I shut my eyes tightly as a stream of light escaped the grey curtains that covered Connell's bedroom windows.

The night had been rough, with my dreams constantly muddled with my parents rage. I wasn't entirely sure how angry they would be, but I didn't really want to know.

Connell let me sleep in his bed, and to my request, he slept with me. It was a surprisingly bland PG-13 experience.

At the shift of the bed, I peaked open my eye to look at Connell. He was shirtless, which was a nice sight, with low hanging sweatpants. In attempt to save some small section of my damaged moral compass, I just focused on his eyes.

"You took the covers half way through the night," Connell said gruffly.

I pulled the covers, that were all on my side, up to my cheeks.

"Sorry.." I mumbled into the cover, blinking a few times.

Connell lifted an eyebrow.

"You were awake during that," Connell reminded, reaffirming his disposition.

I didn't answer him, but a smile came to my face. Turning away from him, I covered my head with the blanket, wrapping my arms around my legs.

Connell said nothing more as he went into the bathroom. I lifted my head when I heard the lock of the door, and shortly after, the crank of the shower.

Kicking the blankets off of me, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I could only imagine it was midmorning, considering the bright sunlight streaming through the window.

My parents hadn't come after me, probably brooding in their room as they mulled over the fact that their daughter was mates to their much-older neighbor. Add substitute teacher to that, and wrap it in a pretty bow, and you have pretty much the worst gift ever.

I had unfortunately left my phone in my room, so there was no way for me to contact them. Unless, of course, I was to walk across the street and into my house. That wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Climbing out of Connell's bed, I stretched. Connells room was simple, with grey walls, and light grey accents.

I didn't dwell on looking around, knowing most of what there was to be seen. Curiosity still flowed through my veins though, so I left the room, looking for something else to get into.

I looked into the first room I could find, which I realized was just a small library. The books captured my attention, but I only looked at them briefly before I turned to something else.

As I shut that door, a familiar door caught my eye.

For some reason, Mecah's room had never caught my attention before. Perhaps it's just the thoughts I shoved deep into my memories, the things I wanted to forget. The things that made me sad.

I opened her door slowly, my stomach turning at the familiar creak as it slid open. For the most part, the room was empty.

There was an empty bedframe, which Mecah's parents had left. A small desk that Mecah used to use was still in the corner. The pastel pink walls I was accustomed to, were now a muted gray.

I took a few steps forward, doing a turn so I could look at everything. The horrible attempt we had made when we were kids for height markings, were still etched into the doorframe.

My hand lingered on the carved markings, remembering how much trouble we got in when her parents found them. They weren't even accurate, since I couldn't reach Mecah at that age, and so I just estimated to make the marking.

Pulling my hand back as though I had been burned, I looked around the room once more. There was a window next to the bed, which caught my attention.

Walking forward a few steps, I looked out the window. It was facing the neighbors house, but nothing more. When we were kids Mecah had sheer white curtains to cover the window. They did little in the form of privacy, but they were very pretty.

Sudden memories of Mecah and I playing around in the room flooded back to me. I remembered with a wince, the time when I tripped and hit my head on her bedpost. Luckily I was basically unharmed, but it freaked us out.

Sadness pitted itself in my stomach as I looked around the room once more, various memories coming back. I hadn't been in the room in so long, I had forgotten most of the past.

Turning slowly, I started to walk towards the door, figuring that Connell would be getting done with his shower soon. Some how he took 10 minutes in the shower, whilst I took 45 on a good day.

I was nearly at the door, when I was tripped suddenly. Rebalancing myself before I fell, I sighed, turning to look at what I tripped over.

The floor was nearly all even, but one floorboard near the middle of the room, was lifted slightly. I squinted my eyes, taking a few steps forward.

Squatting, I looked at the raised board, leaning forward to touch it. There was a gap between the boards, which I could only assume I had caused when I trip over it.

Underneath the board, I could see something. It looked like a bunch of paper, bound together.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I pulled on the board to see if it would budge. Unfortunately, it stayed put, the nails on the other side of the board still deep in the wood.

Sighing, I tried to think of what to do. I could just pull it up, using my wolf strength, and face the wrath of Connell for tearing up his floor. Or, I could just ask Connell to do it for me, using my convincing nature.

I decided against the latter, instead positioning myself behind the board. I curled my fingers around the wood, and held on tightly, before pulling up.

The wood barely budged, all of the nails keeping it in place. I let out a sigh, slacking, before trying to pull it up once more.

I could feel my face get hot as I struggled to pull the board up. Once again it didn't move, leaving me panting at the side.

"I really shouldn't have skipped gym," I panted, scooting away from the board. Dottie seemed to be completely uninterested in the whole ordeal, lending me no help.

Biting my lip, I stood, thinking of what to do. It seemed like Connell would be my best bet for getting whatever was under that board.

Standing, I brushed the dust from my shorts, turning on my heal. I found Connell looking through his closet for a shirt. Of course his closet was meticulously organized, unlike mine.

When I stumbled in, he glanced over at me, starting to button his shirt up.

"Good morning," he said slowly, walking over to me. I sat on his bed, crossing my legs.

I gave him a sweet smile, batting my eyes gently. Connell finished buttoning his shirt and watched me, pausing for a moment.

"You want something, don't you?" Connell said knowingly, crossing his arms. My smile dropped, and I took a deep breath.

"I kind of found something, but I need your help to get it." I said simply.

Connell blinked a few times.

"Why do you need my help?"

I just smiled gently, flipping my hair over my shoulder.

I then proceeded to drag him into Mecah's room, which he had rarely come in to. After I did that, I pointed to the board, and told him in a sweet voice-

"I want you to pull that up."

Connell again paused, before looking at me with a incredulous look.

"You want me to pull up one of my floor boards?" He asked, looking at me as though I was insane.

"Well I tried, but I wasn't strong enough!" I exclaimed.

Connell shook his head, looking me up and down.

"So you already tried to rip up my floor board?" he asked. Hearing his tone, I slowed, tapping my leg.

"There's something under there," I tried to convince him, pointing at the floor board.

"Please," I whined, seeing his unconvinced look.

Thus ensued a continuous conversation about why we shouldn't (his argument), and why we should (my argument), tear up the board.

In the end, my wonderful persuasion won, though it meant I would have to make him coffee. The joke is on him, because I have absolutely no idea how to make coffee.

Connell kneeled on the ground, looking at the board. He wrapped his hands around the board the same why I did, yet with one pull, the board became loose, and he easily pulled it up.

Though my mind was filled with the annoying voice asking why it was so easy for him, my curiosity was peaked when I saw what was buried inside the boards. A small square space was open beneath the floorboards, and in the middle, was a book.

Well, a notebook, with a dusty brown cover, and just-yellowing pages.

"See, I told you!" I told him, getting to my knees as well.

"I need to redo the floors," Connell murmured to himself, completely dismissing the journal as he inspected the floorboards. They were very old, considering the house was old.

Dipping my hands into the small area, I wrapped my fingers around the book and gently pulled it up. Brushing the dust off, I opened the front cover.

Inscribed on the front cover in black ink, was Mecah's name. Through flipping through the pages, I quickly realized what it was: a diary.

"What did you find?" Connell asked, snapping out of his floor fixing daze. I blinked a few times, before lifting the journal so he could see.

He took it out of my hand, examining it closely.

"I guess she kept a journal, and it got left behind when she ran away," I told him as he flipped through the pages.

Connell inspected it for a few seconds longer, before shrugging and handing it back to me. He placed the board back in its place, standing.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "The things I do for you."

I smiled at him as he left the room, clutching the journal tightly in my hands. Standing, I ran to catch up with him, following him closely down the stairs. When we got to the kitchen, I sat on one of his kitchen stools, opening the journal to the first page.

"Don't forget you have to make me coffee," Connell told me as he got out a carton of eggs.

"I don't know how to make coffee," I informed him, scanning the first page. Connell sighed, shaking his head as he turned away from me.

It was basic stuff about her, and an awkward intro to the diary.

To my interest, at the very bottom of the page were the words "If anyone shall read this, I will kill you!". The strange thing was that they were crossed out, like she was taking back her words.

I flipped through the first few pages, scanning the writing easily. Nothing stood out to me, nothing of very much interest.

Nearing the middle of the book, there was a page marked by a dog-eared corner. At the very top, was the date, which indicated it was a few months before she had run away. There was a few lines of writing, most of which seemed to be pulled straight from a book. Other paragraphs seemed to be pulled from Mecah's own life. It was formal, much more formal than her other entries.

My grandmother gave me my ring when I was a baby. My mother says that she was thrilled to give it to me, but as always, I could see the distain in my mother's face when she told me of this fact. For many years it was tucked away in my jewelry box, because my fingers were to small to wear it.

When I could fit it around ring finger, I felt a surge of something. Power, I suppose it must have been. At the time I thought nothing of it, and continued with my life. On my 13th birthday, I was mailed a letter. Upon opening it, I realized it had been written to me by my grandmother, whom had postponed it being sent, far past her death. The letter was ordinary at most, but nearing the end, was a recommendation for a book. Well, less of a recommendation, and more of a pointed order.

I found the book in my father's library, tucked between two dusty books about pack politics. I flipped to the page she told me too look at, at read it. Everything became clear after I had read it, as though a cloud of misunderstanding had been wiped away.

The first few sentences read a such : "Little is known about the ring of Lycan. Once in the ownership of Timothy Mcdown, whom was said to rule power over a strong North America pack. After his death, the ring went missing, and has since been unfound. The things we do know about the ring, are as followed :

The ring is an enhancer of power. Any keeper of the ring, will have power ten times greater than the average wolf.

The ring can only have one keeper, who will be the only one able to access the rings energy. When that person dies, the ring's power will be handed down to whomever the keeper chooses.
The ring is as much of a curse, as it is a blessing.

I put the journal down, and everything started to click together. Mecah's grandmother was very powerful wolf, but kept to a very nomadic lifestyle. She died a year after Mecah was born, but left her the ring as a gift.

I don't believe I will last very much longer with the ring now. Someone has found out that I have the ring, and I believe they are going to come for me. I made a careless mistake, but I'm not ready to pay for it.

I stared at the page, my hand reaching for the ring that was secured on a chain around my neck.

"Connell," I said slowly, processing the words I had just read. Connell had just finished pouring himself a cup of coffee, but because of the tone of my voice, came over.

Connell lifted the journal from the counter, sitting on a stool next to me. I watched as he read it, taking breaks to examine the ring.

When Connell finished reading, he had a confused look on his face. His eyes caste up and he grabbed for the ring, looking at it in his hand.

"You said she gave you that ring?" He asked. I nodded, unclasping the necklace so that he could look at it closer.

"She said it was an enhancer," I told him, reading over a few lines of the diary.

"I've never heard of this ring before, it must be a lost story."

A lost story in the werewolf community, is a story that is lost to most people's memories. The story of the first Luna, is one that is told among packs for many years. Other stories that are classified as lost stories are generally unknown to the majority of the werewolf population.

Connell sighed, "I told you people were coming for that ring."

He wasn't happy, the look on his face was clear. Connell put the necklace in the palm of his head, looking at it closely. There was nothing in particular that would indicate that it was anything less than normal- other than the inscriptions on the inside, which we still weren't sure what meant.

Connell gently took my hand, letting the ring fall into it. He closed my fingers around the ring, rubbing his thumb on the top of my hand.

"I found a letter from Mecah," I told Connell, remembering the letter I had found hidden in my treehouse. I had forgotten about it because of the commotion of the past few weeks.

"What did it say?"

"It was talking about how she had to leave because someone was chasing her. I think it said something about how she was heading towards Louisiana."

Connell sighed, his hand going to his forehead.

"She must have thought they would follow her, that's why she gave you the ring." He said slowly.

"Because they wouldn't come for the ring?"

"They wouldn't know, besides, the ring needs it's keeper to work."

I bit my lip, looking at the ring in my hand. The ring needed it's keeper.

"If they're coming for the ring, they must already have the keeper," I said slowly, looking up at him. "They already have Mecah."

Connell thought about it for a moment, before nodding. I frowned deeply, thinking of what awful things they could be doing to Mecah.

Upon seeing my face, Connell placed his hand on my leg.

"It's okay," He said gently. "They won't hurt her, there's no need. They need her for the ring to work."

I tried to take his words to heart, but my mind was clouded with too many thoughts. Closing my eyes tightly, I squeezed my hand shut, feeling the imprints of my ring.

"Don't worry Ruby, we'll find her." Connell said soothingly, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck, exhaling slowly.

Before we could pull away, Connell's doorbell rang. My eyes snapped open, and I shoved away from him, looking towards the door.

"You don't get visiters often, do you?" I asked. Connell shook his head, and we both looked at the door.

The doorbell rang again, this time accompanied with some knocking. We both knew who it was.

Standing, I tiptoed to the window, glancing out before nodding.

"Code red." I said quickly- though Connell had no idea what that meant.

Connell had barely gotten a chance to shake his head, before he pointed towards the living room. I walked out of the kitchen, ducking past the windows to get to the living room.

Once I had gotten there, I sat on one of the couches, turning to look at Connell. Before he opened his door, he looked at me, and gave me a quick wink, before pulling it open.