The Hunter

Farewell

Leaves and twigs cracked under Mira’s feet as she nervously paced back and forth in the campsite. Collin had gone off to interrogate the other Hunter and they’d been gone for what felt like hours. At the time it had seemed like a good idea but now she wasn’t so sure.

After they had dropped Bridgett off near the Yellowstone pack to get medical attention, Collin thought it’d be a good idea to get rid of the Hunter, too. That way they could move faster and ditch the truck. According to Collin, despite getting rid of the GPS system, it would still be easy for the Hunters to find them using the truck.

“Stop worrying.” Claude was on the ground leaning against one of the trees. “You’re going to make mulch out of those leaves. They’re not off making some secret plan to kill you.”

“You think they could be doing that?” Mira stopped to stare at Claude.

“I just said they weren’t which implies I don’t.” Claude sighed. “You need to calm down.”

“I’m not freaking out.” Mira rolled her eyes and started pacing again. “I’m just concerned… That’s all. Definitely not obsessing.”

“Just go find them.” A chuckle came from Claude’s chest as he shook his head. “I’m starting to feel bad for the bugs you’re probably murdering with each step.”

“No… No.” Her voice got more emphatic with the second no. She couldn’t go after them, not after promising herself she’d trust Collin. “I’m not going to do that. It would imply I don’t trust him…”

“Don’t trust who?” Collin entered the clearing while wiping his hands with a ratty white hand towel. The crimson stains on it alarmed Mira. Catching her staring, Collin shook his head before adding, “None of the blood is mine. Relax.”

“Where’s the Hunter?” Nerves clenched Mira’s chest and she felt short of breath. The blood didn’t bode well.

“He is gone.” Collin shrugged his shoulders and poured some water on his hands from one of the canteens. “Now we need to get what we want from the truck and clear camp quickly. We’ve already been here longer than I would like.”

“He has a point.” Claude walked over to the truck bed and pushed a few things around with one of his hands. “Plus I need to be heading back to the rogue camp. I’ve been away from Maurice for too long. Even I don’t like being away from my cub this long, especially after everything we’ve been through. It makes me nervous.”

“I understand.” Mira smiled weakly. “We can take you back that way…”

“No.” Claude shook his head and chuckled. “It’ll be out of your way and just create issues. I’m a mountain lion. We’re used to surviving alone.”

“I know, but…”

“Mira.” Claude sighed and pulled out one of the spare backpacks she had stolen from the store. “I promise. I’ll be fine. Collin, back me up here. She’s gone into full blown pack mode. There’s almost no reasoning with her at this point.”

“Claude, that’s not funny.” Mira put her hands on her hips and a growl rumbled in her chest.

“He does make a good point, though.” Collin draped his arm around her shoulder. “You do seem to be in the pack mindset.”

“I’m a wolf. So of course I’m in the pack mindset as you call it.” Mira threw her hands up in the air. “What do you want me to say? I like making sure everyone is safe and prefer everyone being together. Is there anything wrong with that?”

Her chest rose and fell as she panted. They had gotten her all riled up for no good reason. By the looks on their faces, they were enjoying it, which just pissed her off. Never piss off a female wolf, especially if she happens to have alpha blood running in her veins.

“You can’t always get what you want.” Claude gave her a half-hearted smile. “You two need to go north. I’m not letting you risk your hides just to give me an unnecessary escort.”

“It’s not unnecessary if we are there to keep you safe.” Mira’s voice came out as a half growl.

“You two will just end up attracting more danger.” Claude sighed and lowered his head before meeting her gaze. “If you really want to help, go north. Draw the Hunters with you. We all know they will follow you before they come after a lone lion shifter. Hunters don’t really like messing with us.”

“He has a point, Mira.” They were ganging up on her and it wasn’t fair. It was childish of her to think like that, but she couldn’t help it. In her defense, she was only 18. “Let’s go north. It’ll be safer for us to split up at this point anyway.”

“Fine.” She huffed and walked over to the bed of the truck. “Since you two are adamant, I’ll go along with it. But I’m going on record as thinking this is a bad idea.”

“Duly noted.” Claude chuckled and grabbed things from the truck and started loading them into his backpack.

His laughing at her didn’t sit well with Mira, but she wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment. They wanted to break up their pa… group. She didn’t like it one bit. Claude needed to get back to Maurice and it was always safer if the group stuck together. Safety in numbers, right?

“Come on, sweetheart.” Collin wrapped his arms around her from behind, but she refused to relax into them. “It’ll all be okay. Trust us.”

After promising to trust him, she desperately wanted to believe in them, but something didn’t sit well with her. Probably had to do with her wolf instincts like they said, but in the pit of her stomach, she knew it was more. Sadly, she had no way to prove that to either of them, and even if she could, they probably wouldn’t listen. Maybe she would have to let events unfold to determine what the real cause of her unease was.