Brothers

Cassia stumbled, surprised at hearing her own name, but continued forward. Now, with her human eyes, she was able to look straight at the men guarding the jail entry and now felt her heart leap as she recognized two of them. Alexi and Beck, her brothers apparently both happened to be working tonight to guard the jail. How had she not noticed them? Not only were they her brothers but the three of them were triplets. She couldn't help but feel a bit of a sting with the realization that her brothers had gotten assigned a position and she hadn't. She should've expected it. She had been the runt of their litter and her parents had never expected much of her since.

The boys stood tall and lean for their age. Where their sister had silver hair and violet eyes, they had deep blue eyes and white blonde hair. They were about a foot taller than her just like the other two men they stood with. All of them now had their eyes on her as she made her way to them. Alexi and Beck took quick steps forward, meeting her before she got to the others. Frowns creased their normally happy and carefree faces. "Cassia what are you doing here?" Alexi demanded first, always taking the lead.

"Do Mom and Dad know you're here?" Beck followed, taking her hand in his.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Come on you need to go."

"Wait," she pulled away from her brothers, "Stop it. I'm not leaving. Not yet."

"You can't stay here Cassia. What are you talking about?" Alexi shook his head, "You know no one is allowed in the jail who isn't a guard..."

"Or a criminal," Beck finished his sentence.

Cassia felt her confidence being shaken. Her brothers knew she was here and they would tell her parents. Everyone would know why she had come here. Everyone knew Huck was here. Huck. The thought of him in pain waiting for her in the hall, waiting for her to help him escape, made her steady herself. He was only here because of her. "He's not a criminal," she whispered, knowing they knew who she was referring to, "He shouldn't be here."

"Cass," Beck looked down, "You know we can't do anything about that. It's been ruled on. He's stuck here. At least for now."

"You've seen him," she countered, "You know how hurt he is. He can't stay here. If he stays here without getting any attention he'll die!"

"What are you suggesting here Cassia?" Alexi looked at her in disbelief, "You can't seriously think we're going to let you in there."

"Please Alexi," she felt the tears building in her eyes now knowing it was true. If she left without helping Huck he would surely die here. "Please let me see him. You know he's here because of me. He doesn't deserve to be here they just won't send me here myself."

"He stood up to the King Cass," Beck tried, "If he couldn't beat him then he shouldn't have tried."

"But it was for me," tears slid down her cheeks and her brothers looked away from her. They were all quiet but the men met each others eyes and seemed to come to a decision without discussing it.

"Alright," Alexi sighed, "I'm going to take the others and do our walk around the perimeter. You go with Beck. He'll watch the door while you go see Huck. It's not going to take us long though and you need to be out before we come back."

"Open the gates a bit when you walk by," Beck instructed his brother, "You can say I'm going to walk her out in a moment."

Alexi nodded and Cassia felt her heart leap. This was it! It couldn't have worked out better if she'd actually planned it. The tall blonde Alexi walked back to the other men and after a quick story, they headed into the darkness along one wall of the jail. Cassia and Beck waited until they'd turned the corner before they hurried back to the entrance. "Come on," Beck said, "I'll take you to his cell."

"Wait!" Cassia hissed, causing her brother to look at her in confusion. Her mind flew as she thought of a good excuse, "You should wait here in case someone comes. You could distract them so I could leave."

Beck frowned, "How will you know which cell is his?"

"Just tell me left or right. I can find him from there." Her brother considered her for a moment before nodding and pointing. "Thank you Beck," she whispered and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, "Thank Alexi for me too."

"We know you love him Cass," Beck sighed, "We both wish we'd been there. We could have protected you ourselves...."

"Beck..."

"I promise we'll never let something like that happen again. We're your brothers."

Cassia felt as if he'd stabbed her in her heart and guilt welled up inside her. She loved her brothers so much and they loved her. Now here she was, lying to them and betraying them. She paused, looking in Beck's blue eyes. She wondered if he would ever forgive her. She wondered if she would ever see him again to be forgiven. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Tears came to her eyes when she felt his strong arms wrap around her and hug her back. She would miss them. But Huck wouldn't survive without her help.

Letting go of her brother, she stepped back and dashed the tears from her eyes as he leaned against the stone wall just to the side of the entrance. "Go on," he smiled, jerking his chin in the direction of the entry. She nodded and hurried inside knowing that might be the last thing her brother ever said to her.

Inside, Cassia found Huck right where she had left him. He lay on the floor as still as stone but with eyes and ears alert. "Sorry," she whispered, knowing him and knowing he wouldn't appreciate she'd taken so long, "Alexi and Beck are guarding." Huck raised his massive wolf head, his eyes widening. "It's ok," she whispered, "Alexi has taken the other men around the building. It's only Beck out front. But we have to hurry. Do you think you can run?" Huck pushed himself up until he was standing and seemed to be more sure than she was. Cassia looked at his beaten body and knew she would have to help him any way she could. This was their only chance. "Alright," she whispered, "Are you ready?" The wolf nodded. She thought for a moment before pulling off her dress and shifting into another familiar shape. A moment later shouts broke the silence of the night as a huge black wolf and a sleek silver-black leopard ran full speed from the entrance of the jail, through the grass, making a break for the now open, great wooden doors.