The Hunter and the Hunted (Bear Naked 3)

Chapter 62

Brianna's nerves peaked as their route wound past the reservation proper and deeper into the mountains. The trailhead was a small shelter that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Moth and most of her pack were already there. Brianna's pack was there a short time later, with Tyee and pack with them.

They unloaded in a matter of minutes. Brianna saw Moth shouldering a pack as well. "You guys are coming?" she asked.

Moth met her eyes. "Yeah, we're coming."

Brianna let out her breath, her nerves dropping a notch. The hint of a smile played across Moth's face. "Three on three," Brianna muttered. "We can handle it."

"They've got some big ass fuckers, though," Mary, one of Charley's pack mates, said.

"Yeah, well we've got some big ass fuckers here, too." Tanner said, punching Mark on one shoulder. The two fist bumped.

"And we've faced Loki," Erica growled. "Yeah, he's big but we aren't about to let him intimidate us."

"We are not heading out to fight," Amanda said. "Not if we can help it, anyway. The plan remains the same. Get us close to Uncle Darren and let Jay and I approach him. He recognises our scent. If I can control myself, I can control him, lead him out of this madness."

"I agree," Connor said, coming up behind her. "Our job is to find Darren and to keep the other packs away long enough for those two to work their magic. If we got a fight, I know you are up to the challenge. I've seen it in action. But keep focussed on the mission."

"First thing is to find him," Moth said. "Last report puts him on that range," she pointed at a distant mountain. "It's a fair hike and we are getting a late start. I think we can make it to a base camp on the lower edge of South Putnam mountain. Tomorrow we can cross the ridge and head into Caribou National Forest."

"Well let's get cracking then," Amanda said.

The next three days passed in a blur for Brianna. Caution warred constantly with concern. They all felt it. They knew the enemy was out in these woods. Once they even scented the Sons of Garm, but it was a distant scent carried on the winds and they saw no sign of them. They scented Darren several times, but they were old scents. They knew they had to find him first. They sent out scouts in wolf form on short trips, but mostly they stayed close together, fearful of an encounter with the Sons of Garm.

The trails were steep and this deep in the forest and this early in the season they were not well kept. They toiled up ridges and down through valleys, often following what seemed to be little more than deer track. They hiked hard every day. At night they spoke little. Brianna and Charley shared a tent and no one commented, neither to object nor to tease them. They cuddled or made love each night, but the camp out feel they had was gone from this trip.

Tommy, Moth's alpha mate, was a sure guide. Here in the deep woods, their roles seemed reversed. In town and dealing with others, she was clearly the more alpha. But in the woods he was cool and confident, and she deferred to his judgement more often than not.