Chapter 1

I'm running as fast as I can.

I see the trees flicker past as my paws hit the ground whilst tears run down my muzzle. Pain; that's all I could feel from the endless beatings that I had been given over the years. I couldn't understand what I had done to be treated like dirt. Why were they so horrible? I don't know what I did to make them break, 5ambecome so angry, but they made sure I wouldn't forget it. It was all coming back to me now.

It had been 5 am.

My alarm had gone off as I had to wake up early to make food for my pack. And yes, before you ask, we are werewolves and no I don't know Jacob Black from stupid twilight. But anyways, my daily routine had been to wake up and make breakfast for the pack. It had been like this since I turned eight and at that moment it had been my fourteenth birthday.

You would've thought that I would have gotten some more time to rest and receive presents but no, I had to feed the rest of the pack and all I got was the leftovers. If I hadn't cleaned the mansion by the time they woke up and cooked, the Alpha would have beaten me.

But if they were in a good mood I would've just been tied to the walls in the basement with silver chains; with wolfsbane that burned through the skin of shifters. It had been absolute hell. In the beginning, I had tried to resist but there's only so much pain one person could take.

It wasn't like their laughter and cruel jokes had helped; having been called fat and disgusting was what they said on their best days. That particular day had been different, though. It had been 7 am and the pack hadn't come down to eat. I went to check on them, to wake them up, for I knew the consequences of letting them sleep in would have been much greater than the actual waking. I knocked on Alpha James's door but there was no reply. So, I knocked again. It had been strange because our Alpha had always been a very light sleeper. I had opened the door slightly.

There had been no one in the room. The bed was unmade as usual with no sign of life. I had walked to the other pack members doors but no one had been in them either. I began getting scared it all seemed like some sick joke.

I ran out of the pack house. I had heard voices coming from the clearing in the woods where the pack meetings were usually held. Then, I had walked towards the voices. Even from far I could tell that the alpha was angry. When I got a few feet away from the clearing, I hid behind the closest tree and listened. What I heard shocked and scared me.

Alpha James had been shouting at Beta Jackson.

"You idiot! Why didn't you tell me this earlier? We can't have Leila around if the werewolf council members come ".

I was in shock. Had they been arguing about me? But why were they so worried about the werewolf council members coming; and what did it have to do with me?

"It- t- t- ts not my fault Alpha-a. Sir, I tried to stop them from coming but you know we can't keep putting it off. They're already suspicious" he stuttered, scared of the Alpha's reaction. Our Alpha had always been quick with his fists. The other pack members knew to keep their distance and were worriedly listening to the Alpha and Beta's argument.

"I know! Do you know how hard it is to wake up this early to deal with this shit? Fine, we need to get rid of Leila. She's just a nuisance anyway."

I couldn't have helped it. I had gasped. After all, I had done for them that had been what they thought of me? Following my outburst, the Alpha and the pack members had turned towards me, glaring.

"Well, well, well. Look at who has been listening in on our little conversation" Beta Jackson snarled.

"Though her being here does make it easier for us and she's even cooked us breakfast. How sweet of the reject" Alpha James snickered. I couldn't stop the tears that ran down my face.

"I, hereby officially banish you from the Black Wolfpack! You are no longer allowed on our territory and if you step one foot on my land you will be killed. Do you understand?"Alpha James sneered.

I had nodded my head in understanding and ran back to the pack house, up the stairs, to my cupboard sized room. I had grabbed my backpack that I had packed when I had thought about running away but never had the guts to do it.

I couldn't help but have felt slightly relieved. I had finally been leaving this hellhole and even though I had now been an outcast, I would've only had to worry about threats from rogues; not those who were meant to care for me.

I had run out of the pack house and shifted; running to the border of no man's land. I had heard paws hitting the ground behind me. I turned my head and had seen Beta Jackson and the pack warriors running after me; nipping at my ankles causing enough damage to lessen my strides.

I should have had known that they would've never let me leave without one last beating. I tried to tune it out as I had all other beatings they had given me. After a while, I had come to the realisation that I was no longer being chased. I had been in no man's land. A smile came formed onto my face as the realisation hit me.

I was finally free.

I was currently running across lands but I was not as fast as I could've been. Those endless beatings had taken their toll on my body. I knew I needed to find somewhere to stay, get food and a good rest.

I decided to stop at the nearest town that was not in someone's territory and find a place to stay. A fact that was not known by my previous pack was that I was rich. I had published a well-known book series 'Hunters'; obviously being a werewolf story. Anyways, I had used a small amount of the money I earned and invested it. I was now a millionaire at the age of 14.

I had no intention to tell my former pack, for they would have just taken it all and used it to throw parties and get drunk. Though, I was never able to use the money because the pack would have found out, plus, they only let me out when they needed me to buy groceries. They didn't even let me attend school.

It had gotten dark so I decided to sleep under an oak tree. I could clearly see the stars and for the first time, I was happy and free. I knew that there was no one who could hurt me because I wouldn't let them.