My Precious Panther

Prologue

Prologue x

I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I^.^I

Eleen Hathaway ran away from a camp for the strange and unusual like herself.

Up until her fifteenth birthday, life couldn’t have been more boring, and normal. Everyday, the same routines were carried out, and her life couldn't have been more average. She had parents who loved her to bits, friends who knew her closest secrets, and an ambitious bright future ahead of her. What could have gone wrong in her small town stuck in the middle of nowhere?

Boy, was she dead wrong, because on her sixteenth birthday, the most life-turning event happened to her. As she was peacefully sleeping in her bedroom, something in her body woke up, and it wasn't staying put for long. Before she could wonder why she woke up, she watched as fur sprouted from her skin, real black fur! That wasn't even the worst of it, because once the fur started to grow, the most anguishing pain erupted from her body, like molten hot lava spreading throughout her body, from the crown of her head down to her very last pinkie toe. She was in so much bone-splitting pain; she couldn't even force a scream of absolute terror out of her. Her body withered as it changed from normal human, to an animal. When the fiery hot pain died away, Eleen didn't know what to do.

Her reflection wasn't her own anymore; it portrayed the mirror image of an animal. The animal in front of her had sleek, silky fur coat surrounding its body, with whiskers sprouting from its nose, four legs, claws coming out of its paws and sharp dangerous teeth that gleamed in the dim moonlight. Elly felt her lungs closing up, thought she was going to faint, but this animal in front of her did no such thing. It stood there in her bedroom, looking back at her with her forest green eyes, stance confident and proud. Elly realized at that moment that the animal in front of her was not just an animal. It was her.

Instead of panicking and freaking out, Elly was thrilled. She finally felt special, like she was finally part of something bigger than the norm, and best of all, inside her, she knew she was a real sleek powerful panther. She always knew that deep down something was sleeping; just waiting to wake up and stretch its legs, but she had always classed this as her crazy imagination. Now she knew who she was- she wasn't just boring old Elly, she was a panther. If she kept thinking it she might just believe it to be true. She couldn't believe the animal standing in front of her, was her in another form.

She had read many books on werewolves and other mythical creatures, but she had never heard of people turning into panthers, which to be honest, was the coolest, most amazing thing that has ever happened to her. She finally felt unique, and she loved the feel of it.

She hadn't realized the time, till her bedside clock flashed to her that it was two a.m. Shocked that time had flied by so quickly, she wondered how she was going to change back. As she was staring at her majestic reflection, she sensed rather than thought that to change back she must will her body to return to human form. She didn't know how she knew it, but after gingerly imagining her body turning from a sleek black panther to her human self, she was standing on two legs again, dressed in her nighties. The transaction hadn't hurt a bit.

Exhausted after all the events that took place, she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow, dreaming of running through the woods the next time she becomes a panther again.

That was how Eleen Hathaway, boring girl from small town, discovered the panther inside of her, waiting all these years to wake up and stretch its legs.

Being a panther was an extraordinary experience for Elly, once she started practising to change forms, the change become pleasureful, like taking a weight off her shoulders after carrying it on for too long, almost like it was a relief to be in her better form. She felt urges from inside of her, guiding her to understand the ways of her panther, like an animal conscious, and discovering the guide was almost as great as being a panther.

But fairy tales don't last forever. Elly's reality was soon turned upside down when one day while out running through the woods surrounding the town, she heard the crunch of footsteps of another being close by. She didn't hesitate to take on her defensive crouch, baring her sharp teeth and snarling at the intruder to get away from her territory. A roar of outrage erupted out of her that the intruder dare come on her lands and not take the warning to leave. The mysterious, insane person stepped forward, and revealed his face.

She was watching the man, with his styled brown hair, strong cheekbones, built figure, and piercing cold blue eyes. Looking into his eyes brought her the same shivers she felt when she had looked out at the ocean when a storms a brewing. His skin was tanned and muscular, and in his hand he held a gun that she had spent a while learning about.

He was holding an Army Sniper Rifle M24, the stainless steel barrel, probably loaded with a 5-Round internal magazine, brought shivers down her panther form's spine. The distance between them was maybe 8 metres or so, but this weapon was made to be accurate across 800 metres with precision, and with the way the man was holding it, he was no inexperienced amateur. This man knew exactly how to kill Elly; animals can be hunted, and so can she. 

Had the man been alone, she may have been able to take him on once she'd knock the gun off him, but he came prepared. Surrounding her were all men, dressed like the leader in leather black clothing, each holding a lethal type of gun. She knew she couldn't take them all on, but maybe she could surprise these hunters by changing human, so if they try to kill her, it will be murder and they can all go to jail, but luck was never her best friend, and she doubted there would be people strolling through the forest in the middle of the night to witness her death.

The man holding the Rifle M24, stepped forward, and all the 10 other guys surrounding her did the same. With their guns pointed at her, she felt no fear, only a raging anger that was a hairs breadth away from exploding.

"If you come with us silently and without attack, we shall not harm you or your family Eleen Hathaway," the man said in a deep authoritive voice.

Panic overcame her fear and shock that they knew who she was at the thought of her family being harmed because of her. She could not stand the thought, and a deep sorrow filled her at the future of never seeing her kind and loving parents again, never going to a party with her closest friends again, never going to university, or getting married or having kids of her own or getting a job. With a suge of determination to protect her loved ones, she dropped her defensive stance and stood still. She let out a low mourning howl and looked the man in his evil blue eyes.

"That was a wise choice to make Eleen Hathaway," the man mocked her, with an arrogant smirk plastered to his face. She wanted to claw his eyes out, but knew that if she did anything to harm the leader who he obviously was, they would not hesitate to kill her in a second's notice. The hungry looks on the men's faces told her that they would have fun to spite her dead ass by killing all who she loved. These men meant business, and her cherished ones was all she thought about as she let the man come closer and lead her to a van, still in her panther form, ears pinned back and body tense.

After that, she spent the next four years of her life in the camp they sent her to for freaks and she never heard about her loved ones again. That was until she broke out and ran away to freedom.