When given three weeks, Ruby had gotten surprisingly good at running. Alpha Keirson - she refused to call him Leon - forced her to be up and running in the early hours of the morning, every morning. Then, they would do a late afternoon run, again through the forest.

Now, she was making it about two miles, and she didn't just run with Keirson. She found herself running beside Thomas. After he had seen the bruises that first time, he found himself training Ruby alongside Kierson. She didn't want to hope that it was because Thomas wanted to make sure she was safe, but she couldn't stop the buoyant feeling in her chest.

She was getting closer, she could feel it.

It had been a blur, the past few weeks. She did a lot of physical training with Kierson, did some reading with Thomas, and found herself learning how to cook with Madison. She hated how easy it started to feel like normal, being trapped there with these werewolves.

But, it had been easy. Every day felt easier. And while she was forced to stay within the boundaries, Ruby often found herself daydreaming of escaping. She would be mid-run and wonder how far she could run away before she was caught.

But, it was never feasible. She was always with someone. And when she was sleeping, there was a guard standing by her door, waiting for the moment she tried to leave. And while Madison tried her best to make Ruby feel less of a prisoner, Kierson was always a heavy handed reminder.

If I keep training, at some point I'll be able to run those five miles. That thought kept her going, day in and day out. She didn't act out, didn't talk about leaving, didn't rock the boat. She wanted everyone to assume she had accepted her fate.

It helped that everyone was nice to her.

Everyone except Ryan. She hadn't seen him, not since he had brought her to see Alpha Kierson for the first time. She saw that as a good thing; maybe he was too busy to visit.

"Are you cooking, or are you daydreaming?"

Madison poked Ruby with the end of a wooden spoon. "Did you get enough sleep last night? I know Leon had you up late working on drills in the yard. Even I could hear him barking at you over and over again."

Ruby rubbed her sore, upper arm. She had been doing an arm exercise last night that had her feeling like jello, even well into today. She let out a groan at the reminder. "It's like he thinks he can train me into a werewolf or something. I will definitely never be as strong as he is."

Madison's laugh was kind and airy. "He hates a weak link. He'll have you whipped up into shape in no time."

The thing was, Ruby didn't doubt it. "I'm surprised he has the time to be doing this with me. I know he must be busy."

Madison shrugged as she stirred the mixture on the stove. A stew of somesort was what they were making, but Ruby was not paying as close attention as she should have. "We never talk about why you're here in the first place, but Leon takes his feud with Atlas Langdon very seriously. If Atlas comes for you, Leon wants you to be prepared."

"Me? Have you seen Atlas? There is no way, no matter how hard I train, that I'll ever be able to take down that mountain of a man."

Madison laughed in surprise. "He is big, isn't he? I've met him once, and he towers over everyone. Even Leon. Wonder what he eats to achieve that height."

"I think he eats the tenants he doesn't want," Ruby grumbled. She wondered who lived in her apartment, now. What Atlas had done with her things. She felt the familiar sadness at knowing her prized belongings, the only items she had from her childhood, were in a dumpster somewhere. Maybe even heading to a landfill. She didn't want to think about how much Atlas was charging them.

"Can I ask you something? Why does Alpha Kierson think Atlas is coming after me? I wasn't lying when I said our relationship was tenuous at best. We weren't close."

This was the only thing that sat heavy on Ruby's chest. Why did anyone assume she meant something to Atlas? Had Kierson been there, watching, when Atlas had saved her from the wolf? When she had been drunk and in his arms?

It was the only thing that made sense. The only moment they had ever even touched.

Madison shot her a sad look. "Leon has his reasons. He and Atlas have always been enemies, even when they were children. I can only assume Atlas doesn't realize just how close our clan is."

Ruby couldn't make sense of what Madison said half of the time, and this was one of those moments. She wasn't a wolf, hadn't been raised in a clan, and so Ruby had so many missing gaps. How would Atlas not know where this enemy clan was?

She opened her mouth to ask, but a sudden influx of bodies filled the kitchen. Men that Ruby didn't really know, some she had never even met. Ruby made a move to step away from the stove as the men began crowding Madison, and someone held her by the shoulders.

"Hey, the human. Here is where Leon is hiding you."

She craned her neck to look behind her at the man standing there. He was handsome in a way that would have made Ruby blush, but that was before she had been kidnapped and forced to live here against her own will.

She smiled thinly. "I hope you enjoy stew."

At the mention of food, the man released her and stepped closer to where Madison was spooning stew into bowls. Ruby took two more steps back to create more space, watching as the men crowded Madison and jostled each other.

Like siblings, Ruby thought to herself.

She, of course, had never had siblings. But as an overly observant older child, Ruby did take note of the siblings on her bus, or at the playground. She could make the connections between how these men acted, and how her neighbors had been.

Strange, how she was the outsider. She wondered how many of the men in front of her had also been forced here against their will. Like Madison, traded into this clan without a say. If any of them were prisoners, they didn't act like it, or show their true feelings. They just grabbed the stew, threw a few elbows towards those trying to snatch the food away, and walked into the dining room.

This was pretty normal, Madison had told her. Usually, Ruby helped out with breakfast, or sometimes lunch, but never usually dinner. Not when everyone was here at the same time.

This is what a Luna does, Ruby had decided. Cleaned after grown men, cooked them meals, tended to their wounds. She was like their mother, in many ways. And at first, it had chafed at Ruby, but the men were always thankful to Madison. Always treating her with respect.

And Madison loved it. Ate it up.

Once the last of the men were out of the kitchen, Madison leaned against the counter and blew her wispy bangs from her face. She grinned over at Ruby. "Dinner rush. You alright, over there?"

"I've never seen all of them together. In one spot." It was overwhelming.

"You get used to it. And that wasn't even all of them. Leon and Thomas must be still out, securing the perimeter. They'll be back soon enough to eat. C'mon, let's get you a bowl." Madison turned to pour another bowl, and Ruby took it with a thank you.

"You know, you could date one of them. Fall in love, like I did with Leon. Sometimes it's lonely here, with all these guys. I like having you around." Madison bumped shoulders with Ruby as she ate her own bowl of stew. "I think Thomas is sweet on you."

Ruby suddenly wasn't hungry. She hated herself because part of her didn't mind being there. She found that training was actually satisfying, once she got over the hurdle of dying every few minutes. And she found that she too liked Madison.

But this also wasn't her home. And Ruby had no intention of staying.

But to Madison, she smiled. "Thomas is cute." It wasn't a lie, and Ruby wasn't immune to hot men. But no matter how good looking Thomas was, a certain dark haired man glared at her from inside her head.

I don't think so, Sweetheart. You want me. Even his voice echoed in her mind. Disturbed she could hear that sentence so clearly in Atlas's tone of voice, Ruby set the bowl of stew down. She wanted to jam her finger in his chest and say, I hate you!

"Thomas is Leon's Beta. He's pretty high up on the list of suitable bachelors." Madison was full on trying to set them up at this point.

"Speaking of, where are the other women? We aren't the only two, are we?" That horrified Ruby even more, to think that she and Madison were it.

"No. We have two separate clans. This is a temporary clan base, to help Leon do... well, whatever he does. He brought me and the other men with him. Back home, at our true base, resides all the families."

Ruby logged her questions for later. She had a hunch though that the others were actually back in North Carolina, where this pack truly belonged. Strange, she thought to herself. This had to go deeper than two clans at war with each other. Two clans that hated each other would stay far away, Ruby would think.

No, Kierson wanted something from Atlas. Something else.

His death? It seemed possible.

"Rodrick doesn't have a child. I don't believe those rumors." Kierson's voice made Ruby's heart stutter in her chest, panic and fear rising up her throat. Despite seeing him every day, Ruby still had the fear that Kierson would beat her up every chance he got.

A second after those words echoed in the hallway, Kierson and Thomas entered the kitchen. Upon seeing Ruby, Thomas's face broke into a warm smile. Kierson, however, eyed Ruby as if she were a pile of trash that offended him.

Right back at you, she wanted to sneer, but she held it in.

"Hi!" Madison said, wrapping her arms around Kierson's neck. "I've missed you."

Ruby was surprised to see Kierson accept the warm embrace. Even more surprised when she watched Kierson bend down and kiss Madison, deeply and thoroughly. It made Ruby's cheeks heat, to see something intimate, and she looked away.

Thomas was standing in front of her. "What did you two make for dinner?"

"Stew." She nodded over to the stove. "Don't expect me to plate it for you."
Thomas burst into laughter, standing slightly too close to her for Ruby's comfort. She felt equal parts guilty for using him as an escape plan and for finding Atlas more handsome. But she smiled at Thomas anyway, finding it easy to do so.

"No worries, I can handle a little food prep." Thomas sent her a wink before he moved to grab stew. Without him in front of her, Ruby could overhear Kierson's conversation with Madison.

"What did you say about Rodrick? I thought he wasn't an issue anymore."

Kierson was shaking his head. "Rumor has it that Rodrick has an heir. A bastard son, raised by rogues. I don't think he has a son, but Thomas overheard a member of Langdon's pack talking about it."

Ruby's ears perked up at the mention of Atlas.

"You think Rodrick's heir is here? In the Northeast? But that would mean-"

"That Rodrick is ten steps ahead of us? Yes."

"Impossible. Rodrick is many things, but he's not smart. He doesn't play the long game. How old would this son even be? And raised by rogues?"

Ruby was half surprised Madison even knew enough to keep up with this nonsense conversation. She wanted to ask who Rodrick was, but had the sense to keep her mouth shut. Something though felt heavy in her chest and thick on her tongue. But it was not something to talk about here.

Because it was a stupid observation. Ridiculous, really.

"Who knows. Old enough to be a threat. And if Langdon thinks so, then it probably has a hint of truth."

Ruby felt Thomas slide up next to her. "Have you eaten yet?"

Ruby gestured to her own bowl, barely touched on the counter. "I'm not very hungry tonight."

"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop." Thomas's grin was friendly. At those words, Kierson's head whipped around to look at Ruby, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that made her shrink. She felt her heart kick up a notch at his sudden interest.

"Can it be considered eavesdropping if you're having the conversation in front of me? Also, I have no clue what you're even discussing. I have no context to make sense of this mumbo jumbo."

Kierson was in front of her in one long stride. "What do you know about it? What has Langdon said?"

This again? Ruby wanted to roll her eyes. Perhaps she would have if it wasn't Kierson in front of her. "Nothing! What part of Atlas and I are practically strangers do you not understand? I didn't even know werewolves existed before Ryan brought me here!"
Kierson rubbed at his forehead. "Yes, I know. I can smell the truth on you. This is just really fucking important, alright?"

It was the most candid Ruby had ever seen Kierson.

"Why?"

"Because Atlas is killing off werewolves, and Rodrick's son is definitely involved."