The Wolf

Ch. 49: Goodnight, Nico

~Nico~

It's been almost a week since I've last seen Blake. I hope he's safe on Pack grounds. I quit my job at the cafe, feeling that it was too risky to keep it since the hunter knows I work there. I've also stayed away from Uncle Joe's house, sleeping at the bar more often than I used to.

Now, I'm sitting in the middle of the woods with three other people; Damien's men. There's Kai, Sage, and Ana. All three are vampires and all three are trained to blend with the shadows. They've been training me for about a year now, so I'm almost a quarter as good as them by now. To make up for my lack of skill, I use magic to conceal the rest.

"I'm glad you're joining us again, Nico," Sage says. She's a short girl with olive skin and chestnut brown hair.

"I should be thanking you guys for letting me intrude," I reply.

"Aw, you know you're welcome anytime," Ana butts in, sitting beside me on a log. She has silver-blonde hair and gray eyes. She looks like a model.

Kai stands against a tree, looking gloomy and serious as always. He's of Japanese descent. "Try not to get in our way, though."

"Got it." Once again, I'm the weak link in this chain. I can't mess this up.

"Oh, Kai, you're always so serious. You need to calm down sometimes," Sage complains loudly.

"No, no, it's fine. It's better safe than sorry." I put my hands up to calm her down. I don't want them to start fighting again.

Right now, the four of us are waiting for night to fall before we go to the location that we know Nyx's men are at. Then, we'll follow them under the cover of shadows. We just have to sit and wait until then without being caught. For now, I've put up a small barrier around our camp so that no one can spot us or hear us if they're far enough away. Kind of like an invisibility cloak.

"So, let's go over the plan one more time," Ana suggests.

All four of us circle around a fallen log where we have laid a map down. A red 'X' marks our location. A blue circle shows where our enemies are supposed to be by nightfall.

"Sage and I will be ahead of the men, watching where they will go and scouting ahead. Kai and Nico will be at the rear, assuring that there are no reinforcements or stragglers." Ana points out the four positions to each of us. "Kai, you will be doing most of the tracking. Nico, you make sure that no one else is following them. Sage, you'll be doing the scouting ahead, while I'll focus on watching their progress. If things start to go sour and they have reinforcements, then we'll have to pull out and try again. There are already ten men to track as of right now. Any more than that and it will be difficult to retain cover."

"The men are all werewolves. There are no vampires or druids in the mix," Sage points out, "so we have to be extra careful that they don't smell us."

~*~*~*~

After we take an hour discussing our plan, we sit around waiting for night time. Slowly, the sun drags across the gray skies until darkness descends upon the woods. Quietly, like a subtle breeze or the shadows themselves, we move through the trees without making a sound. Ana and Sage disappear into the gloom ahead of us. Meanwhile, Kai pulls ahead of me while I hold the rear. With the help of a spell, I'm just as invisible and quiet as the rest of the squad. My once clumsy self has been honed into a precise blade.

The flames of a campfire come into view, lighting up a small clearing and revealing the figures around it. I can hear the fire crackling from a mile away. The smell of brush and gasoline is strong in the air to my sensitive nose. These guys must be very brave or very stupid to light a fire and give away their location. Or maybe it's a trap.