Chapter 6 The Jade Ring.

Raven's POV

"You have no idea how grateful I am for your help today," the female Lycan said again, and I gave her a fake smile.

"Oh, I surely know about it. You have made it quite clear in the last fifteen minutes. You have said something like this over five times already," I said, and she looked at me, shocked.

"I did? Well, I just want you to know I am grateful for your help," she said enthusiastically, and I rolled my eyes.

"Now I'll show my brother that not all girls are useless. That not all girls are selfish, mean, and rude bitches. I'll ask him to meet you so that he can know how some girls can save others without thinking about their lives. I am sure he will be shocked to meet a girl like you since all the girls he's met are all materialistic," she said before clapping, and I have to give it to her. For a girl, who was being tortured just twenty minutes ago, she was quite positive about life.

"I am not meeting anyone, Miss-"

"Ruby. I am Ruby Slate," she smiled, and I nodded awkwardly.

"So, are you a Ruby, or are you a Slate?" I asked, and she looked at me wide-eyed before bursting out laughing.

"Oh my god, you are the first person who said that to me. I used to fight with my parents a lot regarding this thing. I am sure many would've thought the same thing, but no one dared to say that to me on my face because of my royalty. Damn, I already like you," she said, and I sighed.

"As I was saying, Miss Ruby. I am not meeting any brother or any royal member. I will drop you off at the royal palace and take my leave.

That's the most help I can do," I said, and the light in her eyes dimmed a bit, making me feel sad.

No. Don't do that now. I am a sucker for girls' tears. If she becomes sad like this, then I'll be tempted to go to the royals, and nothing good out of it has ever come for any werewolf.

She might treat me well because I saved her life, but everyone knows that werewolves and Lycans don't exactly get along well.

This girl, Ruby, might be a defective piece, given how chirpy she is, but I bet the rest of them are anything but like this.

I would rather fight a group of rogues than sit with the royals and have a thank-you dinner with them.

"Why would you say that? Do you think I am a nuisance? Or is it true that werewolves hate us Lycans? Is it because you are feeling pressured by being near me?" She asked, and I wanted to scoff at her last question.

Pressured near her? I am an alpha by blood.

Does she think she can pressurize the alpha of one of the strongest packs? I thought, before sighing.

"It's not what you are thinking. First, we werewolves don't hate Lycans. Second, if you haven't smelt it, I am a rogue, and I hate going to packs or, in your case, kingdoms," I said before looking away.

"Your eyes. Why is there so much sadness in them? Your eyes look like the eyes of a person, who got betrayed by her world," Ruby suddenly said, her chirpiness gone.

"That isn't something you should bother with," I said before taking a deep breath, and she placed her hands on mine before squeezing them gently.

"I know that you saved me, and you might even consider me a pathetic excuse for a Lycan -"

"I don't think any of that. I know you are pregnant. Using strength to fight the rogues could have harmed your baby," I said, and she looked at me with raised brows. I am sure she is thinking, how do I know that?

"I heard you begging them as I was passing from there," I said, and she nodded.

After what felt like an eternity, but was only an hour with her talking constantly, we were finally standing in front of the enormous gates of the Lycan's palace.

"Please come. It's my humble request. At least help me get to the stairs?" She said to me with a pleading expression, and knowing all too well that she was just making that up so that I would enter the palace with her, I rolled my eyes at her.

"Fine, but when I say I am leaving, I don't want any Lycan making things hard for me. Let's not start another fight between werewolves and Lycans, yeah?" I said, and she grinned like a kid, making me sigh, as I helped her out of the cab.

"Ouch!" She winced as a few tears fell down her eyes, making me look at the large wounds on her ankle that were probably healing slowly because of her pregnancy.

"You are seriously troublesome," I said before bending and picking her bridal style, making her squeal as she looked at me, shocked.

"Don't look at me like I am your knight in shining armor if you don't want to walk to the stairs of the palace in this condition," I said, and she immediately dropped her gaze, making me sigh.

It was a good thing I paid the fare beforehand, or it would've been difficult like this.

"Thank you for the safe ride, brother," I said to the cab driver, who nodded and left. It was a good thing I called a werewolf cab driver.

Walking ahead, I looked straight, not minding the gazes of the people passing us.

I won't say it was easy. She was quite heavy and I don't want to be rude, but I felt like I was carrying a large wooden log.

Standing in front of the stairs that lead to the main gate of the palace, I looked at them hesitantly as beads of sweat appeared on my forehead.

"Carl!" Suddenly Ruby said, and I looked up, my gaze meeting with a guy who didn't look like the king, making me sigh in relief.

"Ruby? What the hell happened to you? Why are you so heavily wounded? Didn't you go shopping? How did you end up like this? And that to be with a mere werewolf?" He asked, and I wanted to growl at him for saying that.

"Who is he?" I asked Ruby, and she smiled.

"He is our beta," she said, and I scowled.

"Hey, you! Can't you see your royal member is in trouble? What are you doing over there, enjoying the show? Take her from my hands," I said, and it was as if he came out from some kind of trance, he hurried down before picking Ruby carefully.

Since I didn't know where to go, I followed them to what looked like the medical room in the palace.

"We will deal with this matter, Ruby. They have crossed their boundaries today. We will make sure they pay for every scratch on your body," Çarl said, and I scoffed.

"And the werewolf who just dared to scoff in front of me, you are?" He asked, his eyes turning a shade darker.

"The one who saved me from the humiliation and saved mine and my baby's life today. The one who beat up all those rogues alone," Ruby said, and I sighed.

"Can you shut up with your praises? I feel like I have some kind of great personality. Anyway, As you had asked, I entered your so-called palace and stayed for over ten minutes already. Since I am assured you are safe, this mere werewolf will take her to leave," I said while looking at Carl, who looked at me apologetically.

"That is not what I meant earlier, Miss. Please wait till our king is back. He will be thrilled to meet the person who saved her today," Carl said, and I smirked.

"Who are you kidding, beta Carl? A Lycan can never be thrilled to see a werewolf. We are a lower species, remember? Besides, I am not that thrilled to meet your king," I said and was about to turn around when Carl held my hand.

"Please, stay. We would like to compensate you for all the help. You can ask for whatever you want. We will make sure we fulfill it if it's in our hands," Carl said, and I chuckled darkly.

"I don't want any kind of compensation. I did it out of humanity. If she hadn't been pregnant, and if she wasn't a girl, I wouldn't have bothered with helping a Lycan. So please don't think I am someone who is after your so-called compensation. Take care of yourself, Rubg. Go out with someone trustworthy next time if it's important. I'll be taking my leave now," I said.

"But, you didn't tell me your name. At least give me your name. That's the least you can do, please? I would like to name my baby after your name," Ruby said, and I smiled.

"Rae," I said before looking at Carl one last time and leaving the palace.

Huh, I hadn't thought I would have to go through so much, even after helping her.

Walking out of the palace, I strolled through some stalls in the nearby market, trying to see if something caught my eye.

It was a good thing I had sent my things to the hotel I was staying at before boarding the cab to the kingdom, or I would've been carrying the load all around.

As I passed through the stalls randomly, I stepped back when something shiny caught my eye.

Seeing a particular jade ring that had golden and light blue emeralds around it, I stopped at the artificial jewelry shop.

"How much does this cost, sir?" I asked the owner, who looked up and smiled at me.

"You are such a beautiful young lady. It will suit you. Take this," he said, and I shook my head.

"I can't take it for free, sir," I said, and he chuckled.

"Sometimes the person doesn't choose the jewelry, the jewelry chooses the person. It caught your eyes when it caught no one's eyes in my twenty years of business. Keep it, please. I insist," the man said as he pushed the ring into my hand, and I looked at it.

How is it possible that no one ever tried to buy it?

Wearing the ring on my finger, I stumbled backward, shocked by the light from the golden stones.

"Oh, sorry, I was just taking out the mirror. I didn't mean it to reflect," the man said, and I shook my head.

"That's okay, sir. I was just caught off guard.

Nothing to worry about," I said, and he nodded.

Smiling at him one last time, I walked for some distance, my gaze stuck to the ring.

Wait. If he isn't taking money for the ring, I can always buy more items from his shop without bargaining. Damn! Why didn't I think of it earlier?

Turning around, I walked back to the market, squinting my brows when I didn't find the jewelry stall from earlier.

"Hey, there was a jewelry stall here, no? The man with a blue turban kind of thing was selling artificial pieces of jewelry. Did he go already?" I asked the nearby stall owner, and he shrugged, making me squint.

Did the man leave already? It looks like I am indebted now. I thought before sighing as I walked out of the market, a sudden large growl making me shudder.

Looks like some Lycan is going mad. I thought before raising my hand to stop the cab so that I could go back to my hotel.