Tex stared into her bathroom mirror, gently blending in the makeup on the side of her neck to cover up her Mark. For as long as she could remember, her mother had done this same process with her until she had learned how to do it by herself.  The Mark, something every wolf was born with. The mark was supposed to lead her to her life mate, but ever since she was a little girl her mother had her convinced that her mark would lead the pack to ruin.<br/><br/>Suddenly a knock at the bathroom door caught Tex's attention. "You need to get a move on. The ceremony starts in an hour, you have to be there 30 minutes early. So finish getting dressed and go," her mother's voice came through the door. That's right, today was Tex' s shifting ceremony. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, after all people have died during their shifting ceremony. Once she was satisfied with her cover up, Tex pulled on a black tank top. Then a pair of jean shorts and checked herself over in the mirror before leaving the bathroom.<br/><br/>Grabbing her red converse hightops as she headed for the front door, Tex snatched a piece of bacon from a plate on the counter, putting it in between her teeth as she left. Pulling her sneakers on as she walked down the hallway of the apartment building, barely making it to the stairs when her best friend, Jason, walk out the apartment two doors down from her own. "So are you ready?" He asked, concern eteched into his features. Tex gave him a reassuring smile and finished eating as she nodded. "Everything will be fine you know," she reassured, hopping off the last stair.<br/><br/>Jason opened the exit door for her and followed Tex out. The pack was already starting to gather in the town center, murmurs and bets being placed on whether she would live or die. Jason grabbed her arm gently and turned her to look at him. "I know you are strong Tex. But please, do your best not to die before your wolf shows itself," he said quietly, already feeling dread for his best friend. Tex smiled and gave Jason a hug, then pulled away and headed for the platform. She didn't want to promise anything she might not be able to keep.<br/><br/>As she approached the platform, people began to quiet down and turn their attention to her. Stepping up onto the platform, she walked to the middle and held out her arms, letting them bind her in chains. Fear gnawed at her as suddenly the weight of what was about to happen came crashing down on her. Scanning the crowd in front of her, she realized her parents were not present. But someone far more special was. The Alpha.<br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>As the sun set and darkness fell over the clearing, everyone present fell silent. The moment the light of the full moon touched the platform, one of her instructors from school stepped forward to stand in front of Tex. "I apologize for what has to be done," he said quietly. Tex only gritted her teeth and nodded once in understanding.<br/><br/>Without warning, the man slammed his fist into the side of her head. The impact causing Tex to crash down into the platform, blood welling up from a small cut his punch had caused. Bringing up his foot, he gave another full powered blow to her ribs, crushing two of them in the process. Tex gave a low groan anddug her nails into the palms of her hands until she draws blood. Refusing to yell out in pain as the man again brought his foot down for another bone crushing kick, her body curled up to defend her vital organs. Leaning down, the man dragged her to her feet roughly and repeatedly slammed his fist into her stomach. Letting go of her, Tex whined in pain and crumpled to the ground, wanting to throw up.<br/><br/>For two hours, this continued. Blow after blow being received by Tex until she could no longer stay concious as another kick to her head finally triggered a black out. In this black out, Tex's body shifts into her wolf form. A wolf almost equivalent to the Alpha's wolf's size lays crumpled on the platform. It's black fur was striped with gray and in one of the gray furred areas on her neck revealed a black Mark. But within seconds, Tex shifted back into her human form, laying on the platform in an unconcious state. The man had clearly seen the Mark and as one of the wolves from the medical team climbed up to see to her injuries, he leapt off and immediately went to the Alpha. "Alpha, there's something you need to know," he said, watching as Tex was pulled onto a stretcher and two men hauled her off to the clinic to let her recover.