When Keller reached the lobby she scowled. Her pointed ears flattened and her tail began to beat methodically on the stone floor.

Where the hell was Nissa?

Opposite the brightly lit hall stood three vampires and Rashel. One of the males had to be Quinn but she didn't recognise the tall one. His hair was white and dishevelled, and he stood next to Morgead, who was looking at his watch impatiently.

She frowned. What were they doing here? This was her mission. Why was there a bunch of bloodsuckers standing around carrying heavy backpacks? She stormed over, her boots squeaking on the polished granite.

'Finally,' muttered the white haired kid. Keller glanced at his arrogant cocky smile and his laid back posture. She decided she didn't like him.

'Where's my team?' She asked.

'We're your team.' Morgead said flatly. 'Let's go already.' He was wearing a leather jacket and he smelt like fresh blood. Keller's eyes darted to his pack.

He caught on quickly. 'Food, unless you are willing to volunteer?'

The new boy scoffed. 'I'm not feeding off an animal.' His violet eyes flicked to Rashel, who looked rather bored. 'I'd much rather the delicacy of fresh human blood.'

Quinn's eyes narrowed.

'Only kidding!' The boy's hands flew up in surrender, his face feigning innocence.

Keller heard a whisper from behind Rashel's veil.

'Shut, it Ash.'

If she had to choose, Keller wondered, she'd prefer to take on all three vampires than to take on her. Out of all of them Keller knew Rashel the most. They had talked on several occasions, but she wouldn't go as far as to call her a friend.

Rashel was armed as usual and was carrying her own fairly large pack. 'Thierry picked us for this mission. Since there's no road to follow, you and the guys are going mainly on foot. The team you are used to would have been too slow.' She explained. ' I'm going east to find the informant who gave us the mission. I've been given instructions to bring her back to base.'

'So you'd better get used to us Kitty.' The boy so called Ash said. 'Because we're going to be spending a lot of time together.' He smirked.

'Call me kitty and I will make sure you won't be able to use that tongue again.' Keller said. Her tail was twitching even faster now, her arms folded, her teeth bared.

Ash was about to retaliate but Quinn spoke first. 'I don't have time to listen to you argue like children. I have a job to do.' It was the only thing he said and before anyone could reply he was moving out the front doors, into the open air.

They followed quickly, none of them speaking a single word.

The helicopter was strange. Keller had never been in one before and it made her uneasy.

Keller sat opposite Morgead and Ash who were both fast asleep, whilst Quinn and Rashel sat in silence next to her. She would have felt awkward but she was too preoccupied with the sickening feeling rising inside her stomach. Her claws dug into the seat as she clenched her fists. She stayed like that for the journey and it was dusk when the machine's blades stopped whirring and Keller 's sensitive ears could finally hear again.

She was all too glad when her feet found steady ground once more. They had landed in a field with no fence. Instead it was bordered with a thick, dark mass of trees and a large lake off to one side. In the distance beyond the forest she could make out three tall peaks. She shrugged her shoulders, stiff from the long ride.

Quinn was seeing Rashel off. She was going alone from here on and Keller could tell Quinn was not too happy with the prospect. Ash was rubbing his eyes and Morgead was pulling their bags off the helicopter.

'It's on foot from here on out.' Morgead called. 'There's nowhere closer for the helicopter to land without alerting the pack. They have a base out in the Blue Mountains, so that's where we're heading. It's not going to be an easy journey.'

Keller smiled. This was what she had been waiting for. She rolled her neck and felt it click. Morgead had her bag as well as his own on his back, since she wouldn't be able to carry hers, and Ash was holding Quinn's in his left hand.

'Quinn will catch up.' Ash said, hauling his own rucksack over one shoulder. 'Let's see if she if the shifter can.'

And then the guys began running. Keller watched them disappear into the trees for a few seconds before starting a slow jog to warm her muscles. Her hair flowed behind her as she picked up the pace and soon she was sprinting, her arms pumping, her feet slamming into the grassy floor.

Her body began to move faster than she could and her strides turned into bounds. And she felt it. The liquid change, smooth and fluid as her body broke its confines. And like the other thousand times she felt it reform in a split second, her tail was lengthening, black fur growing. Her teeth sharpened into fangs and her legs turned into pure sinewy muscle. One hundred pounds of pure animal. She was a true hunter now.

A thousand new senses exploded in her mind, her sight sharpened, her hearing intensified and the mild scent of the forest was amplified to fill her mind with new information.

This is what she had been missing. Back home in the compound she could move, she could change forms; but it was never the same. This was the freedom she had craved. And now Keller embraced every second of it.