Animal Hybrids: The Ones of the Woods

Animal Hybrids: The Ones of the Woods 2

"Yes?" I asked, standing up. "What's wrong?"

Trevor glanced around. Daniel had forced Adam into playing a game of tag, and several other Animal Hybrids were nearby. "We need to talk about this somewhere else. Alone. Come with me." He turned and he and Marigold walked towards their den. I quickly waved to Lily, then followed the two Alphas.

Their den was like a very small cave that was sunken into the ground. The floor was dusty and littered with soft leaves. Two pillows and duvets that had been stolen from the town lay on the leaves. Trever sat down on one of the duvets and Marigold sat beside him. I sat facing them.

"As you know, our group, or, as I like to call it, pack, consists of wolf Animal Hybrids."

"Yes."

"And you also know that other groups live in this forest. Bird hybrid groups, rodent hybrid groups, other wolf groups, and many other different groups all live in this forest, as well as other places around the world."

"Yes." Where was this was going?

"And it would be terrible if they all lost their home, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it would."

"May, do you remember when we were running low on clothes? And we needed you to take some from the town?" Trevor changed the subject suddenly.

I wondered why he changed the subject, but I relaxed and nodded. Was this all they wanted? I could do that again easily.

"I need you to do something like that for us, but it's slightly different."

"Different how?"

"We need you to go to the town nearby and pretend to be a human. You will get a job, preferably one in a shop that stocks items that we need, and you will go to the school."

My eyes widened. I was going to be among the dangerous humans? "Why?"

"They are planning to cut down the woods. You need to gain their trust and convince them to leave the woods alone."

Why was he being so vague? Millions of questions whirled around in my head, all fighting to be asked first.

"Will I ever come back to the group?" Probably one of the most important ones.

"Of course. Every week you can come into the woods and give us updates on your progress. After you are finished you can 'move away' and return to the forest."

"Why me?" 

"Because you are a brilliant liar."

I glared at him. "I'm not a liar."

"Alright, then. How about... actress?"

I sighed. "Fine. But why do you think I'm a brilliant... actress?"

"One time you convinced Daniel that you were his long lost twin, even though you're two years older than him."

"Oh yeah." I remembered that.

"Any more questions?"

"Where will I live?  Why didn't you want others to hear us? And how will I stop them from finding out about me being an Animal Hybrid?"

"I arranged for you to stay in a place that my cousin once stayed in while he was checking out what human life was like. He didn't like it, so he stopped living there. To answer your second question, it's because they don't know about the humans destroying our home and I don't want to alarm them. We won't tell anyone about you living in the town. To them, you are going on a hunting trip for the pack. And you won't be found out because you're too careful."

"What if I make a mistake?"

"You won't."

I shifted uneasily, feeling as though the future of the pack rested on my shoulders. But then again, it did.

"I enrolled you in the high school there, West Ember High."

I blinked. Why did the humans have such strange names for things?

"You start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" I leaned forwards. That soon?

"Yes, now go to your den and get some rest. It's getting dark."

I was about to protest, but then I remembered who I was talking to and stood. "Yes, Trevor," I said with a sigh, and I left the Alphas' den. Outside, Lily was sitting next to Daniel and they seemed to be having a funny conversation, because they were laughing like mad people.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Lily said, wiping tears from her eyes and looking up at me. "What did Trevor want?"

"He just wanted me to... go on a hunting trip tomorrow. For the pack. I'll be a while, though."

She nodded. "Well, have fun." She got up and stretched. "I'm gonna go inside. G'night." She started waling towards her den.

"Me too," said Daniel, getting up and following Lily.

"Good night."

I turned and arrived at my den, curling up beneath the stolen pillow and duvet. I was going to have an interesting day tomorrow.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to update as much as I can. Thanks for reading! Please give me any feedback about what you thought about it.