A Shifter's Tale

Expedition

~17~

“I found where it is,” Hunter said as he entered the common room, his hair dripping wet with Tao trotting at his heels. “It’s a few miles south, looks a bit like a castle if I’m honest. Twelve foot walls surrounding it and a door made of iron.”

“That doesn’t sound too promising,” Ebony said with a grimace. “I think I’m going to sit this adventure out, if you don’t mind.”

“You’ll miss out on all the fun,” Seth said in a sing-song voice. He was strumming on his guitar as he sang and Tao started howling along in time to the notes. I couldn’t resist a smirk at Seth’s indignation.

Hunter sat in his usual chair by the fire to dry off. The snow had turned to rain and was washing away all traces of frost. “Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug. “I’m sure Lexi will stay and keep you company.” He looked at me pointedly.

“Don’t be daft, I’m perfectly capable of spending an evening on my own,” she said bossily. “Lexi can go with you, the more the merrier.”

I looked at her thankfully and she winked at me in return.

Hunter gave her a stony look.

“I can’t figure out whether the rain will help or hinder us,” Ash said as he let himself in. “As well as drenching us through, I can only imagine it’ll hinder.”

“It’ll keep us hidden,” Hunter pointed out. “More than if it was a clear night, anyway.”

Ash was wearing a brown Stetson that was slightly too big for him and drooped over his eyes. He had to keep pushing it back up so he could see; I tried not to laugh.

“If you’re planning to set fire to anything, you can say goodbye to that plan,” Seth said to Hunter, sitting up and leaning on his guitar. “We’ll have to think of something else to distract them.”

“You’re sure the place you found is the right place?” I asked.

“As far as the public knows, it’s a breeding ground for animals used in scientific research,” Hunter said, looking thoughtful. “I guess it’s not really a lie, if you think about it. I do wish they’d stop seeing us as animals; we’re not all that different from them.”

“Well, I am,” a new voice said and I glanced up to see Cassius closing the door behind him. “But they weren’t counting on me being in the forest last night.”

I watched Cassius' eyes sparkle as Hunter gritted his teeth together before he sat on the arm of the nearest sofa where he wasn’t close to anyone. He was wearing a black hoodie over his tunic so that the two blended together. I met his gaze for a short second.

“Did they even know lycans existed?” Ebony asked. Demitri entered at that point, froze midstride when he saw Cassius and gave him a dark look. Cassius met the glare with a big grin on his face.

“My guess is they thought they’d wiped them all out,” Ash said.

“Pity they didn’t,” Demitri said coldly, keeping his eyes on the fire.

Cassius' grin turned to a glare. “Only takes one to make an entire army,” he replied in the same tone. “And likewise, only takes one to destroy another.”

“Is that a threat?” Demitri snapped, glaring at him.

“It can be,” Cassius hissed.

“Boys,” I said firmly. The last thing we needed was a feud between us when we were just about to set off on a rescue mission. “What’s the plan, how do we get there?”