This is a short story for the #justwriteit Once Upon Now writing contest. It is called Beauty and the Werewolf. The story will be broken down into 6 chapters, each 1,500 words.

Enjoy! :)

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Red Glowing Eyes

My eyes are trained on the trees in front of me. All I see is the beauty of nature. The only way I can get away from my life. My life is good, it just doesn't feel complete. Like a big part of me is missing. Ever since my parents left me with my aunt and uncle, I don't know what to do with my life. I shake my head at my thoughts.

Orange covered the sky as the sun decided it was time to hide behind the distant mountains. It is beautiful, but I'm ready for the moon and the stars. Sleep is the only way I can escape from reality.

I feel for my phone vibrate in my pocket and pull it out.

"Are you ready for the party?" –Faith

I quickly send a reply and stand up from the rock I'm perched on. I dust off my shorts before setting off into a jog back towards my house. There is a party for all of us juniors moving on to being seniors. It was currently June 1st, exactly two weeks before school ends. It is over at a large creek with a huge waterfall. It is probably one of the most visited spot here at our town.

Once I reach my house, I enter and go straight to my room to get ready. I put on my black bikini with some jean shorts and a loose white tank top before slipping my feet in a pair of flip flops. I brush my wavy strawberry blonde hair and let it fall on my shoulders. I apply black winged eyeliner and some lip gloss before exiting my room.

"Clair! I'm heading out!" I call out to my aunt as I open the front door. I hear her respond so I leave and shut the door behind me.

I look up to see that Faith is already here with Mary and Fern in her black jeep.

"Analia!" Mary calls out to me from the passenger's side while waving me over. A grin forms on my lips as I jog up to the jeep and climb into the back with Fern.

"I'm so ready for this party!" Fern says excitedly as her fingers fiddled with the hem of the black button up shirt that is open to reveal the green bikini she had on. She's wearing high-waisted white jean shorts with some black flip flops and her brunette hair is pulled up into a high ponytail. She definitely looks good and probably will attract some of the males.

I grin at her, "Same."

Marry turns up the volume for the radio. We all start to sing to Victorious by Panic! At the Disco. The familiar voice of Brendon fills my ears.

We let out a cheer as Faith switches the jeep to reverse and pulls out of my driveway.

"One last year of high school and then we are done!" Mary cheers from the front which earns a cheer from the rest of us. I'm done with high school. I want to be able to go a college far from here and make a living. This place is amazing but I want to be able to forget all the memories that are being held here.

Once we reach a clearing that has many cars parked, we all get out and head to where music is being blasted. We walk into the trees and the music gets louder as we near. It was then we come to an area that has a creek that probably goes up to my waist and a waterfall that falls into the creak. It is beautiful, no doubt about it.

"Let's go!" I grin as I grab Mary and Faith's wrists while motioning Fern with my head. The mirror my grin and we join the crowd of people dancing. People chat off to the sides and others were in the creek splashing each other or jumping into it off of the huge rock that stands on the edge.

I lose the others as we merge into the crowd. I don't care though because I join some other people I know who is already dancing to the music. I love dancing, it is one of my favorite things to do and it calms me down when I get to thinking about my parents.

Time flies by and before I know it, the moon stands high in the sky, it's bright glow casts upon us and reflects off the water. Outdoor torches surrounds the area to give light. After dancing and chatting with people, I decide that I wanted some time to myself and step out into the woods. I run my fingers through my hair as I lean against a tree. Darkness surrounds me, I'm not too far from the party because I can still see the flames from the torches dance around in the darkness and can still hear the music. Parties aren't really my thing but I'll go if my friends want to.

I allow my eyes to flutter closed as I relish the sounds of the night. Crickets chirp and I could hear a faint owl. It sounds beautiful. As a child I use to sneak out during the night into the woods just to listen to the sounds.

A twig cracking catches my attention. My eyes snap open and I stand up straighter. My eyes focus on the darkness in front of me. A low growl erupts from the darkness and my heart beat quickens its pace. Maybe I should head back. It's probably a bear and I definitely don't feel like dying tonight.

But I can't move. I stare with wide eyes into that darkness and notice red glowing eyes staring right back at me.

Yup, I'm totally dying today.

Way to go, Ana. You just had to have time to yourself in the woods.

I turn to leave but an even louder growl breaks out. I stop in my tracks as my body trembles with fear. Chills creep up my back as the hair on my arms stood up. There is something authoritative about that growl and it scares me.

I watch as the red eyes came closer. My heart beat quickens even more and my breathing is uneven. My hands ball into fists.

"Hello?" I say pathetically and I internally cringe at how weak that sounded. Its not a person, obviously its some animal that wants to eat me.

I can now make out a shape. I gulp as I took in its size. It is now a few feet away from me and it growls once again at me. I catch a glimpse of it as moonlight shines down on it. A gasp escaped my lips as I take it in.

A beast, that looks at least a head taller than me, snarls at me. It bares its teeth at me and I notice saliva dripping from it. Fur covers his body and has large paws with long nails that looks as if with one swipe at me I would be dead. Its teeth are sharp and deadly and its ears stood tall. What catches my attention are its bright red eyes that glower down at me.

Nothing can describe how scared I am right now. I make a move to scream but the beast lurches forward and grabs my waist before throwing me over its shoulder. My shriek is muffled as I try screaming. Before I know it, the beast takes off in the opposite direction of where I came from.

"Let me go!" I shriek as I squirm in its grip. Of course it ignores me. I'm officially going to die, it is confirmed. I will never be able to graduate and I'm about to be a meal to whatever this thing is. It looks like its some werewolf–human thing. The possibilities is unlimited.

I feel tears leak down my cheeks and a sob escapes my lips. The beast stiffens but doesn't stop. After a few minutes it finally comes to a stop. I'm roughly placed on the ground. I don't make a run for it because there is no way I could out run it. I turn around and my eyes focus on the huge mansion in front of me. My mouth gapes open as I stared at it. It looked old and scary, like an abandoned castle.

I shift my eyes to the beast who was already staring down at me. I shiver under its gaze.

"Follow me," It growled out. My eyes went wide. It can talk? Its voice is deep and sounded very male. His voice is bone-chilling and could give someone nightmares. I gulp and nod at him.

He steps towards the castle with me trailing behind him, occasionally looking over his shoulder. I definitely don't know how I'm going to get out of this.

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That's chapter one for you. Please tell me what you think. Like I said before, this is a short story, so its going to be pretty quick.

Check out my other story if you'd like. It is called Rejecting the Alpha.

Love you guys!
~Kira