It all begins when a silver dagger goes missing.
For her entire life, a human named Cora Gabris has known that lycans were searching for her, as she was born as a Ruby -- a human that, when turned into a lycan, will become much stronger than any of...
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Long into the night, the lycans ran freely throughout the woods alongside the wolves, their heavy paws moving quickly and sporadically. They were nearly double in size of their animal half and Cora couldn't quite make out the details in the dark. She did note that the lycans were greatly varied, from lanky to stocky, to blocky heads, to long, thin snouts. They were all pale in color.
The Ashmore Clan, all some shade of blonde. Oren was the darkest of them all, but even that was mostly a dark cream.
Ben had stirred at some point in the night, but Hilda subdued him once again. They agreed that his wound would heal better this way, and until they were out of reach of Nailan -- the lycan that injured him -- that keeping Ben as quiet as possible was best for his life and safety. If the lycans had a change of heart, nothing was truly stopping them from punishing Ben further.
In the lycan culture, it was Cora who would have to stand up for Ben. And while Hilda had enough power to create a temporary barrier between the lycans and the Gabris siblings, it wouldn't last for forever.
Keeping Ben quiet was for his own benefit, or so she told herself a hundred times. Gods, Cora was not looking forward to Ben waking when Hilda thought it safe to let him return to their world.
There would be so much to explain, and she was even prepared for him to hate her for taking her away from home, and failing to bring a single item.
As long as he was alive, he could hate her as long as he wanted.
Hilda had eventually fallen behind Cora and the cart to keep an eye on the stirring Ben. They had a week's journey ahead of them, and Hilda planned to allow Ben minor coherence for food, water, and relieving himself. In the coming hours, whenever he roused more, they'd stop to replenish him.
Which meant that Cora rode next to the lycan called Roman. Cora yawned incessantly, wishing desperately to sleep. Her heart jolted when Roman finally spoke, and she realized she had nearly fallen asleep while riding the horse.
Roman asked, "So, your eyes change every day?"
Cora furrowed her brows in confusion and glowered at him. It was such a random question and his tone was reserved enough that he sounded almost like he had been debating how to start a conversation. Feigning at being nice, probably. Like Oren. She yawned once more, wiping her eyes.
"Yes," she answered.
He bobbed his head in approval. "Interesting. Can't believe I am riding next to an Omni."
"Omni?" she asked with a parched mouth, taking a drink of her canteen.
"You're officially called an Omnari Ruby, due to your eyes, which means 'changing' in our language. We shortened it down to Omni. You'll be more powerful than any Ruby in Reiger, or in the Bound Six"--He chuckled with astonishment and shook his head--"And here I am, riding next to you while you're a mere human."
