no possible way to track down your team without getting ourselves in a mess. We need a way to make sure it's your team that we find, and that's not possible if we try to go after them."

What the hell is he talking about? I thought, a split-second before I realized what he was trying to say. "Absolutely not! There's no way in hell we're doing that!" I pulled my arm from Carmine's, glaring.

He gave me an apologetic look, "Cas and Shani already left. I'm going to catch up with them in a bit."

"What!?" I pushed myself up, my feet tangling in the blanket, and I nearly tripped. Carmine's arm shot out to steady me.

"Calm down and think about it for a second Ruby. If we can drawn them to us, Claret will be sure to send your team. She'd want them to see what you've become, and for you to see the pain in their eyes when they were ordered to kill you. It's the way she works."