Ruby's head throbbed. Her stomach was eating itself, she was convinced. And Ruby was pretty positive it was day four of being trapped.

Day four, and she hadn't seen or heard from Ryan, or anyone else. She knew they hadn't forgotten about her, and yet she wondered what their angle was. Would they wait for her to be starving and desperate? Would they question her when she was on the brink of insanity?

She sat in the filth, and was so, so desperate to know if anyone had called the police. She felt herself ready to cry all over again, knowing that there was a very good chance no one had.

But then, the door opened. She wanted to crawl to the edge of the cage to see who it was, wanted to pray for the police, or for anyone really, but disappointment flared in her gut when she saw Ryan.

Ruby scrambled to the furthest edge of the cage like a scared animal. "Please," she forced out, but her voice was scratchy with disuse. "Ryan, I'm begging you, I'm not who you think I am. Let me go, and you'll never see or hear from me again. I promise. I just want to live-"

"Shut up. It's time for you to be useful, Ruby Crowell. You will tell us about Atlas Langdon and his clan. We've come too close to be bested by an ignorant little human."

She stared at him, open mouthed. "Human. Are you suggesting that you're not human either? Oh my god, oh my god. You're one of them." She flattened herself against the bars of the cage, and she couldn't help the sob that was making it up her throat. She had unknowingly traded one wolf for another.

Ryan didn't say anything as he opened the cage door. He stepped inside, and Ruby had the brief realization that she may pee her pants if he stepped any closer to her.

"Stay back!" She screamed. "Just kill me already and get it over with, because I know nothing about Atlas. Or his clan of wolves. All I know is that he owns farmland and he bought our building. And he has a buddy working with him named Brody! But I swear, I didn't know they weren't human!"

She was crying again. How could she not, when death was looking her right in the face? When a monster was in a cage with her?

She wasn't fierce, or brave, or anything like that. She was afraid, damnit.

"Get up, or I'll drag you out myself."

Ruby got up. She scrambled up so fast, it was a wonder she didn't topple over. Ryan motioned for her to exit the cage first, and she did, skirting around him in a wide arc. When Ruby was out of the cage, she had a wild thought of running from the door, but Ryan was suddenly next to her, gripping her upper arm.

"To answer your question, no, I'm not a werewolf. I am human as well. We couldn't have Atlas sniffing me out from under his own roof. But make no mistake, I am faster and stronger than you are."

Ruby let him lead her up the stairs. She let him lead her down the hall, and then upstairs to another hallway. More sets of doors. He led her all the way until he came across whatever he was looking for, and he knocked.

"Come in," came the voice on the other side, and it made Ruby's insides quiver. If she had been afraid around Ryan, she was absolutely positive she would be more terrified around whoever was on the other side of this door.

Ryan opened it and led Ruby to a chair across from an incredibly large man. Ryan forced Ruby to sit, and she did so without complaint.

Her mind was whirling as she tried to keep up. She turned to Ryan, eyes filled with unshed tears. "Do you even manage that hockey team? Or was that some weird front to kidnap me? Has all of this been some weird front?"

Ryan didn't answer her. The man across from her did instead. "Welcome, Ruby. I've heard a lot about how close you are with our very well known enemy, Atlas Langdon. We need some answers from you. Ryan has nothing to say to you at this time, so he'll be leaving."

Ryan did that silently too, and Ruby watched him leave. A part of her felt like he was leaving her to be killed, and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. Ryan wasn't going to be the one to kill her, of course.

She turned back to this man. "Listen, this is all a mistake. I don't know Atlas. In fact, I didn't even know werewolves existed until the day Ryan kidnapped me, and I don't have answers for you. So please, please let me go. I'm begging you."

"Stop crying," was all he said. It was on a snarl, and it was threatening enough to make the tears smarten up. She blinked at the man, fear stabbing her in the chest, and she'd never felt weaker than this moment, right here. Her father was right about her.

Get out! he had screamed at her. She hadn't seen him since that moment, and suddenly she wished she could have asked him why he had acted that way towards her. Why had he hated her? Why had he ruined her childhood?

"I can smell him on you. I know you're lying."

"Smell who? Atlas?"

The man stared at her for a long, uncomfortable moment. "So, if this is the story you're sticking with, then tell me. What do you know about werewolves? Why do you think my human lackey brought you here?"

"I don't know anything! All I know is that I saw a man who I thought was on drugs suddenly turn into a wolf on the side of the road. And I know that all of the weird wolf sightings I've seen have probably also been werewolves. And I know that Atlas has been... taking them somewhere. I think. That's speculation."

The man leaned forward, arms crossed over his chest. Ruby stared a little too long at the scar that ran from his forehead to his chin in a crude, jagged line. "How do you know Atlas has been taking them somewhere?"

She closed her eyes. Swallowed thickly. "The first time I saw the wolves, I had been drinking, and one had been in the street. It started to attack me, but somehow Atlas was there. He brought me back to my apartment and told me animal control had taken care of it. Then later, at the ice rink, another wolf attacked. Atlas had also been there, and so had Brody, and Brody said he'd taken care of it."

"So you've deduced that Atlas, your landlord, has been taking these wolves somewhere based on that."

Ruby rubbed her forehead. "I went to see our local animal control to ask if the wolves were taken there, and they told me that no wolves had entered their facility. And also that a man named Brody didn't work there. So I thought maybe they worked for a different private animal control, all the way up until Ryan said they were also werewolves."

When she opened her eyes, the man was still watching her. She really, really hoped she wasn't about to pee her pants in fear.

"Why did Atlas save you both times?"

Ruby shrugged shakily. "I have no idea. I... well, maybe I entertained the thought of Atlas liking me-"

The man across from her barked out a laugh. "Let me tell you something, Ruby Crowell. Atlas is in fact a werewolf. He is in fact the Alpha of his clan. And he is, with absolute certainty, taking those rabid wolves somewhere. We want to know where."

Ruby mouthed the word alpha. She shook her head over and over again, but for some sick reason, it made sense. She wasn't in a never ending nightmare.

This was real life.

"I don't know. I've never hung out with him outside of the times I've seen him at the apartment building. And sometimes he comes into the restaurant I work at."

The man suddenly stood, towering over Ruby, and something akin to a smirk rubbed against his lips. He looked her up and down, and then straightened to his full height. "If you have nothing to share with us, well, we'll just have to wait for him to come find you then."

"Why would he come and find me? Atlas wants nothing to do with me. In fact, he's evicting me from my apartment in like, ten days. To be homeless. He has no reason to come after me. You kidnapping me actually works in his favor."

The man shook his head. Grinned. "It's rather entertaining that you have no clue. I could kill you right now, and you still would never know. How fucking hilarious. Back to the cage for you, little mouse. I have no doubt that Atlas will be coming for you, probably in a day's time. I couldn't have set this up better myself. The irony."

Ruby didn't find any of this hilarious or ironic. She wondered then if her life now depended on whether or not Atlas showed up to wherever they were. What would happen if he didn't come? How long would they keep her alive as bait for a man that had no reason to search for her?

She didn't want to think about it any longer. She never wanted to think about Atlas Langdon and his band of werewolves ever again.