The Shifters: Katrina

It hadn't been her fault. They had all done their best. To look for him. To hunt him down. To stop this massacre before it could begin.

She stood above it all, watching. Her heart rested heavily in her throat.

She knew this was just the Beginning.

That they had started the next chapter in the story of the originals.

That was known to everyone. The ones fighting below her, the ones whose lives had already been taken -- even to the wolf standing just behind her.

It was why they fought so hard.

It was why she chose her path and stuck to it.

It was why she would kill without hesitation.

Heaving the duffel bag strap onto my shoulder, I looked away from the head of the elites.

"Don't ignore me, Katrina," Koren said, albeit playfully.

"I'm not ignoring you," I snickered, "just listening selectively."

"That's the same thing," Kami chipped in, elbowing my side. Koren rolled his eyes at the both of us, trying to steer us toward the others. Molly, Rachel, Victoria and Aaron were sitting at the bottom of the hill, waiting for our findings.

I laughed, eventually letting Koren drag me down toward them. Kami followed, waving to the other four.

"Did you guys find anything?" Rachel asked as we sat down with them. Aaron offered us all cups of coffee that they bought from one of the shops in town.

I shook my head. "Still no sign of them."

She sighed. Victoria glanced at Rachel's disappointed look and began to pull at her cheeks, pinching them until she gave in and smiled. The rest of us laughed, tapping the rims of our coffees together.

It hadn't been that long since I'd gone on a mission to find the elusive 'documents' hidden by the hunters. After bringing the journal of the infamous Zei Droves back to Coraline, I was too overwhelmed to deal with what she was uncovering. Instead, I threw myself in with the elites and we all disappeared to search for signs of Xavier, Sonya or their army of hunters. The discovery of the journal had been in November -- it was now January thirty-first, and I hadn't been in Iluita since that meeting for more than a day at a time. Our missions, investigations for clues as to where Xavier was hiding, could last anywhere from three days to an entire week. After what was around two and a half months of these missions, I had only been in Iluita for a little over eleven days over the span of that time. I hadn't even stayed back to greet my foreign friends when they came back months ago, and most of my friends hadn't seen me for quite a while.

It had been the only thing I could do to drown out my worries while still feeling like I was doing something.

There were some little changes too. Since tomorrow was the first day of Feburary, I could count myself as an adult soon as I'd be turning eighteen. Not only that, but I had chopped off my long hair after it had gotten pulled during a fight, the curls now resting on my shoulders. My skills had been honed over the past months since I was constantly working with the elites. I got ballerina status among other talents in tracking and, surprisingly, diplomacy. My shifting abilities, elemental control and regular combat were also improving the more I worked on my missions and apprenticeship simultaneously.

Unfortunately, today was the last day of this mission. We had been searching to the west for signs of planned hunter activity to no avail. Koren finally called it off since we were starting to get too far from Iluita.

Hence why we were all a bit disappointed. Another search turned out pointless.

"Hey," Molly said softly. We all looked her way. "At least we'll get to hang out in Iluita for a while this time."

"What?" I blurted. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "That was the last mission Coraline wanted us to go on for the time being. She can't keep sending us out on back to back jobs, you know."

But I wish she could.

I said nothing, staring at the darkening sky. Since it was the winter, the days got darker quicker. We had a four hour drive back to Iluita, not including pit stops and whatever else. My fluffy coat was for show -- everyone on the team with the element fire was controlling the climat to keep us warm. I was doing it as well, a small layer of heat hovering around my body. It was one of the many tricks I'd learned from Koren on one of the earliest missions.

Molly wandered over, gently wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"You're a fine shifter, Katrina," she assured me, "whatever's waiting for you back home will be easy for you to deal with."

"Plus," Kami added from where she was gathering her things, "you're an elite apprentice. You have us as well."

"And," Aaron grinned, "you're practically guaranteed to be the next Coraline with the path you're on. Don't sweat it."

I rolled my eyes, but on the inside I was smiling. "Thanks, guys. Should we get going?"

Koren glanced up. "It'll be darker than dark soon," he hummed, "it's now or never."

The others stood at the ready, prepared to follow orders from their leader.

Ivan Koren, fire element user and wolf shapeshifter, looked at me for confirmation.

Pursing my lips, I swore I saw my entire life with the shifters flash before the eyes, finishing with the ominous journal and next clues.

Tucking a curl behind my ear, I adjusted my bag and nodded.

"Guess it's now."

We are back!

This chapter is shorter to kick off part three, but don't worry! The other chapters will be getting longer and longer, and we will be seeing plenty of drama as we get into the juicy ending of Katrina's adventures.