Jenny

Prologue

Jenny was tired. She was slowing down no matter how hard she tried not to, her paws just wouldn't carry her much further. The adrenaline was gone and all that was left was the pain of a gash in her leg, the fear in her heart, and the pure exhaustion taking over her body. She slowed down to a walk. She had to keep moving, no matter what. How long had she been running anyway?

Jenny's thoughts were hazy. She remembered the pain that started right after lunch. It was horrible. John had locked her in the basement, per usual. He didn't even check on her when she began to scream. Jenny could still hear the sounds of bones snapping and breaking, a sound she knew all too well. Then, in the fuzziness of it all, she remembered seeing a black mist start to surround her and the memory goes blank.

She became aware that not only was she running, but that she was also a wolf a couple miles ago. The shock had faded when one thing became very clear: Jenny had no idea if John was still alive and whether or not she was finally free. She had to run as far away as she could and pray that she could get somewhere safe. But where was safe? What was safe? Jenny hadn't seen the outside world in so long.

After a while, it was beginning to get dark and Jenny knew she had to find somewhere to rest. If she was going to get anywhere, she had to lay down, even if only for a moment. Anxiety rolled through her again when she thought of how vulnerable she would be sleeping. Images of waking up to John running his fingers up her night dress ran through her head. The first night he did that taught her one thing: she's never safe. Not even in the sweetest of dreams she has.

Jenny finally stumbled upon a bed of what looked like moss. It was tucked between a fallen log and a tree. She would, for the most part, be hidden from people who were just passing bay. Well, who would be out here except for John who is searching to kill her? Maybe he wouldn't come after her now that she was a wolf. Maybe there is a small sane peace of him that said "let me not run after the girl who just turned into a wolf?"

The ground wasn't too hard, especially because the moss added a little extra comfort. Jenny tried to take inventory of her injuries. Earlier in her run she had tripped and fallen over something sharp. A deep gash ran up her front leg and had miraculously stopped bleeding. With all the dirt that was on her, she knew that infection would become an issue. But that was a worry for tomorrow. She could hopefully find a stream and rinse off and that would just have to do until she found help. Jenny laid her head down and quickly fell asleep.

A stick snapping is what woke her up. Jenny shot up and instantly fell back to the ground. Pain rolled through her body. She frantically looked around for the source of the noise. It was still dark out and completely silent. It was as if the forest waited in anticipation, when a man stepped out from the shadows of a tree. Jenny could see better in the dark than she had before, but she still couldn't see perfectly. A growl ripped from her throat and thundered into the air around her. The man flipped on a lantern, which illuminated the tiny clearing they were in.

Jenny could finally see the man. He was older, with graying hair and a wrinkled skin. The man had a square face and wore a simple outfit of grey sweat pants, white shirt, and a blue robe. There was some sort of leather bag in his hand. He took another step closer and Jenny tried, once again, to stand up. And with much effort, she did, giving him another warning growl. But to be honest, what was she going to do? She couldn't fight him, or kill him. Jenny didn't have that kind of evil in her. All she could do is run and right now, Jenny didn't believe she could do that either.

"Whoa there, I'm not going to hurt you." He set his lantern and bag down on the ground and slowly came to sit in front of her. Jenny's heart was racing, she had no idea what was happening or who this man was. "My name is Daniel, I'm the doctor of the Moon Stone pack. The cut on your arm needs to be cleaned and bandaged, but I can't do that until you shift back." Daniel spoke so soft and calm that Jenny almost let her guard down. He was saying weird things. Pack? Shift back? Like into a human? She didn't know how to do that. Hell she didn't even know how she got to be a wolf.

Jenny shook her head at him, maybe he would understand and just walk away. But she also knew that that was pretty unlikely. "Do you know how to shift back?" Smart man. Jenny shook her head again. Why was she trusting him? He looked at her with sad eyes, like he pitied her. "It can be difficult to change back the first time. It may even be a bit painful, but you have to at some point so it might as well be now. Close your eyes and think of your human self, wiggling your toes, messing with your hair, your fingers moving." His voice trailed off and Jenny, reluctantly did as Daniel had said.

Then she felt it. A sheering pain through her body, then, just as quickly as it had come, it was over. Jenny opened her eyes again to see that she was once again a human and the cut on her arm was severe. Her palms of her hands were bruised and blistered, small cuts were all over her body, and she was naked. She looked up to see Daniel handing her what looked to be a big t-shirt and pants. He nodded at her in encouragement and she took them. The shirt was massive and easily covered her, but Jenny didn't think she could stand up. Her legs felt like jelly and she didn't want to risk flashing the old man.

"I-I don't think I can stand." Jenny admitted. She felt defeated. Here she was alone in the woods, not a clue as to where to go or who was safe. But this man felt safe, and he wasn't John. He was out here in the woods, in what could only be the middle of the night, and he knew what she was. Which meant one thing: he was whatever she was, too.

"That's okay, you don't need to yet. Now let me take a look at that arm," He held out his hand and Jenny moved to be closer to him, giving him her arm. Daniel was gentle as he examined the wound. It ran from a little past her wrist and all the way around to her elbow. There was dirt and dried blood covering her arm. The dirt was all in her hair. She was used to being dirty and smelling bad. During the summer John would take her out back and rinse her off with the hose. He would also let her shower sometimes in the winter when she smelled too bad. But the one thing that he demanded of her was that she kept her hair clean.

Jenny's hair had been unusually white and it fell over her shoulders in variously sized curls. It was long and big and a lot to take care of. And now it was dirty and, though John wasn't there, she felt dread wash over her. If he found her and saw her like this, she wouldn't heal for weeks. But Daniel wouldn't let John take her right? He wouldn't force her to go back to that prison ever again, right? She felt herself start to shake as fear once again took hold.

"Whoa there, am I hurting you? What's wrong?" Daniel looked at her, she could only shake her head. Jenny had to go, she had to leave and get far away. John could still find her. With a new found strength and determination, she moved to get up.

"I'm sorry I have to go. I- I can't stay. I have to go," she pushed, painfully, to her feet. Daniel protested, still holding on to her arm and gently pulling her back to the ground.

"No you need to sit down. You are too weak," His voice was firm and Jenny paused. A moment's hesitation that maybe she should stay. Daniel took that opportunity to keep talking. "Whoever hurt you can't get to you anymore." Jenny looked at him with wide eyes and slowly lowered herself back down. How had he known? As if reading her mind, he explained, "You're malnourished and impossibly underweight. There is bruising all over your torso and you look scared. I've been a doctor for a long time, honey. I know an abuse victim when I see one. Whoever they are, they can't hurt you now. We are going to protect you."

"We?" Jenny's voice caught as another man stepped from the tree line. How had she not noticed he was there before? The man was about Johns age and height. With black hair and stubble across his face. She pulled away from Daniel, pushing herself backward until she slammed into the tree. "Please don't hurt me," Jenny pleaded. Then she felt it, the fear was turning into a hot anger and fury grew from her heart. Images of claws slashing through John crossed her mind. She felt power start to spread through her body.

Until a woman stepped out behind the man. She had brown hair and kind eyes. And she looked at Jenny the way she remembered her mom had so many years ago. With absolute certainty that things were going to be okay. She hadn't seen a woman in so long the shock had stopped the feeling inside her. The woman spoke, "No it's okay. We aren't going to hurt you. You're safe."