"Get up."

The small boy laid upon the ground, a small trickle of blood trailing its way down his face.

"Get up."

He made the efforts of pushing his weight up, straining his arms to follow the command, but his limbs gave out, quivering underneath as they collapsed under him.

"Get up."

The boy looked up at the man before him, tears coursing down with the blood, diluting it as it dripped slowly down and off his chin.

A small whimper escaped his mouth.

"I..I..,-," he made the efforts of pushing himself off the ground again, but could not even manage that.

The man above him sighed.

"Jay get him up."

Another boy, one who had been silently watching with quiet sorrow and fury, approached the fallen soul and gently lifted him, careful to avoid the long gashes that were present upon his back and various places.

"Get him out of my sight. Make sure your mother doesn't see."

The boy nodded before making his way out of the woods, the ever watchful eyes of their father on their retreating figure.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."Jay's whispered pleas fell upon deaf ears as he looked down to see his brother's sagged head and closed eyes.

Passed out.

He knew his father had not done enough damage to kill him. Not enough to tide him over to the side of no return.

Just enough to make Jay panic and move faster through the trees.

"Lewis, please no. Please Lewis. I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him. I can't stop it. I'm so sorry." Tears streamed down Jay's own cheeks as he whispered over and over the pains of his heart to the silent forest.

"Not fast enough."

Jay's head turned around just in time to see a blur of movement before he felt his body become weightless. His back collided with the trunk of a nearby tree. The breath within his lungs left him as he fell to the ground.

"Lew-is," Jay barley was able to weeze the name out when he felt another violent force impact him, taking whatever air he had been able to regain, away.

"Run."

Jay looked up, fear in his eyes as he saw his father approach him. Lewis's crumpled figure laid where Jay and he had last been standing.

"Father please."

The man only repeated the one word, "Run."

Jay stood, clinging to his side as he turned around and did as he said.

Away. Get him away from Lewis.

He looked behind, desperately looking for any signs of pursuit.

None were seen.

It only made Jay panic, turn around and run past the trees, losing his direction and sense of where he was.

Then he saw him.

His father's eyes flashed, gold shining against the dim lighting as he stepped out in front of Jay.

Jay gasped, backtracking his steps to quickly turn around.

"Why do you run away?"

His father's taunting voice followed him deeper into the woods.

"Found you."

Jay screamed as his father emerged from behind another trunk.

He pinned Jay down, pulling out a thin needle.

Jay's terrified screams ripped away from his throat as his father stuck the syringe in him, releashing unknown substances inside his body.

"NO! No stop please!"

Jay's voice was ragged, panting and full of desperate sobs as his father stepped away.

"Run."

Jay's broken sob filled the forest, the animals silent in their watch of the cruelty they saw.

"Little wolf. Pathetic little wolf. Little wolf who cannot protect anyone. Not his brother. Not his mother. Not even himself."

Jay tore through the plants that shoved their leaves in his way. His mind was whirling to fast to think clearly. To wonder if he should stay silent, make less noise. To try to find his bearings, and look for familiar ground. He needed to find Lewis. No, he needed to find the house. The house would have his mother. But she couldn't protect him.

No one could protect him from the growing shadow that loomed behind him. The growing taunts that traveled into his ears.

"Weak." It hissed.

"Worthless."

"Nothing."

Jay looked behind to see nothing there to match the source of the voice.

He continued his desperate run, breath ragged, his body aching and ready to drop from either the exhaustion or the pounding bruises that pulsed on his back and side.

Kill him.

The voice sounded from deep within Jay's head. He desperately shook it, trying to clear out the violent thought.

Protect Lewis. Kill him.

Another sob broke through Jay as he clutched his head, confusion mixing in now at why his thoughts were not his own. At why another impression had invaded his mind.

Fight back.

I can't. I can't. Jay's own thoughts rang out against the intruder, voicing his hopeless appeal.

"Can you hear him Jay? Such a weak thing. Such a weak wolf. Can you hear your weak wolf talking to you? Telling you such pathetic and sick thoughts that you can never dream of accomplishing."

We can fight back. We can do it. Fight.

I'm scared. Scared. Scared Scared.

The dominant thought leaked into Jay's mind, saturating his pores as he glanced behind him again, this time catching a glimpse of his father's smiling, approaching figure off in the distance.

I know.

The voice inside him seemed scared also. Jay didn't know if he was going crazy. If his father was right and this was the voice of his wolf. He wasn't seventeen yet. Mother had told him he would learn more about his wolf at seventeen.

He gasped as his father, once again, stepped out in front of him.

"Do you protect your mother by running away? You didn't protect your brother today. You just watched. Just watched as I beat him. And you cried. Hoping I wouldn't look at you."

Jay's body shook with sobs as his father ripped away every insecurity and thought he had.

"Weak Jay. Pathetic Jay. Can't protect his brother. How will you protect your mother when she upsets me? Such a pathetic wolf like you. Such a weak wolf like you. Such a-,"

The man's taunts were interrupted by a feral growl that escaped Jay's mouth.

"Oh!? Was that a growl?"

The man moved closer, making contact with Jay's stomach as he fell to his knees, the punch taking his breath away and causing a strangled cry of pain to escape him.

Jay's whole body was trembling. Trembling in fear and something else.

"I can beat her. Make her skin blue and black while you watch. I can do the same to your brother. Let you see them beg you to help. Not knowing you're too weak to do anything but watch."

"No!" The cry came out half a scream half sob as Jay raised his eyes, now a slight golden glow to them.

"Maybe I won't stop there. Who's that pretty girl you're always with? What's her name? Grace is it?"

A howl, vicious and full of despairing pain broke through Jay.

"Don't-touch...her."

He fell on all fours, his whole frame shaking now as he glared at his father.

"Don't touch her? Why? Do you think she's yours? Everyone can already see she belongs to that other kid. Jake? John? Whatever the hell his worthless name is."

Another scream ripped through Jay as his father's foot made contact with his stomach, causing Jay to fly several feet away.

"Come on Jay!" His father yelled at him, his eyes glowing gold in excitement, "Come on!"

Jay broke through one last scream before his body broke and transformed. He felt bones pop out, felt pressure along his joints and fragments of body tear apart and realign themselves in different places.

Tears blinded him as he felt the world go black.

Hold on.

The unknown voice was present, resurfacing within the back of Jay's mind.

We can do this. Just hold on.

Jay felt the world come back into focus as he looked up in exhaustion at his father's grinning face.

"What a pathetic wolf."

Jay opened his mouth, waiting for words- a plea to issue forth. Instead a low whine was heard.

"Shift."

Jay stared at his father, confusion written across his face until he felt a sharp pain upon his ear, his father grabbing it and twisting it sharply back.

"I said shift, dammit."

Jay whined again but searched now for whatever human part that was left in him.

Through the pain, he could vaguely register that he was somehow a wolf. He didn't look in amazement or examine the new body he had. Instead he followed his father's command.

His father looked down at him and nodded in approval.

"Shift."

Jay's eyes widened at the command. His hesitation was met with a sharp slap to his face.

"Shift."

Over and over. Over and over.

Until he was a quivering mass. A pile that could not move.

His father walked forward and bent down, looking eye level at his small, eight year old son.

"Pathetic," he whispered before leaving Jay on the ground, disappearing into the trees.

Jay slowly closed his eyes. To exhausted to move. To exhausted to process the events that had just happened.

To exhausted to cry.