The night was very cold. My legs were shaking. Blood was coming out of my nose again and again.
Run faster, Ariana! Lila shouted. They are coming!
I heard them behind us. The loud sound of their big boots. Their angry voices. Men shouting our names like animals in the dark.
Find those girls! Don't let them escape! Run after them!
My heart was beating so fast. I thought it would break out of my chest.
We ran into the bush. The sharp tree branches hit my arms. My feet were hurting so much. But I could not stop. I had to live.
Then I heard guns firing behind us.
No, no, no… this cannot be real. My voice was shaking and tears filled my eyes.
Don't stop! Keep running! Lila pulled my hand very tight.
But I was too hungry and too weak. I had not eaten for three days. My legs were shaking so much that I suddenly fell down.
Ariana! Get up! Lila cried and tried to help me stand.
I tried to move but my body refused. It felt like my body was empty and dead.
The men came closer. Their flashlights were bright on the dark trees.
There they are! Over there!
Fear covered Lila's face. I am sorry, she said with a small voice. She left my hand and ran away alone into the bush.
I was alone.
The men reached me. Five big men. They carried guns and ropes to catch us.
One man smiled. His smile was very wicked. Look what we found. A small lost wolf.
I am not a wolf, I said. My voice was not strong. I tried to be calm. I don't have a wolf. Please let me go.
The man laughed at me. Wolfless? Even better. No one will come looking for you.
He came closer and tried to hold my neck.
Then something woke up inside me.
It was hot. Like fire moving in my blood.
My body shook. Not from fear. But from something very strong inside me.
What is happening to her? one man shouted. He stepped back in fear.
My bones started to crack and change. The pain was terrible. I screamed loud.
But the sound was not a normal scream.
It was a loud angry growl.
My hands changed into claws. White fur grew all over my arms.
She is shifting! She is not wolfless! the man shouted. Shoot her! Shoot her now!
But they were too late.
My wolf was awake.
And she was full of anger.
Let me take you back. Three hours before this moment…
My name is Ariana Blackwood. I am eighteen years old.
I should be in school, laughing with friends, enjoying my life.
But instead…
I am in a cage.
The place smelled like blood and fear. I heard girls crying around me.
Some were my age. Some were older. All of us were scared and trapped.
How long have you been here? the girl beside me asked. Her name was Lila. She had been here for two weeks.
Three days, I said. My throat felt dry because they hardly gave us water.
What is your name? she asked.
Ariana.
Are you from a pack?
I looked down. My heart felt heavy. Yes. Silver Moon Pack. But they threw me away.
Why?
Because I was wolfless. Saying that made me feel pain inside. My mother said I was a shame to the family. She lied to everyone that she sent me abroad. But the truth is… she sold me.
Lila's eyes became wide. Your own mother sold you?
I nodded. Tears wanted to fall, but I had already cried too much.
Lila held my hand softly. My pack did not sell me. But they didn't protect me either. Rogues took me when I was going home. No one cared enough to find me.
We stayed quiet. We listened to the men outside talking and laughing.
Those men were traffickers. They stole she-wolves like us. They sold us to bad people.
Tonight, Lila whispered. Tonight we escape.
How? I asked. The doors are locked. There are many guards.
I have watched them, she said. Every night at midnight, guards change. For five minutes, no one watches the back door. We run then.
But even if we run away, where do we go? We are far from any pack.
Anywhere is better than here, she said. Tomorrow they will sell us. A buyer is coming for ten girls. If we don't run tonight, we will never be free again.
My heart was beating fast. Okay, I said. We escape tonight.
The moon was full and bright in the sky.
They say wolves feel stronger on full moon nights.
But I felt nothing.
Because I thought I had no wolf.
Lila took out a small metal piece she hid. She unlocked the door slowly.
The door opened. Now! she said. Run!
We ran out. My heart almost stopped. One wrong step, and we would be caught.
First hallway, empty. Second hallway, still empty.
Then we saw the back door. Freedom.
Almost there, Lila whispered with hope.
But a man grabbed my hair suddenly.
Going somewhere? he said.
He pulled my hair very hard. I screamed.
RUN, LILA! I shouted.
But Lila did not leave me. She hit the guard with the metal piece. He fell.
Come on! she said.
We ran out into the forest.
Alarms started ringing. Loud and scary.
ESCAPE! THE GIRLS ARE ESCAPING!
Gunshots followed us.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Don't look back! Lila cried. Just run!
But I was too slow. Too weak. My body fell again.
That was when they caught me.
That was when my wolf came.
The shifting pain was the worst pain in the world.
My bones broke and became new. My skin burned while fur came out.
I tried to scream but only growls came out of my mouth.
The men ran away. But one man stayed. Maybe he was brave. Or maybe foolish.
He pointed his gun at me.
You are worth more dead than alive, he said and pulled the gun trigger.
My wolf jumped fast. Too fast. She scratched him. His gun fell down.
What is this? another man shouted. A white wolf? She is white!
White wolves are very rare! Catch her! She is worth a lot of money!
But my wolf refused to be a prisoner again.
She ran. She ran very fast.
I felt everything. The soft ground. The cold wind. The moon calling to me.
This is what freedom feels like.
This is what I have always needed.
My wolf ran far away until the danger was gone.