Apocalyptic Moon (After the Bane) (14 page)

He stumbled and the flashlight slipped from his hands, casting ominous shadows of looming bogeymen. He picked himself up and fired the machine gun at the advancing zombies. The sound and the scent of blood encouraged the others coming from behind to shuffle faster. She dared a look. More dead soldiers, maybe ten or more approached. Uncoordinated by Z-phage they slipped and fell on one another. Only a minor delay, as they straightened and barked hungry moans before continuing their hot pursuit of fast food. If only she was fast. Janelle encouraging her to move would have helped, not to mention an uninjured knee.

Mansfield shot another barrage of rapid gunfire. He paused. “Dora! Let me give you a pistol. We can make it.” He fired at two close zombies.

Yeah, right.
Only until you throw me into the piranha infested waters
. Flight would be nice right about now. She pressed her lips together. Fly! Nothing. Maybe her wish needed to be in a spell form. One college roommate made a rhyming love spell, which had worked to attract the guy in her philosophy class. Though on the day he’d asked her out, she’d borrowed Dora’s revealing low cleavage top. Anyway. Spell. Umm.
Abracadabra with so many zombies in sight, do let me escape by flight.

She floated. It worked! She spread her arms to her sides and rose toward a crevice about eight feet above the ground, large enough for her to fit in a sitting position.

Mansfield shot two more and grabbed the flashlight, shining it on her as she burrowed into the opening. “How the hell did you do that?”

“Don’t worry about me. Incoming!” She pointed her chin toward two zombies shambling from the direction of the cave exit.

He fired and blasted their skulls open. He sneered at her. “Good. A way out.” He pointed the pistol at her. “First, let me feed the animals.”

Dora hunkered down inside the crevice. Even if he shot her, she was determined not to fall out.

He aimed. “Too bad. You could have been a new Eve.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. The sound of a thump, followed by a gunshot striking the rock wall by her face gave her hope. She opened her eyes.

Mansfield lay sprawled on the ground, his fallen flashlight shone on a fist-sized stone by his side. How did it get there? Zombies don’t throw. A wolf howl, deep and menacing boomed.
Dirk!
In the eerie light, the werewolf’s long shadow accompanied a long lingering growl. Who would ever think seeing a horror movie apparition would be so wonderful? Trading in the 27 Club for the Halloween club.

Dirk slowly approached, ripping zombie heads off along the way.
“Dora, stay put.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”
Zombies moaning below forced her attention. Not out of danger, yet.

Mansfield grimaced and reached for his gun. Too late. A zombie pounced on him from behind and chomped on his shoulder. He bashed the ghoul with the muzzle of the gun and fired point blank. The zombie fell back but not before another grabbed Mansfield’s leg and sunk its teeth. Tearing. Chewing. Then another grabbed his other leg in a gruesome zombie wishbone tug. Mansfield hollered and shot but missed the brains of the already feasting zombies. Others joined in. Knowing there was no other way, he pointed the gun to his head but before he could pull the trigger, a zombie bit his right wrist and he dropped his gun.

Dora cringed at the sound of his agonizing squeals. Despite his evil doings, she swallowed her guilt for not helping. She couldn’t. She had no weapon or
witchmacallit
beyond flight and a green thumb. Her ability to illuminate had also abandoned her.
Sucks being a newbie witch
.

Dirk didn’t lift a claw for Mansfield. He did warn the mad scientist earlier what would happen if he betrayed them. Finally, a zombie sunk its teeth into his carotid, ending his hellish demise. She covered her ears at the sound of scrumptious chewing.

The werewolf dashed at great speed toward her, leapt on to the cave wall next to her crevice, and held on with his long razor sharp claws as if they were cliff climber’s spikes.
“You’re bleeding, were you bitten?”

“No, I slipped. Just a scrape.”

“Climb on my back, babe.”

Dora winced as she pulled herself out of the small crevice and wrapped her arms about his thick wolfish neck.

“You’re not going to faint on me, are you, Dora?”

“No, but I do plan on fainting once we get the hell out of here.”

“Hold on.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and held on for dear life with her legs wrapped around his waist. He dropped to all fours and ran at a full gallop. She squealed, “Shiiiiitttt!” His bulk knocked away zombies in his path as he ran at quarter horse sprint speed out of the cave. Outside, he slowed. He stopped, rose on his hind legs and sniffed. The fresh cold air smacked her face like a welcoming slap and her heart thumped like leaping frogs against his furred back. He walked toward an unmarked SUV. No zombies. Freedom. The high desert full moon and a distant howling coyote welcomed them.

He lowered his body to the ground like a well-trained circus horse
. “Are you well enough to climb off?”

“No problem.”
She carefully slid down, holding on to him for support. She wanted to kiss the ground but worried that any minute zombies would lumber out in search of food.
“Dirk, thank you for saving me.”

“Your safety was all that mattered.”

“Oh, not that I’m not grateful, but how did you wake up after being shot with a full dose of wolfsbane?”

He scratched beneath his throat as if he had fleas.
“Guess Jaeger didn’t tell Mansfield wolfsbane doesn’t last long during the full moon, especially on an alpha. Only the gleipnir would have kept me in check. Thanks to you babe, I’m free of it.”

“I guess we’re even.”
She smiled.

“Get in the car and sleep. In the morning, we’ll head out.”

“Toward California?”

“Yep, that is, after we go shopping for new clothes and stock up for our trip. There should be several good malls close to
Albuquerque
.”

“You know what’s weird, besides you, me, and the whole zombie world?”

“What?”

“I don’t feel as zapped of energy as I did when I first started using telepathy.”

“It means your witchy abilities are getting stronger with use. Still, let’s not push it.”

“Interesting.”
It might have been an initial draining due to non-use of that part of her brain. Maybe someday she could image her brain to see what parts fired up during extrasensory perception. She gazed up at his colossal frame.
“What will you be up to or do werewolves sleep?”

“In this form, I don’t need much sleep but I’ll stay alert to any zombie nonsense. First though, I’m going in and closing the entrance.”

“How?”

“A few of the zombie soldiers carried grenades.”

“Okay, but hurry.”

“Don’t worry, babe. The only zombies around here are in the cave.”

She entered the car’s back seat and curled into a fetal position. Exhaustion robbed her of fretting and she closed her eyes, lost to the reality of sleeping beneath the apocalyptic moon.

Chapter 8

The sunrise’s magnificent rays spread its golden glow and hues of orange over the shrubs. The filtering light turned gray rocks into a burnt red, making the hills look aflame. Above on a ridge, a herd of bighorn sheep meandered down. And everywhere birds sang. Dirk tilted his head toward the sky and the new day sun blanketed his naked body with warmth. He looked over his shoulder at the vehicle where Dora slept. She lay in the back, in a tight fetal position, covered by a wool blanket. Vulnerable and trusting. After all, she’d been through. Damn, if that didn’t make him hot for her. He was tempted to wake her and share the glorious desert morning with her.

His immense erection ached to plunge into her with abandon. Their telepathy revealed her lust for him, which got his inner wolf howling for action. He smiled.
Feeling’s mutual, babe
. No wonder, she rarely kept their telepathy open. He sensed her shock of his own graphic wolfish desires. If it was just sex, he might go for it, but it was more. Since meeting her, he thought of no one else. She made him feel an entire range of emotions from fierce protectiveness to utter joy. This couldn’t be right. He was supposed to take a werewolf or another shifter as a mate, not a human and definitely not a witch. He exhaled a long breath.
Better dress.

It had been a long night. Once he secured Dora in the vehicle, he re-entered the cave and killed a few zombies. Preferring not to travel across country naked, he’d undressed a soldier, who also had a spare grenade on his belt. He exited the cave, and threw the grenade behind him, sealing shut the underground cave. The blast startled Dora awake, but after he reassured her that the subterranean facility was destroyed, she returned to a deep slumber.

Dirk donned the permanently borrowed fatigues. Not a bad fit especially once his bulge tamed. He grabbed the long sleeved military sweater and put it on. The boots were snug, but would work until they got to a mall and replaced them with a proper size.

He opened the trunk and grabbed a “meal ready to eat.” He sat behind the SUV and used the flameless heater to warm up his MRE, freeze dried meat loaf. He wolfed it down and opened two more. How could a soldier survive on just one?

The window rolled down and Dora squinted. “Does that taste as bad as it smells?”

She looked adorable in her oversized men’s hooded jacket. He snorted a chuckle. “Worse.”

She opened the door and shivered from the morning’s cold air. She blew air between her cupped hands. “Just get me coffee and I’ll be a happy camper.” She took in a long breath. “I thought I’d never breathe fresh air again.”

Dirk prepared the instant coffee and brought it over. “Not barista fresh brewed, but the next best thing.”

She slurped. “Not bad, I expected coffee-colored hot water.”

“How’s your knee?”

“It smarts, but it’s a superficial wound. I put antibiotics on it.”

He sniffed for signs of infection. None. “You’re fine, babe.” He grabbed different packets of MREs. “What would you like: Teriyaki Chicken, Beef Stew or Meat Loaf?”

She glanced at the mess on the ground. “Since you tried all three, which do you recommend?”

“I can’t vouch for any.” He winked at her. “You look like a Teriyaki Chicken type.” He began to heat it up.

“As long as it kind of tastes like chicken. Any breakfast entrees?”

He spread a wool blanket on the dusty ground and helped her sit. “Nope, but maybe along the way we’ll stop at a breakfast diner.”

“I wish. What I wouldn’t give for a stack of hot pancakes dripping with hot syrup.”

“Me? I’d love a huge barbecued steak.”

She took her meal and poked her fork into the rubbery chicken. “I suppose as a witch I can’t conjure up real home cooked meals?”

“I have no clue, but I highly doubt it. My sister would know. She’s a scholar on the history of the Mythos Consortium. Truth is, I’m a bit ignorant about our history.”

“Since she’s the oldest, I take it she’s got all the brains?”

His eyes feigned hurt. “Sierra beat me only by three minutes, but she got the brains and beauty, and I got the brawn.”

She quirked a smile. “She single?”

He’d avoided talking too much about Sierra and his family. Best to keep it simple. He needed to avoid attachments. Yet, Dora was like a truth serum drug, making it so easy for him, “Mr. don’t like to share my feelings Lone Wolf,” into talking. Must be her witchy allure. Especially with her smile that tamed the beast in him. And her big beautiful eyes and cute little kick ass body. His inner wolf wagged his tail at her and he found himself staring at her like a kid with his first crush.
Shit, what’s wrong with
me?
He broke eye contact. “Actually, she married a human, a veterinarian named Ethan.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? I thought you said marrying humans was a no-no.”

He took a stick and drew circles in the dirt. “It happens but it’s not too common, especially with an alpha, since our rank makes us the most valued members of the pack. Ethan became the exception. He saved Sierra’s life after she was left for dead by the Kindred.” He snorted. “Then came love and then came marriage.” He stopped before mentioning the carriage.

“Was it Jaeger who shot her?”

“It was his father, Justin Jaeger, the Kindred responsible for murdering my family.” He winced at the memory.

“I’m sorry.”

“Four years ago, the Kindred tracked Sierra to Ethan’s home, but fortunately so did I. That night I killed ten hunters and Justin Jaeger. Vince Jaeger, the Jaeger you met, wasn’t there. He was recovering from a mauling my sister gave him before she was shot but escaped.”

“Ethan was okay with marrying a werewolf?”

“Marrying a hot blonde shapely werewolf? Oh yeah.” He watched her face flush. She chewed pensively. Such lovely luscious-looking lips.

“But you said your uncle Talon married a hawk shifter. Is that more acceptable?”

“Not really. At the time he caused an uproar amongst the wolf packs, but taking another type of shifter as a mate is less controversial than taking a human.” Dirk gazed at her breathtaking morning fresh face before diverting his look to the rock formations. “Phoenix and Talon were destined for one another. It’s kind of a shifter soul mate new age sort of thing. Their son Falco is strong and in training to be in our Defense Wolf Guard.”

“I suppose he’ll be the next alpha?”

He shook his head. “Falco is a hawk and wolf shifter but not a werewolf alpha.”

She tilted her head. “So who is the next alpha in line?”