5: Hood - Pack Trust by Carys Weldon

now, Jack. Imagine what he would have done if--
     
     
    Hood roared his fury, effectively shutting up any coherent thought I might’ve been working up to follow my stupidity with.
     
     
    Flinching, I ducked behind Jack.
     
     
    Now, Jack’s cool as they come. So cool. He tucked me behind him and tried some calm conversation. “Nice of you to drop by, Hood.”
     
     
    I squeaked. Wasn’t that what I’d said the last time he’d been screwing around on me?
     
     
    Hood caught my thoughts in one, narrowed his gaze on Jack and said, “I should have known you’d come for her.”
     
     
    So he assumed that I’d somehow been in contact with Jack all that time, too? He didn’t trust either one of us? That’s not much of a surprise. But I wasn’t registering Hood’s words then.
     
     
    Jack, not knowing what was going on between us completely--Okay, none of us were really getting the whole picture--said jokingly, “Done that, thought that was part of your plan, friend.”
     
     
    You know that Hood moves like a freaking superhero, right? One minute he’s there. Next, he’s on top of you. It was like that. From the door to punching Jack in no time flat.
     
     
    The only one who could react that fast was Fera.
     
     
    The minute Hood leaped at Jack, she pounced his back, shifted crinos, and bit him in the shoulder of the arm that plowed Jack in the head, dead center on the nose. Yeah. Jack went flinging backward, stumbling into me, and we both ended up on the floor.
     
     
    Blood went everywhere. Hood had broken his nose.
     
     
    I started screaming, “Oh, God! Oh, God!”
     
     
    Hood slung his sister off his back. She pounced back.
     
     
    Meanwhile, Jack was coming up off the ground with a “Son of a bitch!” and a head-butting, barroom brawl style assault of his own.
     
     
    There was a big “Hmph” when he hit Hood in the midsection and they tumbled backward over some furniture.
     
     
    I scrambled toward them, screaming, “Jack! No, Jack! Fera--help!”
     
     
    So, that just pissed Hood off more, gave him renewed frenzy, and he blinked to crinos completely, slashing at Jack with his claws. He wasn’t thinking at all. Just clawing. Jack was on top of him, pummeling him in the side repeatedly, boxing him in the kidney. Probably one of the few spots that really could be hurt. With every solid thump, Hood let out a pained groan. I think there were, maybe, three? Four? hits in quick succession.
     
     
    Fera did the only thing she could do at that point. She hit Jack from the side, knocking him off Hood. If she hadn’t, he’d have been shredded. It all happened so fast that if I’d blinked, I would have missed it. I know that for a fact, because the second Hood could breathe....
     
     
    She rolled, spun and came up at about the same time Hood did. They almost attacked each other--I think--before they realized who they were facing. She snarled right up in his face. There was no doubt; he’d have to go through her to get to Jack.
     
     
    I crawled to my downed hero, crying, “Jack...Jack...are you okay?” Pulling his head into my lap, I smoothed his hair back and kissed his temple. At that point, I didn’t care what they did to each other. Or me. I was just worried about Jack.
     
     
    His head had hit the wall, put a dent in the gypsum board even, and he wasn’t altogether coherent. Even then, the first words out of his mouth really told on his heart. He called, “Fera!”
     
     
    Snapping his dog, you could say.
     
     
    She flinched, but she didn’t look away from her brother. I rather admired her at that moment for not backing down, not giving in, making no compromises whatsoever. Not to either man. I’d have rolled right over. I know I would have. Guess that’s the difference between being born a girl, versus being born lupus.
     
     
    Hood sucked in air and succinctly said, “Move, Fera.”
     
     
    “Over my dead body.” Barely a whisper. So lethal.
     
     
    I knew Jack was