The bus hissed as it pulled away from the curb leaving me to face the chill of the wind alone once again. How many times had I ended up here before this very sign on nights like this? The stone that rested against my wrist pulsed with life once again causing a slight vibration to run up my chilled arm. I adjusted the band pulling it away from my pulse point down past my forearm up onto my shoulder loosely. No, I wouldn't forget what my purpose was here. Not after running so far from the land that had both bore and buried me amongst my trees of my family's farm. I pulled my red hood tighter around my head before turning on my heel and heading west into the city. I had no money for a cub, plus I hadn't owned a cell phone in some years. I doubted that this city had any working payphones. Plenty of booths/adverts for them but not a single working one

Last night's snow was now melting the black slush from the quiet highways circling down the gutters. Mama always told me that his part of Washington hardly got hit with heavy weather-I guess she was wrong. It felt like a pleasant forty five degrees out here but with the wind chill it was nearly twenty. I had spent my last hundred dollars on the tickets to get out here leaving the few crumpled bills at the bottom of my bag only for food and-possibly-a warm bed. I highly doubted I would get that comfy bed without flashing a little cleavage at a few people though. A red truck drove towards me heading towards the red light behind me. It continued forward on its narrow path before veering quickly towards the curb.

"Thank you fucker!" I hissed out as the dirty water hit me. The driver cackled out loud before speeding forward ignoring the light completely. "I hope you get a ticket and a flat tire." I muttered out shaking the small bits of icy slush from my jeans. They tightened against my midsection in protest reminding me once again that I needed new clothes. With a sigh I trudged on ignoring their protest and my own stomachs ache for hunger. When I left Oregon I knew that the going would be tough but hadn't counted on such an early winter. The leaves had barely been turning their fall colors when I grabbed my small back pack intent on leaving before anyone had the chance to follow me.

But here I was now standing in the middle of a muddy sidewalk with soaked to my bones. Huffing I continued walking he twenty miles to the hotel listed on the sign. Hopefully they have a complimentary breakfast, I'm practically wasting away now, I thought as another blustering wind went through my thin jacket. Even though I felt numb walking here amongst the last of the brown grass my heart ached. Stupid traitor of an organ. Stupid feelings. Stupid kidnappers. Stupid wolf! I winced at that one. If it hadn't been for my own curiosity I would have never come to be at this much of a low. If I had managed to just stay in the park that night and not go off to the mall to steal change from all of the vending machines then I would have never became what I was. I would have never had to live with the reality of true utter pain nor would my soul ache so much.

Deep within me I heard the wolf give a chastising growl. Predicament or not I had to move on with my life or forever be kept as a victim. No, I was submissive, yes, I was injured with scars deeply embedded in my soul, but I had a gift. A gift that forced my numbing toes to continue on in this early winter-a gift in the form of a hitchhiker. My toes hit the edge of concrete as I looked up. Tri-Cities Motel-$20.00/Night, Meals Included. Cable the sign flashed at the corner of my eyes. I had made it here and hit the jackpot of free food as well.

I stomped my feet free of the freezing mud as I walked into the dimly lit lobby. A women with faded pink hair and black eye shadow sat behind the glass partition surrounding the front desk. She flipped through a water stained fashion magazine as she chewed on the piece of gum in her mouth. Every once in a while she circled something in the magazine with her long pointer finger nail as she sounded out the words quietly to herself. I slung my backpack from my shoulder placing it with a loud thunk on the counter. She paused for only a second at the sound before flipping through the magazine once again.

"Um, hi I need-"I started out.

"Twenty bucks for the night. Not negotiable." She popped her gum before mouthing out another word.

"Ok, I have twenty here but can I stay for maybe-"

"Not negotiable. Twenty bucks will get you the room for the night. Any longer and hats another twenty per night." She flicked her eyes up to my face before looking down.

I sighed. "I just got into town and am really strapped for cash. Is there any way for me to get another night? I'm pregnant and it's freezing cold outside. I could clean rooms perhaps?" I fiddled with the bill in my hand as I looked at the top of her head. She flipped the magazine closed as she leaned over the counter as much as she could with the partition to stare at my belly. My shirt had ridden up some when I took the backpack off dragging my red jacket with it. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth before reaching under the counter for a key. "Three nights. How much cash can you give me now?" She twirled the key between her manicured nails as she stared me down.

"Thirty, it's all I have on me, I swear. If it's any issue then please let me clean some of the rooms."

"No need. The maid's come every night for that. I'm only doing this since I get two free nights here a year-trust me this place isn't a place you want to linger in any longer than you have to. Eight hours a day is more than enough for me. You're in room D1 second door on the left. Since you came in so late dinners over but you can have this," she pushed through the small slot along with a small burrito. "I had two already and don't want this one. If you see anything wrong with the room dial 0 on the phone." She opened the magazine once again before shoeing me off with a wave of her hand.

I grabbed both items from the counter then headed down the hallway. The door was a grimy white with two blue doves painted on it. They were paced far apart with their necks extended as if their two beaks were kissing each other. My lips tightened into a small frown as I twisted the key in the lock. It budged with a bit of pressure before the door popped open on squeaky hinges. The room was dark save for the neon signs glow peeking in from behind the heavy curtains. Loud moans sounded from the room next door with Uncle Kracker's Drift Away blaring through I hummed along with the song as my foot kicked the door closed behind me.

The bed had a faded comforter on it with two very flat pillows lined in similar distasteful print. I placed my backpack on the wire luggage rack next to the closet as I walked across the room to fiddle with the wall heater. It buzzed to life spewing out dirt for a few moments that made me choke. A few moments later the scent of electric heat swamped the room warming me slowly. I stripped out of my wet clothes as I walked into the small bathroom. The shower was an odd mix between tile and ceramic fixtures with the tub coated in an annoying shade of pink. I slung my clothes over the shower railing before adjusting the temperature to a few degrees above scalding. Even though my body kept it's unusually high temperature I found it hard to not like hot showers. There was just something about it that kept me grounded to my humanity. I scrubbed my scalp with the small shampoo that had been left in along with a small bottle of conditioner. I used the suds to scrub at the dirt stains on my body.

My hand lingered of my slightly swollen belly. At five months pregnant I was barely beginning to show but I was so tiny that you could barely see it. At four eleven you would have thought I'd look like someone hiding a small soccer ball underneath my jacket but I didn't. As far as I knew I was the only werewolf to have a pregnancy last this long without losing it. But that was one of the reasons they had changed me. My wide hips brought a whispered promise of life along with full breasts. They told me, once I had woken up as the monster that I was that first night, that I had showed promise. I had eased through my change in a drunken state of sleepiness only moaning once in pain. They kept me for what felt like years but was really months in the lab experimenting on me in both wolf and human form. At one point they had injected a small amount of silver in me along with a zygote from another subject. I lost the baby within a matter of hours as I screamed in pain from the silver. I was denied a pack and given white coats instead.

Ten lost souls, my mind echoed, ten babies that could have been. But not anymore. I would die for you little hitchhiker, I would die. I let the water wash the tears from my eyes as I looked up at the blinking light. My hand gave one last rub before I moved down to my legs then shut off the water once fully rinsed. At seventeen I felt like I had lost more than any other girl would in their normal life. I had to fake being in love with one of the wolves that had turned me in order to get out. Viktor who was already crazy from the loss of his only surviving daughter warmed up to me hoping that I would somehow manage to give him a new family. I could still hear his pained howl when I ran from the facility hell bent on escaping. I didn't know it at the time but I was pregnant. From that moment onward I was determined to not be caught again. That was what lead me here out in the middle of nowhere.

I rubbed the steam from the mirror with one of the hand towels that had been left on the counter. My green eyes stared back at me tiredly as my deep black hair began to frizz in the humidity of the bathroom. There was no air vent for me to turn on so I had to suffer with the stickiness of it. I strode into the room wrapped in my towel as I unwrapped the burrito eager to get some food in me. I flipped the TV on with my big toe as it flashed to the local news channel. A women with a blue scarf and matching beanie stood outside of an office complex waiting to speak. She nodded her head as she pulled the microphone closer to her mouth, "Thank you John for that lovely story. We just heard back from the lawyer of Adam Hauptman and the police chief. He has safely been released from being kidnapped. He was apparently kidnapped by an anti-fae organization earlier this week in an attempt to have him assassinate a senator. He is now back home with his wife and will be returning to work shortly. Back to you John."

Just as the camera panned out from her the woman next door screamed in absolute rapture, "RICK!" Her voice rattled the window some as the bed hit roughly against the wall. Uncle Kracker began to repeat again as the room grew silent. I crumpled up the burrito wrapper before tossing it into the garbage can next to the bed. I unwrapped myself from the towel before moving the covers away from the bed and slipping underneath them. "Adam Hauptman," I mumbled against the flat pillow as I watched the weather girl predicting how long the storm would last. "So that's the alpha I'll have to turn myself into if I get caught. Hopefully that won't happen anytime soon." I closed my eyes as the image of a black wolf circling before laying down played behind my lids. She placed her snout on the top of her paws with her ears pricked forward. Soon, she told me, we will be safe to sleep without one eye open. I ran my hands through her fur before finally falling asleep, a faint kick within my belly reminding me of my promise.