The Wannabe Warrior
Chapter 33

Madison POV

I wake up to the sound of an alarm, but it is not mine. I feel Zane move and turn it off, and try to cuddle him back into me, but I push him back and straddle him, he is awake instantly.

I lean down and k**s him thoroughly and then, with a smirk, I climb off and go to get dressed.

‘Tease.’ he g****s as he rolls over and climbs out of bed too.

‘Why are you getting up?’ I asked.

‘Can I not have breakfast with my mate for a change?’ he quips.

He gets dressed and we walk hand in hand down the dark hallway to the dining hall.

Alpha and Mitch are already there, eating breakfast.

‘Morning Alpha and Mitch.’ Remembering my manners even at the early hour of the morning, and yawning through the greeting.

Alpha chuckles and gives a nod and Mitch just looks at me for a moment, then returns to his meal. That is about as close you are going to get to having a greeting at this time of morning from Mitch.

We ate in comfortable silence.

When, every now and then, Zane snuck more food onto my plate, I felt like a stuffed pig at that rate, he was trying to feed me. I would be too full to go out, or was that his aim? When he went to put more on, I put my hand over my plate, he pouted, but put the food back on the serving dish.

I headed to Gerome’s office and gathered the equipment I would need, and with Zane following me, I headed to the barracks to replace Graham and his men waiting.

I greeted each one and headed out in the wrong direction, as a precaution.

Zane said he would watch from the treeline and see if anyone was following us.

We had all become so conscious of traitors in the camps, that we are doubling every effort to keep our goals quiet.

After a while, we circled back towards the mine, taking a wide arc, hoping to avoid the rogue areas we know have them hiding about.

It takes about two hours to reach the mine site. It is an old area, with abandoned mining equipment dotted about the opening. I look about hunting for the best position to place a camera. Once I had chosen a few places, we waited a little longer and wondered if they had six rogues doing a ten-minute rotation like the cave. We gave it an extra ten minutes just to be sure, and once Graham gave me the nod, I pointed out the trees and wooden structures I would climb.

I climbed the wooden structure first. It is the most exposed and hardest for me to hide. If rogues were out on patrol around here.

I got to the level I was happy with for the best camera exposure and set the camera up.

I call Gerome and give him the camera number and wait for him to say it is okay.

The next three cameras are tricky. The trees are tall with no suitable limbs for climbing, being too flexible and most likely not take any weight, I needed to do some acrobatics.

I am not known for that type of maneuver.

I jump between limbs till I get to one in front of the mine entrance, and place a camera there.

‘Gerome.’ I call

‘Speak.’

‘This one is right in front of the mine entrance, as close as I can get it, angle, okay?’

‘All good.’

‘Am going to set up five more, around the perimeter.’

I went from tree to tree, setting up the cameras, and calling Gerome. I reached the last tree and was securing the camera, when I was mind-linked.’

‘Be still, rogues approaching, left of mine.’

I went still and flattened myself against the tree trunk. Luckily for me, I was deep in the foliage and had plenty of cover.

I watched the six rogues enter the mine and I finished the camera and crawled back against the tree and called Gerome.

‘Gerome.’

‘Talk.’

‘Last one, did you see the rogues enter the mine?’

‘Yes, be still, more coming.’

I mind-link Graham that more rogues are coming and they to duck down out of sight, and six more rogues arrive and enter the mine.

‘Angle okay, get out of there.’ Gerome whispered, sounding anxious over the earpiece.

I shimmied down the tree and belly crawled to where the warriors were waiting.

I had just got into the trees when another six-rogue arrived and entered the mine.

‘Let’s get out of here fast, they are like only five minutes apart.

I strip and shift, Graham gives the warrior my clothes and the other equipment, and they shift and take off back to base.

I run at a steady pace, until I am almost back and then head past the base, and then turn to go in another direction and enter the gardens from another direction again.

We shift to the treeline and get dressed and walk towards the base.

Sitting on the grass near the pack-house, are ten warriors from the Dark River Pack, watching us return.

They nod at us as we pass and then get up and walk to their barracks.

Our warriors head to their barracks, and Graham and I head to the packhouse.