The Silent Moon

Going for freedom

"Nath, please be awake", her mother's mind linked her as she stirred in her sleep.

Moaning, she did not want to be awake; she wanted another minute, if not an hour, of sleep before being reminded she had an impairment.

The only thing she could think about while sleeping was why her mother thought it was a good idea to wake her up this late at night.

It was already 12 a.m., and there was no celebratory ceremony at their pack, so what was the problem?

Natalia, being stubborn, did not wake up, but instead pulled the blanket to make her sleep even longer and warmer.

"Nathie, please stay awake," her mother begged this time.

Groaning, she could tell from her mother's tone that she was not pleased with her.

"Mama, what is wrong!" Nathie mindlinked to her mother, who was still half asleep.

"Nathie, you must stay awake and run, my daughter. "A rogue pack has attacked, and you must protect yourself."We were able to reach your sister earlier, but we can not reach you now.

"Where are you guys, mummy?" she asked, sleep leaving her eyes and memory hitting her hard.

'She was alone.'

"I was on my way to you when a rogue caught up with me halfway. I was tied and seated in the compound. There are a lot of them, and I want you out of your room and bed. Please run as fast as you can."

"To open the door in the kitchen cupboard, press the button there and then run. It has tunnels running and will take you to Bright Moon Pack; could you please tell them what happened so they can assist us? "Do you understand?" her mother said.

"Yes, Mama."

"Good girl, now run away; I love you."

"I love you too, Mama."

She replied, now down from her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She fumbled in the dark, hoping to see or feel her hearing aids before anyone reached her.

Hands finally touching a cold object on her table, she grabbed the hearing aids, put them in, and was slowly making her way to the kitchen when the corridor light turned on, revealing two ugly-looking men.

Rogues.

Natalia considered becoming invisible for a moment, but she was not a witch; she was a werewolf, and she happened to be wearing hearing aids.

"Hello there, little one," the ugly-looking man said as he approached her. The man's hand controlled her movements towards him as she was frozen in fear.

"What are your names?"

"Mummy? Daddy?" She tried to mindlink but received no response.

"Daddy, please answer me," she asks again, but there is still no response.

Doom!!

"I asked you a question, so tell me: what is your name?" The man enquired as his friend looked around, probably believing there was someone else at home.

But she was unfortunately alone.

His tone was angry, and as she grew up, her parents would scold her without frightening her.

Whimpering, Nathalia used her hand to show them her hearing aids.

"Are you deaf?" they asked, looking at each other before returning their gaze to the girl in front of them, who was crying.

"How old are you?" they enquired, their eyes becoming even redder than they had been from the start, and she attempted to respond, not wanting to aggravate them further.

She held up six fingers to indicate her age, still fearful that her mouth would not move to speak when they asked her questions.

She stood there, hoping and praying that they would not do anything bad to her.

The man on the right pulled her hands behind her back, binding her as she finally made a sound with her voice in motion, but it was only a 'ouch'.

She had been handcuffed and threatened. If she made a sound like she wanted to run away, the metal of the cuff would activate, and she would burn from the medicine they had put on it.

The silver on the cuff burned her still because, as it was, they did not have to come into contact with silver or anything metal for no reason, and her father had always made it a study, so they never found themselves in a situation with metal.

But here she was, crying and mind-linking, with no one responding. She was not sure what had happened to her parents and sister.

Were they all dead, or was she simply wishing for something that would never return?

Screaming from the pain of the metals, small drips of tears streamed from her small greenish eyes.

He did the same with her ankle before finally removing his gloves. She restricted her movement to avoid feeling too much pain from the silver wedged into her; otherwise, the burns would worsen.

She stood there deeply, tears still dripping, and an evil smile spread across their faces as they enjoyed her pain.

He carried her as she began kicking and screaming as hard as she could, attempting to break free from the pains she was experiencing, but nothing could help her. The pain from the silver wedged even deeper into her skin.

She stopped attempting to be let out because it only caused more pain, which she had never experienced before.

She was still a growing werewolf. She was unfamiliar with this type of pain. She had never experienced pain like this before.

She collapsed and awoke in front of an even taller man, who walked to where the rogue and she were standing.

"You will not need to hear anything about where we are going," his evil smile spread as they pulled out the only thing that could break her heart: anything that concerned the world.

Her heart broke even more as she watched them throw her hearing aids into the water behind her.

She attempted to mindlink her parents once more, but no one responded.

Nathalia was now alone.

She just hoped her family was okay and would forgive her because she never made it to the other pack to inform them that they needed assistance.

******

This was 144 months ago when she turned in her tiny room, which was more like a cell she had been in.

She had not eaten in a week because she had been disobedient, but her inner wolf was still there, ready to help her whenever she could.

She had been kept in the dirty room for all of these years.

Looking out of her tiny room, she met the guards who sat outside, giving her a satisfying smile.

They both said something and looked at her, but all she could hear were muffled noises, which was all she had been given since she was brought here.

She could not hear what they said, and when she refused to do what they asked because she had not heard what they said, she was beaten and punished for being a stubborn slave.

She was their favourite because it was there that they found grace in administering punishments to her simply because she had not heard anything. They mocked the situation and made her cry.

It gave them dominance, and because no one was coming to look for her, they knew she was their plaything for life.

The guard walked up to her tiny room, which had no door to speak of because they could see everything she did, including using the lavatory.

She could see the sun as she went outside, as they always did on days when she appeared to be in good health.

Nathalia noticed another rogue pack had joined this crazy pack and was fighting for something she did not understand, but all she could think about was running for her life at 22 years old.

Her inner wolf was urging her to use those legs without limitations.

She had not eaten in a week, but her inner wolf gave her the strength she needed, and she ran nonstop.

She sprinted and never looked back.

Normally, she would have hidden herself when she was attempting to flee and a rogue was shot directly in the heart, killing him right before her eyes.

Just hoping she could see a safe space and feel at ease there.

Her tiny legs doing the better for her.

As Nathalia sprinted through the dense forest, her heart pounded louder than the muffled sounds around her. Every breath burned in her chest, every step was agony, but she refused to stop. She didn't know where she was running to—all she knew was that she had to escape.

Then, just as she spotted a clearing ahead, something heavy slammed into her side, sending her crashing to the ground.

A rough hand gripped her arm, yanking her up. But that was just her imagination.

She had had days like this when she wanted to run away but she was caught and as she ran she had a vivid flashback of what had happened two years back after she had found a route to run.

A rough hand had caught her and his voice was never one she dreamed of.

"Going somewhere, little wolf?" a deep voice sneered, his hot breath fanning over her face.

Nathalia's green eyes widened in horror as she looked up—right into the blood-red eyes of the Alpha who had stolen everything from her.

He smirked, tightening his grip.

"Did you really think you could run from me?"

These words didn't have to repeat she had to run as fast as she could.