The Moon Phase Trilogy | Protected
Seventeen

Ruby emerged from the darkness in her cell and clung to the cold, metal bars, “Jayden, you can’t kill him...can you,” she said, looking at him with worried eyes.

Jayden looked up and didn’t say a word. He sat down beside Blu, who had shifted back to Shaun and he gently ran his fingers through her hair as she slept. He clenched his fist that wasn’t tangled in Shaun’s hair and punched the ground. He heard a yelp come from Ericka’s cell and looked to see her surprisingly as her wolf. He tried not to move too quickly, since he didn’t want to wake Shaun. He just stared at Ericka’s ash black wolf. He thought about what her fur color was before and wasn’t sure why it had changed. Her fur was a deep red before...why is it ash black now? He thought to himself and Ruby raised a brow, looking over to Ericka in the next cell. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth in surprise and shock. “What is it, Ruby?”

“I--I’ve only seen this once before...” she said softly. She could hear Jayden’s thoughts, but she didn’t tell him that.

“Seen what once before, Ru?” he asked, confused. He looked between Ericka’s wolf and Ruby, concerned as to what she meant.

Ruby looked at Jayden with a serious face, “She is an Adapter.” she stated. She sounded very serious and didn’t even blink as she stared at Jayden.

“What do you mean by an Adapter?” Jayden asked with his eyebrows raised. He continued to stroke Shaun’s hair as he spoke. He was interested in what Ruby meant, but grew worried for Ericka. What if it was something dangerous and evil? He didn’t want his mate to be in danger of herself.

“It’s hard to explain...but I can try to explain it,” Ruby said and sat down in the right corner close to Jayden and Shaun. She took a deep breath in and let out shakily, before she started to explain what an Adapter was. “Well...Adapters are werewolves whose fur changes color to adapt to the surroundings around them in dreams or nightmares. And if their fur changes color in the dream, it changes in real life until the next dream or nightmare that it happens.

“So if Ericka dreams of a forest fire and her sisters die, her wolf runs to the forest to try and save them and her fur changes from a dusk red to an ash black, to blend in and not get harmed by her surroundings.

“That seems to be the situation here,” Ruby explained as she looked at Ericka’s wolf with interest. Jayden noticed how calm Ruby had become and he looked from her to Ericka with a sigh. He wasn’t sure how to feel about all this new information. He had never heard of Adapters, and he was worried that Ericka didn’t need him to protect her after knowing the new information.

“Then what becomes of me, Ruby?” He said softly, feeling very depressed all of a sudden. Jayden felt Shaun move a bit and looked down to see her slowly wake up, her hand going to her head instantly. “Good morning, Moonstone,” he smiled softly, hiding his fear and worry.

Shaun slowly got up and groaned, “What the hell happened, Jay?” She looked to Ericka’s cell and noticed her fur was a different color. She growled and clenched her fists, “What did they do to Ericka’s wolf?” She demanded.

Ruby sighed and lowered her gaze, “They didn’t do anything to her. She is an Adapter,” she said and ran her finger tips up and down the cell bars that were attached to Ericka’s cell.

Shaun gave Ruby the most confused look and shook her head, “Those are just a myth!” She shouted in protest, knowing full force she was right. She watched as Ruby shook her head.

“They are not a myth. They are real and your friend here is one of them. If you are wondering how and why I know about Adapters, just ask me and I’d just love to tell you all about it,” Ruby got sarcastic at the end of her explanation and Shaun rolled her eyes. Jayden just sat there quietly, watching as the two argued very loudly.

Shaun narrowed her eyes and growled, “Well then, please explain how you know so much about these mythical beings!”

“I’d be happy to!” Ruby spat back, “I know of them because I was told stories when I was a child. I know they exist because one of my best friends, the one who I consider a younger sister is one of them! Her name is Leondra, but I call her Leo. She is a werelion. It does exist in our species of wolf, so don’t even think about saying it doesn’t,” Ruby barred her teeth before losing control and shifting to her large wolf form.

Shaun and Jayden could tell she was raging with fury and they backed up a bit. Jayden noticed some incredible armor on the canine and grew curious as to why she had it on. The armor was silver, but it seemed to blend right in with her fur colors, “What are you?” Jayden asked under his breath.

Ruby apparently heard him and flashed her necklace to him. He took a closer look at it and read the words ‘Protector’ in small letters and ‘Patron of Wisdom’ above the word Protector in large letters to himself. He exchanged glances with the timber wolf and raised his brow, “I’ve heard of Protectors, but never really understood what they were or what they did. I have never heard of Patron of Wisdom though,” he said.

Shaun’s ears perked up and listened quietly in interest, “I am interested too. I am sorry for making a scene...I’m just crabby from not eating and because my head is pounding for some reason.”

Ruby took back control and she was still in the same spot from before, cross-legged and running her finger tips up and down the cell bars, “It’s alright. I understand, I’m starving too. Haven’t been given food for at least a week. But anyway, to answer your question Jayden, Protectors are ones who obviously do the protecting, but they have one specific person they protect. In my case, I protect my best friend Leo, even if we are different species. Most Protectors have a mate that is an Adapter, so they have the duty of protecting their mate, but in my case, I am protecting my best friend who actually has a mate. I do not have a mate, nor do I wish I had one. Does that make sense?” She tried to explain to the two.

Jayden and Shaun looked at each other a little unsure and looked at Ericka, who was still drugged up and out like a light, “So what you’re saying is, either one of us could be her protector? Or neither of us?” Shaun asked. Ruby nodded and Jayden almost flipped.

“I don’t think I could handle someone else protecting her besides me or Shaun! This is a lot of information to take in too...my mind is about to burst!” Jayden exclaimed and put both hands to his head and ran them through his blond hair. He was having a panic attack and it didn’t look pretty.

“Jayden, everything will be alright. To answer your other question about the Patron of Wisdom...there is only one at a time. They don’t have a true mate at all and are the top of the ranking in any species besides humans. The Patron knows all and is there to help when needed, whether in a dream, nightmare or real life. I keep that part to myself, until it is needed,” Ruby explained and Shaun was in awe. Jayden was listening, but he was too flustered with the other information to really comprehend anything more.

Casually, the vampire twins came back with smirks on their innocent faces and put a hand on Jayden’s shoulders, Grant on the left and Noelia on the right, “Jayden, come with us. Our father would like to see you and ask you a few questions about the task we had given you earlier,” Grant grinned. Jayden was going to get out of their hold, but they were strong, too strong, for him to break the shoulder holds.

“You can’t just take him like this!” Shaun growled, cracking her knuckles as she slowly took a step forward to the twins. She was still pretty sore and weak from before, but her memory was foggy from the last few hours.

“Oh sweetie, but we can. This is our home. Asher and Daemion just live here. The chick with the skull mask just comes and goes as she pleases. They work for our parents,” Noelia hissed and stomped on Shaun’s feet, making her fall to her knees on the cold concrete they called a dungeon floor.

Jayden snarled, but stayed submissive, “Shaun, I promise I will be alright. Ericka will be fine too. Once I get her necklace back, we can go free and find out more about the whole thing from earlier. Just calm down and stay with Ruby and Ericka. They both need you right now, so don’t blow this,” He spoke very calmly before the twins pushed him off.

“Damn it...I can’t take much more of these damn vampire twins or Asher and his minion. We need to get out of here and eat something to regain our strength back. If Ericka isn’t awake when we try to break out, we are bringing her with, with or without the moon phase necklace. Are you willing to help me, Ruby?” Shaun asked, looking back to the cells.

Ruby smiled and gave a sharp nod, “You can count on me, Shaun. Now, we just need a plan.”

Shaun gave an evil grin, already brewing up a plan in her mind as they talked.

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