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copiously from the wound.
    “Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to leave me.” KC fumbled with his belt, but he couldn’t get the latch to release. His heart beat double time as he tried to reach his mate.
    “Help!” he called out. Surely the pilot would help. No one came after he’d been shouting for a long time, and he realised that maybe the pilot hadn’t survived.
    Focusing inward, KC transformed from man to fox. KC’s much smaller form slipped from the belt and his clothes and dropped to the ceiling.
    Once on his feet, he transformed back to a man. He didn’t worry about his nudity since there wasn’t anyone around to be offended.
    After a few failed attempts, he finally got Dennis’ seatbelt off. The fact that his mate didn’t regain consciousness with all his efforts disturbed KC a great deal. He let out a soft noise as he accepted Dennis’ weight, careful to not let his mate fall to the floor. He laid Dennis down and adjusted him to a more comfortable angle. After making sure Dennis’
    breathing was regular, he went in search of the pilot.
    Unfortunately, he found him.
    KC had to pause and throw up the bile in his empty stomach before he could proceed.
    After its multiple tumbles the plane had impaled itself—and the pilot—on a tree. A long branch neatly bisected the pilot.
    The image would forever be burned onto KC’s retinas. Scrambling away from the sight, KC backtracked to the cabin. His hands shook as he returned to Dennis. What was he going to do?
    “What can I do?” He was stronger than the average person but significantly smaller than Dennis. Not to mention he was afraid of moving Dennis any further. What if the man’s

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neck was injured, or his spine? It was difficult to kill shifters but not impossible, as proven by the pilot’s fate.
    The smell of smoke reached KC’s nose. “Oh, damn.” He sniffed again, hoping he’d been mistaken. Nope. The smell still lingered. “Hell.”
    He didn’t know what the smell came from, but he couldn’t imagine any scenario where the smell of smoke and a downed plane were a good combination. He had to get them out of there, right now!
    Leaning down, he pulled up resources of strength he’d never accessed before and lifted Dennis across his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. He carefully traversed the upside down plane until he reached the outer door. It wasn’t until he got there that he realised he couldn’t open the door and hold Dennis at the same time.
    Groaning, he set Dennis down and checked to see if his mate had made any improvement. The coyote shifter didn’t even twitch.
    The smell of smoke became stronger and KC realised it must be coming from the engines. Which meant it might not be quite as urgent, but they still needed to get the hell out of there before the fire reached the cabin.
    Hands shaking, KC struggled to open the upside down hatch door. He could do this.
    He had to do this. All his adult life, KC had only had himself to worry about. Now, the responsibility of another person, his mate, weighed on him—a heavy burden he would be pleased to carry forever if the fates allowed and they got out of this horrible mess.
    KC had planned for an evil sister and a potential battle, but he hadn’t expected that a freak lightning storm and a downed plane might finish them off first.
    Finally, the hatch door released and he pushed it open with a sigh of relief.
    He picked up Dennis again, his battered and bruised body screaming with the strain.
    After stumbling out of the plane, he almost dropped him. Where the hell were they? A sparse forest stretched as far as his eyes could see like an evergreen, nightmarish maze.
    Forcing his body to continue walking, KC waited until they were a good distance from the plane before he put Dennis down.
    “I’m gonna go back and get our bags, babe. Be awake and ready for action when I return.”

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At this point KC didn’t really care about their clothing and he felt more than a little nervous about