Sapphire A Huntress no more (Sapphire Book 1)

A burning sun blinded me as I lay on the grass. Bordered by tall trees, some of them green some garnet, the meadow was bright and full of yellow and purple flowers. The wind touched my skin gently, decreasing the heat caused by the sun. I rose from the ground and rid myself of the leaves in my hair. My chocolate raspberry hair sparkled in the sun and I could smell the grass on it. My wolf was laying somewhere near me enjoying the sun, her fur moved with the direction of the wind. As I watched her something caught my eye in the shadow of the trees. Someone was there watching us. The presence felt familiar. The figure was cloaked by the shadows and I could not see who the person was. I moved towards it slowly, the shape moved backward with every step I took. As I reached the border of the meadow another shape joined the other and Nire was beside me as well. As I touched Nire’s fur the shapes become clear. There, in front of us stood a woman and a man. They were hugging each other. The man was in the back holding the woman in front of him. He was tall and had black hair, his eyes were the same as mine while the woman had light blue eyes and had amber hair. I was drawn to them even though I had no notion of who they were. They looked at me smiling and stretched their hands, waiting for me to reach out as well. With a little nudge from Nire I took a few steps forward and moved my hand towards theirs. As my hands got closer to theirs something like static energy rose from our hands and as soon as we touched the surroundings changed. You will be ok the two had whispered just before the landscape transformed.

I was now in a room with big windows and a lot of desks and chairs. It was quiet, no one else was there, not even Nire. Sunlight filled the room and I could see how dusty it was. As I looked around the room a light flashed blinding me for a moment then something changed around again. I was in the same room but now there was someone else here. A young girl with champagne blonde hair and pink highlights stood in the back of the room looking out the window. Her hair was half braided and reached her waist. I took a few steps forward in order to reach the girl. She turned around and looked at me and she examined me from head to toe and when she reached my eyes something in hers told me she knew who I was. Her lips were moving but no words came out, or no word that I could hear.

The light woke me up. With my eyes closed I touched the hard-warm pillow under me only to notice that it moved. Wait, pillows do not move. I opened my eyes warily, the hard surface I slept on was actually a person. Only after looking up to see who it was and why they were under me did I remember the events of last night. My face heated up and I quickly stood up and run to the bathroom waking the stranger in the process. What is wrong with me? The heat from my cheeks did not vanish, not even after washing my face with cold water. A nock on the door made me jump. I opened the bathroom door slowly until it was fully open and the stranger and I faced each other. He had no shirt on, his hair was all over the place just like mine and his eyes...what enchanting eyes. He came closer and as he did so, I could hear my heart pounding. Why am I feeling like this? Nire what is this feeling? This my dear is the mate pull. You remember what Cassidy said about mates, no? I remember her telling me something but still, I never felt like this before.

‘What is it that you are thinking off my Erin?’ The man said. Saul...his name was Saul.

’I... I don’t know.′ I said mesmerised by his warm voice. He leaned in and gave me a tender kiss that made me forget for a moment that he was a stranger and someone I just met.

‘Why do you kiss me?’ I whispered, my voice failing me. But I was sure he heard what I have said as he laughed before he spoke.

′Is this not a question you should have asked last night?′ He said with a big smile. The same strange feeling from the night before overwhelmed me. He was charming smiling like that but something in me felt he was a dangerous man, he was powerful and strong.

‘Who are you?’ I said, more awake now.

’I am Saul Crawford, have you forgotten my name love?′

’I know that, what I don’t know is who you are. You are no ordinary wolf, that much I can tell.′ He looked at me strangely as if questioning my sanity before speaking.

‘I am the right hand of your Alpha, I am the Beta King.’ He spoke with so much pride that I fell even more for him than I already had.

’When you say Alpha, you mean Charles?′ Saul wanted to say something but we were interrupted by Stephen’s voice. We were late for breakfast.

As we went downstairs together, Saul entered the dining room first and by the time I went in as well he already took a seat on the chair beside Charles. He gestured for me to sit on the free chair next to him but I chose to sit next to Cassidy instead. He was displeased by my choice and wanted to move next to me when Charles started a conversation with him. As I engaged in small conversation with Cassidy I could feel his gaze on me. Cassidy saw my discomfort and followed my gaze.

‘That is Saul, the Beta King. Don’t worry, he might seem cold or heartless but he is a good man all things considered.’

‘What do you mean?’ I said breaking eye contact with Saul. Cassidy looked at him with a sad expression before she answered.

’Some time ago a sear told him that his soulmate had died. You remember me telling you about soulmates?′ Said Cassidy. I nodded and she went on. ’Well we as a race treasure the mate bond a lot. It is the greatest joy a werewolf experiences in life and well Saul will never have that.′

But I’m not dead.

The man stood in the improvised wooden tower looking through his field glasses into the distance. With no expression on his face he barked orders from left to right keeping his focus on something only he saw through his silver device. His men run around the camp preparing fires for the night and polishing their weapons. They have been doing the same thing for over two weeks now and were anxious to put their artillery to good use. The man in the tower was not too pleased with how his plan was unfolding. Beside him, on a tattered bench, a pile of letters lay all over, some read others not even opened. He took one unopened letter from the pile and he muttered words of dissatisfaction as he was reading the contents of the yellow paper. Advancing to the South region, we lost to the northern outpost. In the East they have difficulty in pushing forward. Request back up for the West front. The man torn the paper and threw it away. On the other side of the camp, another man lay flat on his back looking at the stars. He as well had no expression on his face as he lay there quiet and unmoving. The night sky was clear, no clouds were in sight. Stars were the only ones providing light, those and the bonfires around camp, the moon was nowhere to be seen. The man enjoyed the quiet of the night inside the metal bars that kept him in place. He analysed every corner of the camp. Ever since he was let out of the dungeon his strength was coming back slowly, soon he would be able to make his move.

Impatient, the man in the tower knocked over the bench scattering the papers all over the place. He had enough of waiting, his intention was to strike the enemy at its heart. That was the best way he would be able to wipe out any fragment of hope the enemy had. With the quickness of a bat, the man climbed down the rusty wooden stairs of the tower and headed for the cage at the centre of camp. No one was guarding the man in the cage, there was no need too. He was week for a werewolf of his pedigree. As he passed by his men, they took the chance to let him know of their progress. The man only grunted a fine or incompetent fool as he made his way to his werewolf guest.

The two men gawked at each other in silence. The man outside the cage had a smug look on his face and an aura of superiority while the caged man had no expression whatsoever. Both judged the one in front of them, speaking only with their eyes. They had the same opinion of each other, the only thing they silently agreed on. After minutes, that felt like hours, the standing man spoke with the promise of death in his tone.

‘It’s time to make yourself useful.’