I'm almost halfway across the clearing before the first guard notices me.

He spits a cigarette into the grass and Mori jerks away from it, hissing.

I lift my hand with a jovial smile. "Hi there!" I shout.

"Who are you!?" he yelps, reaching for a gun at his waist.

I spread my arms to my sides. "I'm a friend."

"Dude, that's Mason Crane," someone says.

"Who?" the first guard asks, still reaching for his weapon.

"Not a friend." Another gun is unholstered completely and lifted towards my face.

I stop a few feet away from the main group of them, hands still raised, doing my best to pout at them. "Now, who told you that?"

"Our boss."

"Well, your boss and I aren't the greatest of friends, but her son is alright with me."

"Why are you here?"

"She knows."

"Someone radio Singh. Tell her Mason Crane is here."

"I don't think that's necessary. See, I'm not actually here for Singh."

The one left with Mori's collar in hand jerks the rod towards me, as if trying to get them to bite me.

I don't think they're going to do anything, but a small buzz fills the air and Mori's eyes shoot wide. They snap to attention, digging their claws into the dirt and baring their mouthful of fangs at me.

"Shut that off," I order.

The guards stare at me for a full thirty seconds before one snorts.

I lunge for the guy with the stick.

Mori lunges to intercept me, but I dash under their claws and come up on the other end of the stick, so they can't get to me unless the one holding it drops it.

I slam the ball of my palm straight into the guard's nose, who staggers back, dragging Mori with them. I grab the gun in their waistband and place it against their chin. They and the rest of the guards tense. "I said 'shut it off'."

The guard jerks their head in a nod and flips a switch on the handle.

I slam the gun against their forehead, knocking them unconscious. I back away from them, raising it to point at another guard as I move towards Mori.

"You think we won't shoot you?" someone asks, raising their own gun at me.

"I'm a Hunter. You're all humans. How many of you do you think I can kill before you even pull that trigger, pal?" I crouch down and grab the stick attached to Mori's collar. "Besides, you don't want me to release them, do you?" I hear someone radioing Singh, but I don't stop them. Attention is what I wanted, after all. My hand slides down the stick until it reaches the hard leather of Mori's collar.

They whimper when my hand nears them.

I can't take my eyes off the guards, but I stroke the fur at their neck. "It's okay," I whisper, barely moving my mouth or raising my voice. "As soon as this is off, you have to run. There's a car a few miles away. Find it and my friends will find you, okay?" I have no idea if they understand me, since all they do is mewl sobs in response. But I haven't got any better options. I slide the leather strap out of the buckle and unclasp it, dropping the stick to the ground.

The guards' eyes widen, but none of them dare speak or move out of fear of being mauled by Mori.

I risk a glance back.

The child is rubbing their throat, as if confused about what's happened.

"Go," I hiss. "You have to go."

Mori's eyes snap to mine, then scan the group of guards. They start to snarl and sink forward, pressing their feet into the dirt so their weight is in their hands. Their fangs are dripping with bubbling spit.

"No," I order, in my sternest voice. "Mori, go!"

Mori flinches, their ears twitching at the sides of their head. They ease one hand up, away from me, like I've spit at them.

My entire chest feels like I've inhaled a forest fire, but I don't relax my harsh expression. "Go," I order once more.

This time, Mori listens. They scamper towards the tree line.

"No!" One guard decides losing Mori is worse than what they'll do to everyone.

Mori whips around at the edge of the forest, wide eyes taking in the battalion of guards lifting guns towards them.

I swing my leg out, knocking one guard off their feet and into another. I shoot one point blank in the stomach, then another in the leg. One gets too close, so I crack the gun against their face, splattering blood across myself. When I get a chance, I glance to the trees. Thankfully, Mori has disappeared.

Something slams into my head and I stagger a few steps. The guard that hit me lunges to hit me again.

I grab their arm mid-jump and slam them into the ground.

Singh was foolish to employ humans. Sure, the pickings are slim with Hunters and Protectors. Most of us are raised so honor bound to protecting people, we can't fathom doing something this shady. But with humans, it only takes one Hunter to tear through twenty of them. Even a weak Hunter could take on ten.

And I am not a weak Hunter.

I'd planned on having them capture me and take me inside themselves. But hearing the buzz in Mori's collar set me on edge. I end up having to drag one of the unconscious guards to the door and press their thumb into a scanner to get the door to open.

When it does, I come face to face with even more guards, all of them holding their guns to my face.

All I can think when they grab me is that I really hope Tarak isn't watching.