The Hunter and the Hunted (Bear Naked 3)

Chapter 65

Distance and direction were hard to judge, blindfolded and on a stead. But Amanda could tell they were rising towards the highest part of the canyon. They went up a trail for what seemed like a long time.

She heard the sounds of a stream to her right and tried to store that information for later. The donkey shifted it's weight to clamber over a stone. As it settled back, Jay's weight shifted too, sliding slowly off the donkey.

Amanda held as still as she could, not wanting to raise any alarm in case he was, as she suspected, alert.

"Hey, hey," a voice shouted. Amanda cursed as other voices took up the call of surprise. "He's getting away."

There was the sound of running feet. A shot rang out, followed by silence.

"Got him," Erik's voiced drawled out, satisfied.

Amanda's stomach lurched. Brianna lay her head on Amanda's back. Amanda could feel the tension and fear through it.

"That shot probably got the attention of anyone in the valley," the alpha barked.

Erik made a dismissive noise. "We are far enough away now. If they even heard it, they won't be able to tell which direction it came from."

"Whatever," the alpha said. "Grab the body and let's get going."

"It's not here," another voice said.

"What?"

"It must have slipped into the stream," Erik said. "Look at all that blood."

There was more stomping of feet.

"You want us to go downstream and find it?" a voice asked.

"No," the alpha snarled. "After this jackass shot off that canon the last thing I want is to divide up. They are bound to be looking for the source. Let's get to the rendezvous point, pronto."

Amanda lost track of time and distance again. She felt numb. Her mind kept conjuring images of Jay. She saw the bright precocious boy he'd been in elementary school, nibbling off a giant loaf of bread the two had shared the first day they met. His smile. Jay in otter form, curling up with Corey. How could Amanda ever face Corey again, knowing she'd led his mate to his death? That probably didn't matter, since her own death was looming very close but it still bothered her. She fought the thought down.

They turned a corner and for the first time the trailed dropped. There was the sounds of other people talking.

"We heard a shot," a voice said. Amanda froze, recognising Loki's voice.

"We captured another," the Fleischer alpha said. "The otter boy. He tried to escape and Erik shot him."

"It was that or he got away," Erik defended. "They're fast."

There was a pause as Loki digested this news. "Where's the body?"

"It fell in a stream. I didn't want to waste time looking for it," the alpha said.

"But you saw the body, right?" Loki's voice was soft but filled with menace.

"There was blood everywhere," Erik said.

"Was there a corpse? A human corpse?" There was the sound of a blow and someone falling. "Fools!" Loki spat. "Have I taught you nothing? Otters are shifters and a shifter isn't dead unless you've seen the body."