Hello, May. The year is moving on and Iffy went AWOL to dance around the maypole. Ah well. She was in good company. *koffArielkoff* Today’s theme comes from last weeks #ThursdayThreads prompt: “Does it sparkle in the night?” Tried as I might, I just couldn’t figure out how to incoroporate that with Wolves. Unlike certain fictional high school vampires (WTH is up with that anyway?!?!), Wolves do NOT sparkle unless one of the kids dumps glitter on them. Which…could happen. *makes notes for probably a Nightrider book because…sparkly biker FTW!)* *ahem*  Anyway, the only character I have that might even come close to sparkling is Ariel so I detoured to his book, which is still pretty much on the drawing board but hey! I have a full scene to add when it’s time. The snippet is pretty self-explanatory and is edited and expanded from it’s original 250 words..
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Seattle had never been on his top ten places to visit, despite the local affection for coffee. Dreary weather did not appeal. Yet, here he was, on another cracked mission for Oberon. The two women sitting at a table near the door continued their attempts to get his attention. He wasn’t interested. He was here for one thing and one thing only. Once his duty was done, he was headed somewhere sunny and warm. Movement across the street caught his eye.

Ariel watched the woman through the coffee shop’s window. The incessant rain had finally fizzled into a miasmic gray drizzle as wisps of fog rolled in from Puget Sound. The king could have sent anyone to keep an eye on this human female. She was…unremarkable. Had he not seen a photo of her, she would have walked by without a second look.

She wore flats, an A-line skirt, a button-down shirt, and a raincoat. Her hair, which he knew was a dishwater blonder from her photograph, was twisted up beneath a slouch hat. They were all the same mundane color. Beige. The woman was nothing but bloody beige. Why would such a nondescript female catch the king’s eye and, more germane to Ariel, why would Oberon send the courtier knows as the King’s Seducer to Seattle to spy on her?

He finished off the last of his latte, rose, and headed for the door, oblivious to the leers cast his way by the two women.

“Duty calls,” he muttered under his breath as he hunkered down in his mackintosh. He gathered the mist around him and crossed the street to follow in the woman’s footsteps.

She seemed oblivious—to the weather, her surroundings, and to the fact that she was being followed. That’s when Ariel realized he wasn’t the only hunter on her trail. He sensed rather than saw the dark power gathering strength. He slowed his pace, glancing around furtively. He didn’t want to give himself away to whatever pursued her.

The human stopped at the corner, waiting for the light to change. As Ariel stopped a step behind, her scent wafted to him and if he’d been a cat, he would have rolled in the catnip she’d suddenly become. He wanted her. In the worst way.

She turned, her gaze taking him in from head to toe. Her face softened and a hint of a smile played over her mouth as her eyes twinkled in the subdued light of the street lamp. “Does it sparkle in the night?”
Her melodic voice washed over him but he only stared dumbly, unsure of what she was referring to, unless she could read his thoughts. He glanced down, worried his thoughts had taken physical form but things appeared normal. “Does what sparkle?”

She caught the direction of his wayward gaze and laughed. Ariel almost crashed to his knees at the sweet sound.

“Not that, silly. Your magic.”

And that was why the Fae King wanted her.
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Not exactly a “Meet Cute” but it’ll do very nicely for the plot I’m toying with. I have no name for the heroine yet and about the only thing I can tell you about her is that she’s a librarian. In Seattle. And the Shadows want her. So there ya go. Writers, feel free to riff away if you want to add some sparkle to your character’s life. Readers, should vampires sparkle?

Psst: I took an honorable mention in the challenge. 😉