She didn't know where to go. She ran and ran until she almost collapsed and then she kept going. They were starting to surround her and she couldn't run for much longer. She had been running for days and for a while, she thought that she had lost the hunters in the woods a few miles back. Now she was just trying to find a place to hide, having given up on any hope she had of outrunning them. She stopped for a second to catch her breath, but that was a mistake because they were right behind her. She turned and started to run in the other direction but barely got a few steps before she collided with someone else. It was a boy. He was a few years older than she was with dark hair, golden-brown skin, and glowing eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong-"

"Shh," she said, putting a hand over his mouth before stopping and listening to make sure that the hunters hadn't heard.

"What's going on?" he whispered, pushing her hand aside. His brow was creased in confusion.

"We have to hide! They are going to catch us."

"Who's going to catch us?" he asked, grabbing her arm to keep her from running off.

"The hunters! They've been chasing me for days and now if we don't go we then they are going to catch us!" she said quietly but urgently.

"Come with me," the boy told her, grabbing her by the hand and taking off deeper into the woods. She had no idea where the boy was taking her, only that he was like her and that he was better than the hunters that wanted to kill her.

"Where are we going?" she yelled over the sound of them running through the forest.

"I know a place where we can hide, just follow me," the boy yelled back. She had to trust her instincts, after all they are what kept her alive all this time while she was on her own. They barely made it but just as the hunters were about to catch up to them he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a small cave-like space that was most likely a wolf den.

"Where-" She started to say when he held up his hand to cut her off. She listened for them and then she heard it. Footsteps passing right by them. They waited for what seemed like hours crammed together in the small space until they were sure that the hunters were gone. The boy crawled out first holding out a hand to her. When she hesitated he reassured her,

"they're gone, you can come out now." She took his hand finally crawling out of their cramped hiding space.

"How did you know where to hide?" the girl asked.

"I spend a lot of time in these woods, my house is near here," he told her.

"Why were those guys chasing you?"

"Not chasing, hunting."

"Okay," he said, "why were they hunting you?"

"Because they want to kill me," she told him. He looked at her for a moment as if he were trying to decide what to think of this girl who had clearly been alone for a long time and seemed to be different than anyone he had ever met.
"So, why did you trust me?" he asked. She didn't know what to say. How could she explain the way that her instincts told her to trust them and that even though she had been alone for so long, somehow, she knew that this boy couldn't be one of them.
"I trusted you because you are like me, you're a werewolf," she finally said. He looked at her for a moment trying to figure out if he could trust her.

"Come with me."

They walked for a few more miles until they got to a house that was hidden deep in the woods. It was a nice house but it looked like it had been there for a long time. They didn't even make it to the front door before a woman came up to them. She had dark hair that went just past her shoulders and dark eyes that seemed to see everything.

"Mom!" the boy called to her running up to hug her.

"Darling, what happened?" She asked her son pulling him towards her.

"Mom, there were hunters! Here in the woods, just a few miles from here," the boy told her, pointing in the direction they had come.

"Where are they?" she asked and it was clear she was concerned.

"I don't know," he said, "they disappeared."

"How did you get away?" the boy's mother asked him.

"We hid in the wolf den until they were gone," he told her. At that, the woman looked over at the girl holding her son's hand.

"Why don't you come inside."

The inside of the house was larger and cleaner than anywhere the girl had been in a while. The woman led her to a large room with a couch that was across from two armchairs. And gestured for her to sit.

"You can go now, Derek," she said, finally giving a name to the boy, "I want to talk to her alone." Derek nodded and started to leave but the girl wouldn't let go of his hand but just held on tighter.

Derek looked down at the younger girl and felt some kind of connection to the scared young girl.

"Mom," he said, "is it okay if I stay here?" The woman looked at her son then the young girl with kind eyes before responding,

"Of course." Then to the girl, she said,

"You're okay, you don't have to be afraid because you are safe now. Can you tell me your name?" The girl sat there without saying a word, unsure of what to do. Her instincts were telling her that she was safe here, with this boy-Derek-and his mother but she had learned that you can't always trust people. Derek squeezed her hand which she was still holding tightly.

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, we just want to help you."

"Kat," the girl whispered loud enough for only him to hear, "my name is Kat."

"Kat, will you let us help you?" He asked her. After a pause, she finally nodded.

"Kat," the woman said gently, "how did you end up here?"
"I ran," Kat said quietly, "I ran from the hunters."

"How did they find you?" The woman asked

"They didn't," Kat said, facing down at the floor, "I found them." The woman grew concerned.

"What do you mean you found them? How? Why?" Derek asked.

"Derek, don't overwhelm her," his mother warned him.

"I didn't know they were hunters," Kat said almost inaudibly, "not until they tried to poison me." Derek and his mother looked at each other and then down at the young girl in their house.

"Kat," Derek's mother said gently, "look at me." Kat sat there unmoving and continued to stare at the floor.

"Kat," Derek urged gently, squeezing her hand. Finally, Kat slowly looked up to face Derek's mother who sighed before saying,

"You can't see." Kat shook her head.

"Where are your parents?" Derek's mother asked, concerned about her, "and how did you find the hunters?"

"Mom," Derek said in warning, "maybe she should rest before we ask her any more questions." Kat was squeezing his hand tighter than ever now but she shook her head before saying,
"You guys should know what happened, just in case they come back." Derek's mother shook her head,

"They won't come back, not here. They shouldn't have even come this far into our territory but the fact that they did means that they must be really desperate to get to you." Kat nodded,

"They are."

"Kat?" Derek's mother said gently, "I need you to tell me everything. Start from the beginning."

I left home a few years ago when I was really young and I don't really remember my parents that much. Something happened, I remember there being lots of loud noises and even though I can't see I could tell that there were big flashes of light. It was unsafe for me there and I remember someone telling me that I needed to run. I don't know who or why but I ran. I ran for days surviving on my own by trusting my instincts. I found a place to hide and I stayed there for days and I almost starved. Then, I went back close to home to see if I could figure out what had happened but there was no one there so I grabbed a bag of stuff like clothes and food and I ran. I went into the woods and I spent almost a week trying to get as far away as possible in case the danger came back.

After being alone for a week I found a small cave that was empty and seemed to be abandoned by some animal and I stayed there for weeks, barely leaving. Then one day I heard something outside of the cave and it was much louder than the other animals that I heard every other day but there was nowhere for me to go. I was trapped so I just made myself as small as possible. Then the noise got louder, I could tell it was closer. I heard voices outside the cave. Three people walked past the cave and two of them-a boy and a girl- kept walking- but the other girl stopped and I think she looked right at me but then she moved on like I wasn't even there so I figured that she hadn't seen me. I didn't know I was wrong until one of them came back later. The boy, well he smelled older so more like a young man. He walked right up to me in my hiding spot. I immediately tried to run but he was ready and grabbed me before I could get far.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just like you," I was frozen.

"What's your name," it had been a long time since someone had asked me that.

"Kat."

"My name is Canaan, why don't you come with me back to my pack." I wasn't sure that I knew what he meant by the words but I could feel what he meant when he said pack and my instinct told me to trust him. We met up with one of the girls that I had sensed earlier on our way to wherever he was taking me. We got there quickly and the girl left us but he walked us right up to a woman. I could feel her power, she was in charge. Alpha, my wolf gave a name to the power I could feel from her.

I stayed with them for months and the Alpha taught me to control my abilities and how to protect myself. Then, one night, she told me I had to run. I didn't want to run any more but she said that there were people who wanted to hurt me and if they found me they would hurt her whole pack. So I ran.

I ran for days until I couldn't run anymore. Then someone found me. They said they wanted to help me but they didn't. They took me to a woman.

'So you are the little wolf that escaped from the Argents? My name is Arya and I think we can help each other.'

She gave me food and drink but it smelled wrong. When I drank it I lost control of my wolf. She told me that she was just testing me, that she wanted to see how strong I really was. I told her I didn't want to help her or for her to help me and she got angry. She had her men lock me in a room with no windows. I was there for a few weeks and every day she came to ask if I wanted to change my mind and help her, everyday I said no. I guess they got tired of asking because one day they came to kill me instead, but I heard them coming. They had guns but I was faster than them. As soon as they opened the door I ran. I ran for weeks only stopping to find food. I kept running until I ran right into Derek.