Feral Born (Viciously Yours #1)

Chapter Eight: 3am Talks

Lacing up my sneakers, I stood from my crouched position and jogged down the back steps of my cabin. Entering the dark forest, I took my time winding through the trees as I made my way towards the border. Otis had finally put me back in the patrol rotation and it was time for me to relieve half of the night team in my sector. My partner will relieve the other half only a few minutes after me when they've arrived.

There was four teams of four at each corner of the territory whose focus was on patrolling their specific areas. It was safer to have select groups watching each corner at all times, making the chance of anyone slipping pass them very slim. Plus their areas all bumped into each other so there were no gaps in the routes they took.

My area tonight was the southeast sector that was defined by the small stream running along the edge of territory lines. It was a little stream that flowed down the mountain and trickled into a lake beside the human town. A pretty site for the pack shifters to hangout and take their mates to. But it was also great for washing away the blood after a fight, like I had after I killed those renegades. Cleaning blood off the bathroom tiles was a shit ton of work that I didn't care to do.

Fangs pulsing to be released at the memory, I shook it from my head and focused on my surroundings. The full moon tonight was giving off just enough light so the forest wasn't as dark as it normally was. Either way it wasn't a problem for me, it was child's play picking my way through the broken branches and rocks to my patrol route.

The sound of rushing water flooded my hearing the closer I got to the stream. Tilting my head, I pushed past the sound listening for the shifters I was sent to relieve. Two heartbeats were beating steadily by the stream while another two were spread out and beating to a faster pace. The snow was starting to become littered with muddy paw and shoe prints near the treeline. I tsked as I saw them multiply leading me straight to the four patrolling. Sloppy.

Suppressing a growl, I kept my steps light and slipped around the last remaining twigs making sure not to snap any of them. Stepping out from between the trees, I narrow my eyes at the men I could now see clearly. They opened their eyes the moment I stepped out from the forest and immediately snapped to attention like a soldier would for his general.

I stared them down until their gazes lowered to just above my shoulders. Much better. Looking away from the pair, I turned my head left and then right to see the others. Another two in wolf form were panting by the stream trotting back n' forth with their eyes trained on the other side of the stream. Their ears flicked in my direction half a second before their bodies turned to face me.

Muddy snow squished underneath my sneakers as I walked further away from the trees and closer to the others. The pair in wolf form sprinted past me into the woods to change forms in semi-privacy. Not going far, the faint sounds of their change assaulted my ears with groans and the sharp cracking of their bones.

It reminded me of when I heard a group of wolves speaking about their changes, they had said the reshaping of their face hurt the most. Something about the snapping of their jaw and cheekbones always aching for a few minutes after a shift. I found it secretly fascinating, I could change forms but my form wasn't exactly a wolf.

"Are you here to relieve us, Omicron?" Turning to the voice, I saw that it was the light brown haired man who spoke.

I nodded in answer to his question and looked them over. Both wore t-shirts but one was in sweats while the other, like me, wore black basketball shorts. I didn't know everyone by name but I've memorized their faces throughout the years. So, I knew that these men were pack warriors who trained directly under Candice and now...Jasper.

"How's your new co-gamma?" I asked them just as the others walked back from the trees to join us.

The shifted warriors turned out to be two women who were just as tall as their male counterparts. The women were in the same patrol clothing as me, basketball shorts and a sports bra. Comfortable clothes that you could run and stand in for long periods of time. Plus they were easy to slip or rip off when you needed to shift.