Page 13 of A Hatchling for Valentine’s

His brother whipped around, releasing the collar of the shirt the young man who was crying for help was wearing. The man crumpled to the ground and crawled away, whimpering.

“The fuck?” Finn squinted at him. “You’re not dead?”

Kellan hissed, the fury in him rising. He’d always known deep down Finn had meant for him to die, but to hear him say it to his face as if it was no big deal made Kellan want to pluck Finn’s feathers and leave him at the mercy of Dora’s bobcat relatives.

No. This is my fight.

“Very much alive, despite your best efforts. I guess you’re not as brilliant as you’ve always told yourself you are.”

Finn spit on the ground. “And you’re just as stupid as ever. I’m going to make sure I personally finish the job this time.”

Dora rushed up behind him, breathless. “Kellan, don’t. I can shift, so can Lena and Sue. We’ll take him on so you don’t have to.”

Right then, two members of his ex-herd ran out of the market, a satchel in their hands. “Come on, Finn. We got everything in the register plus some guns, let’s get the fuck outta here!”

The hissing built inside Kellan, all the anger and hurt of many, many years ready to explode out of him. He shoved his bag at Dora.

“Hold my booties.”

Kellan tore off his jacket and clothes, toeing off his boots as Finn snarled at him and did the same. He shifted and the battle cry of ‘swan fight!’ could be heard from behind him. He threw open his wings to their full expanse, rising on his webbed feet and stretching his long neck in a display of aggression. Finn snarled then shifted, following suit. They circled each other, squawking and hissing and Kellan flapped his wings furiously, his swan taking over and leading the charge as he pounced on Finn.

A flurry of feathers erupted as they thrashed and tangled, the solid bone of a wing joint connecting with Kellan’s eye and sending him backward. He fell with a thump on his back with Finn jumping on him, beating him with his wings in an effort to land another blow while Kellan clawed at him with the nails of his feet. They rolled in a jumble of scratching, pecking and more flapping.

Get him! Evil! Bad swan, bad swan!

Kellan got his feet back under him then used the power of his wings to catch the air and propel himself back. He needed some space to get a running start so he could finish things off. As Finn righted himself, Kellan struck, charging at him with every ounce of righteous anger that he possessed. He lashed out at Finn, slamming both wing joints against Finn’s head, watching in satisfaction as Finn fell to the ground.

A trickle of blood trailed from Finn’s head, between his eyes and landed on his beak. He attempted to scramble to his feet again, but one of his wings must have been broken, because he listed to one side before crumpling into a battered heap.

“You’re dead, worm food!”

Kellan’s swan readied himself to battle Ardus, one of Finn’s minions and no less deserving of Kellan’s wrath. He spread his wings to their full expanse, but the growls and snarls of bobcats at his back stayed his advance. Two bobcats appeared on either side of him, while three more crept up behind Ardus, Taryn and the injured Finn. Kellan recognized Dora and Lena as two of his supporters.

Kellan shifted back to his human form. “I don’t think you’re welcome here anymore.” He spit out some blood from a cut in his mouth. “My friends won’t hesitate to rip you to pieces and it seems you’re outnumbered.”

Ardus and Taryn helped a disoriented Finn to his feet. Finn sputtered and coughed.

“My omega! Where the fuck is he?”

His omega? Oh hell no. “Get out of here, now.”

Ardus hoisted the satchel he’d stolen over his shoulder as they made their way to the very pick-up truck Finn had shoved him out of on a snowy night in November.

“And leave that, you filthy thief.”

Ardus sneered over his shoulder. “Fuck you.”

Dora howled then bounded toward him. Ardus yelped, dropped the bag then raced for the truck, not even waiting to help Taryn with Finn. The bobcats kept up their chorus of snarls and yowls until his brother and rotten ex-herd members were well on their way. It wasn’t until everyone had shifted back and his adrenaline rush had begun to wane that he wondered whether they should’ve turned them in to the authorities.

“Oh my gods, Kellan. Your eye. Vic is going to have a complete fit.” Dora stared at him with concern.

He raised his hand to check it, but a sharp pain radiated from his elbow. “Ow, damn.”

Dora put a hand on his back. “Come on, hon. Let’s gather up our clothes and get you back inside the store so we can look you over. Lena’s in there with Sean, the guy you saved from whom I’m guessing was your brother and the herd you told me about.”

Kellan picked up his clothes while Dora did the same with hers but hurried into his boots first thing to avoid the icy burn of the ground against the soles of his feet. Once they were inside the store and reasonably back to rights, Kellan voiced his worry over letting Finn go.

Lena shook her head after he’d made his case. “We’ll put our own people on it, get the word out through the shifter network. This isn’t like that special place you and Dora live in. We have to be more careful out here. Dora got the plates of the truck, so we’ll be keeping an eye out. Human law going after shifter criminals never works out well. All he has to do is turn into a swan and there you are. Tough to accuse a large water fowl of robbing your convenience store.”