What goes bump in the night

Chapter One

Her panic set in as she walked home. The darkness outside scared her the most. She could tell you exactly why she was scared of the dark too, but that was something she usually kept to herself. She had been cast out of her pack for such reason, though her family knew an unmated female out in the world alone was a terrible idea, but they couldn't do anything about it. It was Alpha's orders.

She heard something rustle around in the dark shadows where she couldn't see. Her breathing picked up and she tried to pick up her pace to get to her apartment quicker. Footsteps began to follow her. Any normal person, or wolf for that matter, wouldn't be as panicked as she was because they would assume that the foot steps behind were of a person who just happened to be walking the same way. But for Mara, the seemingly all too fresh memory of her past just wouldn't go away.

The stairs to her apartment were just a head, and in Mara's mind, the footsteps had gotten closer. She was almost in a full blown panic attack. She could barely control her breathing and her entire body was shaking. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could; and of course her luck, tripped on a few going up. She caught her balance though and finished the trip up the stairs that seemed like mountains on nights like this. Fumbling with her keys, she finally found the right one, unlocked her door, and rushed in. She slammed the door behind her, and did all three locks; the door handle lock, the deadbolt, and the chain lock. Pushing her back against the cool door, Mara attempted to calm herself. She slid to the floor and pulled her knees up to her slender frame. Placing her forehead there, she started to calm down but not before her memories played the devil's advocate with her mind.

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She was four, living with her family in the Blue Skies Pack. Her pack wasn't a strong pack, but they made due. Her family wasn't high ranking but her father was one of the best fighters of the pack. There was a pack of relentless wolves who were destroying every pack in their way. The Blue Skies Pack knew they might be next. The borders of their small territory were constantly being patrolled.

Mara's mother had asked that she go to the wolf-doctor's home to get some pumice to help heal her father's wounds. And that's when it all happened. Fire engulfed the small village, people ran around screaming trying to find their families. The men tried to fight off the intruders. Mara froze. She didn't know what else to do. She found her father in the group of fighters and saw him killed. A huge man walked right up to her father, snapped his neck, and continued walking into the village. The fighters were all dead. The pack's defences were gone and so was their Alpha. All that was left were the women and children. The man who killed Mara's father walked straight up to her. The man went to pick her up, Mara tried to fight; but she was only four, her whole body was the size of this man's calf. He pinched the pressure point in her neck and she was out.

When Mara woke, she was all alone in an underground cellar. That much she could tell. It was dark, so dark; and the one weakness she had was tested. Even though Mara was a young werewolf,  her vision wasn't right. She couldn't see correctly in the dark no matter how much she focused. She began to cry. She could tell she was alone in the place, for she couldn't hear anyone's breathing. She began to walk around the perimeter to get a feel of the size of her holding area. She guessed it to be about the size of a bathroom. She whimpered as she laid down.

For the next six years, this was where Mara was kept. She spoke to no one but herself. The only interaction she got from anyone from the outside was food, and they set up a spigot for her to get water through a small window. Mara kept the small place clean. She could tell something was going to happen soon, as her food began to come at weird times, if at all. Everything went quiet that night after almost three days of commotion. The door to her holding place was ripped open. Mara couldn't see who stood there, but she crawled toward the light, begging for mercy and to be let out. Strong hands picked her up.

"What's your name, child?" His voice was soothing to her

.

"M-Mara, sir." She answered in a whisper.

"How long were you down there, Mara?"

She thought of the tally marks she left in the wall and swallowed. "Six years, s-sir." She stuttered slightly. This was the first interaction she had had with anyone since she was kidnapped when she was four years old.

"You speak well, Mara. Did they teach you?" His gentle voice was full of compassion.

She shook her head. "N-no sir,"

*******

Tears spilling out of her eyes, Mara brought her thoughts back. That man saved her life, and adopted her as his own. He nurtured her back to full health, tamed her matted black hair, taught her what she needed to know, and learned of her weakness. He tried to find ways that would strengthen her vision but found none. Mara lived happily with her new father for the next nine years. When she turned nineteen, Alpha sent her off. He didn't want her weak blood in their strong lines. Her father fought Alpha but it didn't help any. Mara had lost absolutely everything in that moment. She watched her father killed at the age of four, had no idea what happened to her mother or twin brother, kept in an underground cell for six years, and now the man who saved her, brought her health back, who taught her everything he knew was being ripped away from her.

New tears spilled from Mara's eyes. She pushed herself off the floor and padded back to her bathroom. Her slender frame barely made the floor beneath her creak. For being twenty-one years old, Mara barely kept a steady weight of 115-pounds. Because of her weak start in life, she never really beefed out like most werewolves usually do. Her slender frame made her fast and nimble. Once in the bathroom, Mara turned the water onto the hottest it would go. She undressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Wrapped around her bicep of her left arm was what looked like a tribal tattoo, but she knew it was her twin mark. She traced her fingers over the middle part, where it looked like a wolf head sat. She wondered where her brother was at, how he was; if there was any feeling in his arm when she  caressed the mark like this. She sighed and looked into her eyes in the mirror. Her eyes were the color of turquoise, it was a part of her that everyone was always so interested in. Her hair was the color of dark midnight. She ran her fingers through her hair and got into the shower.

Laying in her bed, Mara finally felt safe. She grabbed her teddy bear she couldn’t sleep without. Wrapping the stuffed animal in her arms, she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her last thought before exhaustion took over, Something’s gotta give....

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A/N: Let me know what you guys think so far of this! I added a photo of what the twin mark would kinda look like. Comment, vote, let me know if you guys enjoyed or hated it or if I should keep on with it!