Prologue

JEZEBEL had grown up in a very terrible home. Her stepfather was abusive, crude, and just an all-around horrible person. She wasn't his daughter and was reason enough to him for the abuse. He always brought up her father and how she was a bastard because of it. She was only five and she had already experienced more than anyone else near her age.

Years earlier, when she was three, she stumbled into one of the guests that he had over. She was sure that the man had been important because he wore a big suit and had a very stern face. Jezebel had been having trouble standing up straight and needless to say she fell. The man she ran into didn't look upset, but her stepfather was furious.

"You stupid, ignorant, little girl,"  Jezebel cried as he slapped her roughly on the cheek. She cried out in pain as he sliced the skin on her cheek with his nail. Her mother stood at the door watching with tears in her eyes as he hit, kicked, and slandered her. Her mother cried, but never interfered and that's why she hates her. She is her daughter and yet the abusive man always came first.

As she got older he continued treating her cruelly and every year it would get worse and worse. One year she had to go to the doctors for a concussion and broken ribs. The doctors didn't say or do anything because he lied and told them that she had fallen down a flight of stairs and hit the door. If they didn't believe him then they didn't say anything.

She was used to it now. Her body was always bruised in some form or fashion, and everyone blames it on her being a klutz. That was partially true if she got caught stumbling or anything close then it was bad beatings for the night.

••••

"Get up," Jezebel whined slightly as her body hit the cold floor. Her thin blanket had been ripped off her body causing her to fall swiftly to the ground making her already bruised stomach ache. He had thrown her against a wall the night before for a reason she had yet to understand.

If she had to guess it would be that she didn't listen to him, which then meant then she would get in even more trouble if she didn't know, so without saying a word she got up pulled on the outfit he had placed at the end of the bed.

A small yellow dress that was loose on her malnourished frame, and some type of leggings. Her shoes were two sizes too small, but there was no way she would ask for a new pair. Another lesson she had to learn.

Still, she walked down the stairs the best she could and when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs she was grabbed by the hair and dragged outside. The sun hadn't even come up yet and he had already started. He slung her body into the trunk of his van making sure her head hit to bed hard.

"Where's mama?" He never just took her out of the house, unless his mother asked. Even then it was rare for him to agree. So the whole trip was even more suspicious. Her voice fell on deaf ears as he started the car. She repeated herself again and he still didn't respond.

He flew down the road as quick as his car could go on the cracked concrete. She stayed quiet because he was beginning to breath heavy and make the low growling noise she heard him make before she received a terrible beating. She sat down quietly, as she tried to keep her head from hitting the edges of the trunk, but sometimes when he turned she be launched into the side causing her body to cringe in pain.

A little while later the car stopped and he was there at the back in seconds. She was jerked out into a bustling street. The people fluttered by giving Jezebel and her stepfather weird looks, but none of them did anything. Maybe it was because was crying, and he had grabbed her by the arm, not the hair. This might have looked like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

He took no time pulling her towards an old broken down playground. Every part of it looked unsafe, but no one cared. Of course, most people don't. If their child falls from a rusting monkey bar than it would be a learning experience over negligence. Much like all of her beatings were "learning experiences". She saw no difference in the wording because it was all neglect to anyone sane. There were people who cared, but from her experience, many didn't.

Her tiny body was being dragged all through the park as she laid limp in his grasp. Everyone looked past it with disinterest. When they finally stopped her stepdad pulled her up to him. 

"I am gonna leave you here. You move and I will take it upon myself to beat you worse then you have ever been beat before," She didn't want that, but she had a feeling, either way, she was gonna get in trouble. She nodded her head accepting his words. He took no time shoving her into a small thistle bush the perfect size for her. She winced and tears fell down her cheeks as thorns poked into her skin and tangled in her hair. Her stepdad had left already and within minutes she was all alone again.

Jezebel's body went numb after a while and she was just sitting there shaking. She found herself dozing off. Her body was exhausted from everything she had to endure, and even when she slept she was always half awake. It was a reflex to all of the surprise attacks she would have from him while she slept.

She woke up some odd time later hearing someone call out. The boy's voice sounded curious and somewhat concerned. He didn't sound like her stepdad, but it was definitely a boy.

"Hello?" She wanted to respond but remembered that she wasn't supposed to because she would get in trouble. Instead, she shuffled back farther into the bush. The thorns pushed deeper into her legs and arms. She wanted to start crying again as the pain started poking through from the numbness.

The voice got closer and closer, and soon it was right above her. She couldn't help it as her body began to violently shake. Deep down she dreaded the idea of it being her mom or her stepdad. She prayed her hardest for a guardian angel. Someone with pretty brown hair and blue eyes. The boy that had protected her in her dreams. He was the nicest and she always hoped to meet him.

"Hey, do you need help?" Jezebel jerked her head from the thoughts of the dream she had of the boy when somebody poked her shoulder where the thorns had torn at her dress. She hadn't realized that somebody had been tearing away the branches of the bushes while she was dazed.

Jezebel squeaked as the boy's face came into view through the broken branches. He had the most beautiful blue eyes and cropped brown hair. He was older than she was, and he had a very kind look that she hadn't seen since her papa passed away. It was a mix of amazement and, yet again, sadness. She found herself at a complete loss for words, so she nodded her head slowly.

She felt him wrap his hands around her, and for a split second, she found herself clinging to him as if he was the safest thing she had ever held onto. The amount of security he radiated made her little head spin. She only squeezed tighter as he pulled out the thorns that littered her body from the bush. There was so many, and Jonah didn't mess with many of them that were too deep.

"Hey, what's your name? Mine is Jonah," Jezebel didn't know if she should tell him. He may tell an adult and she would have to go back to her stepdad. She would fight like crazy before going back there. It took her so long to answer that Jonah had gotten most of the thorns out of her legs and arms.

"M-my n-a-name is Jezebel," She croaked out. Her throat itching with each word as she spoke. It had been so long since she had anything to drink and her voice was evidence of that. She thought about her stepdad and as a growl sounded behind her she went into a fit. Tears poured down her face and she shoved the boy away because she, even though she had no reason to, she thought he was gonna hurt her. The noise was the same one her stepdad used before he would beat her.

"Don't be scared, I won't hurt you," Jonah ran his hand up and down her back soothing her as she cried out the rest of her tears. Jezebel didn't know why but stopped. The tears stopped and she was smiling at him, and she had just been crying. Yet her body relaxed into his as she shook slightly.

"Jezebel, pretty name. How old are you?" She knew this was a distraction because Jonah was still digging with his nails to get a few of the thorns from her arm. She didn't want him to growl again, so she decided it was best if she held up finger rather than talk. She held up five fingers, making sure it was five before she lowered her head against his chest.

"Well, who put you in there Jezebel?" She didn't know if it was out of curiosity or him wanting to know to send her back. She didn't want to go back to that terrible place. It was awful to be there with the both of them, but most importantly him. She figured that if she told Jonah about him he wouldn't make her go back. This wasn't a given though

"Bad Daddy, he doesn't like me," That's what she called him, she wasn't where she needed to be intellectually, but she tried. The thought of him taking her back made tears stream down her small cheeks as loud sobs racked her body.

It hadn't been very long since she started crying before she realized that Jonah was making the weird noise from before again. It sounded like a mix between a dog whimpering and the growling Pomeranian that Mrs. Jenkins has on a leash in her front yard. She was confused and mostly intrigued. It sounded different than he stepdad's growl. Almost puppy-like to her.

"You don't look like doggy, but you sound like the doggy" She stated bluntly looking at Jonah. She twisted her head slightly as examined him. He didn't look like a puppy, he looked like a boy. He didn't respond only smiled before taking her off his lap and sitting her onto the prickly grass.

"Do you like doggies?" he asked. Jezebel made herself so dizzy nodding her head so fast, and when he offered her a chance to see his puppies, of course, she said yes. What else was she suppose to say?

He laughed contently before grabbing Jezebel's hand and pulling her up so she was standing. Her legs wobbled, but what made her giggle was the slight sense of electricity that traveled up her hand as he held onto it tightly so she didn't fall.

"Tingley," she giggled surprised by the feeling. Jonah seemed to notice them but didn't say anything about it. Maybe he just shocked her when he went to help her up, but that didn't make much sense considering the number of tingles that were causing her arm to become slightly numb. The pain from earlier seemed to fade into nothing as he held her.

He tugged along softly until it got to the point that Jezebel couldn't walk anymore. He picked her up easily making sure to be careful as not to hurt her. She snuggled close to him wrapping her legs around him. Jezebel ended up falling asleep and staying that way for a long time.

She heard people conversing as she began to slowly wake up. She could feel the slight stinging on her skin as the sound of muffled voices echoed around her. She snuggled closer to the warmth of the body pressed into hers.

"I think our son has found his mate," Jezebel could hear the woman crying as the mumbles formed words. , "Howard, he is so young. Why did the Moon Goddess make him have something so serious before he even shifts ?" no words were exchanged for a minute as the conversation hung in the air.

"What is a 'mate'?" Jezebel felt of jolt of excitement after hearing Jonah's voice. She could feel herself slipping back into unconsciousness. The conversation going fuzzy again.  

"Mates are-" The conversation cut off into the static, "- forever," She strained her ears to ear everything, but it was harder than she thought.

"Why does," Jonah's voice sounded like the broken end of a telephone. She strained her little ears so had that she felt herself finally wake up.

She saw a gorgeous woman walking towards her with some pink goop in a narrow container. It looked like something her mother had given her when she was sick, but that was ages ago. She didn't know what it was called, but it tasted bad. Like really bad!

"Jezebel, my name is Sophie. I am Jonah's mom," Jezebel smiled sweetly before hiding in Jonah's shirt, "You need to take some medicine sweetheart, so you will get to feeling better,"

Jonah tried to help but telling her that she couldn't see the puppies until she took the medicine. Even after that, she was still on the fence. After everything that happened to her, she didn't wanna drink the pink stuff. He hugged her a little before, and she soon was gurgling down the thick, pink liquid. Jezebel cringed slightly before handing the small plastic cup back to his mom as she hoped to see the doggies.

"Can I see the doggies now?" She asked in a whisper smiling at Jonah. He nodded his head before whistling as two swift-moving shadows swept a few inches off the ground. She stared in awe at the two little bounding pups.

"Boston," Jonah said before a small Husky bound out of the kitchen her white coat speeding around the lounge before stopping in front of Jonah and twisting her head showing off her one brown and one blue eye. She was followed quickly by another Husky who was a lot smaller, but faster, "Curly," he whistled again gaining the attention of the puppy. His name should say enough about him and his fur. His ice blue eyes glowed before he rushed over before attempting to jump over Boston.

Jezebel giggled as she played with the puppies. Jonah sat down next to her watching as she made the puppies do what little tricks they could. For the first time, she felt like every ounce of pain had left her body. She forgot about her stepdad, the promise she made not move, and the fact that she was never going back to the hell where she was raised.

She felt safe, finally.