The man pulled me out of the dark room and I squinted against the brightness of the florescent lights overhead. I covered up eyes as I stared upward toward them, how long had it been since I'd seen the light? A calloused hand grabbed the back of my neck in a painful grip, "Get moving rat—" He pushed me forward, causing me to stumble over my feet. I pulled my arms around myself as I walked down the industrial hallway that was lined with doors. The doors had fading white painted numbers on them, and I wondered if there was someone behind each one of them.

I had no idea how long I'd been here or where this place even was. All I remembered was coming home from my football game and finding my mother standing in the living room with a couple of CIA looking fuckers. My little sister was crying hysterically about not wanting them to take me away. I think I punched one of them but I can't remember it clearly. When I opened my eyes again I was in the dark room and I'd been there ever sense.

The man behind me grabbed me again, pulling me to a stop in front of one of the numbered doors. I bit back the strange urge to growl at him as he banged his fist on the door. It took only a moment before the door creaked open and the scarred face of a man appeared. He looked toward me, only one of his eyes moving over me while the other sat stationary. The door opened wider, "This here the replacement? Looks like he's already feeling it..." His comment confuses me but I try to focus my eyes on the room behind him.

"He's one of the Alpha kids what do you expect. They're always squirrelly compared to the others." He tightens his grip on my neck and shakes me a bit. I bite into my cheek and fist the material of my shirt to keep myself from punching this asshole in the face. Scar face tried to grin with amusement but only one side of his lips turned upward, the other side was pulled down into a permanent frown.

"I'll take him to the moon room, to sit with the others. Hopefully this one won't be a disappointment." Scar face opens the door completely to reveal another hallway with only one door at the end. The closer I got to the end of the hallway the more I felt the urge to scratch at my skin. It felt like there was something crawling just underneath the surface, wanting to break free. Scar face pulled at a chain attached to his belt that revealed a set of keys, "Make it through the night kid and you'll have a bright future a head of yourself—" He unlocks the door and pushes it open with a heavy grunt.

"What's in there?" I ask staring at the small open space. I didn't get an answer as I was shoved through the small space and the door was slammed shut behind me, sealing me in. The room was completely dark and I shuffled to the side before planting myself on the damp hard ground.

I don't know how long I sat in the darkness but eventually someone returned. "Come on you little rats!" The deep voice bellowed as heavy footsteps approached the steel door. The small flap in the door slid open and a tray of food was slid in without care to what was on it. A pair of beady black eyes peered in, "Eat up! Tomorrow is the big day and you want to make sure the admiral is pleased with you. If you do please him then you'll be dining like kings—" The flap slid shut followed by a hoarse bout of laughter that turned into a coughing fit as the footsteps disappeared.

I sat in the corner of the room with my arms wrapped around my legs and my chin resting against my chest. I could feel the strange crawling feeling under my skin again. I bit into my lip and clenched my hands tighter to my legs to keep from scratching at myself for relief. A body stirred nearby, shifting forward towards the tray of food I assumed. It hadn't taken long for me to realize that I wasn't alone in the room after I'd been pushed in but no one had bothered me or so I hadn't tried to bother them.

A faint growl echoed through the room, "Mine!" It was a hoarse voice that was not used to being used. I lifted my head and turned my face toward the noise. It was hard to see in the dark room but there was a dim light that hung in the center of the room that flickered on and off.

A boy with dark shaggy hair was staring down the only girl in the room who was staring back at him while she nibbled on a stale piece of bread. She was pretty frail looking, her limbs too long and skinny but I suppose this was normal for young teenagers who were being kept like animals. She might have been pretty with a little more food and a shower.

The boy moved closer to her with a feral look in his eyes and I felt my muscles twitch with the urge to move to protect her. She continued to watch him and nibble as though she had no concern for her own well being. With another growl he launched himself towards her but before he could lay a hand on her another boy moved with lightening speed, snatching him out of the air. I saw her lips twitch upwards with amusement as she continued on with her eating.

The growling boy was on his back with the other boys hand wrapped around his throat, "You should learn some manners before you approach a lady. I'm pretty sure your mother raised you better than this..." The other boy said in a calm voice as he stared down with cold eyes, his hair shaved so short that he almost looked bald.

"Don't worry about them..." Another voice spoke beside me. I turned my attention quickly having not realized that there was even anyone sitting near me. I stared into a pair of amber eyes that stood out against the dark skin of the boy next to me, "I'm Luke but everyone around here calls me Priest." I look away from Luke towards the others in the room. He let out a low sigh, "The growling one is Reaper, he's got behavior issues. The guy who laid him on his ass is Blade and the girl, well we call her Tink."

"What am I doing here?" I ask in a whisper as the crawling feeling becomes almost unbearable.

"The other guy that was here before you turned, so he had to be put down. You're his replacement I guess." I turn toward Luke who gives me an apologetic grin and shrug before looking back towards the others. I dig my nails into my skin, "What do you mean he turned?"

"He means the other guy went wolf—" Tink says with a lyrical voice. My eyes roam over to her with confusion, "I don't understand..."

Blade lets go of Reaper who was now looking in my direction with eyes as dark as night. I feel something stirring in my mind as as he stares into my eyes. My muscles tense and I push my nails deeper into my skin to keep myself from the violent urges that are suddenly plaguing my mind. Reaper snorts before finally looking away from me as he pulls himself back up to his feet, "He isn't going to last through the night."

Blade peers over in my direction with his cold eyes that seem to assess me quickly before he looks away and takes a seat next to Tink. He crosses his arms over his chest and leans his head back closing his eyes as if to go to sleep. Tink smiles in my direction, "Oh I don't know—He might be a lot stronger than you think Reaper. Maybe that's just wishful thinking on your part—afraid of a little competition?"

He lets out growl in her direction before turning his back to her and marching over to the tray of food and snatching up a couple of stale pieces of bread. I still had no idea what was happening or what I was doing in this room.

A warm hand pressed to my shoulder and I turned my face to see Luke looking at me with sympathy, "Listen—I know it's hard right now but just bare with it. They are testing you. Tonight is a full moon and that's when our other side comes out the most. It's the most uncontrollable then..."

"Other side?" I question.

He nods his head, "Yeah, the wolf blood that runs through our veins. Didn't they tell you anything when they picked you up?" I shook my head as my brows furrowed. Luke sighed, "Okay listen up kid. We are all half-breeds. We are a product of some top secret hunter program that wanted to create the ultimate weapons." I almost laughed at his words because they seemed like the plot to some B-movie. As if reading my mind he chuckled humorlessly, "Ever wonder why you were faster, stronger, and healthier than the other kids? Did you ever wonder why you didn't have a dad like the other kids?"

"Its cause our moms are black widows! They fucked those beasts and then killed them, once they got what they wanted." Tink says with a sadistic giggle.

"Mom? What a fucking joke! I hope that bitch chokes on her spit. She sold me over to these bastards the first chance she got!" Reaper grumbled under his breath.

Luke seems to cringe at their words, "Right, well...That's why they keep all of us in those dark rooms—they are lined with something that keeps out the moonlight or at least thats what I suspect. When they are ready to see if were quality products they bring us into this room and let us experience our first full moon. If we make it through without shifting then we pass and are taken on to be trained."

I swallowed hard as I processed what he was saying, "Trained for what?"

"Trained to kill the beasts they are afraid we'll become." Blade answers with a solemn tone.

"That is if you even make it through your first full moon—the four of us already passed that test." Reaper says with a sneer, "You are a replacement for the fifth guy and from the look on your face I'd say they're going to be bringing in another replacement."

I bit into my lip hard as something snarled in my head at the boys words. I wanted to hurt him—I wanted to tell him that he was wrong. I wasn't turning into some kind of monster. I wasn't like this people. I was a good guy. I had a lot of friends and a family that loved me. I was dating the hottest girl in school and I was quarterback of the football team. Everything in my life was normal until—no! I pulled my mind away from those thoughts and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Shit! He's going to blow—look at him." Reaper calls out to the others.

"Shut the hell up Reaper!" Tink yells at him as warm hands grab onto my face and force me to open my eyes. I find myself staring into Blade's cold gaze, "You need to calm down kid. Clear your mind—don't think about anything. The more your pulse raises the closer you get to the shift."

"I can't control it—"

"What's your name?" He asks as the air in the room becomes tense.

"West—" I say through clenched teeth.

"Do you want to die West?" His question is like ice in my veins. I shake head in his hands and he only stares back at me with those emotionless pits, "Then you must find the power to keep yourself from shifting because if you shift then those men will come in here and kill you."

"How did you? Control it, I mean..." I hear my voice faintly over the strange rushing of my blood which is pounding through my veins.

"You need to anchor yourself—something that is more important to you then shifting. Something or maybe someone you want to protect." Blade encourages me and immediately I pull up the face of my little sister. She is worth surviving for—no matter what I have to protect her from this world, from the people that would try to take her if I failed. I feel a strange calm rush over me and Blade releases his hold on me, "That's it man—hold onto that feeling and you just might get through this."

I would get through this. There was no other choice. I had to forget the fear or anything else. The only thing that matter was Sydney and making sure that nothing like this ever happened to her.

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I will hint and say you may have met Tink in 'Alpha Instinct' -- I'll let you try an figure that one out. :P