"RUBY!"
Mother slammed down on my thighs.
I jumped up in alert, practically startled.
"Owwww." I whined as I itched my thigh.
"I have been calling you for over five times now. Where is your mind?" Mother snapped at me disapprovingly.
I itched the back of my neck.
How did she expect me to tell her that us owing father’s debt was better trouble than I had now put us in.
And more so, Aiden, as I had gotten around to knowing what his name was, had not uttered a single word.
He hadn’t even sent the guards to arrest me yet.
It was currently the early hours in the morning.
The sun was out and the birds were singing so beautiful.
I would sit and watch them, but not today.
Definitely not today.
I had caused chaos for my entire family and the arrogant bastard wasn’t tormenting by not letting me know his next move.
"I’m sorry. I was just thinking about dad.." I lied.
She sighed and looked at me.
We were in our own little bedroom.
There were two beds to accommodate mother and I separately.
We had our own fire spot where we could mix herbs at will and a study table for mother to read her books.
The curtains were nice and simple, extended to the side, it lit up the room.
It was warm and comfortable.
Not home.
But it was very nice.
We had been preparing some herbs to treat Bale while mother had been going in frequently to check on his health.
I had slept a couple of hours and now I couldn’t anymore.
Anxiety wouldn’t even dare let me.
With doors opening and shutting, footsteps coming and going, any slight chatter I heard, made me jump.
Wondering just when Aiden the wicked would send his guards bustling to have us arrested and executed.
I looked at mother as she peeled some leaves from their stems, so dedicated to her work.
I thought about how she had been through so much already.
What I had done to Aiden was crossing a line.
It won’t just be father she would be disappointed in anymore, but also me.
I wish I could do more for her.
Pay up all the debt father owed, wish that I could use my hands to heal father instead of healing random people and animals.
I was in a big mess.
"Do you want to talk about what happened when you touched the Alpha’s son’s hand?" I heard mother asked.
I shot my head up and saw she wasn’t even looking up from her work.
I had been so focused on Aiden I had completely forgotten about that.
I have a slight shrug and mumbled. "I don’t know."
She sighed and then. "We need to be more careful. You need to be. It seems it’s getting stronger."
And then I could feel her shaking her head
"We shouldn’t have come here. I knew it." Mother said.
Guilt overwhelmed me. "Mother no I assure you. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine."
"Ruby we aren’t home anymore. We are in the pack house. And as fate would have it, the Alpha’s sons who have never set foot here are present. You probably healed one."
And the other saw me heal a bird. I thought only to myself.
"If they find out. Suspect you in the faintest, it would be the end of it for all of us. We’re hiding in plain sight." Mother said bitterly.
"I promise to hide it better." I assured her.
Mother was shaking her head.
"Even if we go, where would we go!" I requested. "We have nowhere to go. We are owing a million gold coins mother. A million. We can’t just leave here. We would never make that amount anywhere except trying here."
I held her hands in mine and squeezed.
"I am so sorry mother. I really am. I don’t listen to you sometimes, and I am so sorry. But I’ll make sure to be more careful." I said.
She looked at me and sighed heavily.
She had a tight smile on her lip.
"Okay." She nodded. "I’ll still keep in my research. But you cannot afford to be careless. You need to be careful just as I taught you ever since you were a little girl."
I nodded in obedience.
She sighed and the set in the last drop of leaf into her herbal bottle.
She picked it up and handed it to me.
"This is medicine for the boy." She said to me making reference to Bale. "Give it to him. I’ll have to finish assessing somethings on his health."
I nodded in acceptance and pushed away the chores in front of me.
"You need to be careful Ruby." Mother said to me. "More careful than usual. We are surrounded by people that could put our life in jeopardy. Until I find out what is really going on with you. We need to keep your ability under wraps. Okay?"
I nodded once again and the flung my arms over her, holding her firmly.
It was so heartbreaking to see what she was going through.
Having to leave home, come here despite how dangerous it was.
For me and father.
"Thank you mother." I nodded.
She gently cupped my cheek and gave me a firm smile.
I rose up to my feet and gathered myself as I headed out of the room.
I walked down the hallway, past servants and I wondered about the healers who had been sentenced to death for not healing Bale.
Perhaps it was Aiden.
And then I felt a sudden chill in my bones.
He was most likely the architect of it all.
I pushed him away from my mind and found my way to Bale’s bedroom.
The guards opened the door for me and soon I was gracing his bedroom.
I walked slowly to his bed and sat down beside the his bed, looking at him.
How fascinating, that I had met both brothers in the most different ways.
Bale slowly opened his eyes.
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