Jackie took a step down, and then another. As he took the next step down, a loud roar echoed through the dawn air. It was a ferocious sound. Angry. Jackie’s heart slammed in his chest as panic filled him.
He had to get to his father.
Jackie jumped down the last two steps and started racing across the ground toward his father. He could see the man looking around in confusion. He could also see Drummond pulling something silver and shiny out of his jacket pocket.
He didn’t realize the next roar that shattered the air came from him until he jumped on Drummond with paws instead of hands and feet.
The man went down, but he didn’t stay down. He quickly rolled out from beneath Jackie, then came up onto his hands and knees. His face sprouted fur and sharp teeth as he snarled at Jackie. The rest of him quickly followed, and Jackie was suddenly faced with a fully shifted lion.
He lunged at Jackie. Not having fought on four legs before, Jackie went down. Razor-sharp claws raked across his hip as Drummond snapped his teeth at him. Jackie jerked back, narrowly missing having his throat ripped out.
He scrambled to get away, clawing at the lion above him until his paws were wet and slippery. When Drummond snapped at him again, coming so close Jackie felt the lion’s breath blow across his throat, Jackie grew angry.
This man had taken far too much from him. Granted, without Drummond’s interference, Jackie probably would never have moved to Potter’s Creek and met his mate, but that didn’t absolve the man of the horrific things he had done.
Jackie wanted him to pay. He wanted Drummond to suffer for the pain he had caused not only Jackie, but everyone he’d touched. Jackie wanted to make Drummond hurt as much as he’d been hurt.
He just didn’t want to be the one to do it. Something in his gut was telling him that it would be very bad if he took justice into his own hands, even if he was being attacked. He could defend himself, but only to escape. Someone else would have to end Drummond’s life.
With that thought in mind, Jackie dug his claws into whatever bit of flesh he could find and then pushed with every ounce of strength he had. He didn’t realize it had worked until the weight on his chest was gone and he could see the sky above him.
Jackie wanted to just lie there. His body ached in ways he’d never thought he’d experience. His sides were the worst. The pain went from his hipbones right up his sides to his chest muscles.
Breathing hurt.
“Jackie?”
Jackie winced when he turned his head and something painfully pulled at the skin around his neck. He tried to lift his hand to touch it, until he realized he had paws and not hands.
He huffed with frustration.
“Jackie, you need to shift.”
Jackie glanced over when he realized someone was kneeling next to him. He was surprised to see that it was Hugh. He gave what he hoped was a nonthreatening growl. He wasn’t sure he had the energy to shift.
“Come on, Jackie,” Hugh encouraged. “You’re wounded and bleeding pretty badly. You have to shift. That should stop the bleeding.”
Jackie lifted a paw and batted at Hugh.
“Your dad is waiting for you, Jackie.”
Dad.
Jackie growled as he forced himself to his feet. He had to get to his dad. He swayed when he tried to take a step. A hand at the nape of his neck kept him from taking another step.
“Shift, Jackie.” The man squatted in front of him, grabbing the sides of his muzzle. “I am your alpha, Jackie, and I am ordering you to shift.”
Jackie growled as his shift rolled through him almost against his will. It was as if his lion understood that Hugh was their alpha, but his human side didn’t. And maybe that was the point of a pride. Someone had to be able to control their animal instincts if they could not.
By the time his body had realigned itself into the two-legged version, Jackie was lying on the ground, panting. He could feel someone’s hand sliding gently through his hair. When he turned his head to look, it wasn’t Hugh.
“Dad.”
“Hey, son.” There was a sadness in his eyes, but strangely enough, not fear.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Shifting into a lion right in front of his dad and then fighting another lion was not how Jackie wanted to explain things to him.
“She said you couldn’t shift, that you would never be able to shift.”
