Awakening the ninth tail

Stranger amongst wolves

"You heard it, didn't you?" Chelsea asked, alert, her ears turning as she tried to reach out and track the voice that had just spoken in our minds.

Unfortunately, the voice was gone, leaving them wondering if they had just imagined it.

"Brhhh..." Ruby shivered as she rubbed her fingers together, feeling the chill in the air.

"It must have been a hallucination; we must be tired," she spoke, trying to lighten up the situation, but deep down, she hoped that wasn't the case. Ruby knew she wasn't crazy and had really heard Lizzy call out to her.

Unless something was playing with her mind.

"I think we should retire to bed; something tells me our stay here won't go very smoothly."

Turning away from the window, she went to her bedside. Climbing onto the bed, she pulled the covers over her body and shut her eyes, praying for sleep.

The next couple of days had been eventful, to say the least.

Faith had been honoring Ruby with her presence every day, teaching her about the pack, their hierarchy, and what is expected of them.

Ever so diligent, Ruby tried to study diligently to prevent being kicked out of the pack, which would render her homeless and leave her exposed to the evil that wiped out her clan.

"I can see your wounds have healed pretty nicely. You will be discharged today and will be able to go home,” the doctor spoke to her as he focused on reading the charts.

"That is wonderful news, Dr.,” Faith replied with a smile on her face, her cheeks pink as she tried to avoid gazing at him.

“Uh, what's going on with her?" Ruby asked no one in particular.

"I think she has a crush on him or something,” Chelsea spoke with excitement in her voice.

Her eyes widened with the revelation, and she suddenly felt the urge to throw up.

“Seriously, the hell is wrong with you?” asked Chelsea, looking confused.

“Ugh, I can't watch this; this is embarrassing. Is this what being embarrassed for someone feels like?” Ruby replied, trying to cover her eyes as she slid under the covers.

“Why, I think it is cute. Besides, she is at that age already. At least she isn't broken like you. Oh, I will never find my mate with this girl's attitude,” she said, her paws on her furry head as she rolled, looking distressed.

Before she could think of a comeback, their banter was interrupted by the doctor.

“Are you listening...?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

“Ah yes, sorry about that; I kind of blacked out a bit,” Ruby replied, her eyes darting back and forth, looking embarrassed.

“Yh... of course,” he replied, not looking convinced.

“Pfft,” a sound was heard at the corner of the bed, which prompted both of us to look at the culprit.

There stood Faith, holding back a laugh and failing miserably.

“What was so funny?” Ruby thought to herself.

“As I was saying, no major activities for today, and if the headache comes back, make sure to see me, understand?” the doctor instructed as he turned his attention back to her.

“Yes, doctor,” she replied, nodding her head up and down.

“Well, with that out of the way, I'll see you girls later, hopefully not so soon,” the doctor said before turning around and stepping out of the room with his back straight, Faith's eyes following him until he was out of sight.

“Hellooo... sick girl here,” Ruby tried to make her presence known to the lovestruck i***t.

She immediately turned towards her excitedly and said, “Since you aren't allowed to do anything major, let's take a walk around the pack. I can't wait to show you around and introduce you to all my friends."

Looking at her, Ruby immediately felt the urge to throw herself out of the window and break one or two bones.

Closing her eyes, she groaned in frustration. Why her... anyone but her.

Ignorant of her pain, or rather she didn't give a flying F, she grabbed her wrist and, with force, pulled her out of the hospital, with Ruby hanging on for dear life.

As they sped past other people, flying counters, and dodging obstacles with an agility that left her stunned.

As she tried to refocus on the surroundings, she could see faces filled with confusion and annoyance.

“MISS FAITH, NO RUNNING IN THE HOSPITAL HALLS!!” a voice called out to them.

“Yep, I am officially a clown. My first impression and dignity have been thrown out the window and lost at sea. Now everyone thinks I am a weirdo,” she said to herself, flying behind Faith, who ignored everything and teleported outside the pack hospital grounds.

“There we are! Welcome to the Aztec Empire,” she said excitedly as she slid to a stop.

When Ruby didn't reply, she finally turned around and gasped in horror.

There Ruby was on the floor, looking like she had been hit by a truck.

“What the hell is she? Are all wolves like this? Uhh… my wrist. I definitely won't survive in three months,” Ruby said to herself, trying to catch her breath as she shamelessly sprawled on the floor.

“Oops, sometimes I forget I am not your average supernatural,” she said with a wide smile, showing off her teeth.

“Damn it,” Ruby spat through her teeth as she tried to find the strength to stand while Faith held me up, looking concerned since she was still struggling.

“Why are you so weak? I thought you recovered just fine?” she asked, bringing her face close to Ruby's and staring at her.

“s**t,” she thought, she mustn't know I am not a wolf like her. Ruby kept her head down, thinking of an excuse when an idea suddenly popped into her head. With a face filled with a teasing gaze, she looked at Faith and said, “I will tell you about mine if you tell me about that little crush I witnessed back at the hospital.”

Immediately, Faith's face turned as red as a beet. She swiftly spun her entire body so fast it looked like a blur and said, with her arms crossed above her chest, “I don't know what you are talking about,” and with that, she started walking in a different direction.

It was comical, to say the least, but Ruby didn't want to apply pressure in order for it not to backfire.

At least her mind is off the question she asked me a while ago. By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, Ruby noticed Faith had walked quite a distance from her.

"Hey, don't you know how to wait?" Ruby shouted as she hurried along, trying to catch up to her.

"Well, maybe you should have paid more attention to your surroundings and not just to your thoughts," Faith retorted.

“You need to be more aware. I noticed you love to space out a lot. If you want to survive, you need to pay attention and read your surroundings."

Ruby stopped in her tracks, her mouth wide open in shock at Faith's audacity. “I know all about my surroundings and nature," she said as she continued walking, matching her pace.

“Mmhm,” Faith hummed, disregarding Ruby's attempt to cover for herself.

Ruby rolled her eyes at Faith's attitude but decided to be the bigger person because, as she was.

Thanks to the newfound silence, she took her time and began looking around.

The buildings were top-tier; not to toot her own horn, but her pack had many decent buildings. However, this was definitely a surprise.

“That is the pack house and the training house. The alpha and his family live there, along with a few warriors, the beta, and the gamma too,” Faith began explaining.

“We also host other pack gatherings there and receive visitors as well. The pack houses are very complex; normal pack members can decide to build or own property anywhere else but around this area, with my father's approval, of course," she continued.

“I guess other supernaturals have evolved too, which was a surprise, as wolves prefer living in the past with their ancestry teachings guiding them. They were not a species that really liked change. I guess I underestimated them,” she said to herself.

The air felt very fresh as she greedily took in deep breaths, feeling pleased with the atmosphere. Hehe.

The surroundings were very neat, with tall trees and trimmed bushes.

The roads were perfectly structured.

Taking in the scenery enjoying herself thinking nothing could spoil this day, unfortunately for her she was wrong.

A brat climbed a tree and threw an apple at Ruby, laughing carelessly, his cheeks turning pink, pleased with himself.

It took centuries of tolerance not to use her powers to whip him from the tree, sending him flying; alas, she could only swallow her anger and show him a certain finger when no one was watching.

As they walked, they passed some women who bowed to Faith in greeting.

Ruby noticed they were very beautiful and graceful; both had pitch-black hair and round brown eyes.

She looked at them in wonder but made sure not to stare; of course, she was raised right.

“Why didn't you introduce me?" Ruby asked.

“They don’t deserve to know everything I do. As long as you are seen and accepted by my father, then you aren't really a stranger," she said, looking at Ruby confused, as if she was supposed to know these things, her hand clasped at her back, making her look serious.

As they walked in silence, she noticed something about her.

When it was just the two of them, it was like she was a carefree, sassy girl who liked to play and tease her.

In a way, she could relax around her, but when duty called, her attitude changed, and she became more confident and authoritative.

"Eh, maybe I am just thinking things through," she said as she brushed off the thought that Faith might be comfortable with her and could be herself when no one was looking.

Hierarchy must really be strict, she thought to herself, finally understanding what she had gotten herself into.

As the day went by, they arrived at a lake and sat down.

They watched little kids swimming and having fun, with their mothers and friends watching them with adoration, when a little girl broke off from the rest and ran toward them with mischief in her eyes.