Sapphire: A Werewolf Love Story (2 page)

Have you ever looked at another person and known
that you were in trouble?  Not in the bad kind of trouble, the kind of trouble
that is sinfully good.  I couldn’t help but smile at him.  “Oh, sorry, I was
thinking about something.  Do I know you?”

He put his hands half-way into his front pockets of
his faded Levi’s.  He was making red flannel the sexiest material I’d ever seen
before.  My eyes dropped from his gaze and I snuck a peek at his chest.  Only
fair since I caught his gaze drop to mine too.

“No, I’d remember you if I’d met you before,” he replied. 
Even though it sounded like a line, it came across as if he meant what he
said.  “I saw you come in with your friend, and couldn’t help but notice she
ran off.”

I’m not used to guys walking over to talk to me, at
least not good looking sober ones.  “Yeah, that’s my sister Ruby; she still has
friends that go to school here.”

“I’m Parker, my friend Collin’s younger brother is
playing tonight.  He’s told me he’s been training for the Olympics for the last
two years.”  He holds out his hand for me to shake.

“Next,” the woman in the concession stand says.

“Excuse me for a second,” I say to him and turn to
face the PTA mom.  I order a bottle of water and some peanut M&M’s.  Before
I had a chance to dig two dollars from my pocket, Parker has handed the lady
the money.  “No, you don’t need to pay for my junk food.”

His eyes smiled at me and I knew he did it out of
kindness and nothing expected in return.  “If I can’t buy a pretty girl a
bottle of water, what’s the point of working?”

“You’re good at this,” I grin at him as he holds a
hand out to me.  “I’m Sapphire, but my friends call me Phire.”  We shake hands as
we walk away from the concession stand.  I look around checking if I can see
Ruby, but of course she has disappeared.

“Ruby and Sapphire, I like the names and I love that
you’re called Phire.”  His five o’clock shadow was a couple of days old and I
watched as the sun glinted off his auburn whiskers.

All around us were cheers and the sound of gravel as
we crossed over towards the bleachers.  His friend stayed next to the chain
link fence, and was yelling out with the rest of the crowd.

“Yeah, my mom has always said she’d never have
anything more precious than her children, so we ended up with names of gems. 
My brother didn’t get as lucky, his name is Stone.”

He and I walked up the metal bleachers; he puts his
hand on my elbow and guided me to the top seats.    A couple of girls nudged
each other as we walked past.  I didn’t blame them at all; he was nothing short
of a younger, healthier, better looking Marlboro man.  I’d almost expected him
to smell like tobacco, he was that sexy.

Sitting down next to him gave me the feeling of
belonging to someone, I felt protected. 

PARKER

Ten minutes until the game starts and I swear I’m
going to pull out the tonsils on all the screaming girls.  Collin’s little
brother is vying for a spot on the Olympic team, Collin asked me to come out
and watch him play. I’d been home-schooled by the family that I’ve lived with
most of my life.  I graduated when I was 17, now I’m 23, and I feel old around
teenagers.  Most of the time, I live at the Phelan farm, it’s on the outskirts
of Choctaw, Oklahoma.  I have a trailer I use as an office when I’m on special
assignments for the pack.  Choctaw is about a thirty minute ride from Oklahoma
City, which was plenty of distance in my book.   The trailer is the complete
opposite direction, placed in the woods outside of Piedsville.   The city has
too many people, their smells and noises make my sensory system overload.

I’d been restless the last few days with energy I
couldn’t explain.  The wolf in me was edgy and ready to find some trouble.  I’m
a werewolf, I can shift any time I want, unlike the myth where we only turn on
a full moon.  Our pack is private, and we keep to ourselves.  We run on our own
land, and do our best to keep a low profile.  The General, our alpha, has been
getting ready for the Great Wolf.  The legend says a wolf would be born to
human parents and will grow to rule all packs.  Our pack princess Pru, the
daughter of the General, has located the Great Wolf and now the pack is
preparing for major changes.  Pru’s been in training and will soon introduce
him to our pack and let him know he’s a werewolf.  Thankfully, I’m not the
assigned bodyguard to protect Pru, she and I don’t always see eye to eye.

“Hey man, I’ll be back in a minute,” Collin says. 

“No problem, I’ll be right here,” I reply.  Without
thinking about it, I take mental pictures of everyone and everything.  The
moment I check the concession line, I see her.  A few minutes ago, I watched
her and another girl who looked like a younger version of her come through the
gates.  Without warning, her eyes caught me watching her.  Instead of turning
her head away as most people do when their
flee
instinct kicks in, my
inner wolf nodded his head in approval. 

I’m not usually attracted to human girls, they have
too many hang-ups. My head was telling me to stay away; my wolf was telling me
he’d make life miserable if I don’t meet her.  Never one to ignore him, I
walked over to her.  Her scent is distinct, and sends waves of desire to my
wolf.  She’d smell better if she didn’t have on perfume, but I could smell the
real her.  Something about her is animalistic, and something about her is
trouble.  All I want to do is grab her by the waist, and throw her over my
shoulder and take her home.  Something in her is damaged; I feel it all around
her. 

I lean in and pay the two dollars for her candy and
water.  Her dark hazel eyes sparkle with curiosity.  She tells me her name is
Sapphire, and I’d never known a name so appropriate before.  A gem that is both
beautiful and mysterious.  Her heart rate stayed steady as she talked to me,
giving me an insight to her instincts.   I wondered if it would matter to her
if I ran off with her and claimed her as mine.

“Are you and your sister sitting anywhere in
particular?”  I ask.

She smiles; showing off her perfectly straight white
teeth.  “My sister doesn’t believe in sitting at a soccer game.  I on the other
hand like to sit up high, away from everyone.”

“Would you like to sit with me?”

Her eyes sparkle as she nods her head yes.

My kind of girl.  “We’ll go up there,” I say and
point to the top of the bleachers.  Guiding her to the top, I am keenly aware
of her every move.  The next hour and a half I sat spellbound by her every word
and it flew by too fast.  We talked about nothing and everything at the same
time.  She never mentioned boyfriends or exes and never talked about life
beating her down.  I couldn’t let her leave and not get her number.

“You want to go have a beer?  Ruby and I are going
over to the casino, they have a small bar and karaoke.”

“Yeah, believe it or not, I’ve never been to the
casino before.  I bet I could twist my friend’s arm.”  Twist his arm until I
feel the bones break if he tries to screw this up.

“I’ll tell you what; I’ll give you my number if you
show up.”  She grins at me and looks up through her eyelashes.

My insides are rumbling as we walk down the steps to
meet her sister.  “You’ve got a deal.”  This time, her heart did skip a beat. 
My wolf growled at the thought of letting her out of my sight.  Breathing her
in, I satisfy his need to be near her.

~~~~~~

“The casino, really?  I saw that girl you were
sitting with, she’s foxy,” Collin said with a slight inflection of his voice.

“Foxy?  Who says that?”

Collin smiled and shrugged.  “I heard my brother say
it the other day; I thought I’d try it out.”

I shook my head in disbelief.  “Yeah, it’s not
working for you.”

“Noted.  Which casino; you know they’ve put one on
every reservation?”

“The one in El Reno.”  She didn’t specify which one,
surely she meant that one.  She told me she is Arapaho, and that’s where the
Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation is located.

Climbing into Collin’s jacked up truck made me wish
I’d driven tonight.  He had antennas and a giant metal toolbox in the bed of
the truck.  The interior is the precise way I’d expect from him and his O C D
self.  The strawberry air freshener stings my nostrils and I must adjust my
sense of smell.  I bet it costs him over a hundred dollars a week in gas to
drive back and forth to work. 

He cranked up My Chemical Romance and headed for the
highway. 

My inner-wolf has never reacted to a human before
meeting Sapphire.  The restlessness was getting worse as we made the forty
minute drive to the casino.  Like a kid anticipating Christmas morning, waiting
to unwrap the gifts from Santa.  I close my eyes for a moment as I imagine
unwrapping her.  The idea is irresistible.   

Could they place a casino any further away from
civilization?  The waning crescent moon didn’t offer much light as we drove
down the desolate road.  Like a blaring beacon, the sign for the casino flashed
colorful lights.  The drone of the tires, after a long ride, would have
typically put me to sleep.  I was too wound up to be sleepy.

We drive around the packed parking lot until we find
someone leaving.  Thankfully, they are driving an oversized SUV, leaving enough
room for the giant truck.  The moment I open the door, I pick up her scent.  No
longer worried about being at the wrong casino,  I’m filled with anticipation.

Collin said he needs to make a quick call.  I can’t
help but hear him on the phone.  He asks his brother to meet us at the casino
to be our designated driver.  Ready to get our drink on, we walk through the
automated doors.

“I’m going to hit the ATM, and the bathroom, I’ll
meet you in the bar.  Don’t take this personally, but if she stood you up, I’m
gonna laugh,” Collin says as he walks away.

“I didn’t get stood up,” I say with confidence.  We
part ways as I look around for the bar.  I follow the sound of someone singing
“Wind Beneath My Wings” off-key. 

The bar looks the same as every other nightclub. 
The lights dimmed low to make everyone look better in the dark.  The back of
the bar has a small stage, big enough to hold a band and a karaoke machine.  A
group of giggling drunk girls take the stage, and pick a song to sing.  Two
round tables are pushed together, and that is where I spotted her.  Ruby is
telling a story to a guy who is obviously hoping to get lucky tonight.  I can
see Sapphire’s profile, she looks anxious, by the way she bounces her leg up
and down.  Without coaxing, she turns around and faces me.  Relief washed
across her face, her leg quit bouncing, and she stands up, and walks over to me.

Her grin alone was worth the forty minute drive.  She
flings her arms around me like I’m a long-lost friend and whispers; “You made
it.”

Instinctively, I hug her back and mentally inventory
every part of her that’s touching me.  Like a puzzle piece, Sapphire fits
perfectly in my arms.

She pulls away and blushed.  “I’m sorry, I’m a
hugger.  Come on over, I’ll introduce you to my friends.  We’ll get you started
with a shot of tequila.”  She takes my hand and leads me over to her friends.

The waitress leans down to take our order, not
without brushing up against me.  Like a cat marking me, and I can’t stand cats. 
“Bring her a shot of your top shelf tequila, and I’ll take a Jack and coke. 
Come to think of it, bring the rest of the table whatever they are drinking,” I
say as I reach for my wallet.  The waitress continues to flirt, not attempting
to hide it from Sapphire.  I have a feeling that if it were to come to blows,
Sapphire would kick her ass.  There’s a vibe from her that she can handle her
own, and I’m counting on it.

“I’ll need a glass of water too…if you don’t mind,”
Sapphire says with confidence.  I smile at her, knowing she was staking her
claim of me.

After a couple of drinks, Sapphire is tipsy and
giggling, but not sloppy drunk.  She grabs Ruby’s arm and pulls her away to the
ladies room.  I’m left with Collin and the girls that were singing when we came
in.  Collin wasn’t kidding when he said he’d need a DD to get home.  I on the
other hand am a werewolf, my body absorbs the alcohol and heals the
intoxication more rapidly than humans do.

A familiar beat starts blaring through the speakers
and I turn around and spot the karaoke culprits.

I SAW HIM DANCING THERE BY THE RECORD
MACHINE

I KNEW HE MUSTA BEEN ABOUT SEVENTEEN

THE BEAT WAS GOING STRONG

PLAYIN MY FAVORITE SONG

Sapphire and Ruby were up on the stage singing
surprisingly well.  Sapphire took the microphone like a rock star and held her
other arm out, pointing at me… she struts off the stage as she sings.  She
stops in front of me, with a grin across her face.

AN’ I COULD TELL IT WOULDN’T BE LONG

TILL HE WAS WITH ME, YEAH ME

AND I COULD TELL IT WOULDN’T BE LONG

TILL HE WAS WITH ME, YEAH ME, SINGIN’