A/N hey all, this is my first Woman of the Otherworld fanfic so please; any criticism and suggestions are welcome! Also, this takes place before the birth of Clay and Elena's children, for the simple reason I haven't read that far yet. In this tale Jeremy is still around forty, since he is the reason I'm writing this. I apologize for any mistakes. Please R & R & of course, enjoy

My name is Clair. I am thirty years old and I am a werewolf. Why is this relevant? Because I am only the second female werewolf in the world. Also, I am a killer…

My lungs were ablaze and my feet stung as I vaulted over another fence and pushed myself faster. I could hear the panting behind me as though my pursuers weren't half a mile away. But then – they could hear me as well.

I really should explain: about two years ago I had been bitten by a stray werewolf. Except he wasn't a stray. Unbeknownst by the ruling pack a couple of mutts had come together in their own makeshift pack. They sought what all retarded men sought – dominance. The mutts fail to get along, though, and the Alpha is often challenged for power. In order to appease his warriors and to begin a race of the ultimate werewolves he had begun biting women.

He had bitten hundreds over the years, but only one was unfortunate enough to survive: me. After two years of damnable fighting, harsh punishments and escaping rape, I had finally managed to escape. But Alpha was far from pleased…

"What?" I shouted into the ringing phone. There was a brief moment of silence before Alpha's icy voice drawled into my ears.

"Clair, get home immediately," he commanded in a throaty growl. I shook my head, noticed the futility of the gesture, and then replied.

"No, I won't have any more to do with your mongrel pack!" my voice was rather shaky, but I was proud of myself for standing up to Alpha nonetheless. I crushed the phone before Alpha could say anything more. My heart was racing noisily in my chest. I knew that I'd experience the full effects of hell's wrath if he were ever to catch up to me.

The though made me shoot off even faster. The icy rain was as much of a blessing as it was a curse. After all, it'd be impossible to track me down once my scent has washed away. The blood would wash away so i would leave no traces other than the broken phone, which was already extremely far behind me.

I ran through the desolate streets of whatever town I had escaped into. The panic was driving me further and further to the outskirts of the town, yet I allowed the fear to keep driving me as far as possible. Even if I wasn't moving in a blind panic I would have nowhere to go. I had been an orphan even before the mongrel pack had picked me up. I probably wouldn't survive for very long on my own, but I could die happy knowing I had the freedom so desperately craved.

I finally collapsed in an old condemned building very close to the forest. I could barely drag myself out of the rain, but I needed to get inside. Falling ill now would be the death of a half-starved werewolf like me…

Scents of dust and rats hung faintly in the air and I huffed in disdain. I sometimes hated the lows Alpha was capable of driving me to. But mostly I hated Alpha. I had hated him since the day he'd sunk his dirty fangs into my wrist. Even before he'd tried to force me into mating with mutts. Even before I'd understood my own fatal nature.

The sweet scent of rain helped relax my burning throat. I lay breathlessly, trying to regain some measure of composure. My stomach joined the sound of thunder above me and I sighed. As a werewolf I needed to eat about thrice as much as the average human – sometimes even more. Alpha had forbidden me to eat after my recent streak of rebellious actions and three days without food were getting to be a little much.

"Well, well, it's rare to catch Alpha's favourite off guard!" a voice hissed menacingly into my ear as its owner barrelled into my side. I yelped and struggled to throw my attacker off, but he had a good 100 pounds over me. In the clatter of thunder and rain I had failed to notice his approach.

Damn.

"Get off!" I barked as I heaved roughly upward. The grip on my wrists loosened only slightly, but I was unable to pull away. Of course, for Rott to budge I'd have to be a nuclear bomb.

"I don't think I will, love," he growled sweetly, flicking a huge fist casually into my ribs. I gasped when I heard them crack. I arched my back – our awkward position allowed me to catch Rott squarely in the nose. I yanked away fiercely when he growled and let my wrists go.

"Bitch!" he shouted, trying to stop the bleeding. I hoped that I'd broken his nose; it would serve him right.

Before I could take off again, though, the brute grasped my long hair and yanked me back to him. I lost my balance when his fist connected with my cheek.

I was definitely coughing up blood now.

"Let's have some fun, love," he grinned at me. He licked his puffy lips and pulled me up against him, ignoring my now weak struggles. I could have handled Rott if I weren't so weak… he was a brute, but he was slow. And not only mentally.

"Go f#ck yourself," I shot back equally sweetly. When his giant fists began pummelling me it was all I could do not to scream.

"Am I dead?" I whimpered. I could tell that I was on my side, and that my body was bruised and battered, but I was unable to move. The pain was too much. Where was it all coming from?

"You very nearly were," I tried not to swallow my tongue when I got an answer. I had not expected to have company, but now that I could focus a bit the musky, fresh scent came from somewhere in front of me. There was something off about the smell…

"Are you a guardian angel?" I grinned for a moment, but the euphoria from the drugs in my system began to wear away. When my mind cleared I realized that his scent was unmistakably werewolf.

"Not exactly…" the sound of a soft smile in his voice did nothing to dissipate the fear slowly pooling into my stomach.

My breath came in quick gasps. I tried in vain not to tremble – Alpha's thugs must have tracked me down, after all. I was doomed.

It was only when a hesitant voice asked me whether I was all right that I realized I'd curled into a little, hyperventilating ball.

"Where's Alpha?" I growled, refusing to show weakness. I drew myself up painfully and glared in the direction of his face. Maybe his thugs didn't know yet…

"I guess I'm the alpha," he muttered in apparent confusion. I frowned in order not to be distracted by my jumbled thoughts.

"No you're not. Alpha's voice is different," I growled uncertainly. Somehow the air seemed to hum with tension and confusion. Was this some kind of trap?

"I sound different? We've never met… don't you know what I look like?" I wondered at his words for a moment. I knew Alpha very well – this guy was an oddball.

"You're Alpha?" I asked.

"I am the alpha, yes," he replied. His words took a couple of moments to register. To register the single word that made me plunge headlong into a pool of fear and anxiety.

"THE alpha?" I whispered, trying to push back an annoyingly persistent wave of nausea. I had somehow ended up with none other than the ruling pack.

"Can you… see?" he puzzled. I considered – very briefly – lying, but as a captive I figured my deceit would be discovered sooner or later.

"No, but my other senses are just fine," I growled, pushing as much authority into my voice as was possible. There was silence before his unruffled voice drifted through the air.

"I am Jeremy, the pack's alpha. We found you in a building on my estate… I have dressed your wounds."

Great. Not only was I a captive of the alpha, but there were others and I was stuck in their den. My day just couldn't get any better.

"Was i… alone?" I hesitated... if they'd found me alone, this was most definitely one of Alpha's traps.

Once again I waited through agonizing silence before he finally decided to answer.

"No, you were unconscious with another mutt attacking you."

I nodded slowly. Rott probably would've killed me if they hadn't stopped him. The bastard had no restraint even under orders.

"Where's Rott?" I murmured anxiously. Had they taken him captive as well? Had he escaped?

"We dealt with him," although there was uncertainty in the voice, I could discern no regret from his words. Was he worried about my reaction? I'd hear the ruling pack's alpha was yellow-bellied, but this exceeded even my expectations. If I played my cards right I could escape…

"I see… thank you," I mustered up what I hoped to be a charming smile.

"You weren't a friend of his, then?" Relief. Relief and a quiet chuckle that vibrated through the air between us. Inclining my head to the comforting sound of his voice was utterly involuntary. It was rare for me to be treated this gently.

"No, I wasn't," I muttered in reply, hoping to hear that silent chuckle again. I was mortified when my stomach growled at me instead.

"You're hungry," it wasn't a question, nor did I answer. I bit my lip and tried to seem nonchalant. I knew that my cheeks were on fire. I knew that he wasn't fooled. The sound of the door opening and the warm scent of a full plate of food reached me swiftly. The smell was like lightning against my dying tummy.

If the pack wanted to interrogate me, this would be the way to do it. Putting a warm plate of food just out my reach would be enough to make me crack. And apparently I wasn't the only one who had thought of this.

"Let's just get some answers. She'll tell the truth in order to eat," the voice came from another male werewolf. He had an identifiable southern accent that fit strongly with his deep growl. I felt the dread engulf me when I realized what he had said.

How did I always manage to end up in these situations?

"Or you could feed me and trust what I say…" I suggested half-heartedly. I waited for laughter, a sarcastic comment, anything… I was surprised when there was no reaction of this sort.

I shot their voices a haughty smile, but my words were clearly desperate even to my own ears.

"Clayton," Jeremy said in a warning voice. I started when the smell of steak and baked potatoes was suddenly right there beneath my nose. Another door near me screeched open, once again kind of freaking me out. The undiscovered surroundings were bothering me. I could feel worry and protectiveness wafting off the wolf called Clayton.

"Alpha's pet," I cooed tauntingly. There was a growl, but I felt none of the pain I was expecting. Hmm, the alpha must have quite a tight leash on his puppies.

"Eat," the one word order was as unexpected as the sudden breath on my face. When had Jeremy drawn so close?

I reached out tentatively, surprised when his light touch guided my wrist to a plate of food by my feet. I picked it up but ignored the pain in my stomach when I didn't immediately scarf the food down.

"What's the catch?" I asked, allowing my suspicion to spill into my voice. They were the enemy, after all, and it made no sense for them to feed me.

"There is no catch," Jeremy murmured, still very close to me. I shot him an i-don't-think-so glare, but I had to relent after a few moments of silence. The smell was just too yummy to ignore.

I consumed the entire plate of food in a matter of seconds. Clayton had gotten bored and wondered off, but returned and plopped down somewhere to my right when I had finished. I took the glass Jeremy handed me wordlessly and downed its contents. The rich taste of milk surprised me, but I didn't bother to comment.

"How hungry were you?" Clayton muttered disgustedly. Though his voice should've barely been audible to human ears, both Jeremy and I picked it up.

Even so, I did not deign to reply. Hunger was a weakness for a wolf, and there was no doubt that Clayton was scanning for weaknesses.

"Have you had enough?" Jeremy questioned in his quiet way. Once again my suspicions arose. Why did he sound so concerned?

"Yes," I hesitated. "Thank you."

"A werewolf needs to eat a lot," he replied simply. His reply was as puzzling to me as everything else.

"You'd have had a better chance interrogating me if you'd followed his methods," I bit my lip before I blurted anything else that was potentially life threatening to me. I wanted to know Jeremy's reason for showing me kindness, but Clayton was still there. I knew he could make quick work of getting answers with Jeremy's permission. He resembled Alpha in a way.

"Why would I interrogate you?" Jeremy asked softly. Well, I was stumped.

"Uh…" I answered intelligently.

The sound of a slamming door came from somewhere above us. Clayton had darted from the room in the time it took me to register the sound of the door. I nearly called irritably after him to apologize for having bored him with my cooperation, but I wasn't too keen on having him back in the room. Clayton was kind of intimidating.

"Were we boring him?" I couldn't resist throwing the comment Jeremy's way. His nearly inaudible chuckle mystified me, but I shot him a confused smile nonetheless.

A few quick calculations explained why I was so hungry. My stomach decided to keep complaining after all, which was more than a little embarrassing.

"Still hungry?"

"No," I replied stubbornly, glaring blindly at the floor.

"You really shouldn't lie. When was the last time you ate?"

I shot his general direction a glare, then shrugged.

"Few days… not the first time," I mumbled nonchalantly.

"I'll bring you something later," he promised with apparent concern in his voice. The sound made me tilt my head curiously.

"Thanks," I muttered. I wasn't turning down another snack to save my life.

"Get some sleep… we'll talk more later," Jeremy ruffled my hair, his touch sending shock through my entire body. He was so casual… I nodded shyly, listening closely when a door screeched close again. Was I in a cage?

"By the way, I do not know your name," Jeremy murmured, pausing where I assumed the door was.

"Clair. I am Clair," I answered.

"Clair… it's a pleasure to meet you," he mused briefly over my name, before disappearing and leaving me in an empty, quiet room. His scent comforted me when my body began to hurt again…

A/N well there you are! Please, any reviews are welcome. This is just an idea that I wanted on paper, but I won't continue if it's not worth reading. Thanks all!