Ch 1

Mercy pov

"Mercy Maddison, get down here now!" Mother's voice cracked through the silence of the house. I slowly climbed down the attic ladder and passed by my little sister, Patience.

"Someone's in trouble." Patience smirked as I made my way to the living room.

"Yes mother. " I spoke as I entered the room.

"Seriously mercy? Smoking now?" She asked and pointed at a pop bottle full of cigarette butts.

"Those aren't mine. I've never smoked a day in my life." I said truthfully. Patience sighed loudly behind me.

"Don't lie to me, Mercy. Stay right here. I have to go get your brother and Andrew from football. Do NOT move. We will discuss this more when we return." She snapped sweeping from the room and slamming the door behind her and my sister. I heard the bolt click into place. Even hours after she left I didn't move. I knew from experience that they were watching. They were always watching.

After what seemed like forever I heard car door close and hear patience laughter cut through the house like wind chimes. I didn't move as their voices grew louder until they stopped in the living room. I looked up from the floor to see Andrew, face riddled in disgust, my mother, anger plastered on her features, and Patience, now with eyes full of guilt. Patience turned away back down the hall. She must have taken my brother Gabe upstairs.

"What have you done now?" Andrew snarled, his footsteps heavy as he headed towards me. "I give you a bed, clothes, and food even now that you're of age and you choose to disrespect me by smoking in my home?"

"Please, Andrew, just listen. That isn't mine, maybe patience was the-" I had been cut off with a slap across the face.

"How dare you?! Now you wanna blame my daughter for your mistakes!" He slaps me again and I fell.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to blame her. Please dad. " The word slipped before I could stop it and I looked at him just as the final thread snapped.

"I AM NOT YOUR FATHER! YOUR MOTHER CHEATED ON ME! I TOLD HER TO GET RID OF YOU AND YET HERE YOU ARE! WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" He threw punch after punch hitting me in the head, arms, neck, and back as I tried to shield myself. He just kept throwing blow after blow.

"Andrew enough!" My mother finally moved to stop him after a few moments.

"Get off!" He yelled throwing her hand off of his shoulder and slapped her. She stumbled back and looked at him in shock. "Don't protect the little bitch now!"

I had manged to get onto my hands and knees before he turned his attention back to me. He kicked me in the face and blood squirted from my nose as it broke. He kicked me in the stomach before aiming for my ribs. When the second kick land I heard the crack before my ribs exploded in pain. The next few seconds blurred together as my whole body racked with pain. It all seemed like a nightmare as my bones broke and shifted into something inhuman. Andrew seemed to scramble away from me. I lunged for him, teeth sinking into his shoulder and flung him into the farthest wall. In one leap I made it back to him rage finally boiling over in me. I opened my mouth to clamp my teeth into his neck when a loud bang sounded and the picture next to me shattered. I snapped my head towards the loud noise to see my mother and sister wrestling over a gun.

"Mom, no! That's Mercy!" Patience yelled as mom pushed her away.

"I know what that is!" Mother snaps taking aim again. My eyes darted around the room, landing on the sliding glass door. Without thinking I ran through the door, glass spraying my body. Thoughts and feelings overwhelmed me until all I could think to do was run so for days that's all I did. I couldn't help but feel there was a presence with me that I couldn't shake.

I had been running for hours before I finally heard the voice.

"Mercy, stop running. We are safe. Just stop. You must rest." The voice seemed to come from no where. I halted my running and whipped around wildly looking for the source.

"I'm in you, Mercy. I am Eden, your wolf." The voice stated. Eden, okay then. I was officially nuts.

" Go two more miles north to a stream. I'll prove it." I obeyed and found a stream that barely seemed to be moving. I leaned over to drink when I saw myself. I was a large silver wolf. This had to be a nightmare.

"Let me take it from here. You must rest." Eden stated and it felt as though I was in a fog after that. I could see everything but I was no longer in control. That was how I spent the next few days as we headed north. Eden drank from streams and ponds and hunted various game while I watched in a haze. We were stalking a small doe in a snowy valley when all hell broke loose. Crouched down in brush we waited for the doe to turn so we could strike. The doe lifted her head, ears up, and listened. Body poised and ready to strike when suddenly we heard a howl split the peace of sunset.

"Shit! We gotta run." Eden stated shooting out of the brush. We ran and ran but I could hear the forest crunching under heavy feet as whatever made that noise came our way. Before long we were flanked by three wolves. Eden pushed our legs faster but the wolves kept pace. Suddenly there was a large rust colored wolf in front of us. Eden cut to the right and ran with every bit of strength we had. We ran as the strange wolves trailed behind us. They seemed to slow down but stayed within eye sight. The trees of the forest began to thin and I could see a clearing ahead. Eden dropped our head and pushed hard but just before the break in the tree line something hit us from the side, slamming us into a nearby oak. Standing up we shook the dirt from our fur and readied for another attack.

" Not good." Eden spoke to me. I focused harder on seeing what it was she saw and couldn't believe it myself. The thing that had hit us was a man. Dressed in dark jeans and a black v neck, I could see a tattoo that ran down the right side of his neck and into his shirt. Any other day I would've found such a man attractive, but today I simply had no care. I felt nothing.

"Shift." The man commanded. Eden shuddered slightly and lowered us closer to the ground before giving a defiant growl. We had spent days is survival mode. To change felt like a surrender and a danger. We were vulnerable in that form. The form where we could've died.

"Don't make this harder. I have things to do. Shift back. NOW!" The command hit with such force that even his own men staggered at the weight of his order. We couldn't even fight it this time. Our body and bones betrayed us as the broke and reshifted. Despite the shift, I refused control when eden tried to relinquish it. This coupled with the forced shift sent eden into a full panic. She lunged at the man, claws extended but he was faster. He sidestepped us effortlessly, and in a second had his hand on our throat. Seconds later our head felt light before darkness caved in with no warning.