Chapter 20

Sawyer was pleased as he led the young horse across the practice ring, she'd done better than he'd expected, but he'd probably worked her too hard. Deciding that he'd give her an extra scoop in her food bucket when he put her back in the stall, he opened the gate and led her out. He'd just locked the gate when a gun shot rang out and he paused, then turned to the sound when a second and third shot followed. A bad feeling began to creep up on him when he realized the shots had come from the upper pasture where Piper was working.

Just then Joe came riding up, "Did you hear that?" he asked, turning in the saddle to look behind him. "Those sounded like gun shots."

"Where's Piper?" he asked. "Is she with you?"

Joe shook his head and jumped out of the saddle, "We found a couple of broken posts, so I came back to get a couple of new ones," he said. "It was her idea. I volunteered to stay, but she said she needed a workout."

He looked back toward the winter pasture, wishing the trees weren't blocking his view, "Something doesn't feel right," he said. "No one should be firing a gun up there."

There was another gun shot, and this time he didn't doubt his instincts, "Get Whinny back to the barn," he said. Shoving the reins into Joe's hands, "I don't know what's going on up there, but it can't be good. Get the boys together and follow me, but be careful, someone up there is armed and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Without waiting for an answer, he started for the trail, not bothering with saddling a horse, knowing that he'd make better time if he shifted. He was still hoping that he was overreacting when he got to the trees, but then Buttercup came flying down the path, her eyes wild with fright, and he knew something was wrong. Letting her go past him, he ran for the trees, then let his magic surge and only seconds later, the grey wolf was streaking through the forest.

He raced for the winter pasture, fueled by instinct, but slowed when he got closer. He lifted his nose and pulled in a lungful of air, then came to a complete stop, letting the scents filter through his brain. It was difficult at first, the smell of gunpowder covered everything up, but he sucked in a deep breath again, this time finding Piper in the layers of scent. He began following the trail, forcing himself to ignore the rush of rage when he detected a stranger in the air, his odor tangled together with Piper's.

When he finally reached the pasture, it was impossible to miss the trail that led into the trees and he started to follow it, his eyes scanning the forest for anything that didn't belong. It was easy to see where Piper had separated from Buttercup, and he ground his teeth when he saw her footprints in the leaves scattered under the trees with much larger boot prints following them. Holding back the rage that tried to bubble to the surface, he kept low to the ground and followed Piper's path through the forest, but soon found himself confused when he realized they were going in a circle.

It took him a few minutes to pick up Piper's scent again, and the strain of staying calm was beginning to wear on him, but he kept going. The sun was just beginning to set when he figured out that Piper had been leading her attacker over some of the roughest areas of the ranch, not only wearing him out, but getting him completely lost. Deciding that Piper was as brilliant as she was beautiful, he took off, determined to find her and take her home.

He finally found her crouched between two boulders. Her face lit up when she saw him and she crawled out, looking perfectly fine, if a little tired. She rushed over to him, threw her arms around him, and held onto him for several seconds before he remembered he was still in his wolf form and shifted. Piper barely noticed; she just shifted her body to mold herself against him, then let out a long sigh.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. "Is someone shooting at you?"

She nodded, "I guess my dad couldn't take no for an answer," she whispered. "But I've had him on the run all afternoon, I was just trying to figure out what to do next. What took you so long?"

"I've been following your trail all afternoon," he said. "Where is this guy? I'm going to kill him."

Piper put her hand on his chest, "Slow down, before you do, I want to know who sent him," she said. "If it was my father……well, I don't know……"

"He won't get away with it this time, I'll see to it," he said. "But I guess that means killing this guy is out of the question."

"I'm afraid so, but it might be fun to scare the crap out of him," she said. "He deserves it after he tried to kill me."

"I know that look in your eyes," he said, grinning at her. "You have a plan, don't you?"

Toby dropped the pile of firewood he'd been carrying onto the ground, keeping the gun close at hand, cursing the little bitch who'd stranded him out here for the night. He'd come so close to catching her several times that afternoon, but it had just been quick glimpses through the trees, not enough to get a shot off, and now he wondered if she'd been playing games with him. Kicking the pile of wood and cursing his stupidity, he crouched down and started trying to build a fire, sure that he would freeze if he didn't have one.

His quick little score had turned complicated, but he wasn't about to give up. He had the woman cornered, and at first light he'd put an end to her game. The thought of putting a bullet though her head warmed him, and he let his imagination take over as he fumbled with the wood, relieved when one of the twigs finally caught. It wasn't long before the rest of the wood blazed to life and he had a roaring fire. Pleased with himself, he sat down and put the gun across his lap, preparing himself for a long night.

***Piper***

Piper climbed into the small opening between the boulders and snuggled into Sawyer's arms, "You should try to get some sleep while you can," he said, rearranging himself so they were more comfortable. "I'll wake you when it's time."

She closed her eyes but couldn't drift off and opened them again after a few minutes, "I'm too worked up to sleep," she said with a sigh. "I know we need to wait, but it's driving me crazy just sitting here."

"Patience, my pretty," he said, imitating a witch's voice. "Good things come to those who wait."

She laughed, "Very funny," she said, but closed her eyes again. "I'll try again."

When she woke hours later, Sawyer was snoring softly, "Hey, wake up," she said, shifting around to look up at him. "I think we've waited long enough."

Sawyer opened his eyes slowly, then smiled at her, "Do you come here often?" he asked, then gave her a kiss. "It must be after midnight."

"Show time," she said, grinning up at him. "Let's go make this guy wet his pants."

It wasn't easy to get herself out of the cramped space, but she finally managed to climb to her feet, then reached out to help Sawyer. "Okay, that was a good hiding place," he said. "But I don't think my back will ever be the same."

She walked around behind him and rubbed his back for a few minutes, "That will have to do until I can get you home," she said. "I'll give you a good rub down then."

He spun around, "I like the sound of that," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Maybe we should just head home now."

"Sawyer, behave yourself," she said. "That guy still has a gun."

"Okay, fine," he said. "But you're no fun."

Piper crept quietly behind Sawyer, watching where she put her foot with each step she took. Just thinking about what they were about to do made a smile spread across her face, and for a second, she hesitated, wondering if it was too much. Then she remembered the gunshots ringing out through the forest and hardened her heart against the man who'd tried to kill her. They weren't going to hurt him, just scare him a little or a lot, depending on how he reacted; he deserved it.

She saw the flickering light of the man's campfire long before they got to his camp, and her heart began to pound, but when they got close enough, she could see that he was sound asleep. Slumped over on his side, the gun lying next to him on the ground, he didn't look all that threatening, and she looked over at Sawyer. He nodded his head, but she could see worry in his eyes, and she leaned over to give him a kiss on his soft muzzle.

"I'll be careful," she whispered. "If I can get that gun, this will be easy."

Sawyer lowered himself to the ground, but his body was tensed, ready to spring as she crept around the camp, keeping to the shadows. Choosing her footing carefully, her heart pounding, she made her way over to the man, then crouched down and crawled over to the gun. A huge surge of relief shot through her when her fingers closed around the cold metal, and she slowly dragged it toward her, nearly crying out when the man stirred in his sleep.

When it was clear that he wasn't going to wake up, she got to her feet and dashed back into the shadows of the trees, then stood there for a second, catching her breath. After making sure the safety was on, she made her way back over to Sawyer, glancing over her shoulder, afraid that the man was going to wake up. Once she was standing next to Sawyer again, his eyes filled with relief, and she gave him another hug, just to reassure him that she was fine.

"Are you ready?" she asked, wedging the gun under her arm. "Let's go wake our new friend up. I'm sure he's going to love the surprise we have for him."

Sawyer got to his feet, let out a yip of agreement and together they walked right into the man's camp, then stood watching him sleep for a few seconds. "Well, this is very cozy," she called. "I should have thought about building a fire, but oh yeah, that's right, you were hunting me."

The man startled awake, stared at the two of them for a second, his eyes filled with fear, and he began looking frantically around him. "Are you looking for this?" she asked, holding up the gun. "You were so sound asleep I didn't want to bother asking for it, so I just took it. You know, you really should talk to someone about that snoring."

"What is that?" the man finally asked, pointing to Sawyer as he got to his feet. "Is that a wolf?"

"Yes, as a matter fact it is, and a very large one, as you can see," she said. "I'm afraid he's not very happy with you right now, you tried to kill his mate."

Sawyer started to growl deep in his chest, bared his teeth, and took a couple of steps toward the man. "I didn't see any wolves, I swear," the man said, backing away from them. "I was only shooting at you."

This time Sawyer growled louder, but she could tell that it wasn't just for show, "Now, that wasn't a very smart thing to say," she chided. "You just admitted to him that you were trying to kill his mate. You might want to think about running."

"That thing will kill me if I do," the man said, then shook his head. "What kind of sick joke is this? You can't be his mate, you're human."

"And what makes you think he's not?" she asked, trying not to laugh at the look on the man's face. "Haven't you ever heard of a shifter?"