Hidden

3

After talking to Tristan and Skylar for a little bit, I left to find Joe and James. Thankfully they both were in the packhouse, and we decided to have our little chat in the beta's office.

All three of us walked into the office, and I closed the door. As everyone sat down, Beta James said, "What is going on?"

"Well, the moon goddess had a little chat with Skylar?"

"When?" Beta Joe asked.

"Before she went into labor."

"Figures," James said.

"Well, the goddess told Sky that the three of us need to leave tomorrow and head to the dark forest."

"What are we looking for?" Joe asked.

"No clue but the last time any of us saw her, she said we were not alone. I'm assuming we are looking for other survivors."

"Possibly. That will take us two days to get there, and god only knows how big that forest is." Joe said.

"I figured I could fly us to the forest in the morning, and we can walk around until we find what we are looking for."

"That sounds good. How long do you think we will be gone?" Joe asked.

"No clue, but I want to be back before Luke and Jade have their baby."

"Have they been able to determine the species yet?" James asked.

Luke is a dragon-like me, and Jade is a wolf. When two species of shifters have a child and not of a similar gene pool, the child inherits one of the parents shifting abilities. I am praying for a dragon since there are only four of us left.

"Not yet, but we will know in a few weeks. Anyways we should pack light."

"What is light to you?" Joe asked.

"One change of clothes, two canteens, and some food. Not much because we can hunt, and carrying a bunch of unneeded stuff will weigh us down."

"Sounds good. What time should we leave? Hopefully not before breakfast."

"I think you both should fly on empty stomachs since neither of you has left the ground before. Plus, getting vomit out of dragon scales is a pain in the butt. We can eat when we land. I vote five in the morning." I said.

"I hate early mornings," James whined.

"We need all the daylight, so get over it."

"I'll talk to the kitchen staff and have them prepare us some stuff. I will see you gentlemen in the morning. I have several things to do before we go." Beta Joe said as he stood up.

We left the office, and I decided to go to my room and pack my things. I would need to go to bed early.

As I was packing my back, the door opened, and Luke walked in.

"You know there is a door there for a reason. Perhaps next time, try knocking."

He looked at me and then the bag. "Where the hell are you going?"

"The moon goddess has instructed Joe, James, and I to go to the dark forest."

"How long will you be gone?"

"No, clue."

"You know how to get ahold of us if you need to."

"I won't put myself in danger, and if you have the baby before I get back, I expect two puffs for a girl and three for a boy."

"Deal but look out for double the amount of smoke."

I stopped rolling my pants and looked at him. He had a giant smile on his face. "Twins?"

"ya. The other baby must have been hiding behind the other one because today they discovered another baby. Oh, and we have the gender of both."

"Tell me?"

"Girls."

I walked up to him and hugged him. "I'm so happy for you, brother."

"Well, that is not all?"

I pulled back and looked at him. "What? Is there a third?"

"I wish, but Jade is already dilated to a three. She has been placed on bed rest, but they could come any day now."

My smile fell. I wanted to be here, but now I wouldn't be. "I will try and hurry."

Luke and I talked for a while, and when he left, I went to bed.

The following day I woke up early, showered, and changed into comfortable clothes. I headed into the kitchen and packed up some food the staff left. I also filled my canteens with water and waited for the two guys.

I made a pot of coffee, and soon I heard the guys walking downstairs. James was grumpy and mumbling about how he didn't want to be up yet.

"Good morning," I said as they walked into the kitchen.

Both men said good morning and went straight for the coffee. When we were done drinking our coffee, we cleaned up our mess and headed out.

When we were a safe distance away, I handed Joe my bag and said, "once I transform, climb onto my back and hold on tight."

I walked away before they could say anything and transformed into my black dragon.

The guys stood there for a moment, and I made a guffing sound, and they began to walk towards me. When they were on my back and secured, I began to sore into the sky.

It took us about half an hour to reach the outskirts of the dark forest. James was not doing well, and I could tell he was going to be sick soon. I just kept praying he would hold his vomit in.

When we landed, James quickly got off of me and ran. He stopped running and began to vomit. Joe started laughing as he got off, and when he was down, I transformed into my human form.

Joe just looked at me with a shocked expression. "What?"

"Not fair I want to be able to keep my clothes on when I transform. I hate walking around naked."

As James finished being sick, Joe and I began to eat and talk. It took James several minutes to compose himself, and then he walked over to us.

"I'm not hungry." He said as he came and sat down next to me.

"Motion sickness."

"What is that?" Joe asked.

"In the human realm, some people would get sick from being in vehicles, on boats, or in planes."

"I'd rather run in my wolf form. I appreciate you getting us here faster, but I'm not doing that again."

"Fair enough. Relax, James, and see how you feel in a few minutes."

"What do you think is in this forest?" Joe said as James laid down.

"I'm not sure."

"I can't smell anything but trees."

I laughed. "This forest is huge, and whoever lives here could be using magic to keep themselves hidden."

"very true."

We ate, and after about ten minutes, James began to eat. When we were done, the three of us headed into the woods.