PROLOGUE

It happened so fast, that she had no clue if what was happening was a dream or reality. She was walking through the beautiful lush green forest; her name could be heard being called by a familiar voice. So familiar yet she couldn’t distinguish who it was, or why they wanted me, but I could hear them,

“Morana! Morana! Morana! Come here her lovely”

Once she had gotten to the green leaves the voice disappeared, and a large black wolf taking stood in the middle of the shaded area. Its eyes were a blazing blue colour that captivated her. Other wolves surrounded this magnificent black creature, all sporting glowing golden eyes as they looked at me. The black wolf nodded his head softly towards her as if trying to communicate something.

Curious, she went walking into the luscious cool forest. She had barely taken five steps when she felt an arm around her body, before she could react, she felt the hand pulling her away from the wolf and throwing her away from the forest.

Morana landed a few feet away from the forest though she could still hear the growls as she saw her mother shift into a gray wolf and let out a loud and very long growl. The hair on her back stood as she scrunched her body for the attack. But the other wolf didn't look fazed, it looked sad as the golden eyes turned away from her, and more eyes appeared.

All too quickly the woods filled with blood as wolves attacked her Mother. The sound of her yelp ringing in the air as warriors rushed towards the scene, Morana took a look at the gray fur that was covered in blood, torn to pieces, she was unrecognizable, she walked closer to the mangled body, turning it ever so slightly to get a good look at the face, tears began to fall from her eyes as she pushed the body-

Her eyes snapped open as she took in a deep breath. Her clothes were drenched with sweat and her eyes were wet with foreign water. Her open palms curled into fists as she closed her eyes in a futile attempt to forget the images of her dead Mother, her torn flesh. Wanting to forget her uncle's glaring eyes when he found her crying on her mother’s body.

"What have you done? I-it-it’s all your fault- it’s all your fault she's dead!" He screamed that day. Warriors and pack members all cried when the doctor declared her dead. She couldn’t help but think that if She had only stayed away from the forest, no harm would have ever come to her mother.

It didn’t take long for Morana to realize that without her mother there to protect her, her uncle and the pack decided she was useless to them, they didn’t even deem her fit to be an omega.

The pack had lost a dear member and in looking for who to blame they had chosen the little girl who had just lost her mother, they were disgusted just at the sight of her. She was too young to be a warrior, and with no other use for her, they placed her in the cells, far from the pack house and its surrounding areas. Some of the women spoke up against this action, but no one took heed to their words being that they were mere omegas. Her uncle's words were final since this was his pack. Alpha Kevin, the leader of the Black Moon pack, a pack known for its brave and strong warriors and battle strategies. They were powerful, and many didn't dare to cross them. Morana’s mother was to take over her uncle's position and become Luna of the pack, she was stronger and smarter than Alpha Kevin in every way.

Some women could not stand the injustice that was forced on her and would bring her food and clothing telling her stories about her Mother. How she would often go to different Packs and spend time meeting their warriors and talking to their Alpha and creating treaties. Stories of how she kept the pack out of a few wars with her attitude and Grace.

Grace, an elderly omega comes only once a week, sometimes she would speak other times she kept silent. It didn't matter, Morana had learned to stay quiet, it was the only way to stay away from trouble and keep attention off her, there were months that she had been able to go without “punishment” as long as she stayed quiet.

Grace is the only one who brings her a plate of food and clean water as frequently as she can. She would also empty the bucket she had used during the days Grace didn’t visit. She’d been told that she had been in the cells since she was five years old, a few months after the accident happened, if what the woman says is true then she had just turned nineteen a few weeks ago.

That week Grace had brought an extra piece of toast she had slipped in her jacket. She was one of the women who were against me being in the cell, and she was the only one who offered to do this job. Her uncle had instructed the guard to give her a “gift” on her birthday and he had never failed in that task, every year he comes into the cell on days when he's had a bad day. The beatings reduced when her uncle found his mate, she had hoped his mate would have changed him and he would be willing to forgive her and she will finally be free from this life of torture, but that never happened, the guard on duty continued to visit her cell, there were always days the stress got too much and he came down to the cells and let out his anger on her. He had started a new ritual, before or after her Birthday he would come down with a whip, he would whip her as many times as her new age. And whenever she did anything to displease him in any way, that would be the amount she would get whipped. Morana had stopped talking when she turned eight, she had thought eight whips hurt, but nine was worse when I turned nine, then ten, and the rest just kept getting worse and worse.

The only others who would enter her cell were some of the men of the pack, they held back a bit but they still hurt her not just physically but mentally too. One specifically got to her in different ways, ways she never wanted to speak of, ways she wished would leave her head as she lay on the dirty concrete floor. He would beat her until she was surrounded by darkness and then take her body.

Her hair rested against the dirty ground needing a new cut. Grace always said she was lucky to have thick hair but she was yet to see the luck it brought her. Her hair would be thicker, but with the lack of food and dehydration, it had thinned out and started falling out in patches. Grace often spoke about how she wished things would change, but Morana knew it would never happen. she was to be stuck here until the day she dies. she was laying in the middle of the cell sitting up slowly she looked at the large thick wooden door. Three metal thick bars rested in the door, giving a view in and out of the cell. There was only a small light from the candle and the cell was hot. Her body sweat in the heat as she leaned her head against her shoulder.

Looking to the side, she watched as a spider started to crawl towards her, slowly, she stretched her hand out towards the small creature. Watched in awe as its thin legs rushed onto her skin and crawled up her arm, a small smile graced her chapped lips as she blinked, slowly feeling the tickling sensation of its legs dancing along her skin. But the smile softly faded when she remembered what day it was. She knew today was the day there was that god-awful day, she couldn’t seem to shake off the feeling deep in her stomach. The food that Grace had given her yesterday was still wrapped up and beside her, she hadn't touched any of the food yet.

Knowing better than to eat it all at once. Morana took in deep breaths and swallowed in an attempt to open her mouth to say something but her voice wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried, and she became frustrated, finally, she gave up.

“Please, don't do this alone.” A voice whispered in the back of her head. Morana knew she was growing weak when she could hear her wolf's voice. Most days Morana was able to keep her out of her head, shielding her sweet wolf from the pain she felt. “We are one Morana. Let me take it this year. Please” But there was no way she was going to let her wolf take the beatings this year, with a shake of a head she reached for the food at her side, watching as the spider crawled up the wall she leaned against. she took a piece of the stale bread and took a bite knowing she needed strength for the mental battle between herself and her best friend…only friend.

“Don't-” Morana cut her off, completely ignoring her attempts to try to talk some sense into her as she ate the food and concentrated on the stone walls that surrounded her. Her wolf’s words turned silent once she had eaten half of the bread. Once she knew she was strong enough to have the wall placed back up, she put the rest of the bread back.

It was much later when Morana picked up the sound of boots crushing down the stairs and stopping at her cell. she stretched her back softly knowing she won't be getting another opportunity to move for a while. She took one last glance at the spider on the wall and closed her eyes tightly as the door opened, spilling light into the cell.

"You know the drill." His voice was hard as he placed the dark wood stand in front of the cell. Slowly she stood up and walked towards the wood. The steel chains were changed, into silver she tried to hold back the hiss that came out of her mouth as the silver burned the skin. He tightened the chains as he wrapped a leather collar around her neck. "Can you imagine how your Mom felt when you let those rogues attack and kill her?" He asked in a heavy voice. He yanked tightly on the collar until he was choking her, and then let go.

Today he smelled like alcohol as he stumbled around her, Grace had told Morana earlier that the guard who was put in charge was supposed to be her mother’s mate “Why did she have to die? It should have been you, you useless piece of shit!" He said, his voice coming out as a growl as he kicked the side of her stomach. Closing her eyes, she hung her head as the pain filled her body.

"Not talking today?" He asked and chuckled, "Good, let's see if I can make you scream." He said as he pulled out a bright whip. One look at the color and she knew she was in big trouble, her eyes widened I realization. Silver, his was going to be worse than any of the times before, "You like?" He asked and twirled the whip in front of her, "You've been such a good little doll, I decided to get some new toys.” He said as he grabbed the tattered oversize black shirt she'd been using for the last year, he ripped the shirt in half exposing her bare back as he sighed.

"Are you watching Serena? Watch me take revenge for you her sweet little mate." Rick, her guard said as he yanked his arm back, and then whipped the silver towards her back.

CRACK! CRACK!

It only took two whips before she was screaming in pain, the silver took her skin with each hit. And by the time he reached ten she was losing consciousness. She couldn't rest her head from the silver collar that was wrapped around her throat. She looked around the cell walls, seeing her blood that was splattered across the walls and she could feel the warmth dripping down her body. she cried loudly, the sound was so animistic as she panted, Morana looked up to see the spider still on the wall as she lowered her head and cried.

her skin hissed as she let the silver rest against her neck digging into her flesh. Rick's taunts were drowned out by her screams as she clenched her fists. By fifteen whips she had fallen over the post, the heavy wood went sideways once tilting once her full weight was resting on the poll and ended up falling on top of her as everything turned black, the only thing she could feel was the fire biting into her back, and the warmth of her blood running down her body.

The only thing she could hear was her Rick's curses and then silence. “I didn't kill her. I didn't kill her, I swear.” she chanted in her head over and over again, “I didn't do it.” The next time she opened he eyes she saw that the silver had been taken off of her body, she was on the bench of the cell, a place she never slept on. The cell door was opened, and she could see the blood that turned the dirt on the floor damp.

Morana couldn't move, she barely had enough strength to open her eyes, “Grab that bag of food and shove it all in your mouth.” The voice urged in her head. she opened her eyes and looked at the food at the far end of the room, it was so far away, “Morana, listen to me, if we don't do this you will die." The voice whimpered as she grunted in an attempt to move her body, “Eat all the food and allow me to get away. I don't want to die yet.”

The voice cried. Morana wanted to, she hated admitting it. But she wanted to die, this was a place wanted to leave. She wanted her mother; she wanted the sun and the air. Things she could barely remember, yet longed for. With tears falling down her face, she fell to the ground and crawled to the food. Opening her mouth, she stuffed everything in, her stomach turned painfully rejecting the stale bread instantly but she continued to chew as much as she could. Once she finished the food, she could feel her back start to burn in a strange way, you need to eat the old food. We need more energy. “The voice coaxed.

The stale food made her stomach turn, the disgusting taste lingered in her mouth. The stale bread tasted worse than it did earlier, there was also old chunky oatmeal and the ball of rice. Her hand reached to the end where she placed spoilt food and unwrapped the nylon, she had received two weeks ago. Morana closed her eyes and pinched her nostrils, not wanting to get a waft of the smell of stale food, the bread had turned a green color and the rice was covered in dirt.

She ignored the twisting and sickening irritation in her stomach as she opened her mouth and stuffed the food down her throat, not even trying to chew. Feeling the grains against her teeth almost made her throw up. Eating so much food made her stomach hurt as she gagged.

But, her wolf didn’t seem to be remotely satisfied, “Eat the spider. We need more!" her voice rang through her mind. Morana opened her mouth and let out a soft cry as crumbs fell on the dirt. Slowly, she looked up at the spider from earlier still on the wall. Clenching her teeth, she smacked the spider with her hand and brought its wet remains to her mouth swallowing it a hole as she allowed tears to fall from her eyes.

Once the food settled in her stomach, she felt her body start to move and shift.

Unable to stop her from taking over, Morana closed her eyes and allowed her body to twist and break in different ways. she wanted to cry, to scream as her bones broke and rearranged themselves. The wounds on her back didn't help as they squished together and stretched. Since she was placed in this cell she saw her wolf, never shifted before. And now being so old, it hurt. It was worse than the whipping but she wasn't the one in control.

She was, and boy did she let it be known. Once the shift was complete, she walked out of the cell. The pain that was on her body, wasn’t on her wolf’s as she walked up the stairs freely. Once she got to the top and unto the dead grass, she got into a sprint, and never let up.