I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry.

Shit. I'm fucked now.

The ropes holding my arms above my head rubbed at the skin on my wrists. Blood trickled down my arms. I bit down on the gag in my mouth.

"Does it hurt? I know it does. What were you thinking? Did you honestly think that you could get away from me? Did you think that if you left me, you could go back to that group of wannabe superheroes? HA! Sorry to rain on your parade, but they don't want you anymore. They left you. But who was the one that found you and took you in like their own daughter? Me. So why the fuck would you think that you could leave? Are you that ungrateful? Well. Maybe after this, you'll think twice before you try to leave again. It hurts me to have to hurt you." Abraham shook his head making tsking sounds.

I knew he was lying. He had to be! They wouldn't leave me. They wouldn't.

Or…would they?

I didn't want to believe what he said. Alex, Annabelle, Gabriel, Maria, Isabelle. They wouldn't leave me. We were siblings. Maybe not by blood but we were still brother and sister. And Tyler. Tyler was the one who found all of us and made us feel wanted. Like we weren't freaks. Like we had a home. He wouldn't just leave me after he found me. Would he?

Abraham smirked, as if he knew what I was thinking."Did you think that Tyler really cared for you? He just wanted to use you. And then once he was done using you he threw you away, like an unwanted toy." Abraham brought his face closer to mine. He put his hand under my chin and forced me to look him in the eye. "But I promise. I won't do that to you. I will love you always. But if you try to leave me, you must face the consequences. There must be punishment." Abraham let go of my face and walked away.

Wait. Was he just going to leave me here like this? Make me hang here all night?

I started to struggle against my binds. If I could just get them just a little loser, then maybe… But before I could really do anything, I heard the door behind me open. I stopped moving. I tried to turn my head enough to see who had come in. And the sight horrified me.

"How ya been, sweet thing? Miss me?" Michael's voice raised goose bumps all over my body. I started to struggle against my bind even more. NO! If Michael was here then that meant they were going to let him do whatever he wanted. Michael was only a few years older than me, but he was the one that "took care" of people for Abraham. He wasn't born with a sympathy chip in him. Michael walked over to where I was hanging and put his hand on my chin. I yelled against my gag and tried to pull away. But Michael just pulled my face back towards his and smirked.

"Aw c'mon baby. You know you missed me. 'Cause I sure missed you." Michael's had traveled from my face down my neck and down to my chest. I froze. He better get his grubby hand off of me. Michael's eyes left mine and traveled down to wear his hand was. "Mmm. We're going to have some fun aren't we kitten?"

I acted before I thought. My leg shot out before Michael could react. I hit home and Michael went down holding his groin. I started struggling against my binds again. If I could just get my nail to the ropes, then maybe. But Michael did something I didn't anticipate.

He laughed.

He slowly stood up and smiled. It sent cold shivers down my spine. His face reminded me of a wolf. I yelled against my gag and tried to move away. He walked behind me and I heard some things being moved around. I couldn't tell what he was doing.

"Baby, we are gonna have some fun tonight!" His voice was cool and cut through me like a knife. It made me go cold all over. He walked back into my line of sight and what he had in his hand made me freeze. He saw my eyes on it and laughed again. "This? Don't worry. After a while you'll start to enjoy it. I sure will." His eyes glinted in the dark room. He reached into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out what looked like a pocket knife. He walked towards me. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. My body was cold. My legs were like cement blocks. But my mind was going 900 miles a minute.

I don't want to die! I can't die like this! I'm only 15!

Michael put the knife to my throat. He slowly brought the blade down, pressing it into my skin. The shirt that I was wearing slowly tore as the knife cut through it. I could feel a thin trail of blood rising. Soon, my shirt was nothing more than a scrap of cloth on the floor. I didn't think I could get much colder than I already was. But the cool night air cut into me like the blade had. I didn't have anything else but my shorts left. I could feel Michael's greedy eyes taking me in and it made me sick. I wanted to throw up.

Michael let out a low chuckle. He turned and walked behind me. What was he going to do now?

Then I remembered what he had been holding in his other hand. I knew what was coming next.

"Now, this is going to hurt at first. But after you kicked me, it's only fair right? After I feel you've learned your lesson, we will have…much more fun." Michael's hand was on my shoulder. I tried to jerk away. But I couldn't move. I was frozen in place by fear. His hand slid down my back to where my shorts were. He grabbed hold of them and pulled them down. I screamed. But no one was going to come. No one was going to help me. I was alone. And nothing was going to change that.

I was completely exposed now. I could hear Michael chuckling behind me.

"Here we go sweet cheeks."

I closed my eyes. I refused to let him see my tears. No one would ever see my tears again. I was alone. I couldn't count on anyone else to save me. No one.

I thought the first time was going to be the worst. But the second time was as bad as the first. Unshed tears stung in my eyes. I let out a hiss as the whip sliced across the skin on my back. I bit harder into the gag that was in my mouth.

Don't cry! Think of something else! Anything else!

Isabelle.

Maria.

Tyler.

Gabe.

Alex.

Alex.

Alex!

I pictured his face in my mind. His smile. His laugh. As long as I thought of him, it wasn't as bad.

I could feel the whip cutting into my back. It was so incredibly painful. Nothing can describe it. My back was on fire. But he just kept pulling back and snapping the whip against my skin. Again and again.

I was numb. I couldn't move. My eyes stared blankly into the dark. Then Michael was in front of me. He was smiling.

"You didn't scream that entire time. We can't have any of that can we?" He reached up and ripped the gag from my mouth. He then grabbed the back of my head and forced his mouth on mine. He forced his tongue into my mouth and explored it. I wanted to bite his tongue off. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to rip him apart. But I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything but watch like a passenger in my own body. His hands explored my body. It made me sick. His mouth left mine and traveled down to my neck and down, down, down.

Alex.

Alex!

Save me.

Please!

Someone.

Anyone.

Chapter one

Chicago?

Four years later

I woke up sweating. I looked around my room. My nails were digging into my bed. I retracted them and took a deep breath to try and calm myself down and slow my breathing. Same stupid dream again.

Well, memory.

My skin still crawled with disgust every time I saw Michael with Abraham. But I couldn't say anything. Just smile and act like a good little daughter.

I put my head in my heads and sighed. Why couldn't I just forget about Alex? Or all of them for that matter? They were the ones that left me. I shouldn't miss them. I don't miss them.

I disentangled my legs from the blankets and rolled off my bed. I opened my curtains and stretched as sunlight poured into my room. I walked over to my bathroom and turned on the faucet. I threw some cold water on my face and threw up my hair. I needed to go for a run. Running always helped clear my mind after that dream.

I shed my clothes and took a deep breath. I felt the joy coming. My muscles rippled and stretched. My bones cracked and moved. I fell to all fours and continued my change. My nose became a snout. My teeth grew in my mouth. My nails grew out. Shaggy black fur grew everywhere.

Then it was done. Everything took less than 30 seconds. I was getting faster. It used to take me close to an hour to change fully like this. But with Abe sending me on so many jobs, I've had more chances to work on changing.

I shook out my fur and sat down. I looked at myself in the floor to ceiling mirror. My blue eyes stood out from my midnight black fur. I moved my ears and watched as they twitched in the mirror. I stood up on all fours and walked out of my bathroom. I took my dog door- wolf door? - and walked down the empty hall way. No one was up this early. Or if they were they wouldn't be in this part of Abe's house. This was my wing. Abe didn't let anyone down here unless it was important. I guess he was still worried I would try to escape and go back to them. I slowed. My mind flashed with memories. Memories of Tyler bringing us toys. Memories of Maria, Annabelle, Isabelle and I staying up late to talk about boys and clothes. Memories of Alex and I. Kisses and hugs. Secret messages telling each other how much we loved each other. Memories of fun times.

I shook my head and sped up to a trot.

They were the ones that left me. I can't think of them.

I reached the doors that led outside and pushed them open with my snout.

They aren't here. I'm alone and I always will be.

I took off into the trees.

It was a few hours before I got back. The sun was high in the sky and I was hot. I trotted into the house and towards my room for a shower. About half way there, Luke was waiting against a wall.

"Hey there, Beth. Abe was looking for you. I told him you probably went for a run but you know him," Luke rolled his eyes. "Always freaking out that you're going to leave. But you better get down there before he starts sending out groups to look for you." This time it was me who rolled their eyes. Luke laughed and walked back down the hall the way I had come. I always felt a little bad for Luke. His father had owed Abe a bunch of money, but because he couldn't pay it off, he sold his own son to him to try to pay it off. Luke didn't have the personality to work under someone like Abe. He was too nice, too gentle. I'd already had to cover for him on jobs where he couldn't collect. I won't kill anyone, but they don't have to know that. You get rough enough with a person, they will eventually come through.

I turned and walked after Luke. Hopefully Michael wouldn't be there. That way, when I change part way, I won't have to feel his greedy eyes all over my body. We walked through the winding halls of Abe's mansion. When we came to Abe's office, Luke nodded to the guards posted at the doors. They sent me weary glance. I snarled at each of them and watched as they took as step back. I laughed, which was more of a coughing sound when I was in wolf form. Luke shook his head and smiled down at me.

"You really shouldn't do that to people. It makes them think that you're not a nice person. When, in fact, you are like a giant teddy bear."

I snapped my teeth at Luke but he jumped out of the way before I could bite his leg. He laughed and waved as he turned and left. I kept walking towards Abe's desk. His chair was facing the other way, towards his computer. I heard him typing away at something. It was time to be serious now. I changed part way, leaving my chest and lower area covered in black fur. I stood in front of Abe's desk with my arms crossed.

"You were looking for me?" I ask in a cool voice.

Abe's hand paused over the keyboard. He turned his chair around and his scarred face was smiling at me. But this was a sinister smile. Abe knew I hated him. He knew I wanted to kill him. But he acted like he didn't and always pretended I was his daughter. But he used me to do his dirty work and do jobs that no one else could do.

"Ah! My lovely daughter. How are you Bethany? Did you sleep well? I hope so." His grey eyes watched every move I made. They were cold as ice.

"Cut the crap Abe. What do you want?" I wasn't in the mood to listen to him pretend to be my father.

Abe's smile disappeared. He picked up a file from his cluttered desk and handed it to me. I reached out and took it. I opened it and scanned over the job. Abe stood up from his chair and walked over to the window.

"There's a special job I have for you. This will be a difficult job for you. But there has been some stuff stolen from one of my warehouses. I need the stuff that was taken but without making a big deal of it. The cops are always trying to find something to connect me to the crimes I run. So keep a low profile, okay? I know how hard that is for you." Abe gave me a look.

He continued. His eyes watched me closely. "I want you to find the stuff that was stolen without getting the attention of the cops. And if you have any problems… I want you to handle them silently. Don't leave anything that could point to you. Got it? Luke will give you more of a rundown later. I want you gone tonight."

"Wait." I spoke before I could stop myself. I'm not sure I'm ready to do something like this or at least not alone. But Abe's eye's challenged me. I knew that if I turned this job down I would have to pay. And I wasn't going to ever let Michael near me again.

"Yes? You have something you want to say?"

"Umm, yeah. Where am I going?"

Abe smiled his sinister smile. "Chicago."

Wait. Rewind.

"W-what?" He must be joking.

Abe's smile disappeared and his eye's iced over. A shiver went down my spine. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah! You're sending me back to that-that…that traitor infested city?"

"Yes. So unless you're going to turn down the job, leave me." Abe turned his back to me.

I stood there, frozen. What was I going to do? What if I ran into them? I can't do it. I can't face them again. I felt a tug on my right arm and turned to see Luke standing next to me. His face was one of sympathy. He shook his head and pulled me towards the door. My feet started to move without my command. I backed away from Abe's desk. Luke pulled me through the doors and back into the hallway. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of my room.

"I..can't." The words were a whisper on my tongue. The world started to spin. Suddenly I was kneeling on the floor. I grabbed my head, trying to make the world stop. Luke put his hand on my shoulder and kneeled down next to me.

"Beth? What's wrong? What can't you do?" His voice was a roar in my ear.

My claws were extending then retracting over and over again. My body was shaking. Luke grabbed my other shoulder and started to shake me.

"Beth! Can you hear me? I'll be back! I'm going to go get some help." Luke stood to leave. Before I could stop myself, my hand flew out and grabbed his pant leg. I was panting. Luke was nothing more than a blur now. Before the darkness swallowed me, I choked out a few words.

"Don't-leave-me…please."

Then I was falling through the darkness.