The Werewolf's Mate (The Force - Book 1)

Sarah was exhausted from pulling a double shift at the restaurant. The money was good but her feet ached from the long night’s shift. Neck was sore and stiff. Utter exhaustion weighed on her, making it hard to keep her eyes open as she drove home. Not sleeping the night before didn’t help. Radio turned up to keep her alert as music played. Not many cars were on the road late at night making the drive quick and easy. Pulling into her apartment complex, she parked in front of her yellow and white building. After turning off her car, she sat for a moment in the warmth of her car before stepping out into the cold night’s air. This time of year the temperature could be cold one day and warm the next.  This short cold front would be gone by tomorrow, how she wished it was already gone. Dreading to step out into the cold night's air, Sarah pulled her jacket close and tightening her red scarf around her neck wanting to block out the night’s cold wind. The last thing she needed was to get sick. She could not afford to take a day off of work. Standing in the parking lot she locked her car before heading to her apartment. With each step, her feet burned in pain. Last night was the wrong night to break in new heals at work. But what choice did she have when the heal on her old heels broke. Sara slowly put one foot in front of the other, careful with each step, trying to lessen the pain as she walked. Oh, the blisters that were developing at the top of her feet and the back of her heels hurt like hell. The bottom of her feet felt even worse. Each step, hot pain rubbed against the bottom of her heels making it hard to walk. Her lower back stiff and unforgiving. Luckily the only step she had to take was the step up onto the sidewalk from the parking lot. A first floor apartment was the only thing saving her more unnecessary pain. No stairs to conquer tonight. As Sarah walked down the sidewalk, dim, off white outdoor lights flickered like they were on their last leg. The sidewalk between the buildings had barely enough light to light the path. Reaching the front door, Sarah dropped her keys. Slowly she bent down to pick them up, using the wall to balance herself as she stood up. Worried about not being able to get back up if she fell over, she took her time bending down to pick up her keys. Turning to unlock her door, the dead bolt didn’t move. I didn’t lock the door. Ugh. Add it to the list of things she has been Pulling double shifts for extra money was wearing on her mentally and physically. Flipping on the living room lights, a burst of light filled the room as the bulbs blew out of her floor lamp. Everything went dark. Flipping the light switch on and off several times she hoped one bulb would work, but she knew better. Nothing but darkness. Great. Just great. Sighing she was too tired to worry about the burned-out living room lights. Soft light from outside danced between the slits of the cheap white plastic blinds letting in barely enough light for Sarah to see in the dark. Throwing her purse down on the blue sofa, she locked the front door behind her. There was not much furniture in her small apartment. A living room with a small sofa and chair, a TV stand against the wall, a small four-person glass dinette table next to the kitchen entrance, and a kitchen big enough for two people to fit in. Kicking off her heals, Sarah sluggishly made her way over to the small kitchen and flipped on the light. Opening the small panty closet door, she grabbed a bottle of red wine and poured herself a glass. At least one light worked in the main room to make her way around the kitchen. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples. With all of the extra shifts she was pulling she was barely making ends meet. Rent was due in another week. Bills staking up. An endless dark, deep hole. Dropping her college schedule trying to save a few dollars help temporarily. Something had to give. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. Swirling the red wine in the glass she just watched as the liquid moved freely. Carelessly. Sleep called to her. Grabbing her wine glass, she started to turn around to leave the kitchen and head to her bedroom. Startled, Sarah froze in place, not able to move. Silently standing in front of her was a tall thin man with pale skin and long black hair. Eyes dark as death staring at her. Quickly Sarah recognized her intruder. He was at the restaurant the past few nights always sitting in her section ordering wine and food but never eating anything he ordered. Only drank the wine. Even in the restaurant he made her skin crawl. What was his name? Sarah searched her memory. Scared. Trembling. She needed to talk to her perpetrator. Maybe she could talk him into leaving and not hurting her. Desperate she had to try. Her voice quivered. “Cain. N-nice to see y-you again.” Not really, but nice might get her somewhere. She tried desperately to stay calm. Stay in control. Breathe. Taking a deep breath, trying not to let fear get the best of her, she tried to calm herself. Panic ran rapid in her mind. How did he know where I lived? How did her get in here? The room suddenly felt colder. Like a morgue. The air became stale. Her mouth dried. Cain stood between Sarah trapped in the kitchen entrance and the door to her apartment, blocking her only way out.  Keep calling him by name. Keep things relevant. Make a connection or something like that. “Cain if I gave you the wrong impression I am sorry but I do not mix work with my personal life.” Nothing. Cain just stood there staring at her. Not moving. Not saying anything. His long, straight black hair laid in front of his face making his pale skin seem almost white. Like he was dead but not dead. The feeling of death surrounded him. His eyes. Dark, black, inset eyes were like a predator watching it’s prey. “Cain…pl-please…”  “I like how you say may name.” The low dark sound of his voice sent an alarm off in Sarah’s head. Every hair on her neck was standing up in fear. She could feel her heart racing, pounding out of her chest. Every inch of her being was screaming DANGER. Screaming for her to run. But there was nowhere to run. She had to go through him to get out. He stood at least a foot taller than her, his arms freakishly long.   What do I do? God help me. “God cannot help you.” Sarah’s eyes widen in sheer terror as Cain’s grim lifeless face smiled at her. Two teeth elongated as a Sarah dropped her wine glass in shock. Time seemed to slow. The sound of the shattering glass barely audible above the bone-chilling hiss that came from Cain. Cornered in her kitchen. Nowhere to run. No escape. Her only hope was to grab a knife or something to use as a weapon. She had to fight. Sarah told her feet to move to knife drawer. But her feet would not move. They were stuck in place unresponsive. All she could do was look at Cain as he glided towards her in one swift move. In a blink of an eye Cain hungrily sank his teeth into Sarah’s neck like a king cobra. Sarah tried to scream, but her voice was muted by Cain feasting off her neck feeding from her. As quick as Cain lunged at Sarah everything went black as she took her last breath of life.