This was an idea of mine that had been rolling around in my head for a couple years and I finally decided to pen it down (so to speak!). I decided to upload this pretty quickly after the Prologue merely to help the story along and to encourage people to read it haha. Hope you enjoy! Please review x

CHAPTER ONE

October 15 2005

I tapped the wheel as the lilting voice of the country singer filled the Jeep as I cruised down the motorway. It had been something that I had picked up when I had been driving through Texas; I was now on the outskirts of Idaho. I hadn't paid much attention to the music scene when it had taken over and now I was starting to regret it. Just add it to the pile of regrets I had, I thought. There were many now, which I had accumulated over the years; most of which I had missed due to my captivity. I frowned; I tended to not allow myself to think of those years, but for some reason recently I had allowed my mind to wander to the time I spent there. I determined it was because my birth year was coming up. I had no idea when exactly I had been born – seeing as how we didn't exactly have records in my village – but I knew the year, and 2006 was coming up in just a few months. I sighed; perhaps this was what everyone called a 'mid-life crisis'? If so, I think mine had been delayed by an age, and so was coming on full force. Yay.

I passed the border of Idaho and made my way into the state of Washington. I was not one to stay in a place too long, nor was one to make a plan of where to go. But something was drawing me to Washington. I had a vague feeling I knew what, but I pushed it to the back of my mind.

I had been through towns, past houses and buildings, for what felt like days; I couldn't remember when was the last time I had had a good night's sleep. Whilst I could last a few more days without sleep, I knew that today I couldn't do that; tomorrow was the full moon, and I would need all my strength for that. I needed to find a good spot to sleep, and then a good place to chain myself out of sight.

The clinking of the chains in the back of the Jeep caused me to shudder. How I hated this time every month. I guessed it was a similar feeling to other girls when they had their special time of the month – terrifying anticipation.

Spotting a motel on the side of the highway, I pulled away and into the parking. I stopped my Jeep and stretched back, picking up a small duffel bag that held the essentials I would need for one night; with it I stepped out and made my way to the office, hoping for a quiet respite.

A woman was sat behind the desk, painted like something out of a renaissance painting; heavy rouge and hair piled high on her head. She looked up from her nails as I walked in, her heart rate speeding up slightly at the site of a new customer. Walking towards her I was hit with the smell of cheap perfume, making me try very hard not to gag at its putrid smell.

"What can I do for you today?" she asked in a nasally voice.

"I'm looking for a one-bedroom room for one night" I replied. I noticed her eyes squint when she heard me speak, probably trying to pinpoint my accent. It would take a miracle for her to guess it.

"Sure. Follow me," she said, grabbing a set of keys to room 127.

The room was shabby, small; it lacked colour and life and it was just what I wanted. I thanked the woman and sat on the bed as she closed the door. Letting out a sigh, I dropped the bag on the floor and lay back, feeling my exhaustion wash over me. I would sleep now, and try to forget the pain that would soon be coming my way.

Sometime in the 1700s…

The cold air flew through my lungs as I ran down the grassy hillside, not looking back at the carnage I had just left at the prison. I never wanted to see that place again; it was not like I would ever purposefully come back there. I ran for what felt like hours through the woods, my speed and strength slowly coming back in waves. I knew that I would soon need to rest and feed, but for now I was content to stretch my legs and feel free.

I was free.

I woke up some hours later, lifting my head out of its sleepy daze. The sky was filled with a multitude of pinks and oranges; sunset. Grabbing my phone from the duffel bag I checked the time. It was 8:30 PM, October 16 2005.

Wait, it was October 16th? I had slept almost an entire day. Panic coursed through me as I thought of the little time I had to find a suitable spot to put myself away. I seized my bag and ran out of the room towards the office; finding it empty I left the keys and the cash and sprinted to my Jeep, throwing my bag and myself in.

It was almost ten when I finally found a suitable spot. It was a small town near Seattle, a cold and wet town filled with trees, the likes of which I had only seen in my village, from what I could remember of it. I parked on the edge of a hiking trail and scampered out of the Jeep, my arms clinking with the metal chains. I would need these tonight.

I walked for another hour, feeling a tingling sensation start at my feet. It was one hour till midnight, and my body was starting to prepare for the change. When I was deep into the woods, I selected a thick, sturdy oak tree with which to chain myself to. Winding the chains round the trunk, I stood with my back to the wood, and continued to wind the chains with me caught up in them. It was the only way everyone would be safe, I reasoned. I wasn't going to admit that the feeling of the chains around me gave me a disturbing comfort.

The tingling intensified as midnight rolled closer and closer. Looking up at the sky, I could tell the change would be upon me soon; the clouds were floating across the sky, parting like the red sea and allowing the woods to bask in the silver waves of the moon.

The white light creeped along the dark grass, illuminating the scenery around me; in any other situation I would have found it beautiful. But right now I found it terrifying. Even after all these years, the feeling of the moonlight on me as I experienced the change was still something that instilled fear in me.

The light continued until it got to my tree and I. I felt the tingling turn to burning as my body started to change in the light of the moon. My clothes soon filled up with dark brown fur, then they stretched and tore as my body morphed and grew. Buttons popped, threading broke, and cotton tore… then I felt the burning in my lungs as they struggled to expand against the chains. My human body was smaller and thinner than this one, so the breathing space between the chains and me decreased.

Lastly came the face. My hair shrunk out of sight, as my mouth and nose elongated. I felt the bone around my eyes expand and the colours around me changed hue as my eyes adjusted to the change. Then came the teeth. The canines tore at my bottom lip that was still changing. A whine escaped me as I felt the skin tear.

My adjusted eyes looked up, feeling the glare of the moon on my body; my monster of a body. My claws scratched at the chains and then all reason, thought and recognition left me, as I let out a piercing howl.

It was midnight on a full moon; I was a werewolf. And I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.

Sometime in the 1700s…

I stayed in those woods for three days, resting and feeding. The woods surrounding the Italian town of Volterra was a home for many small animals, birds, squirrels and rabbits, things I could easily hunt without drawing attention to myself. I had no idea then where I was or even when it was. The rags I had from the prison were torn and bloodied by the time a small group of travellers found me, which made them think I had been a slave to some high-up count. The fact that I knew nothing of the language they were speaking seemed to surprise them, but they managed to sign to me that they would give me food, clothes and shelter. I owed my life to these travellers.

It had been a month since they had found me. They made a sort of camp by a river, about five miles away from the direction of the prison. It was in the river that I saw myself for the first time since I was taken; long hair shrouded my face and shoulders, a gaunt pale face, chapped lips and bloodshot eyes. At first, I thought I was seeing my mother, that this river was a two-way mirror like some of the magic men in my village claimed to have; but upon seeing her reflect my exact movements, I deduced that it was not my mother, but me.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

The elder of the group, a kind elderly man, attempted to teach me Italian. He would point out to objects in the wood and pronounce them in his language. It took me a while but soon enough I was able to say one-worded answers or questions, very simple ones but substantial enough to lift my spirits. The old man would laugh every time I got excited at a correct word and pat me on my head, muttering something I couldn't understand.

He would be the first one I would kill that night as the change overtook me. I was so used to living in darkness that all the days had melded into one, so I had no idea that my change would occur once every month. I tore apart that group like they were pieces of bread, and woke up in a bloodied heap to carnage. I had killed a few guards whilst locked up, but this mess… I felt a tear slide down my cheek and a sob pummel through my chest as I took some food and some clothes and fled the scene.

I still have nightmares from seeing the disembodied head of the old man, his eyes filled with fear with the last thing he would ever see.