Eight months later:-

Each day passed for Maya as an agony. She seemed to have forgotten her family, her pack, even herself. The pain was a constant companion of her. She felt as if pain was the only thing that she ever knew.

Her routine consisted of hearing Leandro walk to the cell, beginning his abuse, feeding her some scraps of dry bread and if she was lucky a glass of water, while he would eat his proper meals in front of her all the while taunting her, then begin his abuse again. To her credit, she didn't refer to Leandro as Master yet but then nothing except whimpers escaped her mouth. Everyday after he left her alone she would desperately pray to the Moon Goddess for death, for end of all her pain. Each day Leandro found a new way to torture her. She dreaded hearing his footsteps outside her cell door.

That day however was different, she didn't hear Leandro walk to her cell. She could hear Leandro running. He came into her cell short of breath, unhinged her from the wall and threw her over his shoulder. And started running back upstairs. Suddenly the darkness gave way to blinding light rendering her eye sight useless. She could however hear the sound of a fight that seemed to be going on around her. There was much growling and ripping sounds all over. Suddenly something collided with Leandro and he dropped her to the ground so that he could fight.

Unable to move her arms or focus on her surroundings, Maya laid in the middle of the battlefield awaiting her death. She was sure that this was the day she would die and she was glad, for this meant an end to the suffering and to the pain. Soon she felt something slash her shoulder, she let out a groan and then blackness surrounded her.

---------------------

Maya opened her eyes to bright light surrounding her. She looked around, she was in a room with white walls.

'Is this what heaven looks like?' she thought. A woman with a smiling face came in the room. She looked at Maya with kindness in her eyes, "Are you awake now?" she asked.

"Awake?", Maya murmured.

"Yes. You have been unconscious for almost a week now. How are you feeling?" the woman in the nurse's uniform asked.

"Feeling..." Maya whispered, "Feeling...." and as if a veil was lifted slowly all the memories trickled back to her. She remembered her parents, her brother, her pack, her wolf but most vividly she remembered the betrayal... the cruel rejection of a mate bond that was not yet given words.

"I want to go home." Maya murmured.

"Yes. We will definitely send you home after you have recovered, Maya Forrester.", the nurse replied with a smile. She was bustling around the room checking the machines that were plugged into Maya.

"How do you know my name?" Maya whimpered out. The nurse simply pointed to a man sitting by the wall in the far corner of the room.

He slowly rose to his feet and walked to the bed. "Hi, I am Dylan. I am a part of the Wrath of the Moon team. I am incharge of making sure that you safely reach home." he said introducing himself.

"Wrath of the Moon?" Maya repeated with a confused expression.

"Yes. Wrath of the Moon. We are the team selected by the governing body of supernatural beings to ensure that the secret of our existence remains exactly that, a secret. In addition, we also help keep peace between the different factions of supernatural beings." he explained, "I must say though, I really admire your perseverance and desire to live. Any other being would have given up long back."

"How do you know about me?" questioned Maya.

"Your family has been searching for you. They had notified us of your kidnapping." Dylan clarified.

"How long has it been since...." Maya couldn't bear to complete her question. A drop of tear rolled off her cheek and splashed on to the bedsheet.

"Eight months." Dylan replied looking at her with pity.

"Eight months... of my life... how could he? Why? I wish to go home. How is everyone back at home?" Maya asked.

"Fine. Worried." Dylan replied evasively in clipped words.

Maya looked up, quickly noticing the change in the tone of his reply.

"Why are they not here? If I have been here since last 2 weeks..." Maya wondered out loud.

"They are busy. We will go to them as soon as you get better. Just rest and recover soon." Dylan replied softly.

After he left, Maya sat on the bed trying to think but the medicine administered to her made it impossible for her to stay awake. She slipped into deep slumber with a frown on her face and a word echoing in her mind, busy...

-----

Her arms were tied and she couldn't move. Leandro walked towards her with a menacing smile. He was holding a scalpel. She tried to move and scream but she couldn't. It made her desperate and she started trashing. Leandro's smile widened and a crazy light entered his eyes.

Maya could hear someone calling her name and shaking her. Startled her eyes flew open and she saw Dylan looking at her worriedly. Her eyes wildly searched the room looking for Leandro and his scalpel.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked quietly.

Maya could only nod as she was still not completely out of her dream. She was panting slightly as she felt that it was too vivid. She was scared of Leandro coming back again.

"Don't worry. We have killed him. He will never come back. Trust me." Dylan said softly. He adjusted her bedsheets around her.

"Go back to sleep. I am right here. Don't worry it is common to suffer from stress after undergoing such trauma. You overcame the actual situation, you will be able to overcome this problem as well. Have faith." Dylan said.

Maya nodded and shut her eyes trying to get a bit of sleep.

Next Morning:

Maya's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the hospital room. She spotted the nurse entering the room.

"Oh good, you are awake. Come I will help you to bathe and then you can have some breakfast." the nurse said.

Maya nodded gently and the nurse started helping her complete the morning routine. As the nurse undressed her, the wounds on Maya's body came in focus. Maya looked at them, her body was scarred all over. She remembered how she looked before and her eyes filled with tears, "I want to see a mirror. Please..." The nurse gave her a hand to stand and then half carried her to the bathroom, as her legs were wobbling.

As she stood in front of the mirror, Maya remembered all the vile actions of her kidnapper. Each and every scar reminded of her what was taken from her life. And then.. after so many months, Maya heard a growl escaping her mouth. She felt her wolf escaping all the barriers placed on her. Her talons lengthened, black inked in her eyes and fur started sprouting all over the body.

Soon, a majestic wolf stood in Maya's place, growling lowly. Anyone could see the pain and suffering the wolf was put through and yet she stood tall and proud. The wolf heard footsteps and looked up to see Dylan standing in front of her.

"So you are an Alpha?", Dylan asked. The wolf merely growled at him and then raising her head to the sky, let out a howl so mournful that anyone listening to it would feel sad. The howl contained all of her sadness and pain that even a seasoned warrior like Dylan responded to it, his eyes tearing up.

She then walked upto Dylan and bowed, showing her gratitude for saving her. Dylan lifted a hand and gently stroked the furry little head of the wolf. That's when she smelt it, the smell of vampire. She jumped back in surprise and then tilted her head. As if understanding her question Dylan said, "Yes, I am a vampire. Took you long enough to figure out." Maya's wolf just scoffed and went back upto him and started rubbing herself on his legs.

The nurse was just watching her antics with a small smile. She then shooed Dylan away and asked Maya to shift back so that she can bathe. As soon as Maya shifted back, she fell to the ground, her energy drained. As the nurse tried to pick her up, she noticed that most of the scars on Maya's body seemed to have healed and faded however a few prominent ones remained.

After the bath, Maya was given a few medicines that put her to sleep.