WOOO! Same day chapter update! Of course I have a few chapters already done, I'm just going through them and editing. Well, this is chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Cornered

Confusion crossed the werewolf's features as he looked down at me. He had very sharp, strong features, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and short brown hair. I also couldn't help but realize this guy was buff. No, beyond buff. He was ripped.

Then a shout of anger distracted me before I could process the werewolf's reaction and I looked to my left to see the mutts closer than ever before. I felt my wolf shove me over and force my body to push away from the latest werewolf's grip and take off down the street. I heard someone shouting for me to wait and then the name "Jeremy" being yelled. My wolf carried us around the corner and into less populated areas before she relented enough to consult me on where to go. It's hard to explain since she doesn't use words but I just get the notion of what she wants, needs, or feels.

Slowly the sounds of the city faded and so did my pursuers. We ran for hours, zigzagging around corners, sprinting through alleys, vaulting over fences before my wolf even considered looking back, let alone slowing down. Finally, when it had been raining for quite some time and didn't show any sign of letting up, my wolf slowed to a stop in an abandoned warehouse district. It was only because she knew the rain would wash away my scent that she let me back into control again.

I didn't normally fight when my wolf when she takes control, and I didn't this time, but I let her know I was pissed when I felt how exhausted and sore my body was. She didn't feel remorseful at all. I forced myself to snap the lock on a nearby door and stumble into the dirty, empty space.

I couldn't remember finding a corner and sinking to the floor. "Jesus," I sighed. "I don't think I'm even in New York State anymore." My quiet voice was unnaturally loud in the silence and to my heightened hearing so I didn't say anything more. I glanced down at the sorry state my shoes were in, torn, wet, and falling apart. Jeez, we have run far. At least there's no chance they'll find me now.

I tried to wet my lips, but my mouth was so dry and I was so cold. And the fact that I hadn't eaten in the last few days made me extremely weak. I shouldn't have been able to run that much or fast. My dry eyes were just closing when I heard the door to my warehouse slam open and a voice that sent chills down my spine call out, "Oh, Artemis!" He called as you would a child playing around. "Come out, come out where ever you are!"

I gritted my teeth at the sound of Bud's voice calling my name and, for a second, I felt panic squeeze my heart before I pushed my emotions behind the ice wall I'd built over the years. Watching from my dark corner, I took in Bud's soaking wet form that only made him look even more deranged and crazy. Not that he needed help in that department with his bald head, thick neck, bulging muscles, and the always present sneer and insane gleaming eyes. At least he's not ripped like the werewolf I ran into, I thought to myself, looking for a brighter point in this situation out of habit. I wondered briefly if all werewolves were buff as a rule as Brick and Schwarzenegger, Bud's companions, stepped into the door way behind him. Well, male werewolves, because I wasn't buff by a long shot.

Bud's eyes fell on me in my corner and he grinned. "There you are!" he exclaimed, still keeping up the adult-to-playful-child voice. He then tsked me, wagging his finger in a "no no" way as he stalked towards me. "I think you've carried on this game long enough. Think of all the trouble we went through to find you. Little Artemis should have never left her family's sights." I was using the wall to slide up since my muscles didn't seem to want to cooperate when Bud grabbed the front of my jacket, lifted me off my feet, and slammed me into the thin metal wall hard enough for the huge space to reverberate with a loud thunder-like BOOM. I refused to cry out even though my head struck the wall just as hard. Bud's voice was suddenly savage as he brought his nose to mine and snarled, "No. She shouldn't have."

I snarled back at him and head butted him as hard as I could in the space available, but he saw it coming and moved his head in time to avoid it. I got a blow to my diaphragm for my trouble as he effortlessly held me a loft with his werewolf strength. Struggling to remember how to breathe, I glared up at Bud's way too happy face. He looked me up and down with a leer that sent goose bumps all over my body. "Looks like you need to be trained again. You've been slacking off in your time away from the Family. Not that it's any skin off my back to bring you to heel again." He said this last part as he ground his pelvis against mine.

For a moment, my old fear surfaced again, the memories of pain, terror, and the rage that I would someday give back as good as I got. I shoved the memories and emotions behind the ice wall and put up my wall to ignore my body's exhaustion and imminent pain. Then I reached up and grabbed the wrist holding me up with both of mine and twisted until I heard two satisfying cracks. I watched Bud's eyes widen in pain as his hand gave out, unable to hold my weight. I then brought my leg up with all of my werewolf strength and made full contact on his manhood. He grunted, bending over, clutching himself, and I boxed his ears hard enough to make him cry out as his sensitive ears were assaulted. I grabbed his head with both my hands and crashed his face into my knee. My wolf purred in pleasure at the bloody crunching sound of his nose breaking. While he was still stunned from my rapid attacks, I spun around in a practiced round-house kick and nailed him savagely in his temple. He crashed into the metal mall, giving off another BOOM that was followed by real thunder and lightning, causing everything to blaze in sharp relief for a moment.

"Never again," I whispered down at Bud's dazed form. "I will never go back to that awful place you call a "Family". Never again will I ever let you touch me." Even I could hear the torment and rage in my voice. Bud blink blearily up at me and I saw as he came back to his senses. And then he smirked.

My ice wall cracked as rage consumed me. I tensed to attack him when hands grabbed me from behind and hauled me away. I instantly realized my mistake. I forgot about the other two. Shit.

I twisted and bucked and did every maneuver I knew to try and get free, and I would've if it had only been one werewolf holding me, but since there were two my efforts got me no where except in pain as they kick my thighs hard enough to force me to my knees. I yelled, losing my temper, and called all three of them, and werewolves in general, the ugliest, foulest names in new in all my fifteen languages. I only stopped after a few bloody slaps and a rib-cracking kick, which left me gasping for air and wincing at the pain from my chest that restricted my breaths.

"Finally!" Bud hissed, and I heard the quiet chuckles of the two holding me. Bud looked very put out and blew out a sigh. "You and that mouth," he murmured, exasperated. "It gets you and us in more trouble than we need." He gripped my jaw in a tight enough grip to leave bruises to show up later and forced my mouth shut. "If you remember as far back as that puny brain you have allows," he said in that sweet voice again, "You'll remember I usually let something like this go unpunished." His voice hardened right as I expected it to. "But you already caused enough trouble by attracting the attention of the Pack tonight. Ran right into them, you stupid bitch. And they held us up almost long enough to make us lose you, but they aren't that good. And, frankly, I'm out of patience." Bud looked thoughtful for a moment. A very dangerous sign. "Maybe I'll break your jaw. Randall said to bring you back, but he doesn't care if you were in good condition or not. I mean, you're a werewolf. You'll heal. Randall won't mind as long as you aren't permanently damaged. In fact, it almost sounded as if he wanted you hurt. And, as his faithful second and childhood friend, how could I disappoint him?"

I bared my teeth at him as his grip tightened on my jaw. The pressure was getting to the point where he was about to break my jaw when the door to the warehouse slammed open again and Bud, Brick, and Schwarzenegger all whipped around to see who it was. The hold on my jaw thankfully disappeared and I gave a small sigh of relief. I wouldn't have had to worry about eating if I didn't have the ability to eat.

Bud snarled and Tweedledee and Tweedledum both growled. A cool masculine voice softly called, "You are trespassing on Pack territory. I hope you have a very good reason for doing so." I shivered at the voice. It practically radiated authority and power, but in a subtle way. With my back to the door I wasn't able to see the owner of the voice and I honestly couldn't imagine what he looked like.

Bud bared his teeth in a very wolfish threat, "We're simply collecting what is ours. No need for the almighty Pack to get involved." I winced at the snide disrespectful voice he used and growled when he grabbed a fistful of my tightly bound hair and shook my head roughly.

I heard a few growls, but they didn't sound like they came from the speaker. I waited for the original man to speak again and to my surprise he still sounded cool. "I maybe misreading this situation, but it would appear as if the girl doesn't want to go with you. Let her go." I knew the new players in this situation were werewolves and the fact that this guy didn't sound angry at all was a testament to his control over his wolf. And the last three words the man spoke were an order spoken with a heavy authority that expected to be followed.

To my utter surprise, I felt Brick and Schwarzenegger loosen their grip slightly, not enough to be noticeable by sight but enough that I could feel a bit more room. I don't think the two idiots even realized what they did and I gave no hint that I did.

There was a pause where Bud snarled in defiance and no one moved. "Last chance," the calm werewolf murmured. Another pause where no one moved. A sigh. "As you wish. As Alpha of the Pack I'm giving out a death warrant effective immediately of you three until you hand over the girl." Three predatory snarls rang through the air and I heard three footsteps running at us.

I twisted myself out of all three of their grips in one move and tackled Bud.

Bud snarled and grabbed my shoulders as we hit the ground. He tried using his superior weight and strength to flip our position, but I drove my knee up at his crotch again, so he was forced to awkwardly hold my knee in place with his thighs instead of focusing on flipping us and I used that advantage to spit into his eyes. As expected, he blanched and froze. I held his head in my hands and banged it against the concrete floor.

Bud's eyes flashed in anger and then I was on my back with him straddling my hips. Before I could blink Bud's fist crashed into my cheek. I had to give Bud credit: he could move when he was in a rage.

I growled and lifted my legs up until they were flat against his back and I had my heels locked around his neck. I flexed and forced him down with my legs and his head hit the floor again. In the time he took to get to come to his senses I rolled backwards to my feet and into a crouch before he tackled me.

I shouted as he trapped my arms to my sides and held me in a bear hug, only this wasn't friendly at all. He squeezed harder and harder until I had no breath left and I could hear new cracks forming in m ribs. I wheezed, trying to blink away the black spots swirling in front of my eyes. Then I fell back on my last trick and focused on Bud's arms.

I felt the heavy weight in my mind and shoved Bud's arms away from my body with only my mind. My tormentor grunted in surprise as his arms suddenly left my body to make it look like he was pinned to a cross. I stood tall and met his eyes with mine before kicking out and catching him right in the gut. Even without the use of my telekinetic powers he flew a good ten feet before skidding across the ground. He sat up and glared at me before looking behind me.

I turned and followed his gaze. Brick and Schwarzenegger were unconscious on the ground, a little worse for wear, with four werewolves standing relatively uninjured over them as they stared at Bud, waiting with their wolves in their eyes.

Bud grimaced and I heard him mutter, "Well I'm not stupid." Then, he was up and dashing for a window.

For once, my wolf and I were in sync as we dashed after him. We felt a grim satisfaction as he looked back and saw us coming and fear flashed for a moment as he realized that I would intercept him. He turned and raised his fist as if to punch us, when his leg whipped out with his incredibly fast speed and kicked me right in the sternum. My breath left in a loud half whoosh half cough. Before we could recover he grabbed our right arm, casually snapped it I less than a blink, and threw me at the closest wall.

I hit it and landed in an ungraceful heap as the sound of shattering glass reached my ears. Looking up, I saw that Bud had indeed gotten away. "Damn it!" I growled as I got to my feet and took a step towards the window, having every intention of tracking down Bud and finally having my revenge now that I knew I could do it.

But I only got one step before the wall I had put up to ignore my body suddenly crumbled. The exhaustion, the cold, and the pain suddenly hit me in a huge insurmountable wave I had no hope of keeping my head above. "Shit," I breathed as my knees gave out. Black clouded my vision and suddenly my body felt insanely heavily.

The last thing I remember before the black dragged me under its comforting blanket was strong arms catching me and lowering me gently to the cold concrete.