SEVENTEEN (RUBY POV)

"This won't end well, I should've stayed in the Wind Rose, probably, with the witches and fairies," I think taking a look around, feeling the tension building up in the atmosphere. After all, I'm only a weak human dealing with supernatural creatures with extraordinary powers, I wouldn't survive if a fight breaks out suddenly. Although my girls will take good care of me and, in addition to that, I'm the Key of Hell... even if that's not helpful right now.

The meeting finished hours ago and we said goodbye to our friends while I smiled in spite of all. Iselen and Terra want to keep me around in order to protect me, of course, but the vampire also swore that it was important to her that I could feel part of the relationship on an equal footing even if I'm human. They listen to me when I give an opinion, they care about my feelings, we can fully trust each other and the chemistry between us gets sparks from my skin every time they touch me. I've never felt something like this before, I've never had such a perfect relationship and, sometimes, I manage to forget that I'm in big trouble and only enjoy this amazing connection between us.

But later, I come back to reality and my guts get tensed despite the vampire always stays close to me. It took a long time for us to cross the forest, not only because it was dark and cold and Iselen was carrying me in her arms, but because my girls wanted to be cautious to avoid attracting attention from Terra's pack too soon. Now we're here and hostility drifts through the atmosphere, giving me goose bumps, some wolves are massive and growl showing their fangs although none of them are as beautiful as Terra; her fur, completely black, seems to be an exception judging by other wolves' color. The campsite is not that bad, it's clean and it's true that they all wear plain clothes in brownish shades, I guess this is more comfortable and discreet, they don't like flashy colors.

I wonder when Terra discovered her love for rock band T-shirts, crystal chandeliers, porcelain cups and silk curtains with floral patterns. Maybe she got it from her mother. Suddenly, I remember that her mother and little brother were killed by vampires and understand why everybody is staring at Iselen with rage and caution. I take my girl's hand and squeeze it gently while we stop in front of two tall men, one of them has dark hair and blue eyes, so similar to Terra's eyes that it's pretty obvious he is her father.

"What do you want, stranger?" The werewolves hold their breaths around us and dozens of eyes travel from the Alpha to Terra, waiting for her reaction. I can't see her face because she's standing before me with her back to me, very close, like she's trying to protect me with her own body, but I see her shoulders getting tensed all of a sudden and Iselen holds my hand tighter.

"I understand, so I've been officially disowned by this pack. No one told me despite you know where I live," my girl whispers with a neutral tone of voice.

"You left this family centuries ago. This is what happens when a wolf decides to betray us blinded by lust for a disgusting bloodsucker... and now you also fuck with a human, I can smell her on your skin. How did you sink this low? I can't believe you're my blood... I know your mother was an honest woman and a lady, otherwise I could think that..." The Alpha closes his mouth suddenly when the tall guy standing next to him puts his hand on his shoulder as a warning. The atmosphere is so thick around us that could be cut with a knife, Iselen is squeezing my hand so hard that's almost painful, she's probably trying to control her temper and not jump on Terra's father to rip his head off.

"How dare you?" my precious wolf growls so quietly that I almost missed what she said but I see her clenched fists and the tension in her back. I swallow hard, scared, when I realize this campsite is going to turn into a battlefield in a few seconds but there're many kids here and someone could get hurt. I raise my free hand discreetly and place it on Terra's waist, rubbing her skin gently over the T-shirt, trying to remind her what we're doing here and that this was her idea, in fact. The werewolf and the vampire relax their muscles slightly and everybody around us seems to heave a sigh of relief, except Albert the asshole who's looking at us mockingly along with his friends. I think Iselen should kick his ass after all.

"Hello, Terra, I'm Sirona. I don't know if you remember me..." A woman with dark blonde hair who's carrying a baby in her arms walks towards us smiling kindly, she's the only wolf of this pack who seems happy to see her. My girl nods but her shoulders are still a little tense and she keeps an eye on her father, monitoring the Alpha's movements.

"Yes, of course, your older sister was my mother's best friend."

"That's right," the woman smiles again although she looks a little awkward now. "I eh... I got married to your father some years ago and I'm the Luna of this pack now. The baby is your brother, Edain" Iselen and I remain silent, shocked, while the lady puts the baby in Terra's arms, she holds him automatically and seems to be totally floored by this turn of events. I take a look over her shoulder, Edain is awake and his blue eyes stare at us with curiosity but without fear; he looks like his sister, actually, but with blonde hair like his mother.

"He's a beautiful baby..." I whisper smiling.

"Thank you," Sirona smiles too, proudly, and my werewolf comes back to reality.

"Oh, they're my... Iselen is the Beta of my pack and Ruby is my Luna," Terra explains with a firm tone of voice and the vampire raises an eyebrow, surprised by this new title, I guess. "It's true, Edain is a strong and gorgeous cub. Congratulations..."

"This is not a social visit," the Alpha replies with a harsh tone of voice and the man next to him rolls his eyes, exasperated.

"Taran, please, we've talked about that. Let's hear what Terra wants to say... we can't fight for things that happened centuries ago, that's ridiculous, the war is over and we have more serious problems." Sirona nods and takes the baby in her arms again before looking at her husband, frowning angrily.

"Pay attention to your Beta, it those demons manage to open the gates and their bad vibes draw all kinds of miseries to this world, what kind of future awaits your son? I don't give a damn about your male pride, you're going to help these girls as much as you can and that's the end of it. Have you heard me?" Albert and his friends nod immediately, scared, and the Alpha stares at his wife in disbelief for a second but he also nods when she shoots an angry look at him before walking towards one tent with her baby.

"Now that I'm your Luna, can I also yell at you like that and you'll obey me?" I whisper in Terra's ear and Iselen snorts amused next to me, trying to hold back her laughter. My wolf stares at me quietly with a straight face for a few seconds but she finally smiles too and seems to relax.

"Listen, Uncle Danan, we only need the name of the human that usually forges identity documents for you."

"Why? What does he have to do with all of this?" the Beta wolf gets closer to Terra and the vampire watches his movements cautiously, although the guy only seems curious and doesn't look threatening at all.

"The demons that are trying to sneak out from hell are getting help from a half-demon living in this world, the one who wants to kidnap my Luna, the Key, to open the gates." Terra points at me with her thumb and some wolves nod while I fidget awkwardly and move closer to Iselen, I don't like when all these werewolves look at me with interest. "This half-demon lives in Los Angeles and we must find them to stop them."

"If they're living in a big city, they need to have their documents in order, that's true," the Alpha frowns and seems to forget the hostility for a second. "Wayne is the best, that's for sure, his ID cards can deceive any police officer but his services are really expensive."

"Where can we find Wayne?" Iselen asks, impatiently, I guess she can't wait to get out of here given that this is the same people that killed her family... Damn it, this is all so difficult. The vampire points at her watch discreetly and I understand, suddenly: it's getting late and it'll be light soon. I take a look around nervously, trees are big and branches hide part of the sky but it's still dark, luckily; we have to go back to the Wind Rose as soon as possible.

"He lives in a small city close to Sacramento, I don't remember the name but wrote it down in a piece of paper somewhere..." the Alpha frowns, thinking hard before turning around to call his wife. "Sirona, is my blue backpack in the tent?"

"I think it was related to flowers..." the Beta looks at other wolves and Albert and his friends shrug while Terra's father takes his backpack and rummages in the pockets. Iselen fidgets next to me and looks at her watch again, impatiently.

"Babe, it's getting late," I whisper quietly, leaning closer to the werewolf's ear, and Terra stares at me puzzled for a second before grimacing and taking a quick look at the sky.

"Santa Rosa in Sonoma!"

The Alpha cries triumphantly running towards us while shaking a piece of paper in his hand but, suddenly, his face turns pale and he drops it on the ground to be able to take his shirt off tugging at it, buttons fly everywhere while the man jumps and turns into a big brown wolf in the air, tearing his pants. Everything happens in less than 30 seconds: women scream and children cry, I've barely recovered from my shock when I feel Iselen's arms around my waist to pull me away from the animal's way, Terra remains standing in front of me to protect me while Albert and his friends turn into their wolves too. The three of us turn around, bewildered, and we see them...

Four demons with grey skin, red eyes and big curling horns, holding swords, are running towards us dodging the trees and storming into the clearing. The strong muscles in their arms flex when they raise their weapons and the wolves jump, trying to bite their wrists to stop them, but the demons' free hands have sharp claws too and they tear the poor animals' skin, they fall on the ground howling in pain. In addition to that, they shake their long tails that end in sharp tips, cracking like whips, and the werewolves can't get close to them. Terra seems to recover from the shock faster than us and she takes her clothes off with abrupt movements.

"Soldier demons... this is going to get ugly. Take her back home."

"What? No! Terra!" I yell scared, trying to fight the vampire who has taken me in her arms and starts walking, looking for a way to avoid these creatures from hell in order to reach the trees and vanish in the forest. "What is she going to do?" I sob while watching my precious black wolf fighting right next to her father, the pack is trying to surround the demons to keep them far away from children and young mothers. Sirona has guided them to the other side of the clearing and they're waiting anxiously but ready to cross the river and run away if the danger gets too close.

"It's her instinct, Ruby, she can't fight it," Iselen answers, bending down to hide behind a bush, watching the battle, waiting for her opportunity... "This is not her pack anymore but now she knows she has a blood brother and wants to protect him, besides, she's giving us time to get back home where we'll be safe while she fights these demons."

"But we can't leave her alone here... No!" I yell but she ignores me and, suddenly, we're running faster than ever before between trees, jumping over fallen trunks and big rocks, so fast that the vampire seems to fly and my eyes get full of tears because of the cold wind. I hide my face in her neck, clenching my jaw, while praying for Terra to not get hurt.

"Watch out!" Iselen releases me, she drops me on the ground, actually, although I'm lucky and my ass lands on top of some fresh moss that absorbs much of the impact. I can't see anything, it's pitch black around me, and I only hear muffled cries, I don't know where the vampire is or what's going on... Till a horrible growl chills the blood in my veins and the forest is illuminated with a dim red light: a demon is screaming furiously because Iselen managed to jump on top of him and is biting his shoulder, flames in a dark red shade come out from his mouth, reeking of sulphur, and I can see his friend getting closer to me.

"No!" I try to escape crawling away but the first soldier has closed his mouth and the forest is too dark again, the rocks on the ground are cutting my hands and I can't see anything. A strong arm encloses my waist and pulls, carrying my body like I'm a potato sack, while I punch his thigh with my fists but the skin is thick and he's not even noticing it, probably. This demon stinks and I'm starting to feel dizzy... "Let me go, asshole. Iselen, Terra!" I don't know if my girls can hear me since this guy walks with big steps, taking me away from them. I sob, feeling like throwing up... Till something pushes us from behind and I fall on the ground, this time on top of fern leaves.

"Where do you think you're going, stinky goat?" the vampire growls in the dark and I can't help sighing relieved because she's found me. The demon roars angrily and the red fire coming out of his mouth lets me see Iselen, her clothes are torn and she has an ugly wound on her cheek but it's healing thanks to her vampire powers, her hand is grabbing the creature's tail to stop him from getting closer to me and she smirks mischievously. "Don't do that, jerk, your breath stinks."

The demon raises his hand and tries to cut my girl's head with his sword but she's faster and dodges him easily, rolling over the moss and kicking his knee. The guy howls and staggers a little but he recovers and tries to raise his arm again... Suddenly, a massive black wolf with shiny blue eyes comes out of nowhere and jumps on him, biting his wrist while the vampire kicks his stomach hard and hits him with a big rock on his head, I can hear the creaking when a horn breaks and the demon roars again before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. The woman and the animal are breathing heavily, looking around to check there aren't more infernal soldiers close to us.

"Ruby, baby, everything is all right, calm down," Iselen kneels down in front of me and uses her torn shirt to wipe my tears. "I can feel you, my love. Your blood is still strong inside my body and I could find you anywhere if they try to take you away from me, I won't let anyone hurt you..." She puts her arms around my waist and helps me getting up while I nod, holding onto her, relieved because I can feel her familiar smell and warmth.

"I hate being the fucking key..." I sob upset. "Wait, I can see you... Why is it not dark anymore?" I look up, puzzled all of a sudden, the big tree branches are hiding the sky but it's obvious that there's more light... the sun is rising. The vampire opens her eyes wide, scared, and Terra barks excitedly behind us.

"Fuck!" Iselen takes me in her arms again and runs, as fast as she ran earlier when we were escaping from the demons, only the werewolf is following us now, gasping and trying to keep the pace despite she's running on four legs. I close my eyes again because I don't want to feel dizzy, leaning my head on my girl's shoulder, but I can sense there's more and more light. Minutes tick by slowly and I wonder if we'll manage to get back home in time or if the vampire should find a refuge to spend the day, but we wouldn't be protected inside the magical fence, damn it. Suddenly, I notice that we're moving slower and sigh relieved, opening my eyes: I can see the building and the swimming pool, we're in the Wind Rose garden.

"I can't..." Iselen puts me on the ground carefully and falls on her knees, clenching her jaw to hold back a cry, the pale skin exposed by her torn shirt is covered with blisters and burns and the vampire gasps while I watch her horrified. The sun appears behind a cloud, the light reflected on the water blinds me for a second while my girl falls on the lawn, twisting, she's quiet but it's pretty clear she's suffering excruciating agony. Her clothes are smoking while I look at her terrified.

"Terra! Alfonso, Zara!" I cry desperately and take my hoodie off, ignoring the cold morning dew to try to cover her skin with the garment frantically. The vampire moans and I don't know what to do, I don't want to leave her alone while I go looking for help. "Terra!"

"I'm here," the beautiful woman gets closer, running naked and gasping for air to catch her breath. "Open the living room door, come on..." The werewolf takes Iselen in her arms carelessly and runs behind me, dragging the vampire across the terrace and letting her body drop face down on the oriental carpet, still covered with my hoodie. "Close the curtains and the door, hurry up!" I obey as fast as I can, making sure that not even a single ray of sun can sneak in this room, while she turns on a side lamp and takes a blanket to cover her naked body.

"What can I do?" I sob kneeling down right next my precious girl but I don't know where to touch her without hurting her, her skin is covered with sores... Iselen is breathing heavily and it's pretty obvious she's in terrible pain but remains silent.

"She needs blood, now, before she falls asleep."

"I can give her mine..."

"No!" the vampire moans softly and Terra nods.

"She's so weak that wouldn't be able to restrain herself and would drain you. There's a bag inside the small fridge there, in the cabinet where Maeve keeps some snacks," the wolf points at the wall near the massive TV and I rush to open doors till I find the fridge, moving two soda cans away and taking the bag. Terra opens it carefully and moves it closer to the vampire's mouth, not caring if she spills it and the gorgeous carpet gets ruined, Iselen drinks the viscous liquid with big gulps like she's just come from a hot desert, and grimaces when she finishes.

"Cold and disgusting," she whispers exhausted. "Babe, you don't need to..."

"Only a tiny sip," I answer moving my wrist closer to her dry and chapped lips. "You need something sweet. Come on, bloodsucker, you're dying to try me... Let me do this for you." The vampire smiles and licks my skin, sending a shiver down my spine, I don't feel her sharp fang tearing my flesh but her hot tongue makes me moan and reminds me all the things she can do in a bed, despite it's not the right moment for that. Iselen seems to relax finally when Terra slides a pillow under her head and her eyes close. "What are we going to do now?" I ask worried, brushing a dark lock of hair away from her face carefully.

"Nothing, she needs to rest, she'll be okay tomorrow, I promise."