Chapter 1
HEX
The birds are singing around me as I quietly take in the view. I’m just hanging around… quite literally. My name is Hex Spencer, I’m a 19 year old wolf-less girl from the Dark Fang Pack.
I am currently up a tree gazing at the village below, people passing by are unaware they’re being watched from above. The buzz of village life floats on the air, mingled with the rustling of leaves from the fresh breeze that’s blowing by. Taking a deep breath, smiling softly, I shut my eyes, allowing myself to enjoy a moment of peace.
My work is physically demanding so I make it a habit to stay active by training outside regularly. The result; a body that is sculpted with all lean muscle. I have long black hair that fades into red curls at the ends, and my almond shaped eyes are a deep dark brown and have flecks of red throughout them. Opening them again, I continue to scan the village.
Most people think my eyes are unnerving, so I end up spending a lot of time alone. My parents try to pretend that my eyes are a different shade of brown.
Ya, right! If that were the case then why do I freak people out when they look at me?
Another thing that stands out is my skin tone. I would be what you can call a sunburned honey brown. The problem is, I don’t burn in the sun. Like ever! It’s been like that for as long as I can remember. There isn’t anyone else in our pack or neighbouring packs, that share my particular complexion.
Most she-wolves in my pack are a little smaller than me, I’m about four inches shy of being six feet tall. My appearance and height together makes it very difficult to blend in at home, even though I try. From the look of the females in this pack, I imagine it would be the same thing here.
I’m an only child to an ex-warrior father and an egocentric mother, who used to think she would have it all. That was until she met her mate and had me… to her great disappointment. I was told that there was a complication with my birth, which is why I have no siblings. That fact only increased my isolation while I was growing up.
My father hates that he can’t take away my pain caused by everyone’s judgment. He sees what happens, but he tries to downgrade the events, hoping to make things easier for me.
Mom likes to see me hurt for the life I forced on her by being born. Her complaints change based on her mood. Don’t get me wrong, she can be nice to me sometimes. Usually when she wants something.
Hey, what can you do right!
Alpha Bain saw my talents when I was nine years old, I was running away from being punished for opening my big mouth. While chasing me, they quickly realized how fast and agile I was.
I used the shadows to hide, my speed to gain distance, and my flexibility and limberness to use the trees and avoid the guards when needed.
It took more than eight men almost three hours to find me. They had me come down from the tree I was sitting in by threatening punishment on my family. So, I went willingly to see our Alpha to face the proverbial music. That’s when I faced my first punishment, afterwards he told me he was going to put me where the pack needed me the most.
A year later my school life changed and my lessons got more intense. They pulled me from our pack school to be home-schooled instead. I crammed about eight years of classes in five years. I’m glad that part of my life is finished, being nose deep in a textbook isn’t my idea of a good time.
Combat training was added when I turned thirteen, one on one, away from the rest of the pack twice a week. Eventually, a year later, it turned to three days a week with my lectures. After graduation those three days turned into five. If I wasn’t already a hermit, my social life would have died at ten years old.
Training for this job started after I turned fourteen. My first deployment was almost a year later, mainly to observe White Claw Pack and Starlight Pack. Observe, report, and always keep out of sight, that was my Alpha’s number one rule.
Alpha Bain had other people that usually collected his intel from his spies. I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning, almost being spotted a few times, but I can say it forced me to learn quickly.
Right now I am at Crescent Shadow Pack, I just started at this location this month. This week's mission? Alpha Bain has me looking for an asset that went MIA a few days ago.
His job was to get some information that would be passed on to our Alpha, but he was a no show. This is my third attempt to locate him this week. The only decent intel I have to report for my efforts, are the cameras that I’ve seen them installing around their pack.
We had an agent in each pack to keep tabs, not only our enemy’s, but also our allies. Alpha Bain is not the trusting, nor kind-hearted type. He is a cruel man, though sometimes he can surprise you with an act of kindness. Although I must admit, those are few and far between.
A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about telling him that I was still unaware of Joe’s position in the Crescent Shadow Pack. I really hope he won't throw me in the cells again tonight. He seemed to like to punish me that way when I didn’t appease his expectations.
Scanning the people going about their day below, I thought about the rogue attacks at home, they were spiking again. There were whispers that one of the packs was involved.
Rogues have been testing our borders, every time they come back they seem to be more aggressive. When they do get through, it is never a pretty sight. Our pack ensured the border patrols were doubled so security was increased. No one wanted a repeat of the incidents that happened in the past. There have been a few serious altercations.
The last time we lost a fifteen year old girl, Samantha. She was taking a stroll in the woods with her best friend Thomas. He reported that the rogues came out of nowhere, surprising them both. It seemed like they were targeting her.
He was injured trying to protect her, but in the end it wasn’t enough before patrol came to help. She died in the pack’s medical centre that night from her injuries.
Unfortunately, she was still six months away from getting her wolf. If she had been just a little older, she may have survived. Her wolf would’ve helped her heal, allowing her wounds to heal in hours instead of requiring days.
‘Listen’ my inner voice demanded.
I looked down from my perch in the tree. I was crouched on a branch about sixty-five feet above the Crescent Shadow Pack. Loose strands of my hair blew around my face in the breeze. I pursed my naturally full red lips in concentration as I watched from above.
Reinforcing my grip on the trunk of the tree as my gaze swept over the area. The roughness of the bark under my hand steadying me. I took a breath and then closed my eyes again, concentrating on the sounds rushing my way.
I could hear children playing in the distance. Two women gossiping about how handsome the Alpha twins are. One of the girls was bragging about a night she shared with one of them. The other girl said she wouldn’t be surprised if she was chosen because of her family's bloodline. They were both sure that they would be a chosen mate of either of the two. Joking that one day, perhaps they would both be sisters.
To the right, I heard a bang so I diverted my attention to that noise. It sounded like someone punched a table.
“That is not what I wanted to hear!” I heard a male voice growl out.
I strained my ears in that direction but I could only hear a muffled response. From the tone, I suspected the individual realized their mistake and was apologizing in fear.
I smirked before I heard my inner voice chuckle and say, ‘now that sounds familiar. It’s nice to know it’s not just us!’
‘Shut up, not now! If you don’t have anything useful to say then stop distracting me’ I replied curtly. Leaning in the direction of the male’s voice, hoping I could gain some helpful tidbits.
“That rogue attack didn’t get too far, don’t worry so much Alpha John.” A middle-aged man said while following his Alpha out of a house.
They continued to walk down the road toward the pack house away from me. If I wanted to hear more I would have to move locations.
Alpha John stopped abruptly. Turning to face the man slowly. Another growl reached my ears as I steadied my position in the tree.
“Don’t worry? Can you even hear yourself right now? This is the fourth attempt to breach our borders this month, and that is what you say to me?” Alpha John said while keeping a cold calm demeanour.
“No Alpha John, I’m only saying that your previous actions helped keep the pack safe. That we all have faith in your decisions. It would have been worse if we hadn't added the extra layers to our security.” The man tilted his head and exposed his neck in submission.
They both nodded to each other before continuing down the path.
I looked around, noting the trees that were linked together. Yes, I could use them to get closer to my targets. Silently, I moved forward up one branch, then down another. Following slowly, I kept my ears on the two retreating figures.
“How are your sons doing Alpha John? I haven’t seen them around for a few days.” The man asked.
“They are both well, thank you Beta Neil. They are spending more time at the training grounds. Both are a little nervous about the qualifications, so they are dedicating more hours to prepare” Alpha John replied.
So Alpha John is with Beta Neil. From the vantage point I was unable to correctly identify him until now.
“Good to hear, be proud of your boys. They are both exceptionally hard working and well behaved. They could teach my kids a thing or two” They both laughed as they walked up the stairs to the pack house.
‘Guess this is the end of the road for us’ my inner voice whispered.
I stopped in the next tree, preparing for my exit. Now was the time to find my way out without getting caught.
I debated using the bird call but thought better of it. I was too close to the pack house. Scanning the area again, I decided to backtrack, nimbly crossing from tree to tree.
Before long, I found myself once again on the edge of Crescent Shadow’s village.
