Landon smelled him before he saw him, the man at the edge of the clearing with the black bag. He could tell the man’s eyes weren’t on him or he would’ve turned tail and run already. Curious as to what the stranger wanted, Landon stole himself into the shadows and prowled the edge of the clearing, inching slowly in the newcomer’s direction carefully so he didn’t alert him to his presence.

He could see the man quickly assembling something that he had pulled out of the black bag and Landon felt panic begin to spread within him. Something wasn’t right here. Creeping across the clearing on his belly, he strained his eyes to see what it was the man was holding. As the man raised the thin black item towards the air, Landon realized what it was he was holding. Springing into action, he raced towards the man, screaming out a warning at him, but it was too late. The shot was fired.

Landon’s heart was racing as he ignored his instincts to go after his mate, praying whatever was shot wasn’t lethal. No one took aim at his mate. No one.

The man had left his bag behind and was running through the trees. Landon raced after him, paws slamming into the ground with every stride. His panther was quick, the man would be easy to catch. Pushing himself to move faster, he was gaining on the man, nearing closer and closer by the second. Up ahead the man tripped over a fallen log as he turned around to see if Landon was still following. Landon felt his muscles tighten as he leapt onto the man’s back, curling his claws into the flesh and clothes beneath them.

Roaring out with victory, Landon moved to the side to roll the man onto his back. The stranger was frozen in fear and shaking beneath Landon’s gigantic paw that was now resting on his chest. Landon’s panther was demanding blood. The man deserved to die.

“D-d-d-don’t-t-t-t k-k-k-k-ill m-m-m-meee,” the man begged.

Landon willed his panther back into his body and glared at the man. When he spoke his voice was neither man nor beast, but both at the same time. “Why shouldn’t I? You shot her down.”

“B-b-b-b-ecause y-y-y-you w-w-w-won’t know who sent me if you do,” the man’s voice continued to quiver as he spoke but he clearly was handling having a man instead of a gigantic cat holding him down much better.

“So you’re not a poacher. What are you?” Landon demanded, careful to not release his hold on the man as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

“I’m a hunter. Retired from the task force. They took my animal from me and put a black mark on my record so no one in the real world would hire me because I didn’t follow orders to kill a civilian. I’m a hired gun. Bag ‘em and tag ‘em. People call me and tell me what they want done and I do it,” the man explained, clearly uncomfortable with having to explain any of this to Landon.

“You’re a coward,” Landon spat before continuing. “What do you want with Kaylene?”

“I only shot her with a tranquilizer dart. Her parents want her brought home. They had someone ping both of your phones. They know you’re together and she isn’t holding up her end of the deal,” the man said, casting his eyes everywhere but at Landon’s still blazing blue eyes.

“Deal? What deal?” Landon asked as he loosened his hold on the man slightly, completely confused by the mention of some deal.

The man shrugged beneath him. “Apparently you know as much as I do about this deal, sir. But I need to take your girl in if I’m going to get paid. I have young at home to feed.”

“You won’t be taking her from me. I need answers. I need to see to her needs. You are going to go back down the mountain to Cabin A and speak with a man named Tyson. You’re going to tell Tyson that I owe you some money. Tell him the amount. He’ll make sure you get it. I suggest you go into hiding with your young though, because the Simmons don’t take kindly to people crossing them, that much I do know,” Landon growled, releasing the man completely and watching as he scrambled away from Landon. “If you take your young to Seattle, there’s a construction crew that belongs to a man named Dozer. He hires ex-task force members no matter the circumstances. He’ll get you an honest job.”

Satisfied that the smaller portion of the problem had been resolved, Landon turned on his heel and ran barefoot through the woods back to the clearing. Racing to Kaylene’s side, he could see her chest rising and falling, but she was definitely unconscious. Her wing looked twisted in the wrong direction though and since she was beak down in the dirt, he would bet money that she had a few broken or bruised ribs. He knew he should try to set her wing before it tried to heal itself but he wasn’t sure how to. Stooping down, he gingerly lifted her up, cradling her so that the mangled wing was pressed close to him to keep it from getting jostled in the hike down the mountain.

Kaylene let out a weak hoot after a moment, but didn’t make any attempt to get free from him.

“Easy there, Feathers. I’m gonna take care of you. Mama Ally should still know how to set bones. You’re gonna be just fine, and once you’re back to normal, you have some explaining to do,” Landon murmured softly at her as he picked his way through the forest back towards camp.