Voices of the Moon

Chapter 1

7 years later...

Somewhere in England

~Selena~

I wake up to pain and yelling. Slowly opening my eyes, I see Nicholas standing outside my cage yelling. I look down to my hand, where the pain is, and see that it is resting on the floor of the cage. Quickly I jerk my burning hand into my shawl and curl into a ball so that none of my skin is touching the silver floor of the cage.

"Get up you worthless piece of trash!" Nicholas yells, snapping his whip.

I wince and shrink into the corner of my cage. He always hits my back with the whip. It breaks my thin clothes and my skin. My cuts always heal quickly, but they still hurt. Emily says that's because the silver is inside me. When she says that, she points to the hard metal part on the end of the whip. It shines and is very pretty, just like the cage, but it hurts. I wish I were pretty so the world wouldn't hate me.

"I said get up!"

I struggle to stand up. The cage is not very large, and the floor always burns my bare feet. As I walk to the edge of the cage, Nicholas unlocks the door.

"Okay, remember what we did last time? We are going to play pretend. You're going to pretend to be my little sister helping me by cleaning the house and I will be your big brother."

I nod quietly.

"You won't say a word, and don't even think of running away. We are only helping you. The people in the outside world will hurt you. Do you know why they will hurt you?" Nicholas says.

"Because I am bad and not good enough," I whisper.

"Louder!" he yells.

"I am bad and not good enough," I whimper.

"That's right, "Nicholas says."As long as you have something wrong with you, we will be helping you. Others would leave you to die, like your parents did. We will help you."

I nod again and try not to cry.

I accidentally dropped an necklace when I was shining it and Nicholas punished me. He said that because I was trying to steal, I would have no food for 3 days, I was then told to wash the clothes, and after I was finished with that I was brought downstairs to be locked in the cage again. This time my shawl was taken away as well, so I had nothing to protect me from the painful floors of the cage.

That night, after Nicholas goes to bed, Emily comes and stands guard. I don't know why they always have someone watching me. I would never try to run away from the people protecting me from everyone else. Emily looks my hurt feet burning from the floor of the floor of the cage. She looks sad for some reason, although I don't know why. I deserve to be punished for everything that is wrong with me.

Emily hands me a small piece of bread. I think Emily is nice. She will sometimes give me food and will teach me things like how to read. She says I am very smart.

Emily sighs and whispers,"I'm sorry, Selena. I wish I could help you, but the society say no. It hurts, but it will all be over soon."

Emily always calls me Selena. She says it means "moon". I'm not sure why she calls me that. No one else gives me a name, but sometimes they call me 'Ugly One" or the "Little Beast".

I nod and fall asleep, trying not to think of all the pain.

________________________________________________________________

Whispering Willow, New England, America

~Ashlyn~

I look down at the rippling water in the pond. My reflection stares back, dark hair and a scar running down my cheek. I glare down at it, wondering what my twin sister would looks like. I can remember everything that happened the day I was born.

The screams of my mother dying. Her blood spilling onto me. The knife slicing my cheek as the doctor tried to silence me. And the men who took my mother, father, and sister from me.

I look up to the Moon above me. She was the one who saved my life. She gave me powers and strength. She gave my best friend, Madison, the gift of intelligence. Madison had warned her parents of the attackers when I was born. Her parents saved me and brought me to the Beta, but they did not arrive in time to save my sister.

The rogue and doctor had taken her somewhere far away. They had broken the link between us. I remember the doctor with the dark liquid. The liquid had broken her link with me, and the rest of the pack, yet I could still feel that she was alive. I had not told anyone, but I could feel it.

"I will find her," I promise to the Moon Goddess.

The silence is broken as howls and yelps cut through the air.

I sprint back to my pack with one thing in my mind. I ,the alpha, must lead them.

Rogue attack, the voice of the Beta echoes in my head. Alpha, they have the Third and Lea.

Stop them, I growl back, knowing he will hear me. I run until I reach a clearing in the forest and see my pack frantically running around and fighting rogues.

To the stream, someone says, and I continue sprinting, passing all of them.

Reaching the stream, I see two wolves locked in combat. The black one, the Third of my pack, James, is pushed to the ground as a grey one stands over him and bites his necks. James fights it for a moment, but I can see the life leave his eyes. Lea ,the Beta's mate, is lying quietly with a log half over her. I can hear her shallowly breathing.

"No!" I yell and launch myself at the grey wolf. I land on top of him, and punching him multiple times I yell,"You will not destroy my pack!"

The grey rogue tries to throw me off of him, but I only hold on tighter and bite his leg. Even if I can't shift yet, I can still fight. I feel blood in my mouth, and he rolls over and places his large paws on my chest.

He growls at me, and then makes a sound like he is laughing. The rogue has an evil look in his eye.

I spit in his face, and take his moment of surprise to push him away from me. I jump on his back again and continue punching, kicking and biting him.

I show no mercy and use all of my strength, taking out all of my hatred for the rogues onto this one wolf. I feel like he will help lessen the burning anger, but somewhere I know that nothing can. I only stop with my endless thirst for revenge when the Beta comes and pulls me off of him.

"Let me go!" I scream, blinded by my fury. I squirm around struggling to get free from the Beta's tight grip on my wrist.

"Killing this rogue right now without a trial won't help with anything," he says sternly. "I know you're  angry, but you need to act civilized so the pack will trust and respect you."

I finally wrench my wrist out of his hand, and I glare at both him and the dazed rogue on the ground.

"Fine," I growl and whirl around soo my back faces both of them.

You can take care of him. Lock him up for questioning and punishment, I think as I run over to help Lea out from under the log. When I get to her she is now conscious and alright. For now, my pack is safe.