Sondrae Bennett: Worth Fighting For

The bill she’d labored over would demand all breeds be given an equal number of chairs in the council. Stella had spent months going over the wording, mixing in enough deception to fool the pure bloods while maintaining the hybrid’s legal rights. The felines would support the bill, thinking they would get an advantage, and with Jason’s support, the canines would back it as well. No one would realize the true winners would be the hybrids with all their different variations. Pure bloods never thought much about hybrids, except to insult them.

It would only have been a matter of time before hybrids took over completely. A new rule would form. With her, the mastermind who orchestrated the change, as Queen.

Stella sneered as she watched events play out in the clearing. Everything had been falling into place exactly as needed. Even after Jay had failed to seduce the wolf’s sister, they’d hatched this kidnapping plan. Things had been set up perfectly, but even the best laid plans could be ruined by someone else’s incompetence. If only her brother’s idiot friend hadn’t allowed the woman to escape.

Now, everything was ruined. Without the support of an influential wolf Premier, the bill would never pass. All that work down the drain.

She’d need to come up with a new plan. But this time she wouldn’t be able to use her brother. A pang of agony shot through her as she gazed at Jay. She’d heard them say they were sending him to the council for judgment, and Stella knew what that meant. There was nothing she could do to save him. She only hoped his death would be quick and painless.

Throughout her entire life, Jay had been the one constant. The one person she could always count on. After everyone else had abandoned them, they’d still had each other. But from here on out, she was on her own.

Rage burned hot in her belly. When she became Queen of the shifters, she would avenge this injustice. He should have been at her side as she ruled, reaping the benefits of their hard work.

Turning away, Stella cast one last look at her brother over her shoulder as chaos reigned below. Wolves still surrounded him on every side, leaving no opening for a rescue, even in the confusion following the attack on the vixen fox. The knowledge of his encroaching death enveloped him.

An idea took shape as she stared at the scene, imprinting every detail on her memory. Two neighboring packs against a couple of lone hybrids… She could twist this to her advantage. Before she was done, everyone would remember her brother as a martyr. More, he’d be a hero.

The wolves and foxes would regret the day they took Jay from her. If nothing else, she’d make sure of that.

Cody turned in time to see the beast tackle Misty to the ground. His heart froze as he watched the pair slide across the forest floor. Every muscle tensed as he stared at Misty’s still figure under the large animal. Fear thudded through his veins.

The thump of impact as the cat tackled her had echoed throughout the clearing. It could have broken her neck.

No. Cody wouldn’t accept that. Still in human form, he rushed to her side, but kept getting tripped up by the foxes around him. Everyone stood frozen, staring at the pair.

“Help her!” Cody shouted at the group. As if his shout broke a spell, the foxes and wolves sprung to action. Foxes leapt at the cat, forcing him backward. Still, he kept Misty trapped underneath him.

Cody tried once again to reach them, desperate to get Misty out of there. She still wasn’t moving. As more time passed without movement, a band tightened across his chest until he struggled to breathe.

His skulk continued to fight, surrounding the pair, making it difficult to reach them. As if in slow motion, Cody watched the beast remove one of the foxes from his back and throw him straight at Cody. They both went down as the fox plowed into his chest.

The Premier instinct demanded he make sure the fox wasn’t injured, even while the band around his chest tightened. Panic threatened–if he didn’t get to Misty soon, he would go crazy. The fox who’d been thrown grimaced, but nodded Cody onward, obviously sensing how close he stood to losing it.

Cody rose and looked at the pair, hoping his skulk had managed to free Misty. Although they hadn’t more than budged the beast, Misty’s back legs flailed in a futile effort to push him off. She was alive. The relief almost brought him to his knees.

Spurred to action, Cody grabbed a fallen tree branch off the ground and rushed the animal. There was no time to shift. Besides, it would be easier to grab Misty and remove her from the fray with opposable thumbs.

He shoved a couple of foxes out of his way in his rush, but finally reached his destination. Lifting the stick over his shoulder, Cody swung it like a club, hitting the cat on the side of the head. The blow did no more than turn the head of the beast. He stared in shock, bracing himself for a retaliatory attack. At least if the cat jumped him, he’d get off Misty. What was a little mauling if it put her out of harm’s way?

The beast leapt forward but was tackled mid-air by both Jason and Danny in wolf form. The two wolves working together knocked the animal off his feet, the trio tumbling to the side. Cody barely spared them a glance as his gaze shot to Misty. Her fox eyes were wide and panicked as she took large wheezing breaths.

“Damn it, Misty.” He bent down and scooped her into his arms. The fight continued on next to him, but was winding down. This shifter wasn’t as strong as the other one had been. Not that it was easy, but with Jason and Danny’s help, the beast was quickly overwhelmed.

Misty continued to wheeze, each pained breath like a stab to his own chest. Sparing a quick glance around, he caught the eye of Brad, his second in command. The fox nodded, telling him without words that he would take care of things there.

Without a word, Cody turned and hurried toward town, clutching Misty to his chest.

“I bet your inhaler is back at the bar, too. You have to carry it with you at all times, damn it.”

Her fox eyes met his human ones in frank disbelief. He could almost hear her snarky voice asking about pockets in her fur.

“I knew it was a bad idea to bring you. Look what almost happened.”

She wiggled in his arms and Cody loosened his hold, adjusting her to run a hand up and down her side. “It’s okay, baby girl. We’ll get you back to town and fix you up. You’re going to be fine.”

He kept talking, going back and forth between recrimination and comfort as he ran toward town.

If he could get to his house, he was pretty sure he still had a spare inhaler she’d left there once in a kitchen drawer. In his arms, Misty’s wheezing started to lessen, and Cody picked up his pace. Years ago, when she’d first been diagnosed, Cody had done some research, and he knew things were more serious when the wheezing stopped. It signaled she was entering a real danger zone.

Static filled his brain. All he could think about was getting home. He could fix her if he just managed to bring her home.

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll get you home and fixed up. Everything’s going to be okay.” Maybe if he kept repeating it, he’d begin to believe it.

He stumbled as Misty twitched in his arms. The thoughts flew from his head as her bones popped with her shift. Her legs stretched out, almost unseating her from his arms, but Cody kept a firm grip on her, breaking into a run as he finally cleared the trees. The fur under his hands retreated, silky skin replacing it. He forced himself to not look down, staring at his house as they neared. He didn’t know why Misty chose now to shift, but it didn’t change anything. Inside he’d find her inhaler. He had to save her.