The Rejected Wolf and Her Three WereMates

Chapter 16 : Assistant

HARPER

~~~

I blinked, genuinely stunned. Ruby wanted to speak to me? To us? Where was all the haughty pride she had displayed the previous day?

I stood there, taking in her polished outfit, her flawless hair, and her immaculate posture. For a fleeting second, a sharp knot of self-consciousness tightened in my stomach.

She looked every bit the picture of effortless, high-society authority, while I was standing in a simple dress with the dust of my crushed lodge still clinging to the hem.

Before the shadow of doubt could take root in my mind, a warm arm slid around my waist.

I looked up to find Ryder pulling me flush against his side. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscle ticked, his dark eyes pinned on Ruby with unfiltered fury.

To my right, Dallas stepped close, his posture rigid. Mason stood out front, his eyes narrowing into slits, his shoulders taut and imposing.

The air turned tense as all three of the Alpha bears shifted into territorial mode, their aura wrapping around me like a protective wall.

I stared at Ruby, my mind racing. What was she playing at? In all the years I had known her, she had never been cool, calm, or collected the way she looked now.

She was the redheaded tyrant of the pack, always wearing an arrogant, mocking sneer, always looking down her nose at anyone she deemed beneath her. Seeing her standing there, completely composed after her public humiliation, set off alarm bells deep in my gut.

The silence stretched on, tight and suffocating, until Mason broke it. His deep baritone cut through the air like a blade.

"I thought I made myself clear last night, Ruby," he growled, taking a slow step toward her. "You were ordered never to step foot on the main grounds of the pack house again after what you did. Are you deliberately testing me to see what I'll do?"

Ruby didn't flinch, though a flicker of hurt crossed her pale face.

"Is this really what it has come to?" she asked, her voice soft, carrying a quiet, painful tremor. "Is this how you treat me after the promise you made to my brother before he died? Luke gave his life to protect you three on the battlefield! You swore on his dying breath to protect me, and this is how you repay him? All because of her?"

"We kept our promise!" Ryder snapped, his voice sharp enough to draw blood. "We gave you everything, Ruby. We gave you power! We made you Head of Pack Welfare, and we treated you like royalty! But you crossed a line by putting your hands on Harper."

"Then let me make amends!" Ruby pleaded, folding her hands together, looking up at them with desperate, wide eyes. "Please. Just five minutes."

"I don't want to hear a single word out of your mouth," Dallas spoke suddenly, startling me. "Get out of here before the guards drag you out in chains. Now!"

I flinched at the raw, venomous rage in his voice. He was always the cool, calculated, unemotional brother, the strategist who rarely lost his composure. Seeing him practically baring his fangs at Ruby was terrifying.

Ruby took a tiny, fragile step back, her lower lip trembling.

As Mason took another threatening step toward her, his powerful frame looming over her smaller form, an unexpected surge of pity pinched my heart. I knew what it felt like to be completely powerless against such overwhelming authority.

"Mason, stop," I said quietly, reaching out to grasp his forearm.

Mason froze instantly, the deadly aura surrounding him fading off the second my fingers touched his skin. He turned his head, looking down at me in confusion.

"Let her speak," I pleaded, holding his gaze before looking up at Ruby. "Give her a chance to say what she came here to say."

To my absolute shock, Ruby looked directly at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Thank you, Harper," she whispered softly. There was no trace of her usual haughtiness. No sneer. No condescension. Her voice sounded genuinely broken, stripped of all the arrogance that used to define her.

Mason stared at me for a long, tense moment before letting out a harsh exhale.

"Fine. But only because you asked." He turned back to Ruby, his expression hardening again. "Get inside."

We moved into the living room, the tension slowly bleeding out of the air. I lowered into the central single sofa. Dallas and Ryder immediately flanked me, leaning against the armrests on either side of my chair like two massive bodyguards.

Mason stood directly in front of us, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his eyes burning into Ruby as she stood in the center of the room.

"Speak," he commanded coldly. "And get straight to the point."

Ruby swallowed hard, taking a slow, trembling breath.

"I came here to apologize," she began. "I spent the entire night thinking about how I treated Harper. How I spoke to her. How I acted. And I realized I was terribly wrong. For everything. For the cruelty, the physical assault, and the inhuman insults I threw at her."

My breath hitched. My jaw practically dropped open as I stared at her in utter disbelief. This was the last thing I had expected to come out of her mouth.

"The truth is," Ruby continued, a tear slipping down her cheek, "I was jealous. I harbored feelings for the three of you for years, and I allowed those selfish feelings to rot my mind. I thought if I pushed Harper away, if I made her suffer, I could somehow earn what was never mine to take."

She turned her gaze fully onto me, taking two steps forward before stopping respectfully.

"Harper," she said, her voice dripping with remorse, "I am so deeply, deeply sorry. I am asking for your forgiveness. And I am asking for the Alphas' forgiveness. I was wrong, and I realize that now. I just want to make amends."

Silence stretched across the room for several seconds. I sat there, frozen, my heart pounding against my ribs.

Was this real? Was the woman who had made my life a living hell for years actually standing in front of me, begging for mercy? I didn't know what to believe.

Mason shifted his weight, looking down at Ruby with a stern, unreadable expression.

"None of us ever needed to be enemies, Ruby," he spoke slowly. "We could have coexisted peacefully, especially now that Harper is back where she belongs, as our mate."

"I realize that now," Ruby murmured softly, wiping her tears. "I truly do."

Ryder leaned forward, his deep voice dropping into a low tone. "We will only forgive you if Harper forgives you. She's the one you hurt. Her word is the only one that matters here."

Dallas turned his head toward me, his intense gaze searching my face. "What do you say, Harper? Are you willing to forgive her?"

My mind spun. It was so hard. The memory of her cruel insults, her smug laughter, and the burning pain of her silver whip flashed through my mind. Part of me wanted to throw her out.

But as I sat here, sandwiched between the three Alphas I had just agreed to give a second chance to, I realized something.

If I was going to move forward, if I was going to build a real life here and stop living in the shadow of my past trauma, I needed to make peace. And Ruby was a massive part of that past.

I took a deep breath, looking Ruby dead in the eyes. "I accept your apology, Ruby. Honestly, I never wanted to be your enemy. We may not be friends, but we don't have to be rivals."

A look of relief washed over Ruby's face. She clasped her hands together, bowing her head deeply. "Thank you, Harper. Truly. I will never, ever forget your generosity."

"However," Mason cut in firmly, "Even though this matter is settled, you will not be returning as Head of Pack Welfare. That position belongs to Harper now. She is going to be the Luna of the pack after all."

Ruby didn't display a single flicker of anger. Instead, she offered a humble, warm smile and nodded.

"I completely understand." Then, she raised her head, her eyes sparkling with a sudden, helpful eagerness as she looked back at me.

"Which actually brings me to a proposal. Harper has been away for so long, and taking over the welfare department is an immense, overwhelming responsibility."

She took a step closer, her tone dripping with sweet, unblemished helpfulness.

"If she's willing, I would love to personally stay on as her assistant and teach her everything she needs to know about running the welfare department."