Lord of Wolves (Phantom of the Opera)

Chapter 7 - Shantell

Crystal's POV:

I woke up about twelve hours later and stretched as I rose from the bed. I had been exhausted and now I felt much more refreshed. I walked over to the kitchen section of my house and looked at the options for breakfast. Lets just say they were few. My mouth started watering as I remembered the delightful meals that Erik would make for me. Cereal, which was all I had, didn't quite compare. I sighed and fixed my meal. I sat down on my couch and noticed a letter was on the coffee table. I picked it up and gasped when I saw the return address.

“Shantell! I don't believe it.” I ripped the envelope open and this is what I read,

Dear Crystal,

What has been going on? How is my best friend doing in the Arctic! I am sure you already had men following you around like no body's business. I will be coming to visit on the fourth of August. I will be expecting a full tour. That means everything! Can't wait to see you! We have so much to talk about. Girl stuff!!!!

Love you as always, Shantell T.

I rolled my eyes. That was Shantell. This flamboyant colorful girl. I have known her since grade-school and she stuck by me through all the hard years. She might be a little wild but she is faithful. Then I froze. She had said the fourth of August. I looked at my calender and realized something. Today was the fourth. And I heard the swish of a sled. I stood to my feet and watched as my best friend walked through the door. I gasped. I should have expected something like this. My tall blond-haired blue-eyed friend opened her arms and ran into me.

“Oh, you don't know how glad I am to see you.” I struggled to get some air and took a deep ragged breath as she pulled away. Shantell was taller than me by about two inches and her figure was perfect. I mean perfect. That is what she gets for being a dancer. Her shoulder-length curly blond hair was drawn back into a ponytail and her sapphire eyes sparkled.

“Were you not expecting me?” She said surprised. She must have seen my shocked face.

“To tell the truth, I haven't been here for the past three and a half weeks. I will explain the whole story later. But you must be tired. Lets unpack and you can tell me how everything is going down in the warm lands this time of year!” I was now truly excited. I loved Shantell and her bubbly personalty. She was quite the character. We hauled her trunk in as she jabbered on about her dance classes and her boyfriend and her's breakup. She almost cried when she talked about it but soon was talking about Norbert.

“Is he claimed, Crystal? I mean, he is too cute not to be. Are you in love with him?” Did I forget to tell you that Shantell jumped from one subject to another without warning. Well she does.

“No to both those questions. I have someone else.” The moment I say that I know I will regret it. The only thing that can settle Shantell down is a good love story. A moment later Shantell is sitting on my bed and saying,

“Details.” It is that moment that I start to regret what I said. I sat down on the bed beside her and start to talk.

“Well, you see his name is Erik-”

“Ooohhh!” She says with that knowing look. I sigh.

“His name is Erik and we have known each other for the past month. He is a really nice guy. A little different but I like him.” Shantell starts to grin from ear to ear.

“This is wonderful. I love the name Erik. What does he look like?” Now I wonder if I am to continue this lie or do I tell the truth and risk Erik's anger. I just won his trust. I am afraid this would ruin it. I decided to tell the truth. I know Shantell will keep quiet.

“Did Norbert tell you about the Lord of Wolves?” Shantell nodded then her eyes widened in shock.

“You mean to say that your Erik is the Lord of Wolves?” I nodded and Shantell stared off into the distance. “Tell me everything.” I told her the whole story including what he looked like. At some parts she was happy at others wasn't, but when I told her I had kissed him she let out a whoop.

“Finally! It is about time you kiss a guy even if he is ugly. I am sooooo happy for you! I want to meet him.” I smiled slightly.

“We will see. I don't know if he will agree. I can ask though. There is something I need to talk to you about. You see, I think I am falling in love with him but can you fall in love with someone who you barely know?” Shantell smiled and said,

“Yes, you can fall in love with a person you just met, if it is true love! And I think that this is. I can see it in your eyes. My best friend finally found love. This is a wonderful day. Let's celebrate. How about you give me a tour of the place and then maybe we can meet this Erik?” I sighed. It was impossible to deny her anything.

“I will give you the tour but I don't know about meeting Erik. We will have to wait until he comes to visit.” Shantell scowled but agreed. Somehow I knew that my life would be totally altered by this visit.

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Author's Note:

Dear Reader,

The sentence that Shantell says to Crystal about loving someone having only just met them actually came from CarlySullivan9. She wrote it as a comment, and I loved it and thought it would fit perfectly. I hope you don't mind, Carly!

sarahlet2999