The trees blurred past her face as she ran away. Her heart was torn into two, loving her freedom and hating that she even had at. Small sobs escaped past her lips as she pumped her arms, her wolf too weak to help her by shifting. All her wolf could do was encourage to keep going, to keep moving for the ones she loved.

They both vowed to come back, to save them all.

"You can run, Marley," the male Beta wolf mocked, easily keeping up with the young she-wolf. Unlike Marley, he was in shape and heathy, able to eat as much as he want and go as he pleased. Marley was locked away, tortured and abused. The fact that she could run was beyond amazing— it was what made her so special to the Beta's Alpha. "But I'll catch you," he chuckled, lunging at her to make her scream.

Marley whimpered, quickly changing her direction to get away. She started to panic, making sure she didn't trip over the roots. She prayed to the Moon Goddess, for just this one moment, she could somehow escape.

She wished she could win, but she was already loosing. Her entire body felt like it was about to shut down, and as I last restore, she headed directly towards a tree. With a shaky breath, she lifted her leg, kicking off of the trunk and reaching to grab a branch.

She almost felt the bark slid through her embrace, but her wolf shoved her claws forward, hooking her human to safety. Marley wrapped her legs around the branch, slowly and painfully getting further and further away from the ground. She panted, almost smirking down at the Beta wolf.

"Get down here, mutt," he growled, and he quickly shifted. Marley gulped, looking for another branch to climb. When she started to reach for another, the Beta wolf snapped at her ankles, causing her to jump in fear.

She was dangling, vulnerable as she hanged. The only think keeping her from crashing into the ground was her wolf's smart thinking. Her arms ached, and her shoulder felt like they were going to pop out, but she held on for her dear life. She couldn't give up yet, not when she had so many people rooting for her survival.

The wolf started to chuckle, jumping for her feet. Marley kept lifting her legs, and her abs started to contract painfully. "Please," she begged, crying, "leave us alone. Let us all go, please."

The Beta wolf's teeth cut deep into her ankle. The pain caused Marley to let go into the branch, and she was at the mercy of the wolf before her. With her claws still out, she scratched him, trying to escape again.

He whimpered before launching at her again, and Marley used the last of her strength to fight back. Her claws cut deep into his skin, but it wasn't enough to throw him off. She felt the world starting to fade, and her feeling started to disappear as black dots started to cover her vision.

A scent of heaven circled around her. At first, Marley thought it was the Moon Goddess herself coming down to save her or to take her home. Marley took a deeper breath, and she could smell a pack near her.

Her wolf started to howl in her mind, and when Marley opened her mouth, her final scream came past her lips.

Her body fell limp, and the Beta wolf moved off.

Marley thought she had died.

*•*•*•*

Something was loud and beeping. Marley felt the air nipped at her skin as she regain consciousness. A cast was around her ankle, needles were in her arms, and other medical equipment wrapped around her body as Marley laid silently on the bed.

She started to panic, realizing she must had been back to where she was captive.

Then the new, unfamiliar scents filled her nose.

She wasn't where she thought she was.

Marley didn't know if she should start crying or not. She was free, alive, and she was safe. Her eyes snapped opened, her lips slightly parted as she stared around the white walls of the room she was in. Her door was closed, providing her privacy she had not had in years.

At the moment, the door opened. A woman, wearing a nurse outfit, walked in with a smile on her face. The scent of heaven was rubbed in her presence, and Marley couldn't help but feel jealous. The woman smiled kindly, "Hello there. I'm Gabby, and I'll be your nurse as you stay here."

Marley gave her a small smile.

"If there is anything you need," Gabby continued, "there is a red button right there by your bed you can press anytime." Marley nodded her head, following Gabby's finger as she pointed.

"Where," Marley whimpered, her throat dry, "where am I?"

Gabby smiled, biting her lip, "Right now you are with Crescent Moon Pack. Hold on just a moment, ok? I'm going to get you some water." The nurse quickly left, leaving Marley to look out into the empty hallway.

Another woman walked inside, another kind face. "Hello," the woman softly closed the door, but not completely. "I'm Luna Denice," she introduced herself.

"I'm Marley." The Luna smiled, nodding her head as she carefully sat down in a seat near the bed.

"It's nice to meet you," Denice filled in the silence, and Marley nodded her head in agreement.

Gabby opened the door, her eyes narrowing at the Luna. She bowed her head quickly in respect, "Luna, I wasn't expecting you."

Denice could hear the agression in the nurse's tone, no doubt in support of the Head Pack Doctor. "Sorry for the short noticed, Nurse Gabby, but the Alpha and I just wanted to meet Marley here," she answered, making sure to keep her voice steady.

The nurse nodded her head, "Of course." She turned to her patient, "Here you go." She handed Marley a cup, and Marley drank it quickly, like a dog lapping water.

———— A U T H O R  N O T E | 2 ————

Another chapter down! Is it weird that I'm having a better time writing the new version than the old version?

Remember to comment when you see a mistake, vote when you like a chapter, and share when you enjoyed the story.

Then the first chapter (0) just passed 1K views, so thank you guys for your support. I have never got a single chapter that many views before, so that's exciting!

Also, just turned nineteen, so I decided to celebrate by posting the next chapter! You know, try giving instead of receiving type of thing.

QQ #2: What is your favorite hobby?