Moon Desire

CHAPTER TWO ?

Sapphire

"Mommy is going to be upset with me." Clear tears began to stream down the boy's cheeks.

Sapphire cooed nice words into the child's ear, soothed him. "This isn't your fault, Charlie. Do you hear what I'm saying? It's not your fault. This is all on me, Carter, and Clara."

Charlie's eyes were bloodshot as he cried in Sapphire's arms. Sapphire's heart was broken by the sound of his sniffles, and she clutched him closer to her bosom.

For a time, the two siblings sat at the front entrance. Sapphire stood by calmly while Charlie sobbed. He cried no matter how many times she assured him that none of this was his fault. Sapphire was well aware that she, too, would be unable to silence him. It was something that only time or his mother could do. She was aware. She was the same as before.

Except Charlie's mother wasn't going to be home for a long, so she had to stand up and meet the challenge on her own.

Sapphire stroked Charlie's golden locks. “Don't worry, Charlie. It'll be OK. This just means you'll be seeing more of me from now on. We're going to be friends, siblings, and your mom of course.”

Charlie stroked his chin. "Do you swear you won't leave me?"

Sapphire said without hesitation, "I will never leave you, Charlie. Why would I? Besides, I have nowhere to go.”

And it would be a vow she would keep until the day she died. Because Charlie was the closest thing she'd ever had to family, and she'd never abandon family. It wasn't until almost eight o'clock that she was able to get Charlie to sleep. Sapphire closed her eyes and held the storybook to her bosom. Her whole body ached from exhaustion. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep next to Charlie and remain sleeping for years and years.

But she couldn't do it.

Sapphire slipped reluctantly from Charlie's rickety old bed they'd acquired at a yard sale and tiptoed to the door. She said a hasty goodnight to the sleeping kid and turned out the lights.

Outside, it was growing dark—the glorious darkness that the beast within her craved so much. The wolf wanted nothing more than to go wild in the forest, leaving her scent everywhere she went to indicate to the others of her kind in this region that this quiet place was nobody's butcher. They want to let out the wolf was intense. Sapphire hadn't had a chance to be free in at least a week, and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to keep the other half of her under control.

Sapphire went to her bedroom to begin working on her various school projects after grabbing and heating a small cup of Easy Mac in the microwave. She sighed exasperatedly and slumped on her bedroom floor, scattering her schoolwork about her. She went to work, despite her brain's protests the whole time.

Sapphire dropped her math book on the untidy floor after hours and several homework projects. She needed to relax. Her head just couldn't take any more. Her brain's gears were creaking and burning from overuse.

Sapphire rose slowly, her bones cracking and her muscles groaning. She ran her fingers through her hair, grabbed a towel from the hallway closet, and went downstairs to the only bathroom in their house. She got into the shower and turned up the heat to nearly uncomfortable levels.

Her body ran at a greater temperature than usual since she was a wolf. Sapphire, unlike other wolves, had a natural attraction to everything warm. Summer was her favourite season, and if she could live in a world where summer was the only season, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Sapphire got out of the shower, her towel tightly wrapped around her torso. As she peered into the antique mirror, her long hair spilled down over the tile. Her lovely face returned her gaze. Her typically fiery auburn hair was matted to her head, with damp strands dangling down to her mid-back.

Sapphire had some of the inherent beauty that was typically ingrained in her race. In her eyes, she didn't have much, but it was still more than some others had been given. Through the steam in the shower, her emerald eyes popped out. After her hair, these were the first thing most people noticed.

Her cheekbones were pronounced, yet her nose didn't quite suit her face, and her pores were constantly craters.

Certain females in her group could make any man stop and gaze simply by walking into the room. She'd witnessed it before. Most girls her age had the potential to become models, superstars, and actors if they worked hard enough.

Sapphire formerly loved her unremarkable appearance. It helped her blend in with the people, unlike the other wolves, whose beauty and elegant posture stood out. But in her world, the one teeming with werewolves—the one that mattered—she was the one who stood out. Her light complexion, average height, and a smattering of freckles along her nose made her the laughingstock of the group. It didn't help that he was an Omega.

"Come on, Sapphire, suck it up," she said to herself while running her fingers through her hair.

She rummaged through her clothes for something clean to wear to bed. She eventually discovered a clean shirt after tearing through her whole drawer. It had a few minor holes in it, but it was otherwise clean.

It was difficult to locate clothing of hers that didn't have holes and rips in it these days.

She pulled on the t-shirt and a pair of basic grey sweatpants and went back to her room to do her schoolwork. Her stomach grumbled from a lack of food, but she couldn't obtain anything from the kitchen. Is there anything in the fridge that Charlie could require for breakfast tomorrow? Charlie needed the meal more urgently than she did.

When she heard it, her alarm clock showed midnight.

Sapphire raised her head from her schoolwork, c*****g her head slightly in response to a sound. It was there again. The front porch creaks.

She sprang out of bed, forgetting about her schoolwork and snatching the bat next to her bed. Her grip on it was shaky. The weight of it partially comforted her, making her more bold and ready to confront anything or anyone trying to meddle with their family again. She crept down the stairs, bat poised.