Chapter 1: WILD & UNTAMED / PROLOGUE PART 1

Seattle Washington…

Aurora fell to the floor of the Our Lady of Peace Orphanage. The other girls had been picking on her
since she arrived at the orphanage days ago. She had been transferred from the St. Gustafson’s
Orphanage because she was a problem child. Aurora was only five, but she had been in ten
orphanages since the day she was born. Like many of the other orphans, she had no idea what had
happened to her parents. All she knew was she didn’t have any. Kids were cruel and not very accepting
of new arrivals.

These girls had taken Aurora’s stuffed teddy by force. That cotton-filled bear was the only thing Aurora
owned. She took it everywhere with her since the day she was born. It was the only thing she had that
gave her any comfort. The older girl had snatched it out of her hands and shoved Aurora to the floor
when she tried to take it back.

Aurora picked herself up off the floor and squared off against the older girls. “Give me back my bear,”
she demanded.

“Or what?” Hissed Nancy, the nine-year-old that held Aurora’s bear.

“Give it back,” Aurora yelled.

“Only babies have stuffed animals,” Nancy laughed. “You’re a baby.”

“Give me back, my bear,” Aurora snarled.

“No,” Aurora watched as Nancy walked over to the fireplace in the parlour room they were standing in
and threw the teddy bear into the flames. The stuffed animal went up in flames instantly. Aurora rushed
to the fireplace and grabbed the poker. She tried to rescue her bear, but it was a waste of time. By the
time she got it out of the fire and put the flames out, the bear was destroyed.



Aurora stared down at her only possession, and she could hear the girls behind her laughing. Her
anger built until Aurora could not contain her rage. As she tried to steady her breathing, Aurora’s amber
eyes began to glow like lanterns in the dark. Her fingers flexed, and her nails became razor-sharp
claws. Her canine teeth descended, becoming fangs, and her face twisted into something monstrous.
Aurora turned and fixed Nancy in her sights. Then she let out an animalistic growl that could make the
blood run cold.

The other girls in the room screamed at the sight of her, and the nuns came running into the room just
in time to see Aurora rush Nancy and knock her to the floor. Sitting on top of Nancy, Aurora pinned the
larger girl beneath her and began to hit and scratch her, leaving tears in the front of her clothes and in
her skin. Nancy screamed, lifting her arms, trying to defend herself from the monster Aurora had
become.

Suddenly out of nowhere, one of the nuns blindsided Aurora hard with a broom knocking her off Nancy
and onto the floor. As Aurora picked herself up, the three nuns in the room were protecting the other
children and holding their crosses out in front of them, reciting a prayer to ward off the devil.

Aurora took a deep breath, trying to relax. She slowly changed back. Her claws became hands, and
her face was that of a child again. Had they not witnessed the change in her themselves, one would
never have believed Aurora was a monster just seconds ago. Frightened, Aurora took a few cautious
steps back. She didn’t understand what had happened. She had never done that before, at least not
that she could remember. What had happened? Aurora was just as scared as everyone else in the
room.

***

One week later…



Aurora had been moved to a small private room and quarantined. None of the other kids wanted to
room with her. She had been locked into the room, and her meals were brought to her so that she did
not interact with the other children.

That night Sister Mary Alice came for her with two other nuns. They insisted Aurora follow them. They
circled her so she couldn’t wander off. As they walked down the halls, the other children gathered in the
doorways of their rooms and watched as Aurora was escorted away. Aurora was getting a very bad
feeling.

The nuns took Aurora to the basement of the orphanage. The basement was scary. The walls were
white cinderblocks with a concrete floor. There were no windows, and the dim lights did little to alleviate
the foreboding feeling of their surroundings. Sister Mary Alice pushed open a wooden door that
creaked as she opened it. They all went inside, and Aurora noticed there was a bed with an iron bed
frame in the middle of the small, dark, windowless room.

There were two Priests and three more nuns in the room. Father Thomas was in his formal robes, and
he held an old leather-bound bible in his hands. At the same time, his younger partner Father John
held a long length of rope in his hands. Aurora turned to see Sister Mary Alice shut and deadbolt the
door to lock them in.

Aurora was getting a very bad feeling, and she was honest; she was scared. “Put the child on the bed,”
Father Thomas ordered. Aurora panicked as the nuns lifted Aurora off her feet and placed her on the
bed. They held her down as she struggled while Father John tied Aurora down to the bed, so she was
restrained and couldn’t move.

When she could no longer move, the nuns stepped back, and Father Thomas stood at the foot of the
bed and threw holy water at her face. Then he opened his bible and made the sign of the cross as he
started to speak in Latin. Aurora looked around to see all six nuns on their knees, their rosaries in their



folded hands as they bowed their heads a prayed. Fear filled Aurora as she realized what was going
on… this was an exorcism.


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