by Macy Blake
“Nick, I need you to shift back now. Come on. Show me you can do it.”
The lion snarled, baring his teeth at Jedrek. He didn’t pounce, though, but Jedrek could see the plan forming behind his eyes. Then he spotted the charm on the floor by Nick’s clothes. Nick’s muscles flexed and Jedrek leapt, diving to the side and scooping up the charm at the same moment he was hit by several hundred pounds of lion. He rolled, using his experience and training to regain the upper hand before pressing the charm into Nick’s fur.
He didn’t expect the burning. He really didn’t expect the damn thing to explode in his hand. Nick yowled in pain and Jedrek couldn’t help his own hiss. Both of them were marked, and Jedrek’s hand was red and mottled where the charm had singed him. But the move had served its purpose: after a moment, clarity returned to Nick’s eyes.
“You back with me?”
Another snarl, but this one more human sounding, as if Nick wanted an explanation for what was going on. Jedrek wished he had one as well. He’d had to curb his reactions when listening to Nick’s story. He wanted to hunt down the magic users responsible and bring them to the goddess for judgment. But he’d wanted the same thing for over a decade with no results. It was the only time in his pack’s existence that they’d failed. The magic users who’d hurt these cubs— and who knew how many more— had disappeared.
Nick made another noise, this one curious. He wanted to know what Jedrek was thinking. Instead of answering, he ran his hand over Nick’s mane and met his warm brown eyes. “You ready to shift back yet?”
Another rumbling sound but then Nick moved and knocked Jedrek backward once more. Before he could protest, Nick plopped down on top of him and thumped his large head down on Jedrek’s chest.
“You’re really not a house cat, you know?”
Nick didn’t seem to care. Jedrek couldn’t imagine how his instincts must be reacting to the presence of a hellhound. But somehow, Nick must have figured out that Jedrek really wasn’t out to hurt him. And that… that was pretty spectacular, considering the circumstances. Of course, if anyone in his pack saw him in his current predicament, he’d never live it down.
He gave in and ran his hand over Nick’s mane once more, settling in for what amounted to a cuddling session with a full grown lion. Nick’s size rivaled Jedrek’s hellhound form, barely a head shorter overall. His body held tightly-controlled power and his mane framed his expressive face. Human thought had begun to creep back into his eyes, but the lion side of Nick was still very much in control. The beast was so proud that he’d managed to get Jedrek under his control.
And Jedrek let him have the moment of pride. They both knew deep down that Jedrek could reverse the situation in a moment. Nick butted his head against Jedrek’s hand and flicked an ear.
“Oh, you want me to pet you now, huh?”
Teeth bared.
“Don’t get snarly with me. And move your arm. You’re going to dislocate a rib. You weigh a ton.”
Snarl.
“You want me to move?”
Nick grumbled but moved slightly to the side, taking some of his weight from Jedrek’s chest.
“That’s better.”
Jedrek took a chance and ran his hand over Nick’s side. The muscles twitched under his hand, but he didn’t move away or make another angry snarl.
“It’s okay, Nick,” Jedrek said softly. “It can be an adjustment.”
Nick snorted and he gave Jedrek a look that clearly said he was a master of the obvious.
Jedrek grinned. “That first shift is a doozy. But you’re doing great. You just need to think about being human again. The lion’s a bit possessive, right? He’s in charge right now, but you’re in charge, too. It’s a partnership. I need you to be human again, though. So let him know it’s okay, and that you won’t have to wait so long to shift again. I can help with that.”
Jedrek could see the understanding in the lion’s eyes, so he knew Nick could hear him, but it didn’t seem to be making a difference. Nick wasn’t making an effort to shift back at all, but at least he seemed to be processing the request. Human emotions were in the lion’s eyes as well. Fear, confusion, anger, all blurring together. And even a little happiness, probably at being back in his fully shifted form. His instincts had to be battering at him.
“Just relax and breathe,” Jedrek said quietly. “Think about being yourself, and you’ll change back.” Nick whined and Jedrek chuckled. “Yeah, I get it. You want to stay this way. It’s tempting, but you’ve unlocked it now, Nick. You’ll be able to shift again. I’ll help you. And if I can’t, I know a ton of people who can. But now I need you to deal with this and shift back. We’ve got some stuff to talk about and I need to actually hear you and not interpret your growls and snarls.”
Nick huffed and pushed himself up. He tottered around on his four paws and tried to get his balance. He staggered a bit and tripped over his own feet before he got the hang of it. Then his tail swished and knocked a glass of the table. The clatter startled him and he let out a roar that would probably scare every neighbor in a five block radius. But there wasn’t anyone around. Jedrek had already listened to make sure there weren’t any unsuspecting humans who would be initiated into their world if they saw or heard something suspicious. He was, first and foremost, a hellhound, and Jedrek knew his duty to the secret well.
Jedrek couldn’t help but grin at Nick’s raised hair hissing at the broken glass though. Of course, Nick noticed and turned to snarl at him. Jedrek shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. “It’s okay, man.” Nick advanced on him, backing him into the counter, growling lowly the whole time. “Seriously, dude. We’re cool.”
But the broken glass had been worse for Nick’s control than Jedrek realized. The growling grew more insistent, demanding submission once more, and Jedrek’s hackles couldn’t help but rise at the challenge. When Nick lowered to the ground like he was planning on pouncing, Jedrek didn’t stop the shift from taking over. His hellhound form was huge, standing tall over Nick. He huffed at the lion when he came close.
Nick didn’t try to attack, thank goddess, but he didn’t exactly back down from the provocation. He lowered his head and nudged Nick’s shoulder and was impressed when Nick didn’t even budge. Instead, he shoved back, and Jedrek was forced to step back to rebalance himself.
Everything was so much simpler in his hellhound form. Some things were sharper—sight, smell, hearing. Colors were muted, and tinted orange by the flare of his eyes. But even as an animal, he was still himself, able to understand at least the basics of most things happening around him, but the emotions were dulled. Or limited, maybe. Simple, basic emotions—fear, safety, happiness, those things came through. But there was no room for jealousy, shame, and doubt.
Most importantly for Nick, animals didn’t carry the kind of overwhelming confusion that had been crushing him even a few minutes earlier. He circled around Nick, and Nick’s scent hit Jedrek hard. Something about him made Jedrek want to rub against him and transfer his own scent deep into Nick’s fur. He gave in to his instincts and rubbed his side against Nick’s again.
Nick curled a lip in a silent warning, but he let out a little purr as he brushed his face into Jedrek’s shoulder. He let out a little yip when he felt Nick’s jaws gently close on the side of his neck. The moment was intense. He’d never let anyone near his neck, yet he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more in that moment.
Before he could follow that thought any further, he heard the tell-tale crackling in the air that signaled the arrival of one of his kind. A moment later, Solomon stepped through a portal and into the small apartment. Jedrek had a second to register the shock on Sol’s face before he shifted back into his human shape, hurrying to form an explanation for his new alpha.
“Sol—”
But Solomon wasn’t there for an explanation.
“We’ll talk about this later. I’m looking for Sawyer’s brother, Nick.”
Jedrek glanced at the lion snarli
ng in annoyance at his side. He grabbed Nick by the mane once more, hoping he understood that Solomon was not to be challenged.
Of course, it wasn’t going to work out that way. Nick roared, and Jedrek winced.
“Shit,” Jedrek grumbled as Solomon turned his flaming stare onto the lion. Within seconds, Solomon transformed into his hellhound form, and then he let out a roar of his own. Jedrek dropped to his knees and bared his neck. And that didn’t impress Nick either. He fought the powerful urge, teeth bared and the hair of his mane standing on end. But in the end, the power of the alpha hellhound couldn’t be denied.
Nick lowered his head and leaned heavily against Jedrek’s side. Solomon waited for a long tense moment, breathing heavily and letting his power continue to flow through the room. When he finally changed back into his human form, he sent a stern glare Jedrek’s way.
“Sol, meet Nick. Nick, this is my alpha, Solomon.”
“This is the Chosen One’s brother?”
“Yes. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Yes,” Solomon agreed, and the look he shot Jedrek’s way sent another shiver down his spine. “But right now, we need to get Nick to the Jerricks’. Henry asked me to find Sawyer’s brother and tell him about the incident.”
“I was going to get to that. I was just getting more information before I told him his brothers were hurt.”
And those, apparently, were the magic words. Nick made another disgruntled sound, but a moment later, he was back in his human form, trembling and shaking on the ground, but a more determined look in his eyes than Jedrek had even seen when he was fighting him back at the magic house.
“Hurt? What do you mean hurt? Who was hurt? How? How were they hurt? Where are they?” a very human Nick demanded. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Nick scrambled to his feet and grabbed his phone. “Fuck! Six missed calls in the last hour. Why the hell did you ask me to shift?”
Jedrek ignored Solomon’s questioning gaze. “For now, let’s get you to your brothers.”
“Right.” Nick nodded and started for the door.
“Uh, Nick?” Jedrek tried to hide his smile as Nick spun around and glared. “You may want pants for this.”
Nick huffed and hurried back across the room for the clothes he’d stripped off earlier. Solomon crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
“What is it with everyone and pants tonight?”
Nick
Nick rushed to get dressed while keeping an eye on the extremely powerful alpha hellhound. Jedrek was bad enough, but having the alpha standing six feet away from him had Nick’s nerves screaming. He grabbed his jeans from the floor and tried to hop into them, while shooting a frustrated glare Jedrek’s way.
“You should have told me right away,” Nick growled. Of course, his ire did little to inspire fear when he tried to stuff both legs into one pants leg and toppled to the side. Jedrek’s quick reflexes prevented him from face-planting in front of the newcomer.
“I couldn’t. You weren’t in control,” Jedrek said softly. “I couldn’t take you where they are, even after I realized who you were, until I knew you wouldn’t put them in danger.”
“I would never—”
“I know you wouldn’t hurt your brothers intentionally, but they are surrounded by other shifters and guardians and… you need to be in control.”
Nick growled again and tried to untangle his legs from his pants. He finally managed to get them on and tugged them up over his hips.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My brothers don’t know about any of…” Nick paused, waving his hand around the room. “This stuff.”
He didn’t miss the look Jedrek and his alpha shared.
“What? What aren’t you telling me?”
He grabbed his T-shirt, but his heightened senses informed him quickly that it was past time it went into the dirty clothes basket. He turned and threw it that direction before grabbing a T-shirt he’d gotten at some concert he went to with Sawyer at the college a few years before. He’d never been a fashion icon and he could give a shit less about clothes at the moment.
“Tell me,” Nick demanded and he tugged the shirt over his head and into place.
“They know,” Solomon said.
“No.” Nick would know if they knew. They would have talked to him about it. He glanced at his phone again, thinking of the number of phone calls he’d been avoiding from them lately. “Shit. How?”
“It’s a long story, Nick.”
The other hellhound spoke again, and Nick’s hackles rose once more. “Who the fuck are you again? And how did you get into my house?”
Jedrek squeezed Nick’s arm, and it took everything he had not to tackle the hellhound again and put him in his place.
“This is my alpha, Solomon,” Jedrek said. “You need to stay in control, or I will not take you to your brothers. I will not put anyone who is there with them in danger.”
“I wouldn’t—”
“You have no control,” Solomon said. “You would.”
“Sol, he’s the one who set off the wards at the house. He was there.”
Nick didn’t miss the emphasis Jedrek put on the word, and they clearly had the desired effect. Solomon’s brows rose, and he turned back to Nick once more.
“Someone please tell me what’s wrong with my brothers.”
“They were attacked during the night. Someone got through their wards. Mikey was with Sawyer at the time, and we’ve taken them to a special clinic where those of our kind can receive medical attention.”
“Our kind?” Nick yelled. “They aren’t like me…us. They need to be at a hospital.”
Solomon glanced at Jedrek again.
“Stop talking to each other or whatever you’re doing. It’s annoying. Take me to them. I need to get them to help.”
“You’ll understand when we get there. Jedrek, he’s your responsibility.”
“Understood,” Jedrek said. He glanced at Nick. “Let Sawyer explain. And stay with me. Don’t get overwhelmed by your senses of all the others. Breathe.”
“What are you—?”
A flaming circle opened in the middle of his living room. Solomon spared them one more warning glance before he stepped through it.
“Listen to me, Nick. Do not lose control. You are not going to like what you sense or smell, and I know you don’t know me, but I’m telling you, your brothers are safe where they are.”
“Take me to them.”
Jedrek guided Nick toward the flames, and when they stepped through, Nick could barely believe his eyes. They’d gone through some sort of portal and were standing outside a really large house surrounded by a fence. On the other side, there were a ton of people milling about. There was a buzz in the air, some sort of anticipation. The lion inside of him roared in protest.
“Control, Nick. Do not lose control. Fight it.”
“Who are they?”
“Think of them as refugees. They’re looking for a safe place, too. I know you don’t understand what’s going on, and that your senses are being overwhelmed, but I know you can do this. We are here to help you, and as to your brother… well, he’s very special. He’s probably the most important person in our world, and he’s very vulnerable because of it. He has special guardians to help keep him safe, but he’s in constant danger. He needs you to be strong for him right now.”
Nick took a moment to think and to fight for control. He pulled in breath after breath until finally he was able to form a solid thought. Jedrek hadn’t been exaggerating when he said it was going to be difficult, but the news that his brothers were familiar with his world somehow lifted a weight off his shoulders. “It’s Sawyer, isn’t it?”
They weren’t saying brothers. Both were hurt, but only one was important. Only one was vulnerable. And it wasn’t difficult for Nick to figure out which brother they meant.
“Sawyer is the Chosen One.”
The words rang a bell in Nick’s mind, some story or other he’
d heard and not paid any attention to. “I don’t know what that means, but Sawyer… well, he’s always been special. How does Mikey fit into this?”
“Mikey has abilities as well.”
Everything he’d thought for the past several years changed in a moment. Mama Thea had always told him they were all special, but he’d never taken it to mean anything other than the obvious. She’d been their mother, their guardian and caregiver. Of course, she thought they were all special. But now, he realized she’d been trying to tell him all along.
“So what happened?”
Jedrek led him forward but stopped just outside the gate. “I don’t know all the details. Let’s get you inside, and you can ask for yourself.”
Nick glanced at the sign by the gate and snarled. “A vet? You took my brothers to a fucking vet?”
“Nick!” Jedrek’s voice had a power of its own, and Nick shook under the weight of it. “Control yourself or you can’t go see them. Do you understand?”
He nodded, but the anger was still there, simmering under the surface. He didn’t care who he had to get through, if his brothers needed help, he would get them to it. If they’d been hurt, they needed to be at a hospital, not with some doctor who normally treated fucking dogs and cats.
Nick looked up and saw Solomon walking their way with another man. Nick’s hackles rose again. He was something else.
“That’s Doctor Jerrick. Alpha Jerrick is the most knowledgeable doctor for our kind there is,” Jedrek explained.
“I trust him with my own well-being, and that of everyone in my pack,” Solomon added.
Nick sized up the doctor for a moment, remembered to breathe like Jedrek had told him, and then stepped forward. “I’m Nick Smith.”
The doctor glanced down for a moment, and Nick realized he’d passed some kind of test. It hit him a second later. He’d crossed another ward.
“I’m Vaughn Jerrick.” He held a hand out for Nick to shake. “Let’s get you to your brothers.”