Page 104 of Confusing Hearts

“I can do that, Daddy. I would be happy to come home for a visit and to discuss this like civilized creatures with you and Mother. Just call this off and we can work this out.”

Her mother looked up at her mate with tears in her eyes.

“Listen to her, Daddy,” Tessa begged.

“The boy dies today,” he said coldly.

“Hear my words,” Jenna responded just coldly. “Kill my mate, and I will kill you, and then I will kill myself because I will not live without him.”

“Jenna!” her mother screeched.

“Get her out of here,” Titus said to me.

“No!” Jenna yelled. “This is about his control of me. I will not stand by and allow these people to fight for me while I cower back at camp. I fight, too. I fight for my mate, and I fight for myself.”

Howls went up all around us, and more came further in the distance.

“Time’s up,” Titus said. “What’s your word, sir?” He spat out the word “sir” like it disgusted him.

Edmond cried out a high-pitched squeal I had never heard before and suddenly hundreds of large cats began marching towards us. Some took to the trees before they even reached us.

“Shit, they’ve already shifted,” Kyle swore under his breath, speaking for the first time.

Edmond gave me an eerie grin. “Let the war begin,” he yelled.

I looked over my shoulder to see a hundred wolves shifting without bothering to even strip their clothes off, and a sea of wolves cresting the hill behind us. I looked back at the shock on Edmond’s face as he saw the sheer number of wolves present. I knew he had underestimated us. What he didn’t know, is that our wolves had orders to neutralize, to not kill unless it was a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“I’ve got your back, big brother,” Chad told me. He seemed eager and excited to be part of the action this time, as he shifted into his chubby little squirrel form.

“Watch your back, little brother,” I told him as he nodded his head, causing his fat cheeks to jiggle, before giving me what sort of looked like a thumbs-up, if a squirrel had thumbs.

As the call of war sounded, I watched Chad take off at lightning speed and hone in on two large panthers by a tall tree. He leaped into the air and landed on one of their heads as he used it to elevate himself into the tree above. The bigger cat roared in fury and they both began climbing after him. I sure hoped Chad remembered that they climb trees, too.

I nodded to Jenna and we shifted simultaneously. As I sideswiped a cougar, and dodged a puma, I was careful to keep Jenna at my side at all times. I couldn’t help but glance up every now and then, worried for my tiny friend.

Chad had climbed out to the very tip of a limb. One of the panthers was closing the gap slowly between them as he taunted the cat with squeaky chatter. As the panther tried to pounce at the last minute, Chad bounced on the limb then, like an acrobat, flew even higher into the tree. His abandoned branch snapped forward and smacked the panther in the face, knocking him off balance. Letting out a loud roar, he fell to the ground with a thump.

The next remaining panther gave chase, climbing higher still into the tree after Chad. It was dizzying to watch him climb even from the ground, but he maneuvered the thin branches with grace defying his round body. The panther climbed as high as he dared and began shaking the treetop. It swayed back and forth before Chad went airborne. I stopped and gasped, but he easily grabbed a branch on the top of the closest tree and appeared to be heckling the panther from his new position. Knowing he was safe, I turned back to the fight on the ground.

Kyle and Nikolai were working side by side holding off the King from me. Tessa was at Jenna’s other side, both attacking nearby cats while Tessa was protecting her sister. Her mother hissed at them, but moved on to help her mate.

I chanced a look around and saw several fallen, both dogs and cats. A vicious battle between Matt and another jaguar was going on. The large male was getting the upper hand. I yipped, and Patrick’s red wolf was immediately by my side. I nodded at Jenna and he took my place as I ran to help my friend.

A black panther joined the fight. I couldn’t tell which side she was fighting for. Knocking into Matt while grabbing hold of the other jaguar’s tail at the same time, she was then knocked out of the way just as I was coming onto the scene. The cats leapt into the air and massive paws swiped at each other as they both fell hard to the ground.

I watched as my stomach lurched into my heart. I finally reached them and stood over my friend, willing him to get up. He didn’t move. The panther that had joined the fight shifted. Anita! I hung my head as she checked him and collapsed across his still body, sobbing. Not Matt, please Lord, not Matt!

I looked towards the sky and let out a painful howl for my fallen friend.

Kelsey arrived seemingly from nowhere. She dropped to her knees, pushing Anita aside and got to work on Matt. It only took a minute before her fist slammed into the ground. She had tears streaming down her face as she raised her eyes to meet mine and shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, Chase,” she whispered.

I looked around, sickened by the amount of similar scenes around me. Jenna! I turned and forced my way through a few fights in search of my mate. Patrick had been joined by Cole Anderson, protecting her. Her father was descending on the both of them. I shoved my way into the skirmish and pushed them aside. When they didn’t back off, I barked and let go of some of my own Alpha powers. They each took a step back and dropped their head in submission.

Jenna brushed up against my side, her opposite mine, watching my back. Her father began circling us, but between the two of us, I knew we were protected. He was searching out weaknesses and would find none. After several laps around us, he stopped on my exposed side. As he lunged to take a bite, I turned, and Jenna smacked her massive paw at him, hissing. The fur on his back was standing on edge.

Her mother approached as I watched her closely. When she reached us, she shifted back to human form. “Stop. Please, stop this now,” Jenna’s mother cried, and her father halted and let out a loud roar to call off the cats.

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