Hunter Hunted Ch. 04

"It just seems even more tragic," he said softly. "You obviously love them both and to have them taken from you the way they were, well, it's just wrong, Mira." His hand went to her face and his thumb wiped her tears from under her eyes. "I understand why've you made this place for yourself. It's kept you sane all these years, hasn't it?"

"Well, it's been different places. Being immortal makes staying in one place a bit difficult. People begin to look at you a little strangely when you don't age. I've brought them to each home I've made. I've given them their own places, created someplace special just for them. It's a way for me to have them with me even now."

"And you can't betray him with anyone else."

It wasn't a question and she looked up at Hunter with a new respect in her eyes. "You really do understand."

"It hasn't been easy for me either, Mira. My parents tried to make things simpler but when I didn't age the way everyone else did, when I still looked in my mid twenties when I should have been seventy, the differences became a bit apparent. It really hit me when my dad took me hunting. I was about sixteen years old and Dad had gotten bear permits for the property we owned. We'd been having some problems with bears for a few years and dad wanted to clean them out." He tugged on her hand and they walked over to one of the benches that encircled the clearing. Sinking down, he pulled her next to him.

"We'd just found one. We'd been tracking him all morning. My dad went in to make the kill shot and the bear went down. Dad led the way over to check out the kill, but the bear wasn't dead. He took my Dad down with one swipe of his huge paw. The bear even took Dad's throat in his teeth. I've never been more scared in my life."

"What happened?"

I went to kill him but he kept picking my dad up with his teeth, blocking my shot. My Dad's screams were getting weaker and I was losing my mind to try to figure out some way to save him. I finally just ran up to the bear. I was screaming at it, trying to make it release my dad and run away."

"Oh, my God, Hunter. What did he do?"

Hunter chuckled, lifting Mirage's hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles. "He sat down and asked me why I was acting like a damn fool."

"Your Dad did? Or the..."

"The bear." He laughed again when he saw the disbelief on her face. "I told you, it's a bit hard to believe. Trust me, I thought I was losing my mind. But the damn bear sat down, dropped my dad at my feet and told me to calm down."

"What did you do?"

"What any good son would do. I picked up my father and went running as fast as I could for our truck. I drove him to the hospital and got him help. Then as soon as I knew he'd be okay, I went back into the woods and searched for another bear."

"And it talked to you." Mirage looked up at him and laughed. "Now we know why you can touch me. You never were sane to begin with."