A couple more hours passed by, again I think a couple more hours passed by; I can't be sure - you know because I don't have a clock or anything.

I had been trying to process everything that had happened so far but I was so confused now.

Was I a prisoner or was I a guest?

I mean, yes I did spend my first day here in some mouldy, rusting cage in the basement so technically I guess I am a prisoner but then today I'm in a room with an actual bed, and allowed to eat actual food, so does that mean I'm a guest now?

I curled up on the bed, pulling the cover over me.

Also, have I actually been fixed by some weird-not-sure-if-she-is-an-actual-doctor who gave me a blood transfusion because I am not quite sure how long I have been 'a prisoner' for but it's been a long time since I felt ill. It's such a weird feeling being able to breathe without wincing in pain or burning up. I rolled onto my other side. What did it mean when Kate said I wasn't a prisoner and the bit when she said Alpha Stone had never planned to let me go anyway.

Also more importantly, that roast chicken was the best. I wonder if there is anymore.

Rolling onto my back I gazed up at the ceiling, pondering all these thoughts when-

Hold on, Kate unlocked the door to come in but I swear I didn't hear her lock it when she left.

Sitting up quickly I turned to look at the door. Jumping out of bed I slowly tiptoed over to the door and placed my hand on the handle and turned it slowly.

Click.

The door opened and I held back a squeal of excitement. I was about to step out when I stopped myself.

Wait. Where exactly was I planning on going? Should I make an attempt at running away? Maybe someone above is giving me this once only chance and if I don't take it I'll regret it for the rest of my life. 

I cautiously step back into my room and close the door.

Hold on. I need to think this through clearly.

I lean against the door and make a mental pro vs con list.

Firstly pro:
-I'll be free
-I'll get to see my parents again
-I'll get to see Gemma again
-I don't have to be a prisoner

Next cons:
-If this goes wrong and Alpha Stone finds me well I'll be dead
-Say I do decide to leave, how will I find my way out of the house?
-Ok, say somehow I manage to leave the house how on earth will I find my way back home?
-If I do end up finally getting home, well then Alpha Stone will realise I have escaped and then he will start a war which means a lot of people will die or be injured because of me

Already the list for cons seemed more important and I could feel my heart become heavy. 

It was the war bit that won eventually. Having people die because of me is too much of a risk to take. I would rather die. 

I slid down the door and sat on the floor, pulling my knees up and resting my head on them.

What if I just walked around the house? You know, get some exercise and maybe get something to eat as well. Food seemed to be constantly on my mind recently. It was this almost unquenchable need.

It was like a chant. Food. Food. Food.

Plus Kate did say that I wasn't a prisoner... right?

Before I even knew it, I was already standing outside the door. Now what? I think to myself. I had no clue where I was or where I was supposed to go. In front of me was a long corridor, I remember it from when I was walking up with Sven. 

There was nothing amazing about it, I mean it's a white corridor with some rooms to the side.

I take a step forward and then stop quickly. This really isn't a good idea, my conscience tries to remind me and just as I chicken out and change my mind and turn to head back into my room I hear a 'woah.'

I turn to look back and standing behind me are two little kids. A little girl with curly blonde hair tied up into pigtails and an older boy with spiky brown hair.

"I told you Em," whispered the boy, tilting his head closer to the little girl. "I knew there was a human in the house."

I don't think they realised I could hear them.

"Uh, hi?" I said, lifting my hands to wave.

Both kids looked at me with wide eyes, watching me as if they had never seen a human before.
They don't say anything to me but quickly turn around and start whispering to each other in hushed voices, still not realising I could hear everything they were saying.

"Danny, Daddy says we aren't allowed to speak to humans." The little girl, Em I believe her names is, whispers.

"No you idiot," the boy scolds, "Daddy said we aren't allowed to play with humans, because we are stronger than them and you know we could hurt them."

Both the children turned their heads slowly back to look at me and realising I was still watching them, they quickly turned their heads back again.

"What should we do?" Em says to Danny.

At this point, I was finding this highly amusing.

Danny thinks for a few moments and then turns to Em. "I have an idea," he whispers. Em nods her head quickly. "What is it?" she asks.

I lean forward, truly intrigued to see what his plan would be.

Danny faces Em and grabs her by the shoulders and crouches down slightly so he can look into her eyes and then in a burdened voice he says, "I think we should kill her."

Wait what!

My mouth falls open and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I mean laugh because these two little kids, probably no older than six want to try and kill me, and then cry because well they are freaking werewolf kids so yeah they could most likely take me on and yes probably could kill me.

I try to think logically. I mean I am a little bit taller than them, so I guess I do have the height advantage but then you know I am human and on top of that I am a pretty weak human so...

"Hi guys," I start deciding that maybe talking to them would be a better idea, "my name's Eve."

I wonder whether I should place my hands up in surrender, when the kids take a step forward, forcing me to take a step back.

Oh god, this is not how I thought I would die.

Suddenly, like a sound from the Gods themselves a woman calls out, "Emma, Danny!!"

I don't know who the woman is, or what she looks like but at that moment all I want to do is get on the ground and praise her, because hearing her call, both kids exchange glances, look at me for a final time and then sprint off down the corridor, leaving me with wide eyes and a pale face as I back up against the door.

Have you got no dignity? my conscience questions as I straighten myself out and breathe out a deep sigh, not even realising I had been holding my breath.

That was so embarrassing, I think. Where the hell was the confidence you had in the forest when you threatened Alpha Stone, huh? I roll my eyes at my own thoughts. That confidence is the exact reason I am in this current situation, I argue with myself.

Spending most of my childhood alone and isolated I had created an almost alter ego in the form of my conscience, and believe me that ego was my biggest supporter and harshest critic at times. And currently she was hating my guts.

I clenched my fists as flicked my over my shoulders. You know what, let's do this, I think, marching purposefully down the corridor. I was starving at this point, my stomach was making the weirdest noises and also I was desperate for the toilet.

At the end of the corridor I turned left and continued to walk until I got to the spiralling staircase, which I remembered. Carefully making my way down I continued to keep walking, stopping often to check behind doors to see if any were toilets.

On my journey I realised this was a ridiculously sized house. I was sure I had opened at least 30 doors so far, bearing in mind that none of them were toilets. Is that a werewolf thing, like do they not need to use a toilet as much as humans do? Pondering my new theory I opened another door and hit jackpot.

"Yes! Finally" I whispered, opening the door further. The bathroom was massive, the floors marble and spotlights were on the ceiling. There was a bathtub in the middle of the room, so large it could fit like three people. I walked past the mirror to get to the toilet seat and glanced at my reflection.

"Oh my gosh!" I screeched as I looked at myself in the mirror. No wonder those kids were ready to kill me. I looked like some monster that had crawled out of the sewers. 

My long black hair was dirty and matted, there were dried patches of mud stuck to my face; my eyes were wide and bloodshot.

"Jesus," I whispered, trying to run my fingers through my matted hair. I ended up turning the taps on in the bathtub and letting it fill up. Locking the doors I stripped and slipped into the warm water.

I knew I was pushing my luck here now. A prisoner shouldn't be walking around like I was, but they certainly shouldn't be enjoying a luxurious bath in their captor's house. But it was too late now as I submerged myself under the water, scrubbing my face off all the dirt.

In my defence it was a quick wash; I jumped out as soon as I finished and even made sure to clean the tub after. I grabbed a spare hand towel and used that to dry myself and my hair. Changing back into the grey top and trousers, I wiped the fogged up mirror and checked my reflection once again. Oh that's better, I actually look human now.

Making sure everything was as clean as I could make it, I chucked the wet towel into a linen basket and carefully opened the door, peeking around to make sure no one was around.

I made my way down the hall, stopping when I noticed a window. I peered out at the view; it was dark outside so there wasn't a lot to see, but in the background I could see the vast forest, illuminated by the bright light of the moon above.

A loud metal bang makes me jump in fright and I turn to where the sound came from.

"Oh shit," a voice mutters and my curiosity makes me walk in the direction of the noise.

As I approach, something rolls on the floor towards me and I stop it with my feet. It's an orange. I pick it up and am about to walk into the room when I see a girl, probably my age, cursing as she bends down and starts to pick up various pieces of fruit on the floor, placing them into a metal fruit bowl. Ah so that was what the noise was.

"Oh for goodness sake Carla, you had one job. I told you to put the fruit bowl to the side, not on the floor." I watched as two women walked into the room through another door. The one who spoke was dressed in a long flowy skirt and a green silk blouse. Her brown hair was tied up into an elegant bun and she walked in like she owned the place, her heels clacking against the floor. The woman that followed behind behaved in a similar manner, her head held high and nose turned up. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head quickly in my direction.

I crouched to the floor and hid myself as best as I could.

"Oh goodness I can smell her from here." The woman spoke up, her voice haughty and rude.

"Who Elena?" the other woman in the green top asked.

"That human, Kiera, the one that's apparently Crescent Moon's heir."

I covered my mouth, my eyes wide. They were talking about me.

"Surely you don't believe that crap," the lady, Kiera, retorted with a snort. "The mighty Alpha and Luna Kronex have a weak human for a daughter?"

I bit my tongue at the mention of my parents.

"Actually Kiera, it is true." I peered past the door frame to see who had spoken. It was the girl -Carla. She stood up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears.

"My brother was there when Alpha and Luna Kronex came. They killed thirty of our men to protect their daughter," Carla stated as she placed the fruit bowl down on the side.

Keira walked towards Carla and lifted a hand and placed it under Carla's chin, tilting it up so that Carla was looking right up at her.

"Well then my darling, your brother must have also told you about how Alpha Stone ripped out Luna Kronex's pretty little throat right in front of her husband then." Her voice was ice cold as she stared right into Carla's eyes.

Hearing her words I gasp loudly and fall back.

'ripped out Luna Kronex's pretty little throat'

The gasp makes everyone turn in my direction but before Kiera and the other woman notice me, Carla pushes Kiera away.

"I'm sorry ladies, you're going to have to excuse me. I need to make dinner."

She stood her ground, even when the women continued to look in my direction suspiciously. Slowly losing interest, they gave Carla a once-over glance and then sauntered back out of the room.

By this point I was starting to struggle to breathe. What the women had said circled in my mind and all I could hear was the thumping of my heart. It sounded so loud as if it was being played through speakers in the room. I reached for the wall, trying to pull myself up but I couldn't see anything through my blurry eyes.

Mum. I need my mum.

"Hey, hey," someone whispered, grabbing my hands and holding them gently, "it's alright, you need to take a deep breath." I wasn't listening. I was still hyperventilating at the thought of my mother dead on the ground.

"Listen to me, I need you to breathe." A hand grabbed my face and held it still, making me look straight ahead. Carla's big eyes stared back. "You're fine. Listen to me, you just need to breathe slowly."

Unconsciously I gripped Carla's hand tightly and started to do as she did. Breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth.

In, out. In, out.

"That's it you did really well," Carla commended as I finally calmed down and was able to see clearly.

"Is it true?" I asked, as soon as my voice came back. "Is my mother dead?"

Carla's eyes fell away from my face, but I grabbed her shoulders and made her look back at me.

"No, please, tell me. Is she dead?" I begged.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Honestly it's the first time I even heard about it."

This didn't console me one bit.

If my mother had died, because of me, there was no point in living. I scrambled up from the floor, clutching to the wall for support. I needed to leave, I needed to go back home and see for myself.

My whole pro vs cons list had disappeared from my mind, instead all that was left was an overwhelming urge to go home, no matter the risk.

"I need to go, I need to leave," I explained to Carla, who stood up looking nervous. "Where can I leave through?"

Carla shook her head. "You shouldn't even be here and if I help you leave, Alpha Stone will kill me," she whispered, looking helpless. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw a metal glint and reaching over I grabbed the carving knife and held in tightly.

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you!" I exclaimed, feeling like I was losing my mind.

Really this was not a well thought out move. I mean Carla looked like a gentle person but she was still a werewolf and she could easily overpower me and it didn't matter whether I was holding a knife or not.

Carla ran her fingers through her hair and clutched her head. She was trembling, she was scared and she watched me with her big eyes.

"You know Kiera is a troublemaker, in fact she is probably lying, sh-"

"Carla!" I yelled, interrupting her. She stopped mid-sentence, shocked that I knew her name.

"Please, please," I pleaded, "just help me."

Carla raised her hand to her mouth and started biting her fingernails and then glanced back and forth between the door and me.

Finally, "You'll have to go through the back door," she pointed to the door behind her, "the guards are doing their evening training so they'll be in the front field."

I was ready to run to the door when Carla grabbed me and held me back. She rushed to the cupboards and started taking out different items until she could reach to the back of the cupboard and brought out a container.

She then ran to the door and closed them all, locking them to make sure no one could come in.

"Take off your clothes," Carla commanded and I raised my eyebrows in question when she started to take off her clothes.

"You smell like a human. If you go out, they'll pick up your scent straight away."

Not wasting time to argue, I quickly changed out of my clothes and swapped them for Carla's. She then came to me and opened the container; inside was a wet, black mixture, with a particular smell.

"Its a home-made mixture of flora, pine needles, mashed acorns and dirt," Carla explained. "It's something extra to hide your scent."

She smeared the mixture over my face and clothes.

"Now," she said, stepping back to look at me clearly, "do you know which way to go?"

I wanted to lie and say I did but I ended up shaking my head.

She reached up and took off a locket that was hanging around her neck. Flipping it open, I realised it was a compass.

"Just follow the compass North and you should be able to make your way back."

I held the locket in my hands and looked at Carla. "Why are you doing all this for me?" I asked, tears brimming.

Carla forced a smile. "Because I know how you feel," she sighed. "I'm a prisoner here too and every day I dream about escaping."

I grab Carla's hand. "Then come with me," I suggest earnestly. "You can come to my pack and I swear you won't be a prisoner anymore."

Carla pushes my hand away and a tear rolls down her cheek. "I can't. I have my brother to look after," she states simply.

I watch her for a moment, struggling to think of a way to bring her with me. If she stayed, I knew she would be in serious trouble for letting me go, but before I could say anything more, she said, "You need to leave now. Training ends in half an hour so that's all the time you'll get for a head start."

She pushed me towards the door.

"Run," she whispers and I do, only sparing a fleeting glance back before heading into the forest.