Thicker Than Blood

Jackson

(Serena's POV) ***

 Keep moving. It was the only thing I could think of between dodging the teeth snapping at me, the thrilling fear making my fur bristle, and the sounds of my little brother changing somewhere near by. My eyes were wide watching the mouth of the rouge I was currently clinging to, my teeth were clamped on the back of his neck and my claws dug deeply into his dense fur.

 Yet, no matter how hard I bit, or how deeply I dug my claws in I just couldn't puncture his thick skin. My breathing was heavy, every inhale coating my throat with his smell. A smell I don't remember but I knew it was Jackson's. 

 It was all I could do to just keep myself barely out of reach of his jagged teeth, many of them broken. Every snap of his jaws I could feel his breath hit my sides just briefly before the wind was pulled away in the random patterns Jay was creating. I tried desperately to keep my mind focused on Jackson, one wrong move, one mistimed dodge and I would be rogue meat. Still I was worried, I could hear Cato's voice through the roaring wind and Jay's whines as he started to change.

 I knew we couldn't drag this out, I needed to think of something. Anything. My ears pressed back as I thought back to all of the training Micky had done with me, all of the things I had been taught, all of the things I had practiced to be the best fighter. 

 I could remember all the compliments I'd get on my form, and on my strength. I had been compared to my fathers, I was stronger than the average pup. There had to be something I could do to turn this around. 

 "Now, remember Ren. When you're fighting a rogue you will always have one advantage." Micky's voice held that gentle tone it had every time he addressed me. I couldn't look back at him since he was re-braiding my hair, which had come undone when we were sparring. "What advantage?" His hands tugged tightly at my hair, "Rogues are predictable. Since they do not think like us anymore, their first instinct is what they go with, which is?" I tilted my head back to look up at him from the extreme angle, "To go for the kill?" He smiled warmly at me and nodded, "That's right. They will always go for the kill, the quickest way to do that is to aim for the throat. That is where you get the advantage, Rogues always go for the throat." He patted my shoulder and turned me around to face him, fixing my sparring gloves before pulling the mits back onto his hands. "Since you know where they are aiming, you can theoretically dodge every attack. However you need to be faster, fighting isn't just strength, its precision, speed, and instinct. You have instinct, let's build up from there."

 The memory flash in my head suddenly, and it made me realize why I hadn't cause any damage yet. My teeth simply weren't long enough to bite through the thickest part of Jackson's skin, so I needed to aim for thinner skin. 

 My heart picked up speed, my eyes narrowing as I waited for the teeth to catch the air on my left. Pushing my body to follow the flow of his massive head, teeth releasing his scruff and in the instant my mouth closed on the open side of his neck I tasted blood. Pulling back sharply before he could bite me back, he yelped and his body jolted when Ace's shadowy form burst from the ground and latched onto his neck before sinking back to the shadows.

 That one move seemed to have sapped my stamina, my legs struggled to hold me onto the rogue's back. I knew it was more than the bite, my adrenaline wasn't enough to keep me going, though it hadn't been long I was spending too much strength just trying not to get bitten.

 A snarl that didn't come from me or the former Beta touched my ears, I didn't even have time to register who it was before a large black head entered my vision. The muzzle clamping onto Jackson's jaw, as another black body appeared over the first one and my scruff was grabbed. I was pulled off the rogue, my eyes snapping to see the niched ear as my dad's face narrowly missed Jackson's teeth. 

 Being pulled back and set down I watched amazed as my fathers moved in sync, pushing Jackson back inch by inch. When one would attack the other would fall back and re-position, the cycle going back and forth. I couldn't take my eyes away, Ace's body slid up from the shadows beside me and his glowing eyes watched the battle before us. It got my blood pumping with a whole new wave of energy until I dragged myself to my feet and lunged forward. My mind clicking into the link between my parents as they fought.

Slipping under their bodies as they struggled to put the rogue on his back I grabbed one of his massive paws in my mouth. The taste of his fur was foul but I managed to jerk the leg out from under him, feeling his body lose its balance. As Jackson came down his eyes locked on me, narrowed to pinpoints. I felt the anger rolling off his pelt, the murderous intent as his mouth opened and he aimed for me mid-fall.

I heard the commands of my parents in my head as two black legs hit the ground on either side of me and my father's body dropped on top of mind protectively.

Breathing hard I slipped out from under him, slamming my body against his so we were both out of rage of the bite, but it never happened. The action was disrupted as a white and black streak slammed into the rogue, pulling a strong gush of air in its wake. My eyes widened as the loud snapping sound hit my ears. Catching my breath I saw Jackson's head whip backward at an extreme angle, his body falling limply to the ground seconds later.

Confused I blinked and stared at the pile of fur, my ears perking forward when the random wind wrapped around us softened. A wolf I had never seen pulling itself up from behind the dead rogue, the fur had a white undercoat and black tips.

Shock tipped my mind, it was Jay. His body was larger than mine, where I had the thicker muscle build his legs were long, his body narrow, the fur lay flat and sleek looking. My eyes trailed over his massive ears, and came to a stop on his faded blue-grey eyes. The body under me shifted and hands grabbed my face turning me until I was looking up at dad. My father's face showing worry as his hands pushed over my muzzle, "Are you hurt?"

Pulling back from his hands I stood up and shifted back, looking down at my body finding whatever scratches I had gained were no more than scars by now. Shaking my head no at him I witnessed his face turn to relief, then to the intense look he got when I did something wrong.

"What were you three thinking?! Do you realize how much danger you put yourselves in? How worried we were about you?" Flinching I turned my eyes to the ground as both my dads turned on me, "Serena you could have gotten yourself killed. What would we have done if that happened?" Guilt flicked into my chest, the feeling was unpleasant. My mind was pulled off it quickly when Cato stepped up next to me and passed me a shirt.

"Don't yell at her, it was my idea. I was the one that convinced Jay and Ren to do this." Turning my eyes on my older brother I shot him a look. He knows full well I was the one who had the idea, he only agreed with it. Our dads turned to Cato with shock in their eyes, "You started this Cato?" Dad and papa looked at each other, then back at Cato.

"Why?" Chewing on my lip I watched my brother from the corner of my eye, pulling my shirt on quickly as he looked down and squinted.

"There are a number of reasons. The main one is because mom was having nightmares about the situation. Then the whispers told me Jay wouldn't have been able to shift until Jackson was dealt with, though I didn't think it would trigger his shift here. Serena needed the experience to advance her fighting. The pack needed to rest, the patrols that are set to look for Jackson are exhausted, and Beta Sophie needed the closure that Lucy will be alright." My attention was pulled off Cato when Jay's body swayed and he shook his head, fur bristling as his lips curled back revealing sharp teeth.

 "Jay?" The talking stopped at the sound of my voice, my brother's body jerked. His head snapping to one side harshly as he snarled. "David, Benson he needs to run. The change isn't finished." I glanced at my mother, ducking my head down as he shot Cato and I a haunted look. 

 "I'll handle these two when we get back. For now... Let's just get off this territory."