Worth Fighting For. Sondrae Bennett
Although he’d never been friends with Julie, he had seen her around, and knew many in the skulk were friends with her. She’d been a bit of an outcast in elementary school, but from what he’d seen, she had never let the experience make her bitter. She was as much a member of the Callahan pack as any wolf in the town. Especially recently, since mating Brendan, one of the wolves.
Moreover, someone kidnapping a member of a neighboring pack, no matter who, was a threat against him and his. And that was something he wouldn’t ignore.
He paused, lifting his head in the air and sniffing. No foreign scents. Although his sense of smell was stronger in animal form, it would never rival the wolves’ or dogs’. A grunt of frustration escaped, until a whine caught his attention. He turned to face his skulk and saw Misty standing sideways, staring off to the left. Her ears perked forward and one paw hovered above the ground. She whined again, turning and barking when she caught him looking at her.
What was she hearing? The rest of the skulk mimicked her strange behavior until Cody heard it–growling. Putting his ear to the ground, he heard the unmistakable sounds of a fight. The wolves were closer than he’d anticipated, barely outside the town barriers. Without a second thought, he took off toward the noise, the crunch of twigs behind him indication of his skulk following.
A lion roar blasted through the forest, freezing him in place. Lions? What were lions doing here? And what would they want with Julie? A lion pride could easily overpower a fox skulk, whose sheer size alone put them at a huge disadvantage.
He looked over his shoulder at the foxes following him. True to her word, Misty trailed at the back of the skulk with Jen. The sight of the two women in fox form made him hesitate. If they were going up against lions, there was a good chance someone would get hurt. Sure Misty was his friend, but something else made him pause. Some deeper concern. The thought that she could be hurt swamped him with anxiety.
As the sounds of fighting grew more intense, a sense of urgency filled him. The noises were just over the next rise, at the abandoned cottage between their two towns. He didn’t have time for this indecision, but for once, he didn’t know what to do. All of a sudden, the noises tapered off, and Cody knew he needed to move. Whatever apprehension held him back would have to wait until later for analysis.
Sparing one last glance at Misty, Cody dashed forward and saw five wolves holding down a cat–although it appeared the fight had left the animal. Not a lion, but a hybrid. Lion-cheetah, if he had to guess, based on the spots in his fur. Lucky for them, there was only one. Especially lucky considering how many wolves surrounded the large cat, holding it down. If it took that many wolves to restrain one of these hybrids, he didn’t want to imagine having to fight an entire pride.
A wolf moved from the cat’s hind quarters to the head of the beast and Cody recognized Jason’s markings. He didn’t need to be told what was about to happen–the rage simmering off the wolf said it all.
Cody glanced at the surrounding wolf pack. Julie was nowhere to be seen. The cottage stood dark and his animal senses told him no one was inside. This feline might be their one chance of locating her. Gathering all his energy, he rushed through the shift, taking to his human form in seconds. A grunt escaped him, the only evidence of the pain caused by rushing a normally fluid process.
“Jason, no!” he shouted, stumbling to his feet. His head throbbed and he shook it, trying to clear the cobwebs before focusing on the scene in front of him. The wolf remained still, the cat’s neck firmly in his mouth, but he did raise his eyes.
Cody almost staggered back in shock. The savage look in Jason’s eyes was contrary to the reasonable man he knew. He was so taken aback, he didn’t even notice the other wolf shifting until Jason’s brother, Ethan, stepped forward as human.
“Stay out of this, Cody. It doesn’t concern you.”
What was wrong with these people? He’d known these brothers practically his whole life. Considered them good acquaintances. This ruthlessness wasn’t like them. Yes, their sister had been kidnapped–Cody understood their anger and frustration–but they weren’t even thinking about the larger picture. Jason always thought big picture.
“We need him to find Julie,” Cody reasoned, trying to break through the rage surrounding the pack.
“How do you know about Julie?” Danny, the third and youngest Callahan brother, stepped forward to stand beside Ethan. At least he seemed more coherent than the other two.
“Samantha called.”
The statement caused a growl to burst from Jason’s throat. Cody couldn’t prevent a smirk from curling his lips. Antagonizing the feral wolf in front of him probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but he couldn’t help it.
From the few times he’d spoken to Samantha in the past few months, he knew the wolf resented the time Cody had spent with her. He couldn’t get over his mate needing to borrow Cody’s clothes when she’d gotten lost and stumbled into Vulpes Creek as fox. Even though they both knew nothing inappropriate had occurred, seeing his mate in another man’s clothing had brought Jason’s alpha wolf instincts a bit too close to the surface.
“We’ve got Julie. This is tying up loose ends.” Ethan’s voice was more animal than man. The tone as much as the words surprised Cody. They’d already rescued Julie? It only took him a moment to connect the dots. What was in front of him wasn’t wolves protecting their pack, their territory, or their loved ones. This whole scene screamed of revenge.
As a Premier, Cody stayed informed of the going-ons in other packs, prides, and skulks. He knew what happened to those who acted out of vengeance. While the council accepted a killing done to protect, a killing done for any other reason–even revenge–wasn’t tolerated. Any shifter who acted on those impulses became rogue in the eyes of the council and was sentenced to death. Jason knew that. Looking into his eyes, Cody realized the wolf in Jason had too much control over the man.
He saw Jason’s mouth tighten on the cat’s neck and knew he had to do everything possible to turn this around.
“Stop. If Julie’s safe, killing the cat is vengeance.” Cody came forward and stooped down. “You know the repercussions this kind of thing can bring.”
They’d both heard the stories. The most recent had happened last year. A zebra Premier and his zeal killed a gorilla shifter who had raped the zebra’s mate. Word reached the council and they sent their assassins after the man. The poor woman lost her mate on top of everything else, but it had served as a warning to other shifters. Kill for anything other than defense, and suffer the consequences. The council was created to maintain order, and they would do whatever they deemed necessary.
“We can’t just let him go,” Ethan raged. But Cody saw the understanding in Jason’s eyes. His brother might not understand, but the Premier did. Cody breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had broken through.
The cat wouldn’t live. He’d not only endangered Jason’s pack, but involved a human. The council wouldn’t forgive that. But there was a right way and a wrong way to handle the situation. Right now, it fell upon Cody to ensure the proper procedure was followed. He’d need some of the wolves to help get the cat to the city jail, but from there, he would contact the council personally. There would be a trial, but without a doubt, the cat would be dead within days.
Despite the understanding in Jason’s eyes, his mouth remained wrapped around the other man’s throat.
“Your rage makes sense after what he did to your family. But don’t let it rule you. Go. Take care of your sister. If your pack will help bring him to our jail, I’ll make sure he’s delivered to the council for judgment. You and I both know what will happen to him.”
Cody saw the internal struggle as Jason eased off the cat. Every muscle bunched with the wolf’s movement. He couldn’t help but feel for his friend. Not only had his pack been attacked, his sister had been kidnapped. Sympathy filled him, but before comforting the man, he had a job to do.
As an only child, the closest thing he had to siblings were his best friends. He thought about