Chapter 3

I gasp and woke up, clutching my chest, panting hard. That nightmare has been haunting me for the past two years, two years since the day of my escape. I squeezed my eyes shut and curled up in a ball, clutching my ears as I relived the torturous memories. The painful screams, watching the others die a painful death when I could have stopped and tried to help them. The way their body's were terribly burned, cover in burns, smelling like bunt flesh. Watching the light leave their eyes as I crushed and snapped their necks, their souls leaving their body's and fall limply in my clamped jaws. The many ways my father tortured me in his own ways. The whips, the knifes, his constant taunting. I screamed and clutched my ears harder until I all I heard was ringing. I back up and waited for my breathing to steady while looking around the motel room I stayed at for the night. It was crappy, but it was cheap and the only thing I could afford with the stolen money I got for trading in that god awful chain and collar at a scrap yard. The whole room smelt of cigarette smoke, stale old lady perfume and mold. I knew I would not be able to got back to sleep. I changed out of my baggy shirt and replaced it with a regular T-shirt and jeans I got from a homeless shelter. I gathered the limited things I had and took a few water bottles someone left in the broken fridge and shoved them in my backpack. I shrugged on my sweatshirt and tied up my boots. It wasn't even dawn yet but I went to the front desk and checked out anyway. I didn't have a car and I definitely didn't trust anyone to hitchhike, so I traveled on foot. I hated shifting. I didn't hate my wolf, she was the only person that didn't hurt me, the one that kept me alive all these years. It's just everyone despised my wolf. My dad tortured me for her, the men made me fight more than the others, beat me harder and longer. They all taunted me, made fun of me, because of my wolf. The only time I was in my wolf form is when I had to hunt or had to sleep outside, instead of an of abandoned buildings or cheap motels.

She kept me alive for the past two years. She lend me her strength and stamina. She helped me hunt and fend for myself. I gained back weight and also gained some muscles from fighting of rouges and hunting for my meals. I walked out of the front lobby and went behind the motel, towards the woods. I smelled around for other scents, to make sure this was uncharted territory and not claimed by a pack. No scents stood out , just like last night before I check in the motel to make sure it was safe.

So I walked into the forest, keeping myself alert and my nose towards the ground to look for scents. The ground was covered in a light bed of snow, Spring was coming soon. I walked for a few more hours. The sun started to peak out from behind the mountains and high trees, turning the sky pink and purple. Noon came and went and it wasn't until almost sunset that I became hungry. I killed a fairly large deer yesterday and it held me off for a while now. I hung my backpack on the low branches of a young spruce and undressed, so I would destroy my clothes. I sniffed the ground for a while, familiarizing muskeg with the scents so I could come back to my backpack. When I did I took off, with my snout to the ground and ears perked, looking for my prey. The musty soil filled my nose and I found a faint trail of a rabbit. It was minutes old. I followed after it and crouched on top of a higher rock, when I found my prey,so it could see me. I crouch low and tightened my back leg muscles, ready to pounce. My claw came out and I launched myself on top of it. I made a quick kill and began tearing into the sweet meat.

Then the smell of rotting flesh clogged my mind and my head snapped up. The rouge wolf stepped out of the shadows, locking eyes with me. It was little larger than me, and a gray color. I growled loudly, a warning to back up, away from my meal and that I wasn't sharing. It ignored me and come closer. I growled again, this time louder and showed my teeth. This time, it growled back and three more rouges appeared behind him. I was outnumber and didn't want to fight so I stood up and walked away from my unfinished meal. I ran back to my backpack and picked it up with my mouth, feeling safer in my wolf form and I ran. They followed me, not close behind me but close enough that I knew that they were there. I ran faster and they picked up their pace as well."Shit." My wolf said in my mind. Shit indeed. I ran as fast as I could and they followed. They were trailing behind a little bit, not being able to pick up their speed. I was to focused on the ones behind me that I didn't see the one charging ahead at me until it was to late. He knock me over and used his heavy weight to knock me off my feet. He dug his claws deeply into my side while the others bit me where they could. I was kicking my back legs, trying to get my foot out of ones mouth but all that did was dug his teeth further. The other bit into my shoulders and helped pin me down so I stayed on the ground. I felt my wolf push forward and I let her. She clamped her jaw down on ones unprotected neck and tore out its jugular vein. They became distracted by my wolf's actions, so we easily pushed them off and ran. They quickly came to their senses and followed after me, their growls became angrier. My injured paw held me back from running fast as the pain ran up and down my leg. I could feel my blood gushing from my wounds, making me weaker from blood loss.

The remaining wolves easily caught up to me and one pounced on my back, digging its claws down my back and sinking its teeth into my already injured shoulder. I yelped and slammed the wolf hard into a tree, throwing off my back. I heard its bones snap and her whimpered, not getting up again. I began to run again, the two remaining wolves followed closely after me. I knew they wanted to kill me, I killed two of their own. This would only end In a fight but I was tired and weakening out. I stopped running and the two wolves began circling around me. One attacked my from behind as the other attack my front. The larger one, a blonde,dug into my back and my flank as the the other, a brown,tried to go for my throat. I grabbed bit into the brown ones shoulder and pinned it underneath my weight. I tore a huge chunk of of its side, making sure it would not get up. The blonde one flipped me over and went for my neck. I tried to push it away with my front paws, trying to keep it away from my neck. My vision started to get blurry from loss of blood. I could feel myself getting tired and weaker. The wolf's breath smelled like rotting meat and wet dog. I pushed him off with the last of my strength and he hit a tree. I saw him stand up and stalk towards me, snarling and kicking his lips. My vision was clouded over and I felt myself shift back. I watched him pounce and I waited for my final blow, but it never came. I heard a man's voice before I fell unconscious.