The weather was awful. It was raining, heavily and the trees were protesting as the violent wind forced them in different directions. ‘Great’ I thought. ‘My day couldn’t get any worse, I just got suspended from school and now I have to walk back to the care home in this weather - and on my birthday too! Life just can’t get any worse.’ Of course I was wrong - surprise, surprise.

Today was the 2nd of June and I am now officially sixteen. The day started off normally. I got up at the usual time of 7am to get ready for school, got dressed, walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and walked downstairs to get breakfast.

‘Sapphire, can I borrow one of your tops? ’. Janie a girl who lives in St. Moundridge Care Home with me asked.

‘Yeah, whatever’ I replied half heartedly. After shovelling down a quick breakfast of shredded wheat I grabbed my school bag and was out of the door quicker then you can say school sucks. Its only when I got to half way down the street when I realized what the day was. I was excited for all of two seconds before I realized that there was no point getting my hopes up, no one had mentioned it to me during breakfast, not even Mrs. Hart one of the social workers, so obviously I wasn’t important enough to receive anything, even if turning sixteen was meant to be an important time.

I knew none of my family were going to send me anything seeing as they were all dead. I was an only child and it was always just me and my parents, until they were both killed two years ago on New Year’s Day. They had gone to a party to celebrate the new year leaving me alone with a baby sitter – I didn’t think I needed any one to stay with me seeing as I was 14 at the time and thought I was grown up enough to know how to look after myself thank you very much - but driving back on the way home my parents were killed. There had been a drink driver travelling in the opposite direction and just before he passed them, he lost control and smashed straight into the front of their car killing them instantly.

Ever since then I have lived in St. Moundridge with other kids. Not once have I been fostered, no matter how hard my social worker tries, and she does try. But it seems no one wants to look after troubled teenagers, they want cute little babies to keep them up at night instead. It’s fine by me though, I don’t want anyone thinking they can replace my family, no matter how nice they are.

Now on the way to school I found myself thinking of my parents, I look like my mother. With shiny blond hair that hangs below my shoulders complete with a side fringe, straight white teeth, long legs and a tanned body. Yes I looked a lot like my mother indeed. Apart from my eyes of course, my eyes were inherited from my father. They are a deep sapphire blue – this is why my parents decided to call me ‘Sapphire’.

Thinking of my parents brought tears to my eyes and they rolled down my face without me realizing. Stepping through the school gates I quickly wiped the tears away, but not before Melissa the school slut and prize winning bitch noticed.

‘Aw, what’s wrong Sapphire, were you hoping your mommy was going to visit you this morning for your birthday?’ I heard her sneer behind me. At least someone remembered, I thought. But that was out of order, my mothers dead you evil cow. Without another thought I closed my hand into a fist, turned around and swung. My fist connected her nose with a satisfying crack and immediately her nose was pouring out with blood. Hearing the crack I knew I had broken her nose. Before she had a chance to even think of a way to retaliate the schools head teacher had called me into her office and suspended me from school for the next two weeks – she said it would have been worse but as my GCSE’s were coming up . Happily I walked out of the school replaying the moment when my fist connected with that smug bitch’s face, when the weather changed and realization hit me. When my social worker hears about this I am in so much trouble!

Trying to ignore the wind and the rain I started to trudge back home, but halfway there I started to feel strange. It was a weird feeling, it was like I felt like I was going to be sick but for some reason I knew I wasn’t going to throw up – if that makes sense. There’s a forest that I walk past when I go out to school and walking past it then it felt as if someone was calling me and so, naturally, if only to stall before going home and getting shouted at, I decided to go into the woods. To be honest at this time I wasn’t thinking clearly, I mean someone in the woods was calling me? How stupid did that sound?

Going deeper into the forest my body started aching and with each step it was becoming harder to breath, until my knees came out from under me and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor writhing in excruciating pain for what felt like hours but could only have been a few minutes in reality.

When the pain stopped everything looked different and my senses were so much better, I could smell everything from the scent of a squirrel in the trees to the dirt on the ground. And the things I saw were amazing too, it was like everything was in 3D and so much clearer. I could hear extremely well too, and if I wasn’t mistaken I’m pretty sure I could even hear some insects crawling along the forest floor by my feet so I looked down … and that’s when I freaked out. I wasn’t looking at my feet, I was looking at paws. Paws for bleeps sake! Now in a situation like this I’m pretty sure you would think you’re dreaming, or try to come up with a rational explanation. But not me, I am not a sensible person and so I did the only thing I thought of…I ran.

I ran as quickly as I could back the way I came and in a matter of minutes the clearing of the forest was in my sight. I headed towards it, but not before a wolf blocked my way and I had to skid to a halt. It moved slowly towards me and without really acknowledging I was doing it I snarled at him, but he kept moving towards me. So I lunged at him, he tried to dodge but not before I managed to grab his hind leg with me teeth and bite down. He let out a howl of pain and fell down.

‘What the hell, I just bit a wolf? What is wrong with me? What am I?’ I hesitated not knowing what to do. This hesitation cost me my freedom because just before I ran out of the woods, more wolves came, there were at least six of them. They circled me, it was profound menacingly. I snarled at them impatiently, waiting for one of them to do something. And finally one did, it lunged towards me snarling angrily. Big mistake buddy. I dodged him and then turned around to snap at him and latched onto his neck, he snarled at me and I clamped down harder but before I could kill him I was ripped from his neck by one of the other wolves and thrown against a tree. I groaned in pain – at least I think I groaned, if you can call it that. The wolves cautiously walked towards me growling and snarling the whole way and I growled a warning back. Suddenly they stopped a few feet in front of me and fell silent.

Each gaze glanced towards the biggest wolf; he was jet black with piercing green eyes and was obviously the alpha. Obviously this alpha, whoever he was had somehow ordered these wolves to stop moving towards me, and for some strange reason, I didn’t want them to. I wanted them to carry on, I wanted to fight. And so I turned to the alpha, looked him straight in the eyes and I snarled hoping he would do something to give me a reason to attack him. But instead the most amazing thing happened. He started to transform in front of my eyes, in an instant a fully clothed teenage boy stood in his place.

‘Back down’ he commanded. Looking into his eyes I almost did, he was gorgeous. He had beautiful tanned skin, neat black hair with a side fringe and green eyes that seem to sparkle. I wonder what’s hiding under that top he’s wearing, I briefly thought, before coming to my senses. I don’t like to be ordered around. So, I took a step towards him snarling.

‘Back down’ he tried again more commanding. But I wasn’t having any of it, I lunged at him, but unfortunately the rest of the wolves decided it would be a great time to attack me – and it was, for them. I was caught off guard, focusing my effort on bringing the boy down. One of the wolves latched its teeth into my leg; I tried to hide my pain and turned on him. I tried to fight off the remaining five wolves as best I could, until my body could fight no more and I fell into blackness.

I woke up in bed. Hoping what had happened was a dream I tried to get up – big mistake, it hurt like hell. That’s when my hope faded and confusion, anger and dread took its place. Sitting up in the bed I looked around the room, it was big and there were a few pictures in frames hanging on the walls, there was one with a woman and a man standing on each side of a black haired boy. I gasped and looked at some of the other pictures, in nearly every one of them there was the black haired boy – the alpha. This must mean I’m in his room. Taking another look around the room I noticed a window looking out towards the woods. His house is in a forest? Ignoring the pain I pulled myself out of the bed and walked towards the window, when I reached it I tried to open it, locked, of course. I tried again but to no avail. I could always try smashing it. But before I could try to look for something to smash the window with, a key turned in a lock and the bedroom door swung open, and there stood the black haired boy. Slowly he closed the bedroom door behind him walked over to the bed and sat down, staring into my eyes the whole time. I stared right back, refusing to be the first one to look away. As it happens he was the first one to look away, his eyes travelled down my body instead, I found this uncomfortable and looked at the door instead. Maybe I can make a break for it that door’s not locked. ‘You sure did put up a fight,’ said the black haired boy drawing my attention back to him. ‘What’s your name?’ he asked. ‘Red Riding Hood,’ I snapped at him. ‘What’s yours?’ He smiled at me. ‘Cyrus,’ he answered. ‘Cyrus Smith. Alpha of the Moon forest pack and you belong to me now.’ Moon forest, I scoffed soundlessly… wait what? Surprised I looked at him. Anger bubbled inside me. Who exactly does he think he is? ‘I don’t belong to anyone!’ I told him angrily. ‘Yes you do,’ he told me calmly with a smile. ‘You were a lone wolf in my forest, you were anyone’s to claim, and I have, you now belong in my pack… as my mate.’
'Excuse me? Your what?' I snapped at him. Slowly he rose from the bed took one last look at me and walked to the door, but just before he opened it to go out he said, 'A werewolfs injuries heal pretty quickly, your injuries will be healed in a couple of hours. I'll send someone in to give you some clothes and food. There's a shower over there' he pointed to a door I hadn't noticed in the room and then he left locking the door behind me.

Furiously, forgetting about my escape plan I sat on the bed thinking about what he had said. Surprisingly, when I realized I that I was a werewolf it didn't feel weird or even scared, for some reason it felt natural. What I was mad about was being held captive and being told who I belong to. Mate? That has got to be a joke right?

Behind me the door unlocked again and a woman stepped in carrying a tray of food and clothes. She had shoulder length brown hair and the same green eyes as Cyrus. She was the woman in the picture - Cyrus' mum I guessed. 'Hello dear,' she started. 'My name's Sophie Smith, my son Cyrus told me that you are in need of some new clothes and some food. The clothes belong to my daughter but she said she doesn't mind giving you some, she's got more clothes then she needs anyway. Okay, I'll leave you alone so you can get changed and eat,' she finished smiling. She put the clothes onto the bed and then the tray of food on a nearby table and without another word turned and left, once again the door was locked behind her.

Quickly I grabbed the clothes and slowly walked to the shower locking the door behind me. I stripped bare and took a long shower, the pain was already started to lessen. After turning off the water and stepping out from the shower I looked at the clothes for the first time, they weren't anything special, just a pair of jeans, a plain white shirt and a hoody, the underwear and bra I had been wearing before were still okay to wear so I put them back on. When I had finished getting changed I took a look at myself in the mirror, the clothes fit perfectly. Then I walked back out of the shower and sat down on the bed, my stomach growled as I did, so I decided that it's best to eat the food. There was a chicken mayonnaise sandwich, a bag of crisps, an apple and a glass of juice. After eating the food and waiting for someone to come and get me, I started to drift off to sleep again but before I could actually fall asleep again the door opened and Sophie came in again. I thanked her for the clothes and food. 'Oh that's alright dear,' she told me smiling. 'Cyrus told me your name, I must say it's a pretty good joke. But I was wondering what you're name truly is?' Sophie seemed a nice enough person so I decided to opt for the truth. 'Sapphire, Sapphire Greene.' She gasped. 'Greene?' I nodded confused. 'Daughter of Lauren and James Greene?' Once again I nodded. 'I'll be right back,' she promised taking the empty tray and walking swiftly out of the room. I immediately realized that she didn't lock the door this time, so quickly I got up off the bed, walked to the door, opened it and stepped outside. Walking down the corridor I tryed to take in everything, from the pristine white walls to the floor. I made my way to some stairs and walked down them. I heard voices coming from a room so I stopped outside it and listened, naturally.

'It's her. Sapphire. Daughter of Lauren and James Greene. Former Alphas of the Redridge pack,' someone said excitedly. Alphas? I thought. My parents were werewolves too? That is so cool.

Before I could listen in again though my arm was grabbed and I was pulled down the corridor and into the kitchen. The girl who had dragged me here had shoulder length black hair and the same green eyes I had seen on Cyrus.

'Hey, I just wanted to talk to you a bit and get to know you. My name's Cassidy Smith, sister of Cyrus Smith. Favourite colour - purple, favourite band - My Chemical Romance, favourite food - spaghetti bolognese,' she informed me happily. 'Oh ok, name's Sapphire Greene, favourite colour - red, favourite band - Panic! At the Disco, favourite food - cupcakes. Thanks for the clothes by the way. So can you tell me what exactly is going on please? With your brother and everything. I mean, I only just found out I'm a werewolf today and I'm not completely sure what's going on.'

She seemed surprised but told me what she could without questioning me,'Okay then. So as you know we're all werewolves. Werewolves age like normal, they don't eat human flesh, it's true that their natural enemy is the vampire, but I wouldn't worry about them, there aren't many around where we live and you'll probably hardly come accross them. As you may of found out we are part of the Moon Forest Pack, Cyrus is Alpha, I'm Beta and there are a few Omega and then there's some wolves without a title. My brother found you in our forest with the pack, you were a lone wolf and needed a pack so he claimed you, as his mate.' There it was again, that word, mate? 'What do you mean mate?' 'I mean that you are to be his now. But as he is Alpha you are Alpha female and have power over everyone else - apart from Cyrus of course. He didn't have a choice of course, his wolf picked you the moment he saw you. That's the way it happens with all mates. So, even if you resist the link between you to begin with, you will give in, in the end and Cyrus will eventually mark you, making you his. I've already found my mate, his name's Josh Redwing, he's Cyrus' best friend. Hey maybe we can double date.'

I thought for a minute trying to take it all in. We talked for a bit longer and I decided that I liked Cassidy, she was really nice. When Cassidy announced that she had to go because she was meeting Josh I was a little bit disappointed. It was after she left that I realized all my injuries had healed.

Failed Escape Plan

Sneaking through the house I tried to find an escape route that wouldn't alert anyone that I was leaving. After a total of ten minutes searching I found an exit that wasn't guarded. 'Finally,' I thought. Taking a quick look around and taking a deep breath I ran towards it. 'FREEDOM!' Of course shouting that wasn't the smartest thing to do when the escape route was so close because the next thing I know, both my arms are being grabbed and pulled behind my back by a really big bald dude who obviously has no clue of his own strength, it felt like my arms were gunna be ripped off! 'What the hell baldy?! Is this really necessary, I do have legs, I can walk you know,' I protested as he threw me over his shoulder and carried me back to the room Sophie entered into. After placing me on my feet in the room, where everyone was staring at me must I add, he smiled at me and left. After manhandling me he actually freaking smiled as if nothing was wrong! He has a creeper smile too...like voldermort. I mean rude much! Not even a freaking, 'sorry for almost suffocating you, to make it up to you i'll get you a cookie.' Hmmm...chocolate chip cookie.
'Sapphire' .... what's that?
'Sapphire.'..... God? O.o
'Sapphire.' ..... what damn you?
'SAPPHIRE!' 'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WOMAN I WAS DAYDREAMING ABOUT COOKIES!'
There was a collective gasp from most people in the room, apart from Cyrus and his mother, who were both smiling. Weirdo's. Obviously Sophie doesn't mind being shouted at which I was grateful for, I kinda like that woman and I didn't exactly want to upset her when she had been so nice to me.
'I see you have found your way out off the Cyrus' room. Your wound seem to have healed. How are you feeling?' Sophie asked.
'Erm, better than I was. I met your daughter Cassidy. I like her she's a cool chika. Im going to make her my new best friend.' I announced smiling cheesily like the cool werewolf I am.
'Oh yes she told me she had met you too just before she left. I'm glad you two are friends, it would have been a pain if you didn't like eachother considering you will one day be sister inlaws.' Sophie informed me.

Well I'll be damned. I've only been here for a few hours and my weddings already being planned.

Reflecting on love

My father always said, 'just one look is all it takes, you'll know 'the one' when you see them.' I never understood this. I mean, how can just looking at someone form a deep connection in seconds? How can it make you suddenly value another persons life over your own? How can you fall in love that quickly? 

I still don't get it. Of course, Cyrus seems to be a nice guy, psychotic, but nice . . and hot. But just because I may have a tiny crush on him (which I refuse to admit out loud), it does not mean I am in love. No way. It does not happen like that. 

 

My mum said that's how it happened for her too. Apparently she was just going for her morning jog, listening to music on the way, when she looked down to change the track and 'BAM' there she goes, crashing into someone. They tumble over, her and the stranger awkwardly struggle to their feet - my mother constantly apoligising as she does so - and then she looks up, into the strangers eyes. And that was it. True love found. Mission accomplished.

 

I think that's just stupid. And totally cliche. 

 

Love isn't instant. It takes time. You can't fall in love with someone you don't know. What if you were to look into the eyes of a serial killer and 'fall in love.' Wouldn't be such a happy ending then now would it. 

Impressum

Texte: Copyright Ellie HarrisAll rights reservedNo part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the brief quotations in review, without permission in writing from the author/publisher.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.08.2011

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To my dad 10/12/1947-10/1/2009 R.I.P love you always xx