Once Jamison pulled up to the cabin Jude had organised for us to stay in, I was more than enamoured by the old-fashioned exterior. The small structure looked a little misplaced wedged into the slope of the mountain.

A shower of light rain began to sprinkle, as dark clouds gathered in the sky. Raindrops slid down the truck's window, distorting the cabin from my view.

Alexei and Jamison rounded the truck and took their bags. I hopped off, squeezing my plastic bag filled with underwear, snacks, and my toothbrush closer to my chest. I had opted for a pair of plain cotton panties; however, I couldn't totally discard the pair Alexei had recommended. I simply paid for it discreetly, bagging it before Alexei could catch me. I didn't even know why I grabbed it but now I was overly cautious with the bag in my hands. I would be beyond mortified if the man himself knew I ended up taking the scrap of silk.

We quickly dashed for shelter in the direction of the cabin.

The wooden steps leading to the door creaked under the weight of our boots as Alexei fidgeted with the key, trying to turn the knob.

Once he managed to unlock it, the hinges squeaked as he pulled it open.

The inside smelt damp. Jamison slid a palm over the wall and switched on the light. A buzzing sound resonated through the cabin before the lights flickered, casting a weak light. He sighed grimly when he took in the place shrouded in a tacky yellow glow from the lightbulb. I could make out a few dead insects inside the teardrop glass.

The cabin wasn't big by any means. The disuse was evident by the amount of flaky cobwebs decorating the corners of the room and the mould smeared across the walls that looked like they used to be a dull, peach colour.

I opened a few windows, letting the crisp air enter the dwelling.

"When was the last time Jude came here?" Alexei asked, frowning at the cracked ceiling that looked like it was minutes from cracking open. Tiny droplets of rain traced the thin veins carved into the surface.

"Maybe three to four years ago?"

"I don't know why he bothers keeping this place here. It's not like he frequents it."

"He's Jude Slater. He does what he wants." Jamison shrugged.

Alexei relented a nod at that.

We could all agreed that Jude could do whatever he wanted with the place.

The rain began to splatter hard across the roof tiles, making the place vibrate. Jamison peered around the thick grey curtains, cursing as the raindrops fell more abundantly, shaking the glass.

"I guess we'll just wait until the rain clears a bit before we do anything. I don't want to risk anything." Alexei walked to one of the doors connected to the living space. It opened up into a little bedroom with a view of a single bed. Not much else adorned the room except for some miscellaneous things that were scattered around.

"I'll take the couch." Jamison placed his bag across it, taking a seat. He immediately began unpacking the few things he brought with him, placing them out on the worn coffee table.

"Well, I'll just find a nice spot on the floor...somewhere." I mumbled, looking for a cosy place to settle.

Sharing this small place with Jamison and Alexei hadn't been something I expected when I rolled out of bed this morning.

A quick glance into the room showed Alexei pulling out a few unused sheets from the tall closet to dress the bed.

Alright, it looked like I really was going to slum it on the floor. Slinging my plastic bag over my shoulder, I moved to the fireplace that still smelt like remnants of a fire. Soot still stained the burnished wood framing the shape of it. The sprawling rug in front of the fireplace would provide some sort of cushioning for my back at least. It wouldn't be too bad.

It wasn't like I hadn't experienced worse before. I had slept on dirt before under an endless open sky. It wasn't exactly bad. Some of my best nights were spent under the twinkling stars, with nothing but the thin clothes on my back to keep me warm. However, it wasn't something I told people on a casual basis...or at all.

I plopped onto the rug and cringed, feeling the coarse fabric beneath my fingertips.

Aside from developing a rash, the rug would do.

I peered into my plastic bag, fishing out my toothbrush. My fingers brushed against the silky material. I had almost forgotten that I even purchased the sinful thing. I couldn't help but admire the softness of it-

"What are you doing?" Alexei stood over me.

I squealed, literally squealed like a pig as I snatched my hand from the plastic bag and threw it across the room.

The space between his dark eyebrows wrinkled as he went to retrieve the limp bag but I quickly scrambled to my feet and scooped up the handles of the bag before he could. Our fingers brushed for a split-second and I startled from the contact.

He froze mid-step as his gaze narrowed on the plastic bag I squeezed closer to my pounding heart. "Uh, what can I do for you Mr Vasiliev?" I squeaked out.

He recovered from his crouching position, peering down at me with suspicion and a brief flicker of shock he quickly expunged. "How do you know that name?" He asked with a carefully blank face.

I nervously tucked a stray lock of hair that dangled in front of my eye behind my ear. His gaze followed the movement intently.

I inwardly kicked myself for my big, fat mouth.

I couldn't possibly tell him that when I had been briefly obsessed about him at some point of my life, I decided to discreetly comb the Pack for information. The only person who had been willing to hand over details was Emerys himself. The man had been sporting a knowing smirk as he spilled the beans.

"If you guys are done playing around, we should head out now while the rain has stopped." Jamison stood from the couch, adjusting the straps of his black skins.

I exhaled in relief, glad that Jamison was there with us.

***

There was something unsettling with the way the long silhouette of the trees danced across the ground.

Jamison scoped out the general area on my right, while Alexei scouted the path to the left. Several metres separated each of us as we searched for any signs of the poisoned changelings. Both were still visible in my peripherals, more out of protection than strategy. We couldn't risk spreading out further, but we also needed to work fast.

The trees shivered as a wintry flow of air brushed by.

Our suits provided reasonable protection against the naked elements, but the breeze was noticeably a few degrees lower than what I was used to.

An owl's call reverberated through the line of trees.

I huddled into myself, while simultaneously probing the area in front of me.

There wasn't much to see.

It had already been a few hours and they hadn't run into anything yet or had caught sight of anything worth a degree of value.

However, it was intriguing watching both Jamison and Alexei work as they inspected their stretch of land.

I observed Jamison as he abruptly came to a halt. He scraped the sole of his boot across the dirt, assessing the forest floor littered with leaves. He crouched low and held up a thick patch of silver fur. Alexei came to his side. scanning the area until his gaze landed on the exact same place I was staring at.

Four long claw marks defaced the trunk of the tree a few metres to the right. We all met at the base of it, examining the deep etchings closely.

Jamison drew his fingers along the jagged marks, feeling the uneven surface. "A lot of force was used."

"Look at this." Alexei drew our attention to the dark splatters barely visible on bottom of the tree. They looked like eerie freckles but as soon as Alexei brushed his fingers against the marks, his fingers came back smeared with red.

Blood.

Alexei drew in a long breath, rubbing his fingers together. "Wolf blood."

"It's recent." I gulped. "Do you think they bring changelings up here to kill or are people coming up here, running into these poisoned changelings without knowing they're here?"

"Who would come here willingly?" Jamison rose to his feet, scrutinising our surroundings with those keen, copper eyes. "They might be bringing people up here."

"Why here?"

"Why not here?" Alexei questioned, wiping away the blood on his fingertips against the sleeve of his skins with a barely concealed grimace. "This place is far enough to do some shady things but not too close to the surrounding Packs for people to venture here unless they wanted to."

"That means we can rule out coincidences." I added.

"Yes." Alexei confirmed. "We can rule out any findings we see or collect being coincidence. People usually have incentive to come to the mountains, usually for hikes. Other than those who want to scale the slopes, I doubt anyone else would come here just for the sake of it."

"Have you noticed how quiet it just went?" I asked both men warily, whispering.

Jamison and Alexei froze, taking in our surroundings.

After several breaths, the wind howled, piercing through the leaden silence.

Alexei turned to face me, "We should head back-" His gaze snapped over my shoulder.

I saw a pair of eerie red eyes reflected in his.

I was aware of Jamison moving but it felt like everything was shifting in slow motion. His fingers skimmed my arm, but Alexei was a second faster. I didn't even realise Alexei had tossed me to the ground. I only felt a warm puff of air against my cheek before my back jarred the earth in a heavy thud that shook the trees. The back of my skull pulsed with a painful ache but other than that, I was in one piece.

Alexei had shifted at some point, now fighting the wolf. I glanced to the side, finding Jamison facing two more who crept out of the shadows.

"If something goes wrong, shift Pen." He warned just as he morphed.

I pushed to my feet, shaking off the sting of pain still ringing at the back of my head.

Jamison was on the defensive, trying to distract the two wolves that had come for him. I ran over, ignoring the little spiral of fear I felt as I slid against the ground.

Both wolves stopped. Two pairs of eerie scarlet eyes stared back.

"Come to Momma bitches!" I lunged for the closest wolf with burning red eyes.

The other wolf began to come for me too, but Jamison leaped, slamming into its body as they landed with a thump on the ground and began rolling away in a tangle of limbs.

Alexei sprinted pass, snarling in triumph as he caught his prey.

The wolf in front of me pounced. I dodged, barely missing the clamp of his jaws to my neck. I had no solid plan in place. Neither of us had donned any weapons but Jamison and Alexei had no problem with hand-to-hand combat or using their wolf.

I couldn't risk my wolf, so I could only rely on the things I had picked up from being an Enforcer.

I took a quick sweep of my surroundings, looking for anything to help me. I wasn't a good tree climber, but I was quick on my feet.

The changeling bit the air right behind my knees. I leaped, catching onto a low hanging branch protruding into my path. With a burst of energy, I pulled myself up as the wolf darted by. It skidded to a stop as I swung back down and ran back in the direction we had come in.

There was a cliff edge there. I could lure it there if I was fast enough.

The wind whistled as I ran blindly. There wasn't any time to fight. The changeling would trap me in seconds. I wasn't as good as the other Enforcers when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but I would make do with the set of skills I had in my arsenal.

The clearing came closer, but I was losing speed.

"What the fuck are you doing? That's a cliff edge!" Alexei's voice boomed from behind me.

I kept my eyes steady on my path, ignoring his call.

Focus Pen. Focus.

Another burst of energy pushed my legs faster. As soon as one foot touched air, I leaped off the other, feeling the wind whip my hair around my face.

I felt the paw of the wolf brush against my thigh, before it spiralled down the yawning gape of the cliff's edge with a whimper. Gravity pulled me down once I lost momentum. I twisted in the air, clawing my hands onto the rocky edge of the cliff. My fingers slipped as my body slammed unceremoniously into the jagged edge. I ignored the pain that bloomed against my chest. My biceps strained as I tried to lift myself up, but the surface gave way, sending bits of misshapen stones raining down. Dust clouded my vision and a fissure of disquiet settled over me.

Alexei's seething face peered down at me, blocking the moonbeams from my view. He crouched low, grabbing my wrists in each of those dangerous hands and effortlessly pulled me up like a misbehaving pup. I felt the need to tuck my head into my chest as his glare bore down on me like lasers.

I caught movement over his shoulder, spotting Jamison regarding both Alexei and I with a narrowed gaze.

Alexei abruptly released me, and I landed on my ass, hard. "That hurt like a bitch." I sucked in a startled breath.

"Get up." He snapped. He didn't even wait for me as he stalked off into the direction of the cabin.

I rubbed my ass and followed his furious pace, ignoring the cuts along my hands that dripped blood.