I stumbled disorientedly, stepping over twigs and stones. The moon was high in the sky, but its light failed to break through the thick coverage of the trees. The darkness blanketed the forest floor.

The air blew harshly, whipping through the trees and cutting at my skin. My body ached. The pain in my wrist only seemed to worsen. Usually, a rapid metabolic healing process would have kicked in, but for some reason, it wasn't.

I couldn't feel the connection between my wolf and me. I figured that was the reason my hand wasn't healing. I knew there was no way I would be able to shift either with no connection to my wolf. I was trapped in human form.

April? Are you there?

I desperately called out to my wolf.

I felt so scared.

So Vulnerable.

April, please, are you there?

I tried again, calling out over and over again to no avail. No matter how much I called out, there was only silence. I found myself wandering in what felt like circles, not knowing where I was going but moving forward. Since birth, I had never been this far off the territory of the Westmoon pack.

Not being able to shift and my wrist left me at a disadvantage in protecting myself.

I could hear the forest life moving around me, birds flapping about in the thickly overgrown trees. Small creatures of the forest hungrily scurried around the forest floor in search of food.

I needed food too, but I couldn't stop. I knew I'd have no choice but to keep going.

I dragged my body through dirt and mud for miles. Peaks of light began to break through the coverage and hit my skin. I followed the dim light of the moon.

I trailed on for hours until I couldn't take another step.

Exhausted, I leaned on one of the trees close to me. The rough bark dug into my skin. I slid to the ground as my legs gave out from under me, collapsing onto the muddy forest floor. I pulled my knees towards my chest. I was a victim of the violent winds.

My eyes became heavy, as I didn't have the strength anymore to keep them open. I let sleep take me.

A deep bellow filled the night air surrounding me, startling me.

A loud pounding of hooves hitting against the ground became louder as the sound became closer. I stood up quickly, fearing I would get trampled by the animal running toward me. I wanted to get up out of its path.

I stood on my weak legs.

The moose fell towards the forest floor in front of me. The wolf's teeth firmly latched onto the neck of the young bull. Streams of blood drenched the ground as it flowed out of the moose and from the wolf's jaws.

From the darkness, out came more wolves tackling the moose. It fell to the ground limply.

I stood face with a small pack of wild wolves. A total of four wolves, their heads buried inside a male moose, pelts stained red from the moose carcass as they devoured it.

My stomach growled loudly. I was starving. The sound of my hunger was so loud it altered them of my presence. Their heads turned to me and my eyes locked with who I assumed the alpha was. He growled at me, warning me not to take a step forward.

I didn't care. I was starving.

I took another step towards the dead moose, and the alpha growled again.

"Shut it! I'm hungry." I growled back angrily.

They backed off. Seeing my opportunity, I used my good hand to grab a hold of the hoove and pulled with all my strength. The tendons and muscles ripped apart as the leg tore unevenly from the body.

I bit into the bloody leg, using my teeth to tear away at the pelt to get to the meat under it. Raw, chewy, and flavorless. All I tasted was blood and ligaments. But it did the job. I bit down harshly onto the leg, digging my teeth into its flesh. I tore away at the layers of the moose, barely chewing thoroughly before swallowing.

I devoured the moose leg leaving nothing but bone and hide.

The clouds were thundering above, the sound sending the pack of wolves disappearing into the thick woods ahead of me quickly. A storm was coming, and they knew. I followed close by, hoping to find shelter for myself.

After walking for a while, we finally came to a small hollow cave in the woods. In between two giant fallen oak trees, covered in overgrown moss and weeds. Slabs of stone stacked on top of one another with a small opening. One by one, the wolves disappeared into the cave, and I followed suit.

I sat close to the entrance, my back against the cold rock. I listened to the rain pour down for hours until the sun's morning light began to peak from the top of the trees.

When the rain stopped, they all left, and I was alone again. I heard the forest begin to wake up once more. My eyes became too heavy to keep open, and I finally fell asleep.

.

.

.

"Look here, John. We got a pretty one. I told you there was one of em' roaming round here. I told you." I heard a monotonous voice say. Footsteps crept closer towards me. I went on high alert, the hairs on my arms and neck standing. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep.

"She sure is, and would ya look at that? That there is a good one, no doubt. She'll fetch a pretty price tag." My eyes flew open.

Immediately, I began swinging my arm and legs at the figures in front of me, ready for a fight. That was when I found myself staring down a barrel of a long brown gun. I felt a large rough hand reach down to pull my hair, dragging me out of the cave like an animal.

The sun had risen above the horizon, its light now touching the branches of the oak trees around us.

Two men stared down, lips twisted back into a crooked smile. Both dressed in heavy brown coats and black boots.

I was still tired, but I knew I had to run for it If I could find a way to get the gun out of his hand.

"Try anything, and I'll blow your pretty little brains out." Warned the shorter man in front of me with the gun.

"Let me go!" I demanded.

"Not a chance. I think the boss is really gonna like you. You look just like his favorite toy." The one behind me growled. He released my hair, causing me to fall to the ground. I cupped my hand close to my body. With the barrel of the gun still pointed at me. I looked up slowly. With all the strength in my body, I grabbed the barrel out of the man's head, swinging it around and hitting the man behind me. He fell to the ground, and I jumped behind him, pointing the gun at the shorter one.

"Back away from me now," I growled loudly at the two men. "You bitch." The one on the ground hissed, rubbing the side of his head I had hit with the gun. The shorter one crouched down and began pulling his partner away from me. I kept the gun pointed at them and moved backward, away from them. I was ready to turn around and break into a full-speed run.

However, before I could even get the chance, I was tackled to the ground

My body made contact with the ground with full force, and I landed on my already broken wrist. The pain flooded into my brain in waves of electrical shocks. A wolf lay on top of me, its teeth bared and growling in my ear. It looked almost rabid.

"Nice job Phil. I thought we were gon lose this one for sure." The short man said, walking towards me. He grabbed the gun from me, hammering the butt of it against my temples. It hurt like hell, making my vision blurred.

"Get the wolfsbane." The taller man demanded, yelling at the shorter one. The world around me began moving slowly. One of the men grabbed me. He brought me to my feet and threw me over his shoulder. I was still delirious from the hit on my head. I was unable to fight back. From my own eyes, I could see blood dripping from where he had hit me. It dripped onto the leaves under us, staining them crimson. A jolt went through me as I felt a long syringe plunging into my arm. It made almost all my senses go completely numb, I could feel everything around me, but I could not react. I couldn't move or speak.

The next thing I knew, my body was thrown onto the back cargo of the truck. I screamed in pain. My bones, flesh, and organs felt like they were being crumbled and smashed into a box. My lungs contracted like they were folding into themselves. The force of my body smashing up against the back window was enough to break my ribs.

My arms and legs were flailing, helplessly searching for somewhere to hold and stop the forward movement. I wish I could have screamed. The pain to was unbearable. I wanted to scream and cry out for help. However, I could form neither words nor sounds. Right then and there, I wished for death to take me. The fumes of gasoline dulled any sense of smell left in me. I was left to lay in the cold truck, unable to move. Fearing the worst, waiting to see where I was being taken to.

Thank you so much @YourWerewolfGeek for the amazing cover.