Hidden Mate

The Hunt

Chapter 8

LeighAnn pulled up at the deer camp and immediately sighted Joseph standing by his truck. She smiled as she pulled up by his camper. Joseph usually took two weeks off during deer season so he could focus on hunting, and LeighAnn actually admired his dedication to what he loved doing. She connected with him so easily as a friend, that sometimes she wished he had been her true mate. They would have gotten along just fine. Joseph spotted her and he looked down to his watch and laughed. 

"Right on time Sass. I figured you would have stopped to get breakfast before you got here." His eyes were full of laughter and LeighAnn laughed, just as her stomach started to growl. "I told you I would be here quick, but maybe I should have stopped." She said as she climbed out of her car and walked over to the passenger side to grab her gun and accessories. 

"Well you know its my favorite pastime to tease you any chance I get Sass. Why stop now?" He opened the passenger door to his truck to help her so she could put her stuff in it. 

Joseph was tall, even more so than her family. He stood at 6'3", had a nice bronze skin tone, brown shaggy hair, and dark blue eyes. LeighAnn would always think of the ocean from all the pictures she had seen when she looked in Joseph's eyes. They were so deep that you could actually get lost in them if you really wanted to. He had an infectious smile, and that just made his personality seem brighter. 

"Which stand are you hunting this morning? Sunset or Waterbrook?" LeighAnn asked as she climbed into the truck as Joseph jumped into the driver seat. Joseph contemplated the question for a minute, and he smiled as he looked at her, "I think im going to let you hunt Waterbrook today. I have a hunch that big nine is going to come out on Sunset this morning. I dont know why, but i just have a good feeling about it this morning." Joseph smiled sideways at her and turns the key over to start the truck. "We will see who comes out on top this morning." 

"Is that a challenge? You do know I am always up for a challenge." LeighAnn smirked at him and half turned in her seat towards him and stared intently at him. "How much do you wanna bet that I will get a deer before you this morning?" She smiled mischieviously at him and he instantly started laughing. 

"When did you get so adventurous that you would want to bet on this? We both know who is going to win this!" Joseph was amused and he side eyed her. "Little LeighAnn seems to be getting a little cocky in her few years of hunting." Still amused, he took his left hand off the wheel and stuck it out towards her. "Twenty dollars and you are on little Sass." 

LeighAnn stuck her hand out and grasped his in hers. "You're on Joseph." She couldnt help but laugh this time. "What if neither one of us get one?" She turned back in her seat and then kept her eye out the side window to see if she could spot any deer, even though it was dark, her eyesight was pristine thanks to her wolf. "We could just make this bet into whoever gets a deer first this season if we dont get one this morning." Joseph just laughed. "Bet little Sass." 

It was almost five thirty by the time they reached the Waterbrook stand. LeighAnn was getting excited all over again, and she almost jumped out of the truck as soon as they pulled up to the trail. "Whoa, slow down Sass. The deer arent going anywhere, I promise." Joseph half laughed at her as he put the truck in park. "You want me to walk you to the stand?" 

LeighAnn just smiled as she climbed out of the truck and grabbed her stuff. "You know I am not afraid of the dark, and I can walk alone." She smiled sweetly at him and shut the door. He rolled the window down and called out to her, "If you get a deer or need help just text me. You know where I will be at." Joseph pulled the truck away from the trail, and went off in the opposite direction. She smiled and waved after him as she took off on the trail to the stand. 

LeighAnn had no reason to be afraid of the dark, and she felt welcome by it most of the time. She thrived when she was in nature. Werewolves loved being one with nature, and connecting with what the Mood Goddess had provided. She silently thanked her while she made her way to the deer stand. She noticed as she looked around a pair of yellow eyes, and she could see after further observation that it was a horned owl. Probably settling down for some sleep she mused. 

After a few minutes LeighAnn made it to the stand. It was a nice comfortable stand, about four feet wide and five feet in length. It was camouflaged, and had windows on all sides. She smiled as she remembered helping Joseph build this stand a year ago. They had worked multiple weekends and hours just to get it ready before the season last year and Joseph was impressed with how quickly she had learned to use power tools. They painted the stand and then put it out on the trail that Joseph had marked. 

Climbing into the stand, she was quiet. She placed her gun by the front window and placed her bag down on the floor. The windows were frosty and she leaned down to turn the heater on to keep the chill out even though she wasnt cold. LeighAnn tried to make herself seem as human as possible, and this moment was just one of those things she had to remember in case anyone showed up. Heater on, and light weight jacket wouldnt raise any suspicions. 

She pulled the foldable chair out from the corner and sat on the left side of the stand. Her dominant eye, surprisingly was her left even though she was right hand dominant in almost every other way. She loaded her gun and set it down in front of her and waited for the sun to rise. Cellphone in hand she read the latest book on her k****e and she was absolutely in love with how this one played out. 

A dragon shifter, one of a kind like her. Found herself in the middle of an ongoing battle between clans as they were called. She was dominant, independent, and the queen of her kind. The dragon had to prove herself in many ways, and coincidentally found her true mate while on her journey. She smiled as she read where the female was constantly giving her mate the what for and making sure he understood that just because they were together, he didnt own her. LeighAnn mused to herself and Emerie, "This is how im going to be when we do find our true mate." Emerie just laughed, "You mean when you finally admit to Hoyt that he is your true mate?" Her chuckle just made LeighAnn smirk hard. "Leave it alone Emerie. I will deny it as long as I can. Its been three years since I left that world and I dont want to be dragged back into it." Emerie just howled and LeighAnn felt the sadness. Emerie was not happy with her, but she also understood that LeighAnn always tried to take care of her and she was mostly content with it. Emerie laid her head down and to LeighAnn's knowledge nodded off to sleep. 

Around six o'clock, LeighAnn noticed the sun was starting to rise. She opened the front window, and the left side window and let the frosty air creep in. It was beautiful in this area. A lot of pine trees made up the sides of the shooting lanes they had created, and in the middle of the clear cut area, stood a dead tall Oak. The top had been cut off somehow, LeighAnn suspected it fell after being dead for so long, and a hawk was perched on it when she looked. The shooting lanes jutted out on both sides, and in front her. Each one was over one hundred yards long which gave LeighAnn every opportunity to shoot a deer that came out. 

As she looked down the front lane, she noticed that a young coyote was slinking its way out of the right hand side, ears perked up listening for any sign of danger. LeighAnn just smiled, and watched it as the coyote crept along. Shortly after, she suspected that the mother was the one who made up the rear, and she raced across to get to her pup. They had nothing to fear from LeighAnn, although she had been told to shoot them if she saw them. Joseph told her that they scare away the deer, and made it harder on the hunters. She had decided that she would not harm them, they were part of the family in a way. 

When the coyotes were gone, LeighAnn looked down at her phone, and began reading again when an unfamiliar kind of scent crossed her path. A bear, but not just any bear, this was a shifter. What was this shifter doing here, especially in this particular area? She heard several shouts after catching the scent, and she struggled deciding whether she should check out the situation or if she should just wait for things to calm down. The shouting came closer, and she heard the roar of the bear, there was trouble. LeighAnn jumped out of her chair and started to undress, while walking out the door. 

She shifted as her boots came off, and raced toward the shouting, she ran for two miles before she got closer. She silently crept up on the men with the bear shifter, and saw they had surrounded the bear, and she knew the bear's defenses were up. Bad move, she thought and Emerie mentally agreed with her. "What should we do?" Emerie asked LeighAnn, while trying to keep and eye on the bear and the men. She hadnt noticed until it was almost upon her, that another wolf, big, black and burly came walking up to check out the commotion as well. "Holy crap Emerie, I wonder if thats a full blood wolf." LeighAnn was leery of the wolf and she tried to creep away, until she realized that it had its eyes on her. Just as she started to turn towards the men again, the breeze floated by and she caught the wolfs scent. No, it couldn't be, what was Hoyt doing here on her lease of all places? He must not know that it was hunting season.

The wolf scented the air quickly, and then turned to face the men and the bear. It snarled before jumping in the middle of circle, trying to protect the bear. "Looky here, what is this? A wolf helping a bear?" An older, surly looking man shouted at the mean around him. "I have never seen this before." He laughed and the rest of them joined him. "Why dont we just take both of them as prizes, even with it not being bear season, we dont have to tell anyone. Wolf will just add to appeal!" A younger muscular guy hollared. They all agreed and each one had a gun, LeighAnn knew that there was a huge chance that the bear and wolf wouldnt make it out of this alive, and then even more questions would be raised if the bear shifted back to human. LeighAnn made a split decision and took off back the way she came while howling. Hoping one a couple of the men would follow her to give the bear and wolf a chance to get out. 

"Well it looks like we got another prize! Matt, Brycen, go get that one. Louis and I will take care of these two." The two men run after LeighAnn, no hesitation and follow her howling as she led them back toward her stand. She was worried that the men would catch up with her and she urged Emerie to race faster. She was closer to her stand, and ran into the lane when she heard a gun shot. LeighAnn's heart raced when she realized that one of the men behind her tried to shoot her. "Emerie we've got to go! They can't kill us, but we don't want to change in front of them!" She was yelling mentally now, and Emerie picked up the pace trying to get back to the stand. She made it to the lane and raced to get behind the stand. She shifted, grabbed her clothes, and climbed into the stand shutting the door quickly. She heard the two men come out of the woods into her front lane. "Where the hell did it go? Brycen did you see where it went?" Matt hollared. "No man, it was right in front of us just a minute ago, now its vanished. Something isn't right here. Did you see the color of that wolf? I could swear it was silver, or maybe a shimmery white." 

LeighAnn finished putting her clothes on, and went to stand up when she heard two more gunshots. Her heart stopped. Did the other men shoot the bear and wolf?