A week after my change I went back to work. I need the routine of work in my life. It's the only thing that makes me feel somewhat normal. Because currently I am far from normal.
I'm in love with a 25 year old mutant turtle and I'm a werewolf. My life sounds like some kind of fucked up sitcom.
I was mindlessly mixing drinks when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around only to lock eyes with Xander. I froze when he smiled at me. My blood ran cold and I pulled away from his touch. His smile faded to a frown when he saw the fear in my eyes.
I quickly tried to shake the emotion from my face. I didn't want him to see me so vulnerable.
"Haven't seen your face in a while." I yelled over the blasting music.
"I have been here every night looking for you. I was worried when it took you so long to return to work." He replied.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."
"Can't do that, sweetheart." He smiled devilishly at me. "Not only did I want to see your face, but I wanted to talk to you about some progress I've made in developing a cure."
My mouth dropped and it seemed like all the noise was sucked out of the room all at once.
"Nikki, I'm heading out for a ten minute break." I yelled at my coworker.
"Okay, I can handle it alone for a bit." She replied as she continued to serve drinks.
The alley behind the bar was quiet and dark.
"You've made progress?"
"Well, yes and no." He replied as he ran a hand over his smooth hair.
My heart sank upon hearing those words.
"I have some leads to look in on. A lycanthrope expert I came across once in my travels finally answered my phone calls. He says that there's a book located in Romania that contains rare information about several species of monster."
"Okay, wait. So you're telling me that your progress in finding a cure is a book in another country?" Sarcasm was basically oozing from my lips.
"Uh…yeah, that's what I'm saying."
I scoffed, "Well, it was nice catching up Xander, but I need to be getting back to work."
I turned to go back inside when I felt his hand on my wrist.
"Listen, Sarah. I'm sorry for what happened. I feel terrible that you're cursed because you had the misfortune of meeting me."
I stopped and looked at him. His eyes were pleading.
"I understand if you won't forgive me. But please consider it."
I sighed and glanced away from his guilt ridden face.
"I…I think I can forgive you. But I'm not interested in anything romantic between the two of us, so don't get any ideas."
"If you don't mind my asking, what changed?" He stared at me innocently. "Is it because you blame me for what happened?"
"No, it's not that." I paused before answering.
"It's…it's because I love someone else." I finally replied as I tried desperately to look anywhere but his face.
"Oh, so you have a boyfriend then?" I watched as a look of disappointment flashed across his face.
"We're not together. We kind of never really were together. He's dating someone new now." My voice had dropped to such a low volume, I was surprised he could actually hear me.
"I'm…I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. I'm learning to cope with it." I spoke, my voice gaining some volume.
"Well, if you ever need anyone to help you cope, I'm just a phone call away." He said with a skeazy wink.
"Ugh, stop." I laughed despite myself. "Seriously, I have to return to the bar."
"Okay." He paused. "Can I call you?"
"I'd prefer you text me, but I'm ok with you calling me too."
The genuine smile returned to his face. "I'll call you tomorrow." He placed a kiss on my hand and turned to leave the alley.
Once back behind the bar, I returned to mixing drinks. My mind was racing all the while. Work seemed to pass by in a haze. Could he really be close to a cure?
When my shift finally came to an end, I shouldered my purse and escaped into the cool night air. The beautiful city with all its lights would never cease to be beautiful to me. Although I sometimes still feel sick for Louisiana, I have a feeling deep down that I will never want to leave the city.
I sometimes wonder what my mom would think about all the things that have happened to me. There's no way I could have ever kept being a werewolf a secret from her. I couldn't ever keep anything from her, she just always knew my secrets somehow. She knew when I skipped school the first time, she knew when I lost my virginity. I never could figure out how she always knew. I had once even asked her how she always knew I was hiding something from her.
She'd always answer, "Motherly intuition, honey."
I miss her so much.
The rumble of thunder sounded overhead, urging me faster toward the apartment building. I really don't feel like getting rained on tonight.
When I entered the apartment it was completely empty. Whitley had informed me earlier that they would be going to stay at the lair tonight. I was invited but had politely declined. Raphael still hadn't responded to my texts and I haven't seen him since the night I changed. So I thought it would be best to stay away for now.
The range of emotions I had gone through over the past few days scared me a bit. It started out with me feeling like I was wrong for being jealous that he was dating Mona. Then over the course of two days that feeling wore off and was replaced with aggravation. I just wanted to know why he was avoiding me.
It's not like he knows I'm in love with him. As far as he knows, I still feel only friend things for him. If I'm being brutally honest with myself, I never felt only friend things for him. The love I feel for him has always been there. It was just like Clara said, I just didn't want to admit to myself that I love him.
Without bothering to wash my makeup off, I plopped down on my bed. Hopefully between all the tossing and turning I can get some decent sleep.
The bright sun woke me up. The sounds of traffic outside was pouring in through my open window. I had gotten a few hours of sleep but still felt exhausted. My dreams were full of nightmarish things. The wolf was craving freedom and blood. It would take some time to get over the things I had dreamed about last night.
After wallowing in my own self-pity for a few hours in the bright morning light, I decided that it was time I make some changes. If Raphael was done with me, then so be it. I'm tired of losing sleep over him and I'm tired of feeling sad all the time. Begrudgingly, I pulled myself up and out of bed and made my way toward the kitchen. It would be nice to have some time alone, maybe I could catch up on the book I've been trying to read for the past three months.
As I rounded the corner to enter the kitchen, my eyes locked with Raphael's. I froze in place.
'So much for getting over him.' I thought to myself as my heart started racing. I now truly understand what it means when people say, 'a sight for sore eyes.' It literally felt like a relief to see him.
"Hey." He spoke first. His voice was almost inaudible.
"Hey." My voice cracked. Why did my throat suddenly feel so dry?
An uncomfortable silence engulfed the room.
"—So now what?" I finally asked.
"What do you mean?" He finally brought his gaze from the floor to my eyes.
"I mean, you've been avoiding me for a week now and what? Here you are? Why, Raphael. Why are you here?" My voice sounded angrier than I had expected it to.
He stared at me with a shocked expression. It must be pretty obvious that I'm more than a little peeved.
He remained silent.
"Something Earth shattering happened to me and you abandoned me." I could feel hot tears pooling in my eyes. I refused to let them fall in front of him.
He stepped a bit closer to me. "I'm sorry, Sarah." He couldn't look at me.
"I understand if it's because I scared you. But if you're avoiding me because of Mona…" I trailed off. I was getting a little too heated. The wolf spirit was making an attempt to break free.
He didn't respond.
"It is because of her isn't it?" The beast was trying to get the best of me.
"She found out that we used to…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he tried to find the right words to say.
"That we used to what? Fuck?" I blurted out.
"Yeah." He murmured as his hand dropped to his side.
"You know, I tried to be happy for the two of you. But now, she's making you choose between the two of us? She has no idea of the things we've gone through together. I thought that you were going to be here for me! I'm scared, Raphael." Tears were now falling freely from my eyes.
He came even closer to me. But I quickly stepped further away. My body was trembling and my thoughts were becoming scrambled.
"You need to leave. The wolf is trying to take control." I managed to say.
"Sarah—"
The alien feeling of sharp claws growing from my fingertips sent me into a full blown panic. Quickly, I ran to my bedroom and locked myself in.
I heard him from the other side of the door. He was knocking loudly.
His voice was fading. The beating of my heart was so loud in my ears that it began to drown everything else out. My body began to shudder and I fell to the floor. I cried out in pain as my spine began to snap and crack, making me hunch over in a morbid position. My cry of agony was cut short as my jaw popped out of place. Sharp teeth replaced my own. Fur covered my body. I was only briefly aware of my wolf form before everything went black.
"Sarah! Are you okay in there? Please answer me." Raphael called from the other side of the door. When he received no answer he busted down the door.
There standing before him was a giant grey beast wearing a malevolent grin, displaying two rows of razor sharp teeth.
"I was wondering if I would see you again, Raphael." The wolf's voice penetrated his mind.
"Don't try anything, you monster. I don't wanna fight you." Raphael spoke out loud.
"No, you truly do not want to fight me." The dreadful beast threatened.
The wolf snarled and stepped forward. Raphael readied his sai. In the blink of an eye the monster was upon him. The red masked turtle reacted just as fast, he quickly got out of the confines of the small bedroom and into the open space of the living room.
Once again the creature lunged at him. He was able to dodge the attack, but he had only narrowly escaped. When the lycan went to jump for him again he leapt just out of reach and sent a swift kick to the wolf's side.
She was sent crashing into the bookcase. Books and splinters of wood covered the floor. Raphael cringed when he looked at her. He hoped that he hadn't hurt Sarah.
Cautiously, he approached her werewolf form. Just as he was about to reach down to nudge her she used both feet to kick him across the living room. He slammed into the wall with a loud grunt. She was advancing on him again, he had to act fast.
Raphael jumped out of the way and grabbed the tranquilizer dart gun from the end table drawer. He had to remember to thank Leonardo for stashing it away for emergencies such as this.
He quickly fired four darts into her side. She stopped dead in her tracks.
Her voice invaded his mind, "I'm sorry, Raph." He was stunned to hear Sarah's soft southern drawl in place of the gruff monstrous voice of the wolf.
She fell to the floor, unconscious. Shortly thereafter Sarah's small body replaced the frightful form of the wolf. Raphael sighed as he picked her up and carried her to her room.
When he lay her down on her bed, he heard her softly whisper his name. Despite himself, he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Damnit, you really got some kinda hold on me." He whispered into the silent room.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully next time it won't take as long. Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I love you guys! :)