Shadowed Secrets -Book 1: Finding Herself

HEX

The chirping of the birds' song melted into the rustling of the leaves. Keeping still, I listened to the world around me as I took in the view.

My name is Hex Spencer, I’m a 19 year old wolf-less girl from the Dark Fang Pack. Who is currently just hanging around… quite literally.

I’m perched up a tree on a branch while gazing at the village below, the people passing by are unaware they’re being watched from above.

The buzz of village life floats in the fresh breeze blowing past me as it mingles with the sounds of nature.

Taking a deep breath, smiling softly, I shut my eyes. While allowing myself to enjoy a moment of peace, quietly reminding myself that I have to take it when I can.

The breeze played with my long ombré black hair that blended into red curls at the ends. The slight distraction reminded me of my mission. Opening my eyes again, I continued to scan the village.

At my pack, most people think the red flecks in my deep dark brown eyes are unnerving. This leads to spending a lot of time alone. My parents try to pretend that they 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.

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.

Most of the she-wolves in my pack are a little smaller than me, I’m about four inches shy of being six feet tall. This paired with my complexion 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.

They told me 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. News flash - that strategy never worked.

Mom enjoys seeing me hurt for the life I forced on her by being born. Her complaints always change based on her mood.

Don’t get me wrong, she can be nice sometimes. Usually when she wants something. Hey, what can you do right!

The trick is to stay positive even when it’s hard.

Alpha Bain saw my talents when I was nine years old, while I was running away from being punished. All because I opened my big mouth, yet again. It happened more than I’d like to admit.

While they were 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. They won the battle and it was time to face the proverbial music.

That’s when I faced my first punishment, still to this day I can’t recall some of it. I wasn’t sure how long I was away.

When I returned home, it was life as normal, almost like nothing happened. The only indication of that punishment was the look of guilt I saw on my fathers face. He would mask it quickly when caught, but I saw it clearly. That was before time helped that moment in my life almost be forgotten.

Not too long after that Alpha Bain told me he was going to put me to use. I would be stationed where the pack needed me the most.

After a year 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 a team of us that worked in the shadows. There were a select few that would collect intel from his spies in the neighbouring packs.

As my job was to keep out of sight, I must admit that I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning. There were a few times where I was almost spotted. I can say the experience forced me to learn quickly.

This week Alpha Bain has me looking for an asset that went MIA days ago. His job was to gather some information that would be passed on to our Alpha, but he was a no show. This is my third attempt to locate him. 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 which created 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, which was a positive.

No one wanted a repeat of the incidents that happened in the past. There have been a few serious altercations that led to deaths.

In the most recent attack 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.

Thomas was injured trying to protect her, but in the end it wasn’t enough before patrol came to help. Samantha 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 the tree branch I was crouched on about sixty-five feet above the Crescent Shadow Pack. Loose strands of my hair blew around my face in the breeze as I watched from above.

Reinforcing my grip on the trunk of the tree, 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 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, 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” Beta Neil laughed nervously 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.