To Cheat Death

Chapter Eighteen

My breath caught as Alecc came to the door, his red hair messy and unkempt.
I couldn't stop the swell of attraction even if I wanted to.
Then nervousness as strong as before he kissed me.

What if he is angry? What if he rejects me as pack? What if-

"Alecc. I Sky is a really cool like, maga shifter. Like the tales!"
She grabbed my hand.
"Now we got a tell-"

"Oh no you don't." Said Alecc, snagging her arm and pulling us inside before easing the door shut.
"Now.. what's going on?" He said, rubbing his eyes.

Siren talked excitedly until she had no new information to give, in which case Alecc turned to me, eyebrows raised, the sleep gone from his eyes.
He shrugged.
"Makes sense."

Sirens jaw dropped.

"First off." He smirked at her.
"Siren, you look like a puffer fish when your face is like that."

He teeth clicked as her jaw snapped shut.

"Second off, Siren, you're not going to tell anyone else."

"Aww come on."

"Sky has already been targeted at least twice. We don't want more of who ever her enemies are to find where she is. And thirdly," he looked back at me,
"I don't think you should go anywhere alone. Not even in the camp. Lastly," The smile of my crush disappeared under the calculating look of a commander. He was the son of the chief first and foremost.
"You can change into any animal? Any bird?"

I nodded.

"You would make a wonderful spy. The wers would never see it coming."

Sirens jaw dropped again.
"You can't be serious, Alecc. What if she gets hurt?!"
She grabbed my arm protectively.

"She would just watch from a distance as a bird. Sky? Would you be willing? You would be alone. If my father agrees to let you get really close, no shifter could follow."

"Alecc! They already want her dead! You want to send her closer to danger? What happened to your protective side?!"

Alex's gaze became hard.
"I am trying to think about the safety of the whole camp. She could easy see how close the wer packs are and warn us. Besides, if she hears anything she might be able to learn where all the missing shifters are."

That shut Siren up.

He turned back to me, a question in his eyes. I knew I could say no and he wouldnt begrudge me.
"I was alone after my parents died."

"Your not anymore, Sky." Siren said reassuringly.

"I want to do this. I want to help my pack. They killed my parents after all."

(Authers note I couldn't help myself: my name is inego montoyo, you killed my father, prepare to die.
Hehehe)

...........................................

Long story short, only three other people were told.

The chief
Jackson the second in command, basically.
And Sirens mom, Amber, because she was housing me and needed to be aware of the added danger.

I had gained another claim to fame. Now I had a permanent pass into the chiefs cabin and just not with Alecc, for war counsels.

People saw me now. They smiled and talked. They offered to help with whatever I was carrying.
People didn't know why, but suddenly I was elevated to an important active member in the war.

The few missions I actually went on were long boreing things. I would fly over and count the enemies tents.
I never got close enough to eavesdrop after I saw some people using the birds flying overhead for target practice but I was able to report the enemies location that led to many an ambush on our part.

Weeks pasted and I was happy.

"See Orion's belt?" Alecc said, tipping his head back at the stars and grinning.
"Favorite constellation. Yours?"

I sighed in contentment, my head on his shoulder, eyes beholding the sky as black as my hair.

The trees shivered in the wind, and wolf song played through the night, but no eyes watched me. Only yesterday had I seen the wer packs far from camp. I was sure we were safe despite the waxing moon. It was more than half way full but surprisingly the wers had not attacked in weeks.

"The north star." I murmured.

"That's not a constellation."

"It's a star." I smiled softly, knowing he wouldn't see it in the dark.

The stars winked from the night sky, straining to complete with the bright moon.

"Do you believe in the creator?" Alex asked.

I pondered the question for a moment.
I realized he was still waiting for an answer.
"My parents did. And when you think about it." I swept my arm across the stars.
"It's all too beautiful to be an accident." I touched his heart, trying to ignore the hardened muscles underneath his shirt.
"You think this was an accident?" My breath caught and I fought down a sudden wave of desire.

"I don't know. Well, no, I think the tales have some truth to them. And the tales definitely have a creator."

The howling became alarmed and was suddenly cut off.

Alecc's body became tense.
"How close were the wers again?"

"Far enough that we shouldn't have to worry."

"Will you check? Just in case?"

I Changed into an owl in answer and flew toward where the sound originated from.

My wing beats were silent, not even a mouse could have detected me.

Dark forms darted through the woods barely visible to even my night vision.

At first of thought it was the watch doing their rounds.

There are too many. I realized. What this could mean sent shivers of alarm down my spine. I circled back to Alecc.

He was gone.
"Alecc." I whispered. Then I noticed him in the tree, listening.

He started when I touched him.
After telling him what I saw he said,
"That's it I'm sounding the alarm."

In an instant he was a wolf and howling an alarming sound that was quickly picked up by whoever heard him.

"Get to the caves."

Snarling erupted from the camp and sounds of fighting began in earnest.

"The wers are attacking now because they lost the advantage of surprise." I said in horror.

He Changed back.
"They are without a doubt targeting this place now that I gave our position away. We need to go."

We raced through the forest hoping the warning got out soon enough.

"How did they sneak up on us!?" I thought.