Disclaimer: Werewolf: the Apocalypse … nope, don't own it but I do own the characters represented here.
The sun was coming up on the horizon and Susan Gladhand was there on her front porch to greet it. The first rays of light erupted across the sky in a brilliant hue of reds and oranges, turning varying shades of purple as they danced around the scant cloud cover that was present.
It was truly a beautiful sight, as anyone else who was awake to see it would surely contest. She didn't think so and if her fears proved to be founded, she doubted she would ever find a sunrise beautiful again.
The lithe figured woman clutched the locket around her neck, desperate for the comfort it gave her to hold it in her tightly clenched fists. A light breeze picked up the red locks of hair around her shoulders and blew them back ever so slightly.
Her green eyes scanned the streets to the left and right of her quiet little neighborhood, awaiting the arrival of her husband, who was now late. As the darkness of near dawn gave way to the light of true dawn, she released the locket and looked at her wristwatch.
6:01, damn … she thought to herself as she resumed her vigil. He told me he would be back before dawn. Something must have gone wrong.
She glanced down at the wedding ring on her hand. The simple golden band, topped with three white diamonds took her back to the day it was slipped on her hand.
She knew when Ricky first proposed that it would be a hard and quite possibly short-lived union. Ricky, being a Child of Gaia philodox was destined to live a life fraught with violence and danger, but she loved him all the same and wanted to make a life with him however she could.
They were married in a simple but nonetheless beautiful outdoor ceremony in the caern clearing. She, being Garou kinfolk, was not seen as an unworthy mate for him by the sept and was accepted with open arms. They had rejoiced at the union, reveling into the early hours of the morning, following the ceremony given by his pack's galliard. It had been a time of unconditional happiness; everything had been so, well, perfect.
That had been only three months ago. Only now did it seem so painfully short, a brief glimmer in time.
It didn't take long for the idyllic situation she thought she had gotten in to come shattering down all around her. This part of the country had never seen much threat for the Wyrm, but that threat had increased of late. Pentex had sunk their nasty claws into industrial property on the edge of town and had begun manufacturing balefire there, a terrible substance, so Ricky had told her.
They had mobilized to destroy the facility last night and he told her he would be back before dawn provided nothing went wrong. She had made him promise he would be okay. He had promised.
The sunlight on her face told her all she needed to know. Tears appeared at the corners of her tired eyes and ran down her cheeks.
She had told him the strength of their love would keep them safe. Those words seemed hollow within her now.
Maybe he was at the caern, getting debriefed or something. That could be the explanation, right?
A sound from the rear of the house startled her. Desperately clinging to hope, she flung the front door open and raced to the back door.
What she saw there dashed any hope she thought she had so hard she could physically feel it shatter within her heart.
It was Gabriel, ragabash of the pack Ricky belonged to. He stood just inside the door in glabro form, still bleeding from a few cuts that hadn't managed to heal themselves yet.
He was alone.
"Susan, I'm so sorry," was all he said as she collapsed and screamed, crying her husband's name.