Long Day Blues

             Sapphire hesitantly entered the Black Hole Café and Diner through the back door. Her things were in her lock, as she expected. They were the only things she was interested in. Taking them from the locker, she filled up the bag she used as a purse. It was an old backpack she’d found, so it fits everything nicely. She changed into her street clothes and tossed her waitress uniform into the locker. She wouldn’t need it again. There was blood on it she didn’t realize was there. Gods. What people must think of her, running around with blood-stained bikers and wearing the same blood. It made her a little sick to her stomach.

             Sapphire looked at her paycheck to make sure it was correct. Thank heavens it was. As she stepped from the back room into the hallway that led to the dining area and the back door, she noticed Hank, the cook, standing there watching. He didn’t approach, though. Sapphire expected him to be mean and nasty, but he surprised her by saying, “Everything is there. Go on, little wolf. Go find a new home. You deserve it. Don’t look back.”

             Sapphire was getting emotional again. Today was all too much for her. The numbness she felt earlier was wearing off. So, as she choked up, Sapphire nodded to the burly man at the end of the hall, turned away from him and ran out the door, not looking back. She couldn’t deal with the confusion she felt over his words, not matching his past deeds.

             She burst out into the afternoon sunlight and rushed to the bikes. Magnus looked her up and down. “Did you get everything you wanted?”

             “Thank you. Yes. If you drop me off at the bus terminal, I’ll no longer be your problem, and I’ll be able to get on my way a day early.” Sapphire climbed onto the back of his bike again as he nodded. She missed the look of disapproval that passed over her head between the two bikers.

             “Let’s go home.” That was how Magnus responded to Sapphire’s request, and she figured he spoke to Hayden and not to her. It wasn’t until they breezed right by the bus terminal on the way out of town that she realized he didn’t stop to let her off the bike.

             “Hey, that was the bus terminal. You’re supposed to drop me off there.” Sapphire yelled into the side of his helmet. She was sure he must be confused and not realized it. After all, he was new to the town.

             “Never said I did that. In fact, I said you weren’t taking the bus.” He yelled back at her over his shoulder. That’s when the sinking feeling hit. She was on the back of a motorcycle, going who knows where with wolves she knew nothing about. The worst part is she knew no one would come looking for her. These wolves could do anything with her, and there was no one to stop them.

             This hit Sapphire hard. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in and all she wanted to do was run away now. There was no way she would win a fight with these two. They’re seasoned fighters with a resolve that lets them do what they had to. Look what they did to Cliff. Hayden didn’t even get his hands dirty; it’d only been Magnus. That meant if he wanted to, he could tear her apart and no one would care what happened to the pieces.

             “Please, I don’t want to be a burden or any type of trouble. I’ll be on my way, and you won’t ever need to see me again.” She wanted to make him see how reasonable she was and that she wouldn’t be a problem or burden of any sort.

             “You aren’t a burden. We’re almost back into our territory, then we’ll talk.” In town was neutral territory. Any wolf could go there and expect to be safe from any unrest between the packs.

There were only two packs in the area now. Sapphire’s pack harassed all the other packs into leaving. Which is how Magnus’ pack owned the old Johannesson territory. Magnus’ pack were the upstart rebels of the area. They came here knowing full well that there’d be unrest between the packs. They came looking for a fight.

The gates they pulled up to were large. Magnus’ hands snatched hers where they clung to his waist and kept them there. She couldn’t get off the bike even if she struggled. His hands were like vices on her wrists.

A couple of guards came out of the gate, and they spoke in a language Sapphire wasn’t familiar with. Both guards kept looking from Magnus to her and back again. She was so confused. Sapphire couldn’t make out what was happening.

Magnus waited for his men to step forward and spoke in their native Scots tongue. “We’re back. This is Sapphire Kilburn. She doesn’t speak our tongue, so anything she doesn’t need to know we won’t speak in English. She’s a flight risk. If anyone comes looking for her. You know nothing about her. She’s the niece of Alpha Kilburn, but he’s got no use for her. The non-aggression treaty is a bust, so watch yourselves. He probably won’t come looking for her except to abuse her. She’s ours now, but she doesn’t know it yet.”

Beyond a few nods, and a raised eyebrow. The guards said nothing.

“If she comes to the gate, she’s not allowed to leave. She will only leave with me. Is that understood?” Again, with the nods. “Great, there will be a meeting later and this is the information that will be told to the others. So, there’s no need for either of you to attend. Make sure you note this in the logs and everyone else is aware of it.”

With that, the guards stepped back, and the bikes pulled through the gates into the pack territory of the Twilight Wolves. What did she get herself into?