Ice and Ember

Ruby's POV

"For the hundredth time, Ruby, you absolutely have to come!" Nora's voice echoed through our mind-link, her desperation practically tangible.

I rolled my eyes, sprawled across my bed with a training manual I should've been studying instead of entertaining this conversation. "The pack gathering isn't going anywhere, Nora. Go enjoy yourself with Finn. I've got training reports to review."

"But it won't be the same without you!" she whined, the mental equivalent of a pout coloring her words. "Besides, you still owe me for covering your patrol last week."

I groaned, throwing my head back against the pillow. There it was—the debt card. I knew she'd play it eventually.

"That's low, even for you," I growled. "I only missed that patrol because I was dead on my feet after a double training shift."

"Is it working though?" Her smug tone made me want to throw something.

I pressed my fingers against my temples, feeling a headache forming. Nora Hayes had been my friend since we were pups tumbling around the playground, but we'd only become truly inseparable in the past year. After everything fell apart on my eighteenth birthday, she was the only one who stuck around.

The familiar ache bloomed in my chest at the memory. One night was all it took to lose my standing in the pack, my friends, and any respect I'd earned.

"Fine," I conceded, my voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Has anyone ever told you you're the most manipulative friend in existence?"

"So that's a yes?" The excitement in her voice was almost worth my surrender. Almost.

"Yes, but I'm leaving early. Combat training at dawn, remember?"

Her delighted squeal nearly burst my eardrum through the link. "You won't regret it! I'll be at your door in thirty minutes!"

"Whatever," I muttered, severing the connection.

I stared at the ceiling, a strange uneasiness settling in my stomach. It wasn't just reluctance about the gathering—something felt off tonight, like the calm before a storm.

Not that my wolf could warn me. I didn't have one.

Alpha Victor insisted I was just a late bloomer, that my wolf would emerge eventually. My parents nodded along with his assurances, but their eyes told a different story. I'd seen the whispers, the sidelong glances from pack members who thought I couldn't hear them calling me "defective."

I closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment of forbidden fantasy. If I had a wolf, she'd be magnificent—powerful with silver fur that gleamed like polished metal under moonlight. She'd be fierce, uncompromising, a force that even Alphas would respect.

Instead, I was just Ruby—the wolfless warrior, the Beta's daughter who couldn't shift.

Maybe if I had a wolf, I could claim my birthright as future Beta instead of being relegated to the warrior ranks out of pity. Maybe then the pack would see me as something other than a liability.

A sharp knock jolted me from my thoughts.

"Ruby? Are you decent?" Nora's voice carried through the door.

I glanced at my clock—7:05 PM. Damn it.

"One second!" I called, scrambling off the bed.

When I pulled open the door, Nora stood there in a stunning emerald dress that complemented her eyes, her blonde hair cascading in perfect waves. Her expression shifted from excitement to exasperation as she took in my training sweats and messy hair.

"Seriously?" She pushed past me into the room. "The gathering starts in twenty minutes!"

"I lost track of time," I admitted, running a hand through my tangled auburn hair.

Nora's eyes glazed briefly—no doubt mind-linking Finn about my predictable tardiness—before she snapped back to attention.

"Shower. Now." She pointed toward my bathroom with the authority of a drill sergeant. "You have exactly seven minutes."

I knew better than to argue when she used that tone. Grabbing a towel, I retreated to the bathroom, the hot water doing little to wash away my apprehension.

When I emerged, Nora was waiting with a crimson dress I'd never seen before.

"Absolutely not," I stated, eyeing the garment like it might bite me.

"Absolutely yes," she countered, thrusting it toward me. "This isn't just any gathering, Ruby."

"What makes tonight so special?" I asked, reluctantly taking the dress. The fabric felt expensive between my fingers.

Nora's eyes lit up with mischief. "You really haven't heard? Dominic is back."

My heart stuttered in my chest.

Dominic Frost. The name alone sent a flush creeping up my neck. I'd harbored feelings for Alpha Victor's son since we were fourteen, watching from afar as he dated his way through the pack's most beautiful she-wolves.

"Alpha Victor's son?" I managed, trying to sound casual as Nora pushed me into a chair and began attacking my damp hair with a brush.

"The very same," she confirmed, her green eyes meeting mine in the mirror. "He returned from Alpha training this morning. Tonight's gathering is his welcome home celebration."

My stomach dropped. Two years. It had been two years since Dominic left for training, two years of me pretending I wasn't counting the days until his return.

"Nora, I don't think—"

"Don't you want to see how he's changed?" she interrupted, working some kind of product through my hair. "Alpha training is intense. I bet he's even more gorgeous now."

I swallowed hard. "It's not that simple."

"It gets better," she continued, ignoring my discomfort. "Alpha Victor arranged this whole thing hoping Dominic will find his mate tonight. He can't take over as Alpha without her, and his twenty-first birthday is only months away."

The uneasiness in my stomach intensified. I wasn't mate material—especially not for a future Alpha. I was barely holding onto my position in the warrior ranks, and without a wolf, I was essentially half a person in our world.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," I whispered.

Nora's expression softened as she met my eyes in the mirror. "Ruby Winters, you are attending this gathering. You're going to look stunning, and you're going to have fun for once in your overly-disciplined life. Understood?"

Forty minutes later, I stood before my mirror barely recognizing myself. The crimson dress hugged curves I usually hid under training gear, and Nora had somehow transformed my unruly auburn hair into soft waves that framed my face. She'd even convinced me to wear makeup—subtle, but enough to make my hazel eyes look larger, more luminous.

"See?" Nora said, standing beside me with a triumphant smile. "Absolutely gorgeous."

I managed a weak smile in return, the knot of anxiety in my stomach growing tighter by the minute.

"Let's just get this over with," I muttered, slipping on the black heels she'd insisted on.

As we left my room and headed toward the pack hall, I couldn't shake the feeling that tonight would change everything—and not necessarily for the better.

What happened at that gathering would haunt me for the rest of my life.