Prologue
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.” - Inspired by Lance Armstrong
The attack was over in seconds. My mother and father had pried my supposedly, sweet, small sister off my shoulder and she was now thrashing about beneath their vice-like grip. I could feel the burning sensation of the excruciating pain coursing through my body, racing with my thick blood, determined to win. I glanced at my exhausted sister. Her timid appearance deceived everyone, especially me. I never saw her as this aggressive little girl but I suppose one must prepare themselves for both the beauty and the beast within us all.
It was as if time had frozen and all I could think about was that one glance, maybe it was a figment of my imagination, but I swear on my life I saw my sister’s glimmering emerald eyes flash the colour of hell. She stared at me and the pain that once had me under a deep numbing trance, withered away and a feeling of adrenaline flowed over me like a tidal wave crashing against the shore. The unforgettable stinging sensation was gone!
I tore myself off the wooden floor and sprinted towards my bedroom, slamming the door behind me once I had escaped inside. I ripped off my torn and ruined shirt, slinging it to the opposite side of the room and I rushed to the mirror. I looked at my reflection and my one of a kind, amber eyes widened in fear as a shine protruded from the grotesque bite mark. I couldn’t contain the scream that ripped out of my throat as I touched my fragile shoulder that had formed a purple bruise around the mark.
Immediately, I withdrew my hand as it scorched me like fire would. The holographic light soon disappeared and all that gazed back at me was the black outline of a tattoo that represented strength, seriousness, power and authority. It was such a simplistic design; half of a silver moon and the other half was a pure, white wolf. It both amazed and terrified me that the mark now stayed permanently scarred on my pale, delicate eleven year old body.
