Not Beyond Saving

CHAPTER 1

*3 Years Later*

    Anna slowly climbed out of bed, making her way to her bathroom. The past three years had been a living nightmare for her, each day harder than the one before. She moved through her room like a ghost as she gathered her clothes for the day. Fifteen minutes later, a fully dressed Anna silently left her room and walked down the stairs. Her parents were in the kitchen, and the smells of breakfast filled the air.

    Her parents smiled when they saw her, wishing her a good morning. As she reached for the coffee pot, Anna gave them her customary head nod. Pouring herself a cup of black coffee, Anna let her eyes drift out the window that sat above the kitchen sink. She heard the faint sighs that came from her parents but didn't say anything.

    Halfway through her coffee, Anna froze as movement caught her gaze. Her heart started to beat just a little faster as she recognized the man that was walking towards her house; his stride swift and determined. For three years she had managed to avoid him, and his Luna. Now, here he was, just a few feet outside her house.

    "I have patrol today Mom, Dad," Anna whispered as she sat her cup in the sink and moved towards the front door. As she swung it open, she met Alpha Black with his hand raised. He froze as his eyes took in the woman before him, squeezing hard as the changes that everyone else had been seeing for years, hit him all at once. A memory of her laughing, smiling face popped up and he couldn't help but compare it to her now.

    Nothing about his Anna was the same; her face no longer held the heart-stopping smile that he had loved, her eyes didn't hold the passion, fire, or love that had made his heart race. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes didn't leave the brick porch and his heart sunk. He had done this to her, he had destroyed her.

    Black couldn't help but compare her to a statue; cold, distant and unmoving. Anna kept her eyes down, quickly sidestepping the alpha as she quickly made her way towards the woods. "Where are you going, Anna?" His voice was soft and the second she heard it, dozens of memories bombarded her mind. Memories she had once treasured greatly but now hated that she still possessed them. "Patrol," she replied curtly, not once stopping to let him talk.

     No one except for the Gamma knew that Anna was pulling every spare patrol that he would send her way. It gave her something to do, something to keep her mind off of the mate she had lost. Anna knew that Gamma Alden was growing worried about her, but she knew that he wouldn't say anything about his suspicions until she could not do her duties.

     Once in the woods, Anna slowly shifted, the pain not even registering in her mind. She knew that soon, she would not be able to shift, to enjoy the sun on her back, the wind in her fur, or the dirt under her paws. She had thought that she had nothing left for Black to take from her, but she had been wrong. Anna had her wolf, and he had slowly taken that away from her as well.

    Making her way to the lake, Anna took several swallows of the clear, cool water before looking around. Memories of that night tried to pop up, but she just slammed them into the back crevices of her mind. Looking down at her reflection, Anna couldn't help but smile a little. The only good thing that came from that night was the changes to her wolf. She was bigger now, almost bigger than Black. Her once solid black fur had had been changed to a dusty grey, making her look like a ghost. And her green eyes were now liquid silver. She looked like a demon, and she loved it.

     For several hours, the patrol went smoothly. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. The sky was starting to grow darker, letting Anna know that she would soon be returning home. Suddenly, the stench of rogue hit her and she froze, trying to locate the source. Soft growls coming from the lake told her where they were. Silently, Anna headed that way, making sure to hide in the shadows.

    Coming to a stop just a few feet from the rogues, Anna released a deep warning growl. Instead of listening to her, they returned the growl as they scanned the forest. Silver Mist had a rule that rogues be given a chance to leave peacefully, if they didn't, the patrollers were allowed to engage. Taking them by surprise, Anna leapt from her hiding place, slamming into the smaller of the two.

     It only took a matter of seconds to break the first rogue's neck. Anna let the dead body fall at her feet, her eyes locked with the gaze of the rogue before her. He lunged at her and she bit his shoulder, tearing away a large piece of his skin. The rogue yelped with pain, but he quickly circled her again, looking for a weak spot.

     Once he was behind her, he tried catching her by surprise, but Anna just kicked a foot out, her claws digging into his throat, digging deep. The scent of his blood seemed to fuel Anna's wolf as she spun around, attacking him. The rogue fought ferociously, but he was no match to Anna. He lunged forward again, his teeth locking around her neck. She felt her skin tear but she blocked the pain.

     A loud howl of pain left the rogue as Anna broke his back leg, managed to get her throat free. The rogue, realizing his mistake, tried to jump out of her way, but it was too late. Anna got a death grip on his throat and without a second thought, ripped it out. The rogue slowly fell before her, his blood staining the ground and her paws red. Sounds of running feet behind her alerted Anna of her pack mates, but she just stood there, staring at the rogue.

     She turned to leave, but her legs gave out from under her. Her body slammed hard into the ground, her head hitting a stone at the water's edge. As her eyes fluttered shut, she realized that the rogue had done more damage to her than she had first thought. The distant sounds of bones popping and realigning reached her but before anyone could do anything, Anna gave into the darkness, letting it claim her.