Under The Skin

C h a p t e r O n e

Dressed all in black, Poppy been moving through the night virtually undetected up to this point but up in this tree, no one can even touch her. Most of her team has gone its separate ways but her best friend Connor, is sticking by her side. That's usually how it goes. Everyone else just kind of avoids her.

It's been nearly six years since the incident that made her little sister leave and Poppy, now almost twenty-one, hasn't been able to live it down. She's instead become a bit of a pack pariah seeing it, and rightfully so, as the ultimate disrespect to attack a family member. No one other than Connor and her family have been very warm to Poppy and she's learned to prefer it that way. As she sees it, she doesn't need anybody else but them.

A tap on her shoulder has her turning to face Connor who is perched on the same tree branch as her. He's also dressed in all black but she can see a few strands of his dirty blonde hair escaping from under his hoodie. The random strands are irritating her. She wants to brush them off her face but she can't so, instead, she focuses on the whispered words he's saying.

"...so, do you think you can do it?"

Poppy frowns a little, "Uh, what?"

Connor hangs his head in exasperation before peeking up at her, "Seriously?"

"What?"

"Nothing," He sighs before looking over the edge of the branch their sitting on to the ground below, "I'll just do it myself."

"No, no, no, just tell me. I can do it."

He smirks a little at her eagerness, "Okay, so here's the plan...just do your crazy ninja moves and get the flag."

Poppy's look turns dry and it's her turn to ask, "Seriously?"

Clearly mocking her, his hazel green eyes dramatically widen, "What?"

"That's it?" She hisses in annoyance.

He shrugs, "Does there need to be more?"

Smacking him upside the back of the head he quietly squawks in anger just as stands up on the branch underneath them. Its bows a little under her weight but she's able to keep her balance perfectly. Looking down at the ground below, she closes her eyes and breathes deeply. Stepping on foot off the branch she jumps a little on the end of the branch and opens her eyes just when she lands on the ground below. Her boots don't make much of a noise but even if they did it wouldn't matter. Poppy is already on the run before anyone would have heard it.

Her breath is coming out in even pants and her eyes are reflective as she uses her built in night vision to take in the area around her. She spots the red flag of the enemy team about three miles ahead, hidden in the middle of a cluster of birch trees. Skidding to a stop she also spots three guards around the flag. She has two choices now. Attack head on, pin them and steal the flag or play it stealthy with the same end result. Considering the guards exactly aren't her favorite people in the world, she decides to attack head on.

Then her Alpha female's words ring in her head. This is a game about being under the radar not brute strength. Poppy makes a face at the words as they come to mind. The fact that Alpha female is also her oldest sister doesn't help either. Poppy's wolf is let down at the idea that they won't be able to show off but also doesn't want to disobey their sister and Alpha. Best to play nice, she thinks with a sigh.

Changing her game plan, she looks around in hopes of finding a better avenue of victory when Poppy spots an opening in their ranks. It's a slim shot but all she has to do is get her hand on the flag and then she'll have help. For some reason, her team always comes around to her side once she actually gives them a chance of winning. Rolling her eyes at the thought, Poppy crouches low behind a tree as she tries to stay focused.