I was running. Running through the woods, my feet hitting the dirt hard, my legs pushing me through the woods. Moving. Fast and hard.

So fast and so hard that I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I was just running. And just then the worst possible thing happened. Of course, I'd only realize that later. For now, the mistake that would ruin my whole life was simple.

My body slammed into another and we both went flying to the ground. We both grunted and I looked up, my eyes meeting the same scared, dark eyes as Scott McCall. "Hello," I grunted, wincing.

"Did you see it?" He asked desperately.

"See... What?" I asked, confused. He scrambled up, pulling me up after him. I stumbled to my feet.

"We need to run. Now!"

"From what?!" I screamed.

"I don't know!" Scott yelled. I knew the boy from a few times I'd seen him at school. Not much else registered really. Him and his dorky best friend, Stiles. I'd seen them here and there but never talked to them. It literally had been seeing them around and roll call all my life to register their names and the faces that belonged to those names.

"Why are you in the woods?" Scott asked me, taking my hand and running.

"Why are YOU in the woods?" I argued, diverting the attention from me and to him.

"Uh..." He smiled sheepishly and I nodded in understanding. We began running together. But then everything stopped. Deer came out of no where and we ducked. A wild, scared out of their lives, heard of deer.

"What the actual Hell?" I asked, eyes widening.

And then I heard a scream. I looked over to see a huge shape and Scott McCall running in the opposite direction. Then I felt a horrible pain in my arm and I collapsed to the ground, holding it to my chest.

And so started the end of my normal life.

•••

"Y/n!" Derek yelled, grabbing my arm and spinning me around. I roared, my eyes glowing. "Calm down," he sneered, rolling his eyes.

"Go away," I sneered in response. Yeah, I was a werewolf. An omega werewolf. Scott McCall and I were not friends. But neither were Derek Hale and I. "I don't want any part of this! I don't want anything to do with you, Scott, your pack, or anything werewolf related."

"You're a werewolf!" Derek yelled. We were in the middle of the woods so yelling was okay. Usually. "You have to deal with everything werewolf related! Scott has control, you don't! You got lucky that you survived the moons you have! LUCKY! You need to learn control and being an Omega, you're going to end up dying. Peter's gone but Gerard is declaring actual war on werewolves across the whole freaking planet so either team up or die!" He yelled.

I stepped back and he let my arm drop. I steeled myself, straightening my back. "You won't bully or scare me into joining your pack," I whispered dangerously.

"I don't want to bully you," Derek says seriously. "I want to save you."

"Your help isn't exactly helpful," I scoffed. "Lahey sound familiar?" I whispered the name, as if it was a curse word and I was eight. The name meant more to me than it did to anyone else. We'd never been friends. In fact, I'd known of Isaac's existence as much as Scott did before he became suddenly important. It was his story that stuck out to me. His strength and surviving through it that was important in my mind. As speaking his name woot him around felt like I was an eight year old saying a cuss word so I spoke it like that.

"Things could be different," Derek urged. "You could be better. Stronger, in my pack. More in control with my help. And Lahey seems to interest you." Derek smirked, as if mocking me, suggesting something. "He'll be there too." He shrugged as if it meant nothing but I just barked laughter, looking at him incredulously.

"You think I have a crush on your Beta?" I straight up laughed. "Nice try, Derek, but neither you or the attractive boys that belong to you could entice me to do anything I don't want to. And I don't want this. I don't want to be in a pack. Not unless I'm the Alpha. And seeing as that'll never happen..." I shrugged, turning away and walking.

"You'll regret it, Y/n!" Derek cut out of me. "Im not your mother! I'll protect you!"

I spun around. "DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT MY MOTHER!" I screamed. My fists were clenched and my blood was boiling. Derek stepped back, smirking triumphantly. I shook my head. He'd won. I'd proved to him that I couldn't control my anger. My anger or my powers. I turned, running through the woods at top speed.

And I was running again. Through the woods.

Why was I always running through the woods?

•••

Fingers wrapped around my neck, arms straightening to lift me up, pushing me against the wall behind me. I kicked out, my hands clawing at the fingers clutched around my neck, desperate to breath. My vision started spotting as I tried failing to get air to my lungs.

And then suddenly they were gone. I was on the ground, grasping, Rangers curled against the carpeted floor as I struggled to control my power and breath at the same time. "You're weak," my mother sneered in my ear. "And PATHETIC!" Her foot made contact with my chest and I gasped as all the air was knocked from my body as she kicked. Once, twice, three times. Again and again and again.

"Please," I whispered. "Please."

She looked down at me, rage in her eyes. "Fine. Get up. Go to your room." A pause as I struggled to move but couldn't. "GO!" She screamed. I struggled to my feet, making my way to my room. As I went to climb the staircase, my instincts kicked in like a pair of spider senses and I leaned back just in time, spinning around as a glass bottle shattered against the wall.

My mother had thrown her alcoholic glass at me. I touched my face, expecting something to be there, but nothing was. I ran to my room, slamming my door shut and locking it. I pressed my back to the closed door, singling to the floor. I brought my knees to my chest as I sobbed. I winced as my hands moved across my jeans, wiping the glass away from the material.

Looking down, I spotted the small glass shards all over my hand. There was a huge gash where a piece of glass had flown just past my hand, nicking it. I watched it heal.

This was my life now. Being beaten and then healing. I lay my head against my door, tears blurring my vision. My eye wandered to the window in my room and I knew I had to get out. I knew I had to be free, if only for a while.

Climbing out of my window and dropping down without problem, I walked away from my house, shoving my hands in my pocket and wiping the rest of the glass off my jeans as I walked.

I made it to the woods before a voice spoke to me. "You have it too."

I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. "Well hello to you too, Isaac."

"I heard... I saw... I know what she did to you." I looked over at him to see him looking back, serious and almost... Angry.

"So what?" I mumbled.

"So what?! Y/n-" he ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. Suddenly he rushed at me. His hands wrapped around my face, smashing my lips to his. I gasped, my body going stiff, but the next second I was responding, wrapping my hands in his hair and pulling him closed. He pulled back. "If you got hurt... You're already hued what am I saying. I can't see you get hurt anymore. I can't see you let her do this to you and just sit by and... That's why you were in the woods, right? That's why you avoided friends. That's why you pushed away the pack. Because you wanted to hide. All the lies, all the cover ups. It was all for that woman."

"Yeah," I croaked, not even defending my beast of a mother.

"Oh... Please... Let me prof get you. Come stay with me. Get away from her. PLEASE, Y/n..." He looked at me, desperate. I was tempted, but reluctant. What would my mom think? "Y/n, J saw that look on your face. The look of true and complete and utter terror. And I couldn't stop it. I couldn't help you. I couldn't do anything. Please, let me protect you..."

"Why?" I whispered.

"Isn't it obvious?" He whispered. "I care for you, Y/n. Like, a lot."

"I care for you too," I admit tied, sighing. He smiled, kissing me again.

"So can I protect you now?" He asked.

I sighed, melting into him. "Sure. Be my hero."

He sighed, relived. "Yes ma'am."

"So what now, Hero?" I asked.

"Now we go home. You need sleep."

"Okay."

And we went home. And I got sleep. For once, I got actual, restful sleep. And we went to the Pack and the principal the next day and told them about my mother and what she'd been doing and she was arrested for child abuse. And for weeks it was just me and the pack, but mainly me and Isaac.

And I knew it would get better. As long as I had Isaac.

And you know what's? I think I always would.