Shackled

Chapter One

The cool grass was damp beneath her feet, her toes digging into the soft ground. It was close to midnight, and the moon was high in the sky, casting its light down on the many figures standing immobile in the large clearing. There was nothing to be heard save the soft rusting of leaves as a calm breeze made its way through the trees.

Eden looked around at those surrounding her, the masses of bodies that stood in unity under the blanket of night. It would start any minute now; she could feel the tugging deep within her, the scratching clawing feeling of the monster that lived just under her skin. Her fist clenched at the feeling, her teeth gritting against her most primal instincts. Unlike the others, she had to hold back, had to contain the beast that had been proven to be more deadly than most.

A lone howl broke through the silence that permeated the area marking the beginning of the night's run. All around her bodies began to writhe and shift in their places, contorting as their true natures made themselves known. She planted her feet in their place, holding her breath so as to resist the pull of the moon and the need to be with her brothers and sisters.

It did not take long. Soon the people that had just minutes ago stood aside her, were gone. Replaced by hulking beasts of the night. The wolves ranged in size and colour, but their superiority was unmistakable, these were not simply regular wolves. She stood as still as possible, fighting tooth and nail at the urges that threatened to overtake her.

The wolves near her tensed at the sight of her stiff form. The warriors that made up her entourage closed in, creating a tight circle around her. Only they were facing her, not the others. Their goal was not to keep others from getting in, but rather keeping her from getting out. They all knew what could happen if something went wrong. It had happened before, and they could not risk it happening again.

Slowly and with difficulty she smothered the urge within. Tightening the reigns on the feral being that wanted so desperately to be free.

"Go. Run." The voice that tore its way from her throat was nothing like her own. It was gruff and deadly, just another sign of the delicate balance of her control. The warrior wolves backed away slowly, not taking their eyes off of her immobile form. She had told them to leave, and they would obey as they always did, but they knew not to turn their backs on her, not if they could help it.

When they were a safe enough distance away, they turned and faded into the trees, chasing after the pack that had long since disappeared. Then she was alone, with nothing in sight save the trees and the stars. Once again, she had been forced to watch as the pack partook in a traditional run, leaving her in their wake.

She had never known anything different. She had never once had the chance to be part of the group, instead she was an outsider, a monster, someone to fear. She laid down on the cool grass, allowing the black silk of her dress to splay out around her. Her bangles jingled as she spread her arms by her side, her gaze set firmly on the moon above.

She often wondered what she had done to be cursed, to have been deprived of the normalcy of every wolf's life. She could barely remember a time when she had been accepted amongst the others. As a child she had been normal, just like everyone else, but that all changed when everyone began to shift for the first time.

She had been thirteen, popular and loved by all as the daughter of their pack's beloved Alpha. Eden MacDonald, it had been a household name. Everyone called her a ray of sunshine, a bright light that brought a slice of happiness into the lives of those she touched. She had toured the pack's families with her dad, laughing and playing with all the people that made up their pack, their family.

It had been a happy childhood. More than anyone could have ever asked for, and she had loved being the sweetheart that everyone labelled her. She had basked in the love and adoration that her little brunette self had been showered in. She had been spoiled, but most of all, she had been loved unconditionally.