The Hunter

Chill

Anger surged through Collin's veins, which thankfully meant his half frozen body wasn't at the forefront of his mind. "That goes against everything hunters believe in! We are meant to eliminate the threat not feed it." Collin willed his body to relax until another thought occurred to him. "Does Mira have any idea what they are doing?"

"She might have figured it out, but I never had a chance to tell her what I knew." Claude turned to stare at Collin. "Honestly, I don't think she does. She was too focused on freeing the shifters to really notice much else. Maybe she picked it up during one of the other labs, but like I said I never had the time to speak to her about it. Heck, I don't even know if they are all experimenting on the same thing."

Despite his sluggishness, Collin's brain was working at a mile a minute. What if he and Mira had pups? Would the hunters take them? The idea of anyone experimenting on his children enraged him. His jaw and fists clenched involuntarily. He barely registered the pain shooting through his tensed muscles.

With a deep breath and a shake of his head, Collin cleared those thoughts from his mind. He couldn't afford to think about any of that. It'd just make everything more difficult for him in the long run.

"Where's Maurice?" Despite never meeting the cub, the idea of something happening to him didn't sit well with Collin.

"At the camp." A wistful smile appeared on Claude's face. "The wolves watch him for me when I leave on missions and the like."

A shiver went through Collin. At this point, he was pretty sure half his body was numb or frozen. Claude walked over to him and crouched next to the sleeping bag. "Is she close by?" At the shock on Collin's face, Claude's smile grew. "I know you can sense her. Not sure all the details, though."

"What do you know about it?" Collin's teeth chattered as sweat dripped into his eye-this had to be the most annoying thing ever. "I just kn..know I ha..ve it."

"Not much, and now isn't the time to talk about it." Claude stood and walked towards the trees. "You'll be frozen solid by the time she gets back at this rate. I'll be right back."

In less than a minute, a huge mountain lion walked out and lay down behind Collin. Slowly, warmth seeped through the sleeping bag. His body continued to shake violently, but at least parts of him were thawing.

"Tha...thank you."

Collin had thought it would be awkward having Claude cuddle with him, but all he could be was grateful. Maybe he would make it out of this with all his toes and fingers. The socks he had worn earlier draped over a wire Mira had set up-they had been soaking wet from trekking through rivers to hide their trail. Apparently, waterproof boots didn't prevent water from pouring in over the top.

After a while, his shaking had gone down significantly. "You know. If I had been thinking, I would have had Mira put the tarp kind of like a lean-to facing the fire. Would have helped trap some of the warmth. I just figured she would be here so I wasn't too worried about the cold."

A yawn overtook him. He planned to stay awake until Mira got back. Another part of him knew that wouldn't be possible. The tugging in his chest hadn't gotten any better since he had woken, and he still had no idea where she was.

The heat from his back left and he futilely attempted to look over his shoulder at Claude. The fuzzy heaviness in his head prevented him from lifting it too far. Claude prowled out of the bushes in human form and walked over to Collin's backpack to search through it.

"What is it with shifters going through my bag without asking?" Collin muttered.

The deep chuckle that answered him wasn't what Collin was expecting. "I'm trying to find the tarp to put it up. Thought I might be able to manage it. Plus you really should be resting."