Chapter One

It was hot; the air was humid in the deserts of Wolf Creek, New Mexico. Another day had come and gone by the time she decided to go to Bert’s bar. She needed to get away from the pack for a while. She had done everything she could possibly do to protect the young kids from going into battle. Her only chance now lay with her brother, Jace, who also happens to be the alpha of her pack. This made her both influential and wanted for the wrong reasons. For thirty one years of her life Sarah Hawkston had tangoed around from being mated with any of the warriors within the Firetrial pack of werewolves. So every time she finished a day worth of pack things, she went to the bar.

Total peace and haven from the other men who in the pack. Bert was a human, but he knew about the werewolves in town and in neighboring towns. He actually helped cover up some of the local rouge’s messes when the time came for it. He also happened to be a seventy year old man who acted like a father to Sarah. So every time she went to his bar, she was happy for a little while. It also served as a neutral zone from the pack war she was currently fighting in against another local pack. The Eagle Screech’s. They have hated each other from the day they grew into a pack. No one knows why and no one asks why. They just hate each other. So far this has gone through three alphas, the secret being lost with her father on his dying breath. Maybe Bert knew? But she did not take the chance to ask him if he did. It sounded wrong to ask him about something that was very important to her.

She found herself on the lone end of the bar, nice and loud. Sarah was having a nice cooked meal with a large beer. Bert always gave her the beer even though Jace said it was bad for her health. How many men drank on a normal basis? Millions. But how many of them happened to have a natural healing agent inside their bloodstream? About a thousand of them, maybe less.

“Kid, do you ever want to do something else with your life? I swear, you should be at home with a family or a husband. You look to damn good to be in this bar kiddo.” Bert said with his old raspy voice. He liked making fun of her looks. She was of medium height with shoulder length auburn colored hair. What finally topped of her looks were her deep wolf brown eyes. They looked like amber diamonds when shown under the correct light or when she wore brown or olive clothing. Which, by the way, was what she was wearing now. Sarah had on a desert military green T-shirt and a pair of worn out jeans.

“I’m fine Bert. I just don’t want any of the men within my pack. They all act the same and they don’t really want me, they want power to influence my brother as my husband. I think I might as well take a vow of abstinence and never mate at all.” she smiled; it was her turn to joke. She had actually thought about never taking a mate; let her brother carry on the line. The only two people that actually loved her were Bert and her brother. Sarah looked around and saw a man poking at his food. A new guy? She guessed that was it because as many times as she has been here she had personally never seen him. Curiosity struck her as she used her chin to point at his general direction.

“Hey Bert, whose the lonely guy at the end of the bar?”

“Which one Sarah?” Bert asked, refraining to the many lonely men that came to his bar. They all wanted a glimpse of her and maybe hit on her. But by this time at night, most of them had left to go screw some other helpless person in the town.

“The one with the dark brown hair, deep tanned skin. The warrior wolf, just judging by his size and appearance.”

“Ah, that one. I know him. He is my sister’s godson; I have to be nice to him as much as he annoys me. He keeps asking me question after question about why I live the way I do. I just think he is lonely and his parents aren’t even here anymore. His name is Thomas Shanks, Tom for short. Why do you ask?”

“I figured he had a bad day. How about giving him the special beer on me Bert? I bet he could really use it.” Sarah said smiling. She always helped people and could not ignore a person in need of a good, tall and Mexican made drink. She guessed that Tom needed one. Sighing in defeat the old man mumbled and went to go give his sister’s godson a drink.

Tom had a really bad day, he could do nothing right. Absolutely nothing at all. First he had been late for a scouting mission and then throughout the entire day just day things happened to him. What had he done to deserve this? Why? Did he get some God pissed off at him or was it because of his parents leaving due to a war he participated in? Whatever it was, he was left here by himself and his godmother took care of him. Or, rather he took care of her. She was getting sick often and he was just as worried as Bert about her health. She swore that nothing was wrong, but he knew better. Tom would have to find a way to get her to a medical clinic and checked out for any disease.

He perked up from his food as Bert set down a glass. It was filled with his specialty beer brew. Was something wrong? What did he do this time to set off the seventy year old man? His hazel eyes jerked from his food to his godfather. In a blank voice and expression he asked,

“What did I do this time?”

“Nothin’.”

“Then why are you given me a specialty? You never serve them to anyone except for a few special people you know. My not included.” Tom now gave his tone a little humor and mocking. His face still held a blank expression has Bert poured him a tall glass. Something was defiantly wrong with his godfather.

“Well, let me just say that your downed mood caught the eye of a family friend of mine. She has a long knack of it herself, but don’t tell her I said that to you or I will get my but kicked.” Bert gave a low chuckle as he shoved the glass towards his godson. He was not ready to give out a name yet to Tom. He could actually have a little fun in this now.

“You mean to tell me that I woman paid you to give me a special? Wow, my day just got better. Who is she?” Tom asked, looking around the room for a 10 rated hot women. When he didn’t find any within the normal spectrum he faced Bert again.

“See the girl near the register? The one in the brown T-shirt with wolf eyes?”

“Yeah, yeah, the one with a pony tail? Auburn hair? Moody looking?”

“Sarah is not moody Tom. She is a were and an influential one at that. You should spend a day with her issues and come back here. Her brother gives her little mind unless she forces the issue in a meeting grouping. Also evading the countless males that want her for power and influence upon her packs alpha. I feel bad that her mother is not here to give her some protection against them. The fear of her being a mateless she-were for the rest of her life scares me Tom. And don’t get any ideas. If you get her into trouble because he said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing, I might as well get blamed for it.” Bert chuckled louder this time. In his old mind he knew it would be wrong for him to even think about getting them together. Tom was an Eagle Screech, who currently was in a pack war with Sarah’s pack. He knew the reason behind it, most defiantly he knew it, but he could not, would not; tell anyone the truth behind it all.

But, on the other side of things, Bert caught the look in Tom’s eyes. In those hazel eyes contained a large look of interest. Interest could be a bad thing. Before Tom could even ask Bert gave a stern expression and said “She is out of your league buddy. Far as I’m concerned, you have just about the same chance of getting her as someone climbing Mount Everest without any clothing on.”

“How do you know? For all you know I could actually just want to talk with her, she seems pretty upset. She a were?” Tom asked, an hint of expression lighting his face. Curiosity. He wanted to know what made her tick. If she had a few problems he wanted to be able to whip them away. He also wanted to see what she looked liked in the moon form she had to keep. Well, that was if she was a werewolf. If not that Tom would have to drop it and leave. Because he trusted his secret to one human and that made him get into trouble with the pack. It was the only other person he ever loved and cared about. His own flesh and blood by birth. If only his sire did not have to kill her.

“I know because she denies every male here to the southern boarder with Mexico. And I stated earlier that she was. Weren’t you playing attention Tom? I also know that you never ‘just talk’ with anyone. I don’t want you breakin’ her heart.”

“I just want to say thanks.” Bert was going to say something else but he had already grabbed his beer and was heading towards the woman known as Sarah. In the dimly lighted place of the bar, she still captivated some beauty. She sat with her legs cross, a business position. But the way she let her hair fall down her shoulders made him think the way she sat was out of habit. Sarah sat with a pose that reminded him of a predator ready to strike and she was a predator waiting to strike. Her eyes showed her canine features. They were the color of an amber stone, set near the blaze of a fire. She was sleek and slender. It was a no brainer why most of the males in her pack, or any pack for that matter, would want her as their mate.

He was sitting down next to her when he finally spoke. “Hey, thanks for the beer. My name is Tom Shanks by the way.”

“Sarah.” God her voice sounded like heaven to him. It was low and seductive, but held the quality to be part of the reason why she held influential power.

“No last name?”

“I am not too fond of my last name. Once someone finds it out, then they never leave me alone until I either hit them or beat them to a pulp.” Sarah replied with a grim expression in her voice as she cut into her meat with a knife, as if to carry her point further across. Tom shrugged his shoulders in defeat and sat down beside her; she still facing the bar side wall and him facing her. She took another bit of meat and then turned her face towards him. It seemed to Tom that he got punched in the face as her eyes searched his features. “Come here often?”

Sarah actually liked his features; sculpted and wolfish at the same time. At first glance any normal human being would have though he was maybe a body builder or perhaps just an ex-Marine. Yet, for the wolven population, he was considered a warrior wolf. He had dark chocolate hair, cut short and remained short possibly at all times. Perhaps he was in the military for a while. His blue shirt was faded, perhaps with to much New Mexican sun or of being washed almost constantly. It did nothing to hide his torso; it seemed like god personally handled his making. Tom also had well shaped legs beneath the worn blue jeans.

Yet is eyes, it gave such a look of normalcy; a life she longed and lusted after. They were a rich green color, like the forest themselves were imprinted into his eyes. She could just gape at them for hours. They seemed pained and tired. But his nicely and over used comment made her laugh. “Yeah, I come here every night. But I take it that you’re a regular here as well? You seem to have the mood to come. Your eyes seemed tired.”

An actually compliment? Wow, that was the first one in months. Tom smiled, making her smile in return and lower her eyes a little bit. She came back up to meet his gaze as he replied,

“Well, to tell you the truth, I have been busy as hell. More and more wolves keep bugging me and some of them in which I serve with just want to get rid of me.”

“That is understandable.” she said plain and simply. He was a threat to them; both competitively in the duty complex and the mate one as well. She bet many wolves just drooled over him. But the reaction Sarah received was not the one she counted on.

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, to say the most, your built stronger then most of the wolves here, well…at least the ones that I know. Secondly, you’re better looking then most of them as well.” She smiled and it got the best of him. It made him ache deep down inside. He was going to say something totally stupid to make her smile and laugh until Bert came up saying,

“Heya kiddo, Jace just called and wondered what was keeping you. Says you have to go home right now or he will send Rico ‘to come get your ass’. Those were his direct words I swear on it.” he smiled as he took her dish; she sighed and got up from her stool. She faced Tom with a pained expression. Brother? Husband? Boyfriend? It made Tom think that perhaps she was already taken by some other wolf.

“It was nice meeting you Tom. Perhaps somewhere under the stars we will meet again. Wolfspeed.”

“Wolfspeed.” Tom said in reply as he watched her hips sway back and forth until she went out of the bar. One thing plagued his mind.

He sure as hell was not going to get any sleep tonight.