2

10 years later

I move weakly round my tiny prison , trying to stay awake. I haven't eaten in two days and I'm shocked my wolf and I are still alive after all this time.

This dirty, disgusting cell I have been trapped in for more than half of my life.

I look up and see a guard watching me with a smirk on his face. He says something but all I hear is muffled noises. But that's all I ever hear so I'm used to it.

He walks up to my cell and unlocks it and I know I'm about to be tortured again when suddenly, the ground shakes. I look up to see the guard start to panic and run out of the room, leaving my cell wide open.Now's my chance.

I've been waiting for so long to escape and now is finally the time. I send a silent thank you prayer to the Moon Goddess before stumbling out of my cell and out the door.

I walk through the office and over to the window to see a fight outside. The whole rogue pack is fighting what looks and smells like to be another bunch of rogues. I take one last look before slipping out of yet another open door and into the secret passageway of the house. The air is filled with the smell of rouge but I try not to let it slow me down. I make my way through a few more open doors when something flashes in my peripheral vision. I turn to catch the back of a rogue ducking behind the closest doorframe. Normally I would panic, but something in me tells me not to, their presence almost feeling oddly familiar and safe - something I can't quite put my finger on. Taking it as a sign, I break out into a sprint and head through the last open door and out into the forest without anyone else noticing me. I run. Fast.

I feel my wolf getting a tiny bit stronger as I run through the forest, the fresh air filling my lungs. I haven't left that tiny cell in ten years and now I am free.

It's honestly too good to be true. I know I have to keep moving or they will find me. I continue to feel my wolf get stronger and begin to surface as I continue to run, trees whipping past me.

After a while, I stop for a moment and feel myself begin to shift as my wolf takes over my body completely. I scream out in pain, my bones cracking and popping and I feel my dirty rags rip to shreds. God, it was just as painful as the first time it happened.

Hopefully it gets easier the more I do it. I quickly dig a hole and paw in the shreds to hide the evidence of me being here before covering it up and taking off again.

My wolf lets out a happy growl and runs faster. It feels nice to let my wolf out again after I first shifted.

I shifted about a year ago, I think, in my tiny cell and they screamed at me and I shifted back out of fear. I then got beaten and tortured and that made my wolf disappear.

I haven't felt her in so long which is understandable due to everything that has happened. But now I know she's still there which is good.

I keep running , not knowing where I'm going but that doesn't matter. As long as I leave this place. I'm surprised I'm still alive even today after everything that I've been through over the years. I know if I had been human then I definitely would have died a while ago.

I continue to run, although I feel myself starting to slow down once again, my wolf growing more tired by the second.

At this point, I don't know how many territories I've crossed. My wolf senses have gotten weaker, become almost non-existent from being locked in my cell with silver chains and wolfsbane injections for so many years so I'm finding it harder to tell. Either that or packs have gotten better at masking their scent nowadays, but I highly doubt that.

I can't tell how many I've been through, I'm just glad I haven't been caught by anyone yet.

I slow down a bit more to catch my breath when suddenly something flashes past in the corner of my eye. Whatever it is, it was gone as quickly as it arrived. Inhaling deeply, the faint smell of wolf hits my nose.

Oh shit.

Panic sets in and I instantly pick up my pace but I am quickly tackled to the ground by another wolf. I whimper, trying not to struggle too much because I know from past experience that if you struggle, you'll get beaten. There are always consequences for your actions.

I close my eyes, another whimper escaping my throat and feel the weight suddenly disappear from me. I get up and slowly back towards a tree and the wolf gives me a funny look.

Suddenly, two more wolves appear and stand next to the other wolf. I whimper again and continue to back slowly awav until I hit the tree behind me. Losing my balance, I fall over and decide it's best to just stay on the ground as I'm absolutely exhausted. I look at the wolves and they stare back at me. The one that tackled me has a brownish coat, while the one on its left has  a grey  coat and the one on its right has a white coat.

The one in the middle with the brown coat takes a step towards me and I whimper in fear, bowing my head in submission. I slowly look up after a few minutes to see that the three wolves have shifted into three fully clothed handsome men. Two of the three men have blonde hair while the other has brown hair. All three of them have stunning eyes, each of them a different colour

They give each other confused looks before looking back at me. I notice that they are talking to one another and I begin to get really scared. Why must I be deaf? It makes life so much harder sometimes.

I watch their lips in an attempt to try and make out what they are saying but I come up short. They are talking slightly too quickly.

Suddenly, a pitch-black wolf emerges from the trees behind them and runs over to them. A shiver races down my spine and the air begins to smell of a sickly sweet musk.

Oh shit. I now know that this is a wolf pack's territory and that is the alpha.

Of course he’s the scariest-looking wolf out of the four of them.