Amber

I was well aware that my plan to attempt an escape during the full moon bordered on reckless insanity, but I was determined. I had been observing the guards and they were meticulous in their schedules and the way they watched me. I wasn't getting away under normal circumstances, so I could either wait for something catastrophic, or take my chance when their power was up but their rationality was down.

The risk was clear. I might be possibly trading my life for a chance at freedom. I hoped that they would forget about me while the moon was upon them, which might give me a chance to get away.

The day of the full moon dawned, and I woke up and went through my routine. It was different in idleness, but no different in the fact that I was nothing but a captive to people not truly my own. I nurtured that tiny spark of hope that one day I might find a place I could really belong among the normal humans of the world.

As on most days, the alpha stopped to speak with me in passing. His unnatural level of attention was beginning to feel normal and I simply kept my eyes down and waited for him to get bored with interacting with me. I didn't know what to make of him, but I could worry about that when I was well away from here and he was no longer my problem.

On the assumption I would again be locked in my room while the wolves ran wild, I had already hidden some clothing and a backpack from one of the female werewolves along with some nylon rope I had found in the laundry area in my bathroom. I also saved disposable water bottles no one would miss so I wouldn't have to worry about water immediately, and I could get by without food for a couple of days. I made sure to eat more than I usually would, and no one seemed to notice the slight increase.

The hour came when I was sent to my room. I checked the door and found that indeed I had been locked inside. I took a long shower to decrease my scent as much as possible before dressing in my stolen clothing and hefting my stolen supplies onto my back. I hoped that with all my preparations I would be able to get past what was left of the patrols on such a busy night.

Finally, the wolves had mostly left the yard surrounding the buildings and I took my chance. I broke the lock on the window and pushed it open. I spent a minute in quiet observation to see if anyone noticed what I was up to. Looping the nylon rope around a sturdy bed frame, I slipped out the window and shut it as closed to closed as possible and began painstakingly climbed down the wall to the ground holding both lengths of rope. My stomach was tense with anxiety at both what I was doing and what might happen.

Relief filled me when I finally made it to the ground. I pulled the roped down and shoved it in my bag. With some luck, no one would realize I was gone until the morning. I took a moment to crouch in the shadows of some trimmed hedges and caught my breath before moving as swiftly as I could into the shadows of the forest.

With the aid of the light of the moon, I could navigate through the forest well enough to manage. I strained my ears between every step, listening to hear if I had been detected or pursued. Wild howls rang out from all directions, but none of them sounded near enough to detect me.

My fear was almost a living thing that threatened to consume me whole, but I swallowed down the tightness in my throat. I had dealt with fear since my earliest memories and I had learned how to deal with the threats around me. This was no different than the insidious way the Lyndons had treated me, just more wild, but no less Dangerous than Jasper's final attack.

I continued on until the howls grew evermore distant and I began to feel a small hope that I would escape from this place. Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I would be free to make my own way as I chose. The thought gave me energy and I hurried onwards.

My life was ahead. Not the life that hunters and the Lyndons chose for me, not life as a prisoner to a werewolf pack, a life of my own.

I could practically taste it as I rushed forward.

—————

I maintained my optimism for probably ten minutes more, when I realized that the sounds of the howls and barks had stopped fading, if anything, they were getting louder. I gave up my attempt at stealth and hurried forward.

Luck was with me and I reached the edge of a stream. I ripped off my stolen runners and splashed into the water. They would surely know where I had entered, and I imagined they would assume I would follow the river, so instead I soaked myself to decrease my scent again and I simply crossed it and went on, hopefully defying their expectations.

As I pushed through the undergrowth, I sent up a stream of requests in case anyone was listening. Either no one was there or the response was no, because a blood curdling howl sounded behind me, far closer than I had imagined they were. Losing any sense of pacing myself, I ran forward through the forest with all the strength in me, losing the shoes I carried and dropping the bag.

My heart pounded frantically, but nothing else mattered besides increasing the distance between me and the creatures who were following me.

Nothing mattered but the next moment.

And then something crashed through the bushes on either side of me, and my heart froze. A few moments later and they were in front, hedging me in as they burst from the surrounding underbrush.

I dropped to the ground in the most submissive pose I could manage while protecting my vital areas. I could only hope that some aspect of their reason was still inside them and that I would make it through the night. My heart beat hard while I waited for the pain of attack.

Nothing came and the forest around me was silent.

Looking up cautiously, a dozen wolves surrounded me, their eyes gleaming dimly through the darkness of the forest, watching me, but making no move.

I was trapped again.