"Get back here you bitch," the guards called out to me as they struggled to keep up. They tripped over roots and branches on the forest floor. This just made me laugh as I continued to run faster zooming through the trees and avoiding their capture.

"Catch me if you can boys!" I called back with glee as I got further away from the guards.

Running. It was the one thing I knew I was good at. I have outrun plenty of guards in the last 3 years now.

I quickly zoomed through the trees, losing the guards in the process. I knew they wouldn't be able to catch up with me and would eventually lose interest. After running for another half hour or so, I stopped to listen for any sign of the guards. I heard nothing but the sounds of nature around me. I figured I was safe now to just continue walking.

I liked to agitate border guards. It was always fun to see if they could ever catch me. No one ever has. I have gotten myself a nickname throughout all the packs. The Rogue Runner. Yes, I was a rouge but definitely not by my choice.

My old pack, the Red Eclipse pack, was attacked 5 years ago when I was just 15 years old.

**********

"Run Madelyn," my mother called out to me. We were under attack by a group of rogues. Wolves and people were fighting all around me as my mother and I ran from the house.

I hadn't gotten my wolf since I wasn't 16 yet. I could only run and hide as more rogues came pouring from the forest around me. I was running away from the fighting, towards the forest, when two strong hands grabbed me from behind.

"Where do you think you're going little one?" a vile-looking rogue called out to me. I tried to fight him off by kicking and hitting him, but this had very little effect on him. I wasn't strong enough to even hurt this huge monster in front of me.

"Mom! Dad! Bryan!" I called for my family hoping they would come and save me.

"Madelyn!" I heard my mom call for me. I looked to see her running over to try and save me.

She used all the strength she had to tackle the man who was dragging me away. He fell to the ground letting me go. My mother tried to grab me and run but was pulled back by the man.

"You bitch! You'll pay for that!" He was very angry now. I watched as the rouge and my mom both changed into their wolves and started fighting one another. I was so caught up in watching that I didn't notice the other rouge behind me until he was pulling me away.

"Madelyn!" I heard my mother call out through the mind link as I was dragged away from her.

**********

A shiver ran down my spine as I remember back to that day. The day I lost my family. My pack. Everything. I felt so weak and helpless and that was probably because I was at the time. The rogues that took me, along with other younger pack members, told all of us that everyone was killed and that we were lucky to even still be alive. The rogues said they choose to spare us instead of killing us and we never understood why.

I wished at times they would have just killed me. It would have ended the torture they put us through.

I shake my head to rid myself of the memories. I didn't like to think about them too much as they were painful to remember. I continued heading east hoping to find a place to stop and rest for the night since I have been running for 2 days straight now.

It was hard always having to keep moving around after I escaped. No pack takes in rogues because they believe that they are wild and crazy and decided to run away from their original pack. I was not like a typical rogue. I lost my pack. I did not run away.

I continued walking till the sun began to fall below the tree line. I quickened my pace to find a place to rest. I came across a fallen down tree that had fallen onto a boulder. There was more than enough room underneath it for me to lie down comfortably.

"I guess this will have to do for the night, huh Willow?" I called through the mind link I shared with her. Willow was the name of my wolf. I remember the awful day that I shifted for the first time like it was yesterday....

**********

I lay in my cell burning with a fever and sweat pouring off my body. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I began to feel sharp pains all over my body like my bones were being broken all at once. I tried to hide my screams that were begging to be let out. I eventually gave in a let out a loud piercing scream.

This caused the guards to come to my cell wondering what had caused me to scream out the way that I did.

"Keep quiet before we give you something to scream about," one of the guards called out, but I could barely hear him from the pressure that was building in my head. It was like my head was being split into two by an axe.

That is when the rogues realized I was shifting for the first time.

Someone else came into view as I lay there screaming on the floor in agony, "well look at this boys, the little one is finally shifting."

I started to panic because I didn't know what to do. I only ever heard about shifting from my brother. He promised he would be there for my first shift, but he wasn't there...

**********

Willow replied, pulling me from my running thoughts.

We could sense there would be rain before too long. The moisture was thick in the air and the smell of rain was near. I knew that it would be a cooler night than usual, so I pulled the thin blanket from my backpack to try and keep myself warm. I knew lighting a fire would be dangerous as it would attract unwanted attention. I wasn't sure what pack I was close to only that I was in neutral territory for now. I will have to do some exploring tomorrow to see who we are dealing with.

"," I replied to Willow while listening for anything in the distance.

"" Willow replied with excitement.

I just laughed and settled in for the night hoping to get some kind of sleep before the morning came. As I drifted to sleep, I could sense Willow getting ready to sleep as well. I closed my eyes with the thoughts of what tomorrow would bring.

**********

Thank you for choosing to read my book. This is the first one I have written and I hope to do something great. I am by no means anything close to a great writer, but I definitely wanted to give it a try. Don't forget to like, comment, and share!