Chapter 18: Between Love and War
1238 Words
Ruby's POV
The world tilted around me.
"I love you, Ruby."
Carter's words echoed in my mind, sharp and undeniable.
A sharp gasp cut through the crowd.
The entire ceremony halted.
But I barely heard them.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Because Carter,Carter Blackwood, the boy who had spent years ignoring me, pushing me away, convincing me that I was invisible to him,was standing before me, saying the words I had once prayed to hear.
Saying them too late.
Riley stirred violently, her presence surging forward. He loves us.
My chest ached.
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to run to him.
But I was frozen.
Jake's fingers tightened around mine.
The warmth of his touch,once just unsettling,now felt suffocating.
His voice was smooth, almost bored.
“Ruby.”
I flinched.
Jake barely spared Carter a glance, his gaze steady on me, calm in the face of chaos.
“We should continue.” His tone was light, almost amused. “Carter is clearly drunk. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
I swallowed hard, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Carter staggered forward, his silver eyes locked on mine. “I know exactly what I’m saying.”
My breath hitched.
Jake let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as if this were some mild inconvenience.
“Elder Cedric,” Jake addressed the officiant, not even acknowledging Carter, “go on.”
The elder hesitated, looking between us. “This is… highly irregular.”
“There’s nothing irregular about a drunken fool disrupting a ceremony,” Jake said smoothly. “Let’s finish this.”
His fingers tightened around mine, pulling me back to him.
I stiffened.
Because for the first time all night, I realized that Jake expected me to obey.
He didn’t think I would hesitate.
Didn’t think Carter's confession mattered.
And maybe, if Carter had said these words: a month ago, a week ago, even yesterday,t wouldn’t have.
But standing here now, his voice breaking with regret, his eyes wild with desperation
It did.
It mattered.
Riley bristled. We can’t do this.
I inhaled shakily.
Carter loved me.
He loved me.
I had spent years convincing myself that he didn’t.
That I had always been one step behind him.
That I was chasing something that was never mine to have.
And now, standing before me, with the entire pack watching
He was proving me wrong.
Relief and rage crashed through me at once.
Because how dare he?
How dare he say this now?
How dare he come here: wasted, disheveled, looking at me like I was the only thing keeping him breathing,when he had spent so long making me believe he didn’t care?
My hands shook.
My throat was tight.
I wanted to scream.
To cry.
To run.
Jake's grip tightened again.
I turned to him slowly, my pulse hammering.
He wasn’t smiling anymore.
His jaw was tight, his blue eyes locked on mine.
A flicker of something dark passed through them.
He had felt my hesitation.
And now,he knew.
His fingers curled around mine like iron.
He exhaled slowly.
And then, his voice dropped to a whisper.
A whisper meant only for me.
"If you leave me now, I’ll destroy him."
A cold wave crashed through me.
Jake's grip didn’t falter.
Neither did his expression.
Calm. Controlled.
Like he wasn’t threatening to rip Carter apart.
Like he wasn’t promising to end the only person I had ever truly loved.
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Because I knew
He meant it.
Jake was not the kind of man to make empty threats.
He was calculated.
Methodical.
And ruthless.
His pack, Shadowridge, was larger than ours. Stronger. More powerful.
If Jake wanted to, he could tear Carter's future apart before he even became Alpha.
He could ruin him.
He could ruin everything.
Riley growl rumbled in my mind. He wouldn’t dare.
But he would.
And I was the reason why.
I felt sick.
Because Carter had no idea.
He was still standing there, waiting.
Waiting for me to say something.
To believe him.
To choose him.
I swallowed hard, my fingers trembling in Jake's hold.
Jake tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was a puzzle to be solved.
Like he knew I was about to break.
And he was waiting for the moment I did.
“Choose carefully, Ruby,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my ear.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Not from desire.
From fear.
Because this wasn’t a warning.
It was a promise.
I turned back to Carter.
His hands were clenched at his sides, his breath uneven, his entire body swaying slightly.
He looked so raw.
So open.
So completely mine.
And I
I was terrified.
Because choosing Carter meant going against Jake.
And Jake never lost.
If I ran to Carter now, I wasn’t just choosing love.
I was choosing war.
I was choosing blood.
I was choosing the possibility that I might wake up one day without him.
And that,more than anything,terrified me.
Jake's fingers curled tighter, his strength pressing against my bones.
Carter took a half step forward.
“Ruby,” he whispered.
His voice was hoarse, broken.
Like he was already losing me.
I clenched my jaw.
Because he was.
Because I didn’t know what to do.
I was standing at the edge of a cliff.
One step forward, and I would fall.
One step back, and I would lose everything.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
And for the first time in my life
I didn’t know if I could save myself.
Jake's fingers curled tighter around mine, his grip turning from possessive to punishing.
A quiet reminder.
A silent threat.
He wasn’t asking me to stay anymore.
He was forcing me.
I turned my head slightly, my eyes flickering to his.
Jake's expression was calm, composed. But his blue eyes?
They were ice.
Cold. Unyielding.
And for the first time since meeting him, I realized,I didn’t know this man at all.
I thought I did.
I thought he was charming. Confident. Relentless, but not cruel.
But this?
This wasn’t confidence.
This was control.
Riley growled low in my mind, her presence bristling beneath my skin. He thinks he owns us.
I swallowed hard.
Because he did.
The moment I agreed to this union, I had given Jake everything.
My future.
My choices.
My freedom.
Carter took another step forward, his silver eyes burning into mine.
He was waiting.
For me to run.
For me to choose him.
His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his body swaying slightly. He was still drunk, still reckless, but his expression was clear.
He meant what he said.
"I love you, Ruby. I always have."
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
Because I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to go to him.
I wanted to run.
But Jake's voice slid into my ear like a knife.
“If you even take a step toward him,” he murmured, his grip on me tightening, “I’ll break him so badly, he’ll never stand again.”
My breath hitched.
My body locked in place.
Jake's thumb brushed over my knuckles, a slow, deliberate movement. A silent warning.
“You don’t think I will?” His tone was soft, almost amused.
I clenched my jaw.
Because he would.
And he would enjoy it.
Carter had no idea.
He was still standing there, still waiting for me.
- Writer
