Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

walked away.
    Jax whinnied and pulled away from Ray. He cantered over to the fence and snorted in Ottsenmeiser's direction. The old bastard didn't even turn around.
    ****
    "I hate him," Jax said that night.
    "I know."
    "Where does he get off being such an ass? God, too bad he's not a dog shifter, or he and Dixie could breed. Have little dictator puppies."
    "We'd better leave soon, Jax. Before Ottsenmeiser takes your training into his own hands."
    He sighed. "All right. All right, let's do it. Tomorrow. We can jump the fence in the evening, before Ray comes to take us back to our stalls."
    "Okay."
    He was quiet a while.
    "You all right?"
    "Yeah." He paused. "I ought to let him on my back."
    I didn't say anything.
    "Is that sick, James? I just want him close. I don't really care anymore if it's degrading."
    "It's not sick."
    "I didn't always mind showing. It was fun sometimes."
    "A lot of shifters show or live as pets. They choose that life because they get something out of it."
    "I want to feel like a human. But being human sucks ass sometimes."
    "Believe me, I know."
    "Maybe if Ray works me tomorrow— if he tries to saddle me… I'll let him."
    "Good."
    Jax gave a long sigh. "You don't tell me the truth."
    "What are you talking about?"
    "Do you feel sorry for me? Is that why everything I do, you're just like, 'Oh, it's okay, we'll work it out'? I'm the reason we're here, James. The reason we don't have our homes or our lives anymore."
    "I'm the one who found Changed."
    "And I'm the one who shifted in front of nons."
    "What good is it gonna do me to get mad at you?"
    "It'd do you a lot of damn good. You're totally repressed. You don't get pissed, you don't get scared, you don't fall in love…"
    "Shut up and go to sleep."
    "Just because Derkin's dead doesn't mean you have to act like you are."
    " Shut up. "
    He did.
    ****
    It wasn't Ray but Ottsenmeiser who came to the barn the next day and clipped a lead to Jax's halter.
    "Come here, you stubborn asshole," Ottsenmeiser muttered, dragging Jax from his stall. Jax fought him the whole way, and I winced as Ottsenmeiser cracked the end of the leather lead against Jax's shoulder.
    I whinnied, hoping Ray would hear and come to the rescue. But soon Ottsenmeiser and Jax were out of sight, though I could still hear Jax kicking and stomping, and the repeated crack of leather against hide.
    A moment later there was shouting in the stable yard, and then the sound of a horse galloping alongside the barn. I whinnied again and heard Jax's answering neigh. Then the hoof beats were behind the barn, getting father away.
    I waited all afternoon, pacing in my stall and neighing occasionally.
    Ray came to see me. He couldn't even speak to me, but I let him hold my head in his arms for a few minutes before I pulled away and resumed pacing.
    "He'll come back," Ray said at last. "He won't leave you and me here."
    I didn't think he would either. But I needed to find him. We needed to stick together. Trouble was, I couldn't escape from my stall without shifting. And I'd wasted a lot of energy pacing. Plus I'd never been good at shifting in small spaces. I needed a running start, open air.
    I heard a sound in the barn aisle. I peered out the small window and saw Kingston outside my stall. I snorted at him. He barked.
    "Do something useful," I said. "Use that damn nose of yours. Track down Jax."
    He curled up outside my door. I tried to rest, knowing it was the only chance I stood of being able to shift later.
    It was easier to rest with Kingston there.
    He sighed.
    I sighed.
    I closed my eyes.
    Suddenly he growled and sprang up. He walked down the aisle slowly, staring at the barn door.
    "What?" I asked.
    He kept growling. I heard a rustle outside the barn.
    "Is it him?" I demanded.
    King barked twice. The rustling stopped.
    A few minutes later, he was back in front of my stall. He didn't sleep, though.
    He watched the door.
    ****
    When I woke again it was night, and the barn door was creaking open.
    I thought maybe it was Ray, but it was a human Jax who appeared in front of my stall, wrapped in a purple horse blanket.
    "What are you doing, you idiot?" I demanded, then realized he wouldn't be able to hear me. I hoped my expression got the message across.
    He opened my stall door and, without a word, threw his arms around my neck.
    I put my nose over his shoulder and pressed him closer to me. We stayed like that a long time. He dropped the blanket, and his bare skin grew cold fast. I tried to