IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ MEMO!!

Ok in case you guys didn't notice on other chapters, in this story Maggie has like internal debates with herself. Now, for some odd reason Wattpad doesn't do the whole Italicized or Bold thing. Why? I have no idea. Normally I use plain Italics for her thoughts and italic-bold for the other voice thing. But since I can't do that and its starting to get a little confusing, I will use quotes like this '' around her thoughts and these ** around her other thoughts. Ok? Sorry, I know it's weird, but, it'll get more confusing otherwise. Ok now I think I went a little high on my last vote-goal so let's try for 15 votes, ok? Can we do that? It would be greatly appreciated. And remember feedback is always appreciated. Oh and thank you to my 13 fans! You guys rock!

Ps. Sorry it took so long. Blame the school for homework, my mom for grounding me, and whatever bug I have that's making me sick.

Ok, so, presenting, Werewolf Forest Chapter 6!

Dun duh duh dun...dun duh duuhhhh!!!

"Today, we will be learning basic shifting." Danny faced me in the training field. It had been four days since the...incident with Gage. I had seen neither hide nor tail (excuse the pun) of him or Jason. Though I had spent much of that time lying in a cot with my wrist chained to one of the posts.

Isn't my life just freaking wonderful?

Answer: No. It freaking sucks.

Today was my first day out of the med-tent and I was already on the training field again. Can anyone say Drill Sergeant?

"Come here, Maggie."

I walked over to Danny. Unlike Gage, I wasn't afraid of this guy spontaneously ripping my limbs off, though I never let my guard down around these lunatics.

He reached into his pocket and I immediately tensed. I relaxed when he pulled out a key instead of a gun or a knife. He grabbed my arm and swung me around so my back was facing him. I knew it best not to argue, this particular member of the Psycho Pack had a serious case of Inflated Ego Syndrome. Apparently he was the 'Alfa', and he thinks that automatically means that I have to obey every word that drips from his pathetically arrogant mouth.

What an idiot.

But, it was extremely easy to offend this guy and when you did, all hell broke loose. I saw it happen when I was lying in the tent. Well, heard it happen but you get my point. Apparently, one of the 'pack' members had 'mouthed off' to Danny. Now, Danny-boy didn't like that, so he had the poor guy whipped and then tied to a pole for three days strait. I saw him being released this morning after three days of not moving, no water, no food, his back torn in still-healing pink lines; he looked like his soul had been broken.

This guy was nuts, but, unfortunately, everyone here followed his orders like their lives depended on it. Therefore, if I had any hope of getting out of here, I had to get on his good side. Or, at least, not get on his bad side.

Danny twisted the key in the lock that held my collar together. I felt the heavy metal slide off my neck. It's amazing how light your neck feels when the five pound metal chunk that's been encasing it for a week is finally removed. I reached my hand up to my neck and felt the raw spot that had healed and been re-opened again and again. It felt smooth, like scar tissue, which it probably was.

"Now," began Danny. "Last time you shifted, it was involuntary, caused by severe emotion. Later on you will learn to control those emotions. But, for now, we will work on being able to phase at will."

I nodded my head, indicating I was listening. Which, of course, I wasn't. My mind was racing, calculating the distance between me and Danny, us and the camp, me and safety of the woods. He had taken the collar off. Maybe now was when I could escape. My eyes were darting around the clearing, looking for any escape route. Danny must have seen where I was looking because he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Just then four of the pack broke through the tree line. I didn't know their names but I think I had seen them around the camp. He made some hand motions at them and they spread out around the rim of the clearing.

"We will have no running off today." He said as he turned to me, an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

Perfect. Just perfect.

"Now, when you shift you must feel it in your heart, you must know that you are a wolf. You must be the wolf."

'"You are the wolf." "Be the wolf." Nice.'

*Dude, what are you? A fortune cookie?*

Trust me it took all I had to not burst out laughing. I mean 'be the wolf'? Come on!

I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded my head.

"Close your eyes," I obeyed. "Imagine yourself as a wolf. Feel the wind through you fur. Feel the brush under your paws. Let your instinct take over."

I took a deep breath and did as he said. I let the image I had seen in the water that night fill my mind. My white fur. My black nose. My over-sized paws with their sharp claws. My pearly white fangs that could sink into an iron bar. My metallic gold eyes. The odd black marking on my left eye. I breathed slowly; in out, in out, clearing my mind of all but these thoughts, letting my other half take over. My wolf half. Everything went silent. It was like I was in an abyss; no light no sound, nothing. A year could have passed or it could only have been seconds. A sharp pain radiated through my body, starting at my head and leading down to my feet, like someone was dragging the edge of a knife down my spine. I shuddered at the tingling sensation the pain left in its wake.

I felt...odd. Released somehow. Like I had just sprung out of a cramped cage that had held me for a long, long time.

I opened my eyes to see a white muzzle in place of my normal tan nose. So many sensations bombarded my brain at once. The afternoon sun shining a dull orange to the west, the sounds of the birds as they sang to one another in chirped choruses, the dank smells of the newly wet leaves and bark from the rain the previous night, the feeling of the grass under the pads on my paws. I had done it. I was a wolf. I breathed deep again, loving the feeling of my new body. It felt...natural, like I was supposed to be like this, as a wolf. It felt...right.

I looked to the trees. I suddenly had the urge to just...run. Not to escape, just to feel the wind caress my face as I ran faster than any rollercoaster could ever take me. To feel the ground barley brush my paws as I soared through the maze of trees. To feel the adrenaline of running as fast as my toned super-muscles would allow. All I wanted in that moment was to run.

"Good," Danny's voice snapped me back to reality. I looked to my side to see him with the normal arrogant smirk on his face. "In time, with practice, you will cut your phasing time down to a matter of milliseconds. But, it was not a bad time frame for a first timer." He looked me over and seemed to settle on my left eye. He stared, perplexed, for a reason I could not understand. His eyes were intent, thoughtful. His forehead crinkled in thought.

I sat on my haunches, waiting for him to speak again.

Someone cleared their throat and Danny snapped out of it, shaking his head in an attempt to focus. He trained his eyes back on me, but this time he was simply making eye contact instead of scrutinizing my face.

"Right, well, now phase back." He still seemed a little out of it.

I tried doing what I had done before, just, in reverse. Since Captain Clueless over there hadn't exactly told me how 'phase back'. I pictured myself as a human. My brown hair gently swept over one eye, my full pink lips, my green eyes with the rim of topaz around the pupil. I tried to remember what it was like to walk on two legs, to speak English, to have opposable thumbs. I fell into the abyss again. Total sensory deprivation. No light no sound, nothing. I began to feel pressured, like I was at the bottom of the ocean and the water was crushing me like a boot on a soda can. The squeezing sensation faded but I still felt...trapped, strangely claustrophobic. Like someone had put me back into that cramped cage. I hated it. It felt like I was wearing a mask, a costume. Like someone tried to stuff me into a too-small skin that wasn't mine.

The world burst back into life, all my senses going on red alert. I was now back in my human form, my flesh exposed where the bra and cut-offs didn't cover it. Thank God that the hair on my legs was too sun-bleached to notice. That could get embarrassing. Not that I cared what those freaks thought or anything. My alertness faded and I now just felt...wrong. Like a pig eating pork chops. Just...wrong. I looked up at Danny, since he was a good six inches taller than me, if not more.

"Now phase back." He said.

*Are we playing Simon Says or something here?*

It went on like that for hours; I would shift back and forth, back and forth. It was boring really. I got marginally faster, but barley. I went from four minutes phasing time to three.

Well la-di-fricken-da. Golly gee, one whole minute!

We headed back to the camp, my aggravating collar now securely re-attached to my neck. They sat me in my tent again. The small little tee-pee that I had known as home four days ago. They attached a chain to my wrist and left. The chain was longer than usual. I could actually get up and walk around. But, I didn't. I sat there, not thinking about anything in particular. Just then Jason pushed the flaps of my tent aside and entered, a tray of food in each hand.

"Room service." He said grinning.

"Hey, Jason."

"Hey, Maggie, how are you?"

"I'm alright I guess. Besides the obvious, of course," I jingled the chains on my wrist.

His smile faded instantly. "Right...um...so anyway, here's dinner." He placed a tray of cooked meat of some unknown animal, some bread, and crackers. He also handed me a bottle of water. I had been eating this same thing, save for the occasional vegetable or fruit, for the past week now. Yup I had counted. It had been about seven days now...or, at least, I think it had been. Ok let's just go with seven days. Time was almost stagnant here. It meant nothing. You slept when you were tired. You ate when you were hungry. You trained when the Bozo Band told you to. That's how things worked here. If it weren't for the sun crossing the sky in its permanent path, I would never be able to tell the difference between one day and the next. Night and day. It was aggravating to say the least.

He sat next to me and began to chow down. I picked up the meat with my hands and began to take bites off it too.

Yes, I used my hands. Let's just say, they weren't real big on table manners here. Or any kind of manners acctualy.

"So..." I began, my mouth half full. "Haven't seen you around lately." I was dying to ask him about what Danny had said. About the 'other time'. But going on his reaction to when Danny had brought it up, it seemed like a touchy subject.

"Ya..." he said, his forehead crinkling. "I've been busy."

"With what?"

"Nothin' much...just...stuff."

'Uh huh. Sure.'

"What stuff?" I pried.

"You're nosy, you know that?"

"I'm not nosy, you're just not giving me a straight answer."

He sighed. "Just boring pack stuff. That's all."

"Mmhmm. Ok, if you say so."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't believe me."

"Ok. So how long till I'm de-chain-ified?" I asked, changing the subject. The constant chains were starting to grind at my last nerve. Ok, that was an understatement. It was more along the lines of taking chainsaw to a twig.

"Until Danny thinks you won't run. It would be really stupid of you to do though."

"And why is that?"

"Well, Danny and Gage have I little bit of-"

"Anger management issues?" I interrupted.

"Well, I was going to say a temper but that works too," He chuckled. "So if you tried to run, and we would catch you, by the way, you would be in for...unpleasant circumstances when you got back." I remembered what had happened to that poor guy that had 'mouthed off' to Danny. If he got five lashings and three days tied to a post for that...what would they do to me for running away? I shuddered at the thought.

Well, I just would have to be extra careful not to get caught then wouldn't I?

"Oh, and if you want them to start to trust you so you can get 'de-chain-ified'" He snickered at my made up word. "You might want to start calling them sir."

I gave him a sideways 'you're kidding me right?' look.

"Just trust me on this one." He turned his head to the side and locked his eyes with mine. "If you want them to trust you," He said each word slowly and deliberately, like he wanted me to hear something beyond the words. "Try being a little bit more...agreeable." I stared at him for the longest time, trying to figure out what he was trying to get through to me.

'If I want them to trust me...'

*Hmm...*

'What could I get out of them trusting me?'

*Well, like he said, they would take the chains off.*

'Right...but...wait...they would take the collar off too.'

*Ya, and no more body guards at training. They may even let us go out of the camp by our selves.*

'If they trusted me...'

*We could run.*

I nodded my head letting him know I understood.

He smiled, "Good," He stood up. "I need to go. But I'll come back to visit you soon. Don't forget about what I said."

"I won't."

"Ok, bye." He took our empty trays and left me sitting with a new fire of hope burning in me.

But, unfortunately, this hope required me to throw away my pride and give in to the Leader-All-Mighty Danny. Great.

I laid on my make-shift mattress and let unconsciousness take me.

* * * * * * * *

I was in the training field again with Danny, but this time, Jason was with us. That made me feel oddly better.

"Maggie," Said Danny. Jason looked at me meaning fully. I internally groaned.

"Yes sir?" I answered.

Danny looked taken aback. Obviously he hadn't expected me to be so...polite.

"Um...shift into your wolf form."

"Yes sir." The words came out like briars scratching against my tongue, but, I knew it would all be worth it in the end.

I concentrated on phasing into my wolf form. I pictured my wolf form in my head and it happened almost instantly. The pain of the knife dragging its sharp edge down my body, the strange abyss, the final burst of sensations. It was like doing it in fast forward. It only took about a minute or two. I opened my new golden eyes and waited for my next instruction.

Danny nodded his head approvingly. "Now phase back." Ugh...this is going to be a long day.

* * * * * *

Two weeks had past now. My plan was working. I got new freedoms every day. I called Danny and Gage by sir all the time and they seemed to think I had finally accepted my fate here.

Ya. Like that's ever going to happen.

I was now allowed to walk around the camp, instead of being chained in my tent all the time. The collar was still on and there were always at least two people at the training field with me at all times, but, hey, it was progress. Each day was much the same. I would train, eat, sleep, and hang out with Jason. That's right hang out with Jason. He and I had become good friends. We hangout every minute we had spare, but, unfortunately, with Sergeant Over-Kill's training schedule I didn't have that much time. It actually, though I hate to admit it, wasn't as bad here as I had originally thought. Of course I was still going to run away, but, still. Once you get passed the whole kidnapping thing, it wasn't that bad.

Jason and I were walking in the woods together. It was mid day, the sin at its peak in the sky, making the leaves shine like they had tiny crystals embedded in them. We were just walking, enjoying the sounds of the forest, when we came by a small lake. I had never seen this lake before. It was beautiful. It was crystal-clear blue and didn't seem to have any fish. There was a rock formation, maybe about seven-eight feet high. A small amount of water flowed over the rock, creating a waterfall. The water foamed white where it met the lake. I then realized, the only thing close to a shower I had had since I was kidnapped, was pouring water form a canteen over my face and head to get some of the grime out.

"Hey Jason?" I stopped and grabbed his arm.

"Ya?"

"You up for a little swim?"

The water felt great. I rubbed my arms, legs, hair and face trying to get off as much dirt as I could. I looked around. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

"Jason?" I called.

"CANNON BALL!" I turned around to see Jason just as he leapt off the water fall and hugged his knees to his chest. He landed in the water with a giant splash, showering me with the spray. He broke surface laughing. His laugh was so light, like wind chimes, yet, it was deep and robust, seeming to vibrate the water along with his chest. It was a contradictory all in its self, but in an alluring way. I laughed too, loving the feeling of freedom. We swam and laughed for hours before a young boy, probably from the pack, walked into the clearing.

"Jason, sir, Danny said he wanted the girl."

'The girl?'

*The girl had a name you know!*

"Oh alright then. You are dismissed." The boy ran out of sight.

"What do you think Danny wants me for?"

"No clue. I just hope it's a good thing."

"You and me both." We got out of the water, our cloths soaking wet. The air was warm so we were not cold as we walked back through the brush to the camp. We got to Danny's tent and he was there waiting for us, along with Gage.

"Hello, Maggie, Jason." Danny nodded his head at both of us.

"Sir," Jason and I said in unison.

"Maggie, you have been doing well in your training, and have been behaving well."

"Thank you, sir." I said smiling.

"And therefore, I believe that that collar is no longer necessary."

'Yes, yes, yes!'

He walked behind me and unlocked the collar. He put it in a box in the corner of the tent.

"Continue this behavior," He said, turning back to me. "And we will not have to get it out again." He smiled at me. Actually smiled, like a proud parent whose child just got on the dean's list. Proud. Not his normal smug, arrogant, or mocking smile but...proud...happy. An odd feeling of pride welled up inside me.

"Yes sir."

"Good, now you are dismissed." Jason and I left the tent together.

They trusted me. They wouldn't expect a thing.

I could escape.

But...did I want to?