Sapphire A Huntress no more (Sapphire Book 1)

Some may think me a coward, hiding like this in the shadows. I may or may not be one. I have managed to escape from Cole’s hands, him letting me go, proves I was not that important in the first place. Still, with the strength I had left I run away. From when he took me until we left to come here, Cole had a peculiar way of torturing me. At first, it was the usual hit him until he drops kind of scenario. Then, was the friend versus foe interrogation tactic. The later was quite entertaining, painful as it was I enjoyed their play. What I enjoyed, was their futile attempt to gather information from me. After that, another session of hit but not kill took place. The worst part was the last. After they weakened me, I became their research subject. They probed me, and poked me with needles, taking blood samples and skin samples. I was thankful for werewolf healing, slow as the healing was under the condition I was in at the time, it served its purpose.

That was how I spent my years in Cole’s dungeon. From time to time, he would bring others down to torture, some of those were his own men. Not many got to see the light of day again, not his prisoners nor the hunters who wronged him. There was one exception to this cycle, there was a human girl that kept coming down to the basement and then going out after a few days. It was customary to see her come and go once or twice a year, until she never came there again. I thought she was killed, after all those years of torture no human could survive.

But after some years had passed, I saw her again through the small window of the basement, the girl that used to visit the dungeons. And as I watched her all grown up and unusually healthy for a hostage I realised the truth. It was right there in front of me. That girl was not a prisoner at all, she was a hunter and not any hunter but Cole’s right hand. I remembered all this, as I saw her now on this battlefield, her body bleeding and injured, while mingling with the werewolves as if they were her friends. I watched her carefully. She was the enemy and all my senses told me that I had to protect my kin.

I knew what to do, I took the first weapon I near me. A knife, the blade was a shimmering silver, it was made by hunters, how fitting. Before I could be stopped, I got near her, as casually as if I was going to greet her and the others, no one stopped me, I was one of them after all. Why would they stop me? When I was close enough, I did what I had to in order to stop the hunters, I stabbed her through the heart. As Cole’s heir, she had to disappear. To make sure she would die I twisted the knife once but before I could do it again I was thrown off of her by Saul.

I rose from the ground and looked up at him. What was wrong with him? Why was he trying to protect a hunter? After the stars stopped spinning I looked Saul in the eye, ready to demand an explanation for his behaviour, but right in that moment the look in Saul’s eyes was enough to make me realise what I have done. I was wrong...so wrong.

It was as if something broke inside of him. He was beside his beloved in seconds holding her gently into his arms rocking her like a baby all the while trying not to cry his eyes out. She was so serene looking at him with mixed feelings of love and sadness and recognition. She knew looking into his eyes that this was the end of her journey. But she had a hunch that things would end like this, she felt it deep down. He on the other hand, had not seen this coming. A broken growl escaped him drawing the attention of the mass before him. Cassidy and Charles and Kuno run to them but stopped in their tracks when Saul snarled at them. The only thing they could do now, was look at both of them with sadness and tears in their eyes. Erin put her left hand on his cheek drawing Saul’s attention to her.

‘She was...right’ Erin said struggling to breath.

‘Who was right love?’ His voice was braking with each word. He wanted to be strong. For her.

’The...seer. She was right...to say your mate was dead...the...only thing...she should have...told you...was that...I would die...′ By now Erin spew blood. It took a lot of energy for her to speak. A human would have died already from the wound she had.

‘Say nothing more love, keep your strength. Help is on the way.’ She smiled at him. Their tears mixed on her face calming her somehow, warm and salty as those tears were. Erin took a break in order to breath and regain the strength to speak once more.

‘I never believed in reincarnation...’ She paused for some air. ‘...but hey if werewolves turned out to be kind...and caring...why not believe that our souls will be reborn.’ Saul felt and heard her heart getting weaker and weaker. ′Saul, you have to promise me something...′

‘Anything...everything...’ Saul said, by now not caring that he was crying or that his voice was weak.

‘You have to believe in reincarnation as well and wait for me to find you again. Promise me that you will wait for me.’ She closed her eyes concentrating on the sound of Saul’s heartbeat.

‘I promise love.’ He whispered stroking her hair.

She smiled at him for the last time and then as her hand dropped from Saul’s face and she drew her last breath, his broken growl echoed on the open field like an omen of bad luck.