Nature of the beast (book 1 of the Beasties)

I spy

"Mrs Skyler I think you're pretty" a little girl bashfully states. It's the little girl from the other day, who had scraped her knee (frienemies). She is just too gosh darn cute. I want to pinch her chubby cheeks.

"Why thank you" I grin, while blushing. Only children tell the truth about a person. They have no filter until they are pre-teens. Ooof, a little boy runs into me, grabbing my legs. His little face buried into my knees, giggling.

This morning I'm helping Brandy with the kids of the camp. There are twenty five little rascals and I'm loving every minute of it. The parents have a meeting to discuss possibilities of what the camps next step is if Liam joins their crusade or not.

I look down at the little giggling, wiggling worm attached to my legs. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to take me down. Huh, tough guy" I joke. Both kids laugh. The boy tries to squeeze my legs together to make me fall. I purposely fall to my back in the crisp, cold grass. "Oh boy! Your strong!" I exasperate dramatically. He laughs harder. The next thing I know, I see millions of little bodies flying at me. Giggles drown out all other sounds and the kids pile themselves on top of me. I'm sure my face is red between my laughter and their weight.

"Ok, up and atom." Brandy intones as she pulls two kids off of me at a time. By the time she gets to me, I must of looked like a flattened pancake because she was busting at her seams. The children stood around proud of their handy work.

When Brandy calmed her snorts, she eyes me with a reprimand on her lips. "You shouldn't give kids that kind of power. It turns them into evil little nymphs." She dramatically drew the last words out as she hunched over, then started chaseing the children with tickle fingers, poised to snatch them and tickle them to death.

Catching my breath, I head to a table with bottled water. Taking a big swig, something odd catches my eye. Over where the meeting is taking place, two very suspicious people are crouched near the back of the tent. It appears they are trying to listen in on the discussion. I'm sure they aren't supposed to if they weren't invited.

I grab a baseball sized rock from the ground. Aiming carefully, I chuck it at one of them. There was a not so subtle OWE as the guy falls to the ground. The other person bolts into the woods with out bothering to see if it's accomplice is ok.

Gavin rushes out of the tent to discover the spy. Furry is written all over his face. The guy attempts to scramble away, but Gavin already has his ankle in his grasp. "So Peter, seems my suspicions are true about you." Peter's face fades to a petrified grey. "Where's your accomplice? I can smell their sent here." Peter shakes his head 'no' as a way of saying he won't talk. Other members of the meeting have meandered out to see what the ruckus is about.

I walk over to the group. "I saw the person run into the woods. I didn't get a chance to see what he or she looked like, they had their hood up." I inform. Gavin swings his head towards me. "They seemed suspicious so I threw a rock at them. One way or an other, I figured it would get your attention." Gavin seemed floored by my account. He shakes himself out of it, than seems to have a silent conversation with a few of the meeting guests. They run into the woods after the culprit, with out hesitation.

"Thank you Skyler for your quick thinking. I knew there was a leak in the camp some where, but I didn't know who it was. Now we have one less threat to worry about." His serious praise is touching.

Two big, burly men hauled Peter off to his fate. Gavin twitches his nose, than follows the sent of the second spy. The rest check over their children, making sure no harm had befell them. Something shines in the grass where Peter had been laying. I bend down, picking it up. It was a fancy, high dollar pocket knife with the initials C.B. engraved in to the metallic handle. I put the weapon in my pants pocket. I should give it to one of the members here, but I feel, I can't trust any of them. I will pray on it and see who God tells me to entrust it with. Liam suddenly pops into my mind. Thank you lord for your immediate answer.

Canis's pov

Cathrin bursts into my room, interrupting my play time. Annoyed I look at her pointedly as she breaths unattractively heavy and sweats disgustingly, all over my rug. "Well, spit it out! What is it? What are you doing here?" I demand. She takes in a large gulp.

"They discovered Tom." She states with as much control as she could muster. My rage flys off the handle. I pick up the dresser and chucked it through a wall. I stomp over to her and grab her neck. Menacingly I whisper through my tight throat.

"How did that happen?" Cathrin tries to swallow past my hand.

"A short girl, with long blonde hair, blue eyes and perfect aim. I think, I think she's human." She stutters quietly. The wheels turn a notch in my mind, Skyler flashes in my mind. She must of sought shelter with that flea bag (Gavin) after the encounter she had with the rooster (Wes). I drop Cathrin, while my mind hatches a new plan. She gasps on the floor. I bend down to her level, lifting her pinched face to look at me in the eye, a tight grip on her chin.

"Do you want to redeem yourself with me?" She nods 'yes'. "Do they know you are a spy too?"

"No, I ran before anyone could see who I was and I'm wearing an off-setter, so my sent is different."

"Good, here is what you'll do to get back in my graces. One, you will return to camp and kill Tom before he lets out our little secrets, than two, I want you to retrieve that girl and bring her to the cabin in the north wood, on the mountain. A man named Wes will already be there with some of the pack. Keep an eye on them until I can make it up there. Let Wes do as he wishes with the girl. It should be entertaining." I let her go and stand up. Cathrin is still as a porcelain vase, just as fragile too. She is trembling like a little mouse caught in a trap. I get a satisfying rush to my blood.

"What, what if I don't kill Tom? He's been my colleague since we first became covert operatives for you three years ago."

"If you don't, than you will take his place and you will die. I'll make sure of it." Her skin turns to a sickening shade of white. The thrill returns to my blood. I love power. Cathrin nods, than scrambles up. She leaves as if hell hounds are on her heels. That reaction made this whole inconvenience almost worth it.

"Baby please come back to the bed with us." One of the girls begs. I grin, suddenly remembering what I was doing a few minutes ago. Four girls, one bed, I love my life. An evilly delishes thought comes to my mind. Maybe when I make it to the cabin, I'll find out what's so alluring about Skyler that seems to draw Liam and Wes like a moth to a flame.