Being Ruby

by Brandi Bell

  I was in Jade’s clothes when I woke up. I hated the feeling of them so I quickly changed and was ready to hit Kansas City. I wanted to get the show on the road. I felt caged after spending the night on the bus the night before.

  We walked into the venue and I could feel the crowd before we hit the backstage area. I knew it was going to be a good show when that happened. We waited back stage until it was time and then hit the stage.

  The magic was back. We played our hearts out and the crowd ate it up. Before I knew it, it was over. I suffered through the backstage event as always and finally it was time to be free.

  Liam had researched the nightlife and suggested the power and light district. I thought it sounded like somewhere you went to buy power, but it was a neighborhood with a lot to do at night. The biggest positive, it was within walking distance of the bus.

  He lead us to a club called The Howling Moon. Elias turned and glared at him.

  “No, man this wasn’t to offend you. Just check it out,” Liam said before Elias got a word out.

  “Whatever, it better not be a corney werewolf bar,” Elias warned him.

  We went in and it was an ok atmosphere, but more Liam’s taste than the rest of us. It was a dueling piano bar. We stayed and had a drink before moving on.

  The next place we hit was the Angel Rock Bar. This was more my speed. Elias grabbed us shots and we sat in the lounge area and downed them. Once we were good and drunk, we hit the dance floor in the club area.

  Felix and I were looking for potential meals when someone tapped us on the shoulders. I spun around and it was one of the bouncers.

  “The boss is a fan, please follow me,” he said, then turned and assumed we would follow him.

  “Should we?” Felix asked.

  I shrugged and started following him. He lead us to a restricted door that hid a staircase. At the top of the stairs there was an office door, the bouncer opened it, then closed it behind us.

  “Please excuse Dante, he has very poor manners. Where are mine? My name is Antoine,” the boss said.

  “Ruby, and that’s Felix, Liam, and Elias,” I replied.

  “Yes, I know of Mz. Hyde and her vampires,” Antoine said, “I wanted to make sure you weren’t feeding off of my patrons. There is a reason this is called Angel Rock Bar.”

  He then opened up wide black wings from his back. My jaw dropped, and that’s saying something. His wings went back to wherever they were hiding, then he said, “Although we aren’t really angels, we are what the human myth was based on.”

  “What are you then?” Elias asked.

  “That is the question of the hour,” he said then chuckled, “I am a fae of the Autumn Court, specifically a Raven Mocker.”

  “Huh?” Liam said.

  “All supernaturals in this world first came from my original one. It’s like our worlds sit next to each other, but only certain creatures can open a passage between them,” Antoine explained, “Anyways, almost every business here is run by a fae, or supe from this world, so be careful where you try to eat.”

  “Good to know,” Felix said.

  I finally regain my voice, “Where can a couple of vampires catch a bite then?”

  “Ah, she asks the right questions. Good job child. There is a chophouse down the street that runs a feeding program in the basement. A vampire family runs it,” Antoine answered.

  “Thanks, we’ll be going now, if that’s ok?” Liam said.

  “Before you go, this is the Angel Rock Club after all, so could you sign this poster I have of you?” Antoine asked sincerely.

  “Of course,” Elias answered.

  We signed his poster, then went to find the chophouse, which wasn’t down the street. It was on another street altogether. We made it and found the right door so Felix and I could get dinner.

  After we had fed we decided to check out one more club before they all closed. We hit the Mosaic Ultra Lounge for some drinks and music. The moment we settled into seats around a firepit I felt creepy eyes on me again.

  “You guys, he’s here,” I said.

  “Are you fucking kidding me,” Elias growled.

  Liam groaned and Felix’s eyes became dark. Elias got up and walked around. He tried to scent something from the stalker, but had no luck.

  We finished our drinks, since it was close to closing time we walked back to the bus. Once we arrived Felix spoke up, “We really need to do something about this asshat already.”

  “How exactly are we supposed to do that?” Liam asked.

  “Maybe use someone as bait to draw him out,” Felix replied.

  “That’s an excellent idea. Jade can stay in public all day and you guys can follow her around,” I said excitedly.

  “I’ll get Grady for a vote,” Elias groaned.

  We waited while he went to wake Grady up before we voted on the idea. A blurry eyed Grady followed him back into the sitting area.

  “We are voting on luring out the creepy stalker guy tomorrow,” I said.

  “You mean Jade luring him out,” Grady countered.

  “Semantics,” I replied.

  “Don’t you think Jade should have a vote?” Liam asked.

  “Well she isn’t here right now is she,” I snarked at him.

  “Fine, let’s vote so I can go back to sleep,” Grady grumbled.

  “All in favor raise your hands,” I demanded.

  Everyones hand went up. “That decides it, Jade is bait tomorrow and you all will keep her safe,” I said.

  Everyone but Felix and I went to sleep after that.

  “Are you worried they won’t catch him?” he asked.

  “No, it doesn’t matter either way, but it would be easier if we could get rid of him now,” I answered.

  I cuddled into him, we both sat lost in thought, until close to sunrise.

  I wrote a note to Jade letting her know she was the bait tomorrow. I went to the bathroom and pulled down my pants and sat on the toilet gripping the note, then I was gone.

  Chapter 9

  I was laying on a bed and could smell the bus when I came to. I was irritated since we were supposed to be out when we changed. There was a note.

  Ruby,

  Creepy dude was at breakfast, Grady’s locator spell couldn’t even find him. We searched and nothing. We also felt him at the end of the day at the amusement park. We decided we didn’t want him to see us switch so we went back to the bus.

  Love,

  Jade

  That explained why I woke up on the bus. I got up and changed. I knew I had to get ready at the venue that night, so I didn’t bother doing much.

  We walked to the venue surrounded by security, backstage their presence was also finally increased. I went in my dressing room and started stripping down, I heard the door and snarled. It was only Liam.

  “Sorry, I’m on edge,” I apologized.

  “You just apologized to me without being harassed into it,” he pointed out.

  “I guess I must really love you,” I said, before I realized what came out of my mouth.

  Liam picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He slammed my back into the wall, kissing me with a bruising force, I pulled Liam Jr out of his pants and he was hard and pulsing.

  He carried me to the couch and sat down, with me straddling his lap.

  I rode him, his hips thrusting up to match the pace I set. It didn’t take long for the friction on my clit to send me over the edge. I screamed his name as I orgasmed, while he kept pumping into me. He yelled out my name and then filled me.

  We hurried and got dressed for the show. I was on cloud nine, a quickie before the show was the perfect pre show ritual.

  We made it to the edge of the stage with minutes before time to perform. We got out there, and hyped up the crowd.

  “Are you ready to rock with us Dallas!” I yelled.

  The crowd screamed. We started playing and I rode the wave of adrenaline until the last note. We walked off stage and a different roadie s
hoved a letter in my face, then walked off. My stomach dropped as I opened the envelope.

  Ruby,

  I told you three days. Tick tock.

  Yours forever

  I handed the letter over to Elias, then stomped off to the backstage room to scowl in my corner. Felix and Liam walked in not long after, both guys frowned.

  “Elias took a car out of town, he had to shift,” Liam whispered in my ear.

  “Fuck, I hate that I made him need to leave,” I said.

  Felix wrapped his arms around me and said, “It’s not your fault, doll, he just has to work off his anger. Better there than here.”

  We settled in to the routine of dealing with fans. Liam enjoyed the interaction, Grady seemed to, and us vampires sat in the back aloof.

  When we had finished we found a club and Grady joined us. We drank and let loose dancing until the early hours of the morning. Felix and I grabbed a bite, then we headed back to the bus.

  Elias was already on the bus when we returned. He stared at me with his piercing blue eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Gem, I almost couldn’t control my beast when I read the note that piece of shit wrote you,” he apologized.

  “It’s ok, I was more worried about you than us,” I said, shocking myself again.

  Four sets of eyes stared at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You have never put someone else's needs in front of your own,” Felix explained.

  “Well, it’s only you three guys, so get used to it,” I snapped, embarrassed that I was showing emotions again.

  “It’s the sexiest thing you could do,” Elias said in a low gravelly voice.

  He picked me up and sat me on his lap. The boys turned on a show and we just enjoyed each other's company for the night.

  I showered and put on pajamas then wrote a note to Jade about the letter creepy stalker guy wrote then laid down.

  Chapter 10

  I almost fell on my face, but Grady caught my arm. Jade was going up the fucking stairs when we switched. I was pissed, but noticed the guys were behind me, so I waited until they got on the bus.

  “What happened? Switching on the stairs is not cool,” I snapped.

  Felix came tumbling out of his bunk, “What the fuck is going on?”

  “That’s what I want to know,” I replied.

  “We went to eat pizza since we were all on the bus all day,” Grady started.

  “Creepy eyes was there so we tried to find him and it took us longer to get back,” Liam finished.

  “Whatever, not cool though,” I said.

  I went back to get dressed so we could go perform. I skipped the normal leather and went for a black mini dress. It was hot.

  When I arrived in the sitting area I could smell the lust dripping off of my guys and it fed me. I knew I looked damn good and they just proved it.

  We went and performed and our magic was on fire. We gave all we had to the crowd. They cheered, danced, and sang along. The energy in the stadium was contagious. I was excited for this night. We were debuting a duet that Liam had finished writing. I was singing it with Elias. My heart fluttered a bit and I had butterflies in my stomach. I wasn’t nervous but excited.

  The crowd loved our duet. We were for sure adding this to our set. We finished off the night on a high note. This crowd was fun.

  Backstage was the normal assortment of fans that wanted to feel like they were friends with the band. I kept my corner perch and made myself seem unreachable. Once the obligatory time was up we went back to the bus.

  We settled into the sitting room and watched movies and cuddled and chatted. It was something we needed to do more of.

  “There is a meet and greet tomorrow during the day. Since you’ve been spotted out during the day, the label expects you to be there,” Elias said.

  “Well shit. I guess Jade gets to become Ruby for a day,” I said sarcastically.

  “We have red contacts for her, I’m sure she can fake sitting in a corner ignoring everyone,” Felix said.

  “Not like either one of us has a choice now, is there?” I snarked.

  After the non vampires of the group went to bed, Felix and I sat and talked until close to dawn.

  “Why did you join the band?” I asked.

  “After I was turned, my family and friends abandoned me. Music was my escape, so when Liam advertised for musicians I hoped I could find people who wouldn’t leave,” he explained, “I’ve had a hard time trusting, but you guys are becoming my family.”

  “I’m glad I found you,” I said to him.

  Felix went to bed and I stood in the kitchen, I wanted Jade to know what it felt like to wake up standing.

  Grady came stumbling out of his bunk.

  “What are you doing, Ruby?” he asked.

  “Letting Jade know what it feels like to come to standing,” I replied.

  “She’s already done that in Florida.”

  “Too late,” I said right before the sun rose.

  I stood across from Grady when I came to. I was about to get mad, then remembered there was a daytime meet and greet that day. I went to the bathroom and got the colored contacts out of my eyes that Jade had to wear.

  I changed outfits to get ready for the show. I checked my makeup, shocked that Jade did a good job. I went to my spot to wait to take the stage and got a really bad feeling in my gut. My stomach turned and my skin crawled like their were bugs on it. I couldn’t place what it was so I tried to shake it off.

  The crowd was huge, this was the biggest venue we had played. We walked out and the crowd roared so loud I couldn’t hear myself. We waited for them to quiet down and started. Mid set I felt creepy eyes, but brushed it off. I was here for my fans not him. We played our set out and then an encore.

  When we were off stage I had to use the bathroom, I ran back towards them without saying anything to the guys. When I reached for the door I felt a prick at my neck, then everything faded to black.

  Chapter 11

  I woke up laying on a cold concrete floor. My hands and legs were taped together with duct tape. I looked around and I was inside a metal cage. I screamed.

  “No! No screaming, Ruby,” the guy I couldn’t see said.

  “Then let me the fuck out of here you piece of shit!” I yelled.

  “No, you’re mine. You’ll stay in there til I can rehabilitate you,” he said, in a fast tenor.

  “I don’t even fucking know you,” I replied, “How the fuck did I get here?”

  He stepped into sight, and he was a shorter man, around 5’6, with an ugly bowl cut. He also had a big bulbous nose, and his eyes were too close together.

  “I am smarter than that stupid band that uses you. I have an invisible spell that hides me and anything I am holding. I gave you a sedative then I carried you out. No one could see us,” he explained while laughing maniacally.

  “Let me out of here you asshole!” I screamed, “If you have to kidnap a stranger there is no way they will like you.”

  “I AM NOT A STRANGER!” he yelled, emphasizing each word.

  “I sure as hell don’t know you,” I said.

  “You led me into an alley kissed my neck, made me cum my pants, then disappeared,” he said, with a crazy gleam in his eyes.

  “So you were dinner, I’m a vampire, I don’t play with my food,” I said acting bored.

  “No! We are meant to be together. I can feel it and you will too,” he ranted.

  “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. That is all I have to say to you,” I said.

  “No, you say I love you, Jake, now,” he demanded.

  “Fuck you!” I answered.

  “No! You will love me,” he growled.

  “Fuck you,” I said taunting him.

  He opened the door to the cage and slapped my face so hard my head whipped to the side, then pushed me into the back wall and slapped a piece of duct tape over my mouth. He slammed the cage door closed again, and smirked at me.

  “Now you can’t say
it anymore,” he said proud of himself.

  I tried screaming through the duct tape but it was a waste of time. How the hell was he able to push me around. I felt weak, like my body was going through sludge. What the hell is going on, I thought.

  He walked across the concrete floor towards a staircase. I heard him walking up the stairs, a door creaked, then slammed shut.

  I was alone with my thoughts. I tried pulling at the duct tape but for some reason my strength wasn’t there. I tried rubbing against the bars, but the duct tape wouldn’t budge. I was getting pissed.

  I had no way of tracking the time in this dark concrete room, which appeared to be a basement. Eventually I was gone.

  There was a TV on when I came to. I was sitting on a mattress with a blanket and pillow. Jake was nowhere to be seen. Looked like he liked Jade, little wuss must have cooperated with him. The thought made me shudder, I hated weakness.

  I laid back and ignored the TV and thought about my guys. I felt a new feeling, kind of an aching in my heart. I regretted not being nicer to them when I had them. If I got out of this, I would make it up to them.

  I heard the door open, and steps on the stairs. The crazy guy who called himself Jake stood before me.

  “No, no, no! Jade is allowed to be comfortable, not you,” he said.

  “Hello, we share a body dumbass,” I replied.

  “I’ll take it all away,” he said.

  “Come and try it douche wipe,” I challenged him.

  He opened the door to the cage, and I slammed him into the bars. I was just about to sink my fangs into his neck when something ripped me back. I blacked out before I was able to see who or what it was.

  I woke up on the concrete floor taped up again. My mouth was dry and fuzzy, but I couldn’t talk around the tape that covered my mouth.

  “See, I can help you behave, Ruby,” he said with a huge grin.

  I tried to scream but the tape muffled it. He opened the cage door and ripped the tape off of my mouth.