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Ellie didn’t know what hit her—or, more correctly, what had snatched her off the raft. At first, she thought a bump in the river had knocked her off. Fear gripped her as she anticipated the icy fingers of the water pulling her under. But that never happened.

Ellie opened her eyes to see the craft shrink beneath her as she gained altitude. The straps of her backpack bit into her armpits. Her mind began to make sense of the situation. Something had her by the backpack, and it was pulling her upwards, away from the river. Away from Brett.

Ellie silently thanked Paige for the hours they spent together, practicing various forms of shifting. Ellie, being a former human, did not have the experience that Paige had, being born a shifter. Paige patiently walked her through shifting just her eyes or just her hands. Ellie never knew how useful it could be until this very moment.

She focused on her nails, urging them to grow into long, sharp kitty claws. The bones popped in her fingers as they began shrinking up into giant paws. Ellie fought the urge to dig her needle-like nails into the beast that held her, knowing she would have to control her fall. If she dropped from the sky in the wrong area, she would surely plummet to her death. No one wanted that. Especially Ellie.

The edge of the river disappeared into a canopy of green, and Ellie grew aware of a large pine nearing them, its bough reaching out to her. She took that as a sign.

Ellie reached up with her cat claws and embedded them into the tough scales of the beast holding her. One talon released her as the beast screeched above her. Without hesitation, she sank her claws into the creature once more. Its blood dripped onto her face, but it refused to let go.

The tree was beneath her now. She stretched as far as her arms would allow and raked her nails down the leg of the bird. Finally, it could hold her no longer.

Ellie fell from its clutches, helpless to gravity. The scratchy needles of the pine tree clawed along her skin as she fell, bouncing from one bough to the next. The branches became larger the farther down she fell, slowing her descent. She used her claws to stop herself, hugging the tree, grabbing for anything that could stop her.

Knowing she was not out of danger yet, she willed the light to bend around her, enveloping both her and her backpack. She felt the shadows wrap around her as she became one with the tree to anyone looking.

Ellie hoped the sap and needles that clung to her from her fall would be enough to mask her scent as well. It was still new to her how strong the sense of smell was to shifters. It took a lot of getting used to, and she didn’t always remember how strong her scent was to others. It was not a mistake she could afford to make now.

The giant hawk circled overhead, screeching, the sound piercing her eardrums. She tried not to wince at the sound, afraid any movement in the tree would give away her position. The cries of the bird softened as it scanned the forest farther away, but still, Ellie refused to move, afraid it could see her.

She hugged her body tightly to the tree until the cries of the bird of prey vanished, and the normal sounds of the forest returned. Chipmunks chittered below on the ground as a smaller bird chirped around her, as if they wanted to tell her the coast was clear.

Ellie felt a sigh of relief escape her lips. Her shoulders shuddered, tired from paddling and then from hanging in the air by her backpack. She hoped she had enough energy to make it to the ground—it would suck to end up being the cliché of a cat stuck in a tree. The shadows around her shimmered, signaling that her energy was running low. Soon she wouldn’t be able to remain invisible, but, for now, she willed the shadows to keep her hidden, hoping she could hold out a bit longer.

Ellie let her fingers lengthen to human hands, yet allowed the claws to remain. Slowly, she made her descent, careful that each branch could carry her weight before she stepped fully on it. She kept her hands and feet close to the trunk of the tree, where the branches were stronger. Sap and pine needles stuck to her claws and fingers, and she tried not to think about how long it would take to wash off.

Little by little, she made progress down the tree until her boots touched the soft ground of the forest floor.

Only then did she let the shadows go, allowing herself to become visible once more. She braced herself, waiting for a creature to pop out and grab her, as if something had been waiting for her to show herself once more.

Nothing happened.

She relaxed, letting the claws recede and flatten back into human nails. Her fingertips tingled in the process, a sensation Ellie still wasn’t used to, and she clenched and released her fingers to try to make it stop. Eventually, the discomfort went away.

She peered up, trying to see through the thick branches to the sky above. She could hardly make out the blue of the sky through the canopy of green. There would be no way she could spot that bird from here.

She hoped the reverse was true as well.

Ellie plopped down on the carpet of red needles and brown leaves at her feet. They crunched beneath her. She unzipped her bag, pulling out her compass and map. She didn’t think that the fall had left her concussed, but she did still feel a bit disoriented. Her breath came in fast waves, mingling with her racing heart.

She slowed her breathing, straining to hear the sounds of the river. If she was correct with her positioning, she shouldn’t be too far from it—and Brett. She hoped he waited on the shore where they planned a break. Otherwise, she didn’t know how she would find him.

What if something happened to him? What if a giant bird plucked him from the raft as well? Or what if he couldn’t control the raft on his own and he crashed into the rocks?Ellie couldn’t bear the thought. They could both be lost forever.

She forced herself to push those thoughts from her mind.

After standing up and slinging her pack over her shoulder, she set out toward what she hoped was the river. The path wasn’t clear, and she had to weave around brush and carefully step over broken logs and stumps.

Her cat would have an easier time walking it, but she couldn’t shift if she wanted to keep her pack, which contained all her food and supplies for the journey. There was no way her tiny cat-self could carry the pack or even drag it. She would just have to bound through the branches and brambles the best she could in her human form.

The white noise of the river beyond grew louder, coming in over the next edge of rock before her. She toed the cliff, peering at the rapids and white water below. Squinting from the sun reflecting off the water, she peered downriver at a grey shoreline opposite her. A black, oval object rested on it.Our raft!

She strained her ears for the sound of feathers and flapping but could hear nothing over the roar of the water below. After not seeing anything in the sky above, Ellie screamed out, “Brett!” while waving her arms and being careful to not lose her balance and tumble into the raging water below.

The smooth stones of the shoreline did not make the most restful place, but Brett was exhausted. His mind swam with scenarios about the bird who took Ellie. He knew she came to FUC academy as a rescued and rehabilitated experiment. What if the scientist who created her wanted her back? Ellie’s abilities were amazing—even by shifter standards—so what if an evil person wanted her for their own gain?

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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