Feral Obsession

Chapter Twenty

Knowing Atlas was a killer didn't quite sit right in Ruby's gut. She could understand completely how he would be. He was a massive man with murderous eyes. But still, it made her uneasy.

When she'd finally gotten some alone time in her bedroom, her brain replayed the conversation in the kitchen. The name Rodrick bounced around in her head on a loop. She wondered just how Rodrick's son was involved, and what Atlas had to do with it.

She tried to piece together all of the information, but she still knew so little about what was actually happening. It was infuriating. It was maddening.

She tried not to lose her own head. Each day, she trained a little harder, she ran a little farther, she learned how to dodge Kierson's fists. She knew he didn't want to admit it, but she was getting good. Not at the swinging back part, but he was landing less hits now.

And she had Thomas to thank for that as well. He seemed to always show up to every training, eyes glued on Kierson, and Ruby wondered if it was because he feared for what would happen if Kierson was alone. Feared what had happened, that very first time.

Ruby wasn't quite at five miles, but she was at three, and that was enough to make her confident that she had a chance. A real, actual chance at escaping.

It was late at night, and Ruby sat cross-legged on her bed, mapping out where she would go. The police station, obviously. She tried to remember where in the city it was located, because when she ran, there would be no stopping for directions.

When she ran, she would have to be faster than the wolves. Quicker on her feet and in her mind. There would be no room for mistakes, but if Kierson caught her, she would be dead. She didn't even have to imagine it; killing a human would be a piece of cake for a strong man like Kierson, werewolf or not.

She tried to think of what she would say to the police. I was kidnapped. Trapped in a house. Living on edge, wondering when I would be killed. Not that she thought Kierson would kill her if she continued this routine of training with him and refusing to ask questions about her release.

There was a knock at her door that had Ruby's heart jumping in her throat. No one ever knocked on her door at night. She stood from the bed, staring at the door for a second, and then before she could doubt herself, Ruby pulled the door open.

Madison stood on the other side. "Ruby! The boys have gone out on a night run, and I thought you'd like to go for a walk with me."

A night walk. Ruby decided she could humor Madison, so she said yes. Pulled on her sneakers, the ones she was kidnapped in, a painful reminder of what she left behind. And then she followed Madison through the halls.

The night air was cool, and the stars twinkled above them. Ruby wasn't allowed outside of the house during the night hours, and so this change was exciting for her. Strange. She had been gone from her life for weeks now, and a simple night walk had her heart beating in her ears.

Madison didn't notice anything wrong. She was chatting harmlessly about the pack run that the others were on. "They do it every full moon together. A ritual of sorts."

Ruby tilted her head up to squint at the full moon above her. She hadn't even noticed that. "Will they be gone long?"

Madison hummed and nodded. "They're always out for most of the night. Burning that energy, I suppose." She was grinning, but there was a sad hint to it. "Back home, us girls would stay up as well, gossiping and doing, well, girl things. We'd paint our nails and eat crappy food and watch trashy TV."

Madison missed them. Ruby could hear it in her tone of voice. She wanted to reach out and squeeze Madison's hand, but figured that would be inappropriate, considering she was planning on running away as soon as she could.