Endangered Species

I listened to a group of bitten humans as the party broke up. I felt a soft touch on the back of my neck, and the tingles told me exactly who was behind me. “Time to go, my mate.”

I hated having to act loving in front of everyone, but that was the deal I’d made. I moved a hand to cover Cole’s, looking up and smiling at him. “I have to go, ladies. Get your rest before the fevers start.”

As I stood up, Cole offered his hand. I took it, playing the dutiful mate-to-be as we said goodnight to the Pack and humans. He led me to his quarters, opening the door with his key. As soon as the door closed, I let his hand go. “I’ll take my shower first,” I told him. I grabbed clean clothes from my drawer and headed to the bathroom.

I took my time, finally opening the door. Cole was waiting naked by the bed, clothes in hand. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. I stood there, mouth hanging open, openly admiring the physique of the man who had done so much evil. I could feel my body preparing for sex, and I hated it. He scented my arousal, and his own body responded. “Put that away,” I told him as I walked past him to the far side of the bed. “Take your shower. I’ll be in bed, but I don’t want you grabbing me. If you want to be on the bed, change to your wolf and stay on top of the covers. I trust your wolf more than I trust you,” I told him.

“My wolf and I are the same,” he said.

“No, they aren’t,” I said. “Your wolf didn’t wonder if I was worthy to stand with him. Your wolf didn’t kill innocent people. Your wolf sure didn’t plan to enslave and impregnate hundreds of humans. Your wolf didn’t order his mate to be whipped and imprisoned for speaking the truth. And it wasn’t your wolf that I had to make a deal with.” It was his turn to stand there with his mouth hanging open. “Cole is the one who needs to gain my trust. Wolfy has never let me down.”

“I love you, Angela.” With that, he walked into the bathroom. The door slammed a little, startling me as I pulled the covers down. I heard the shower start as I turned the light off and settled in for the night.

I was awake when the door opened, but I didn’t look. I could barely hear the big wolf approach the bed. He came to my side, sniffing at my hand where it lay by my hip. I felt his cold nose push its way under my palm, lifting my hand so I could scratch his ears. “You’re such a slut for scritches,” I said as I gave in. I’d always had a soft spot for dogs, and I loved running my hands through his fur, feeling the tingles running up my arm. “Jump up here and go to sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

He pulled back, moving down by my feet before leaping up on the bed! When that three-hundred-pound wolf landed, I popped up like I was on one of those water tubes! I landed on my side, rolling downhill towards where he lay on his stomach. He didn’t care; his wolf’s big tongue licked my face as I laughed my ass off. “Ugh! Puppy slobber!” I felt his head tilt like he was questioning me. “Lie down, and I’ll cuddle up to your back.” He laid on his side, and I threw an arm over his furry chest. He raised his head, giving me a nice fluffy pillow for my head as the contact relaxed my body.

I was asleep in minutes.

When I woke up, the bed was empty, but the space was still warm. I heard a faucet running and could see the light under the door. I walked to the dresser to find clothes. Someone had filled them with new things my size. “Cole, what should I wear for the run today?”

He came out of the bathroom wearing combat boots, cargo pants, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, all in black. “Something like this,” he said. “Not everyone still out there is friendly, and they have difficulty picking us up in low light. When we gear up after breakfast, you’ll get a vest and plate carrier you can wear under the hoodie.”

“And my pistol and holster?”

“In the closet with your gear.” I looked inside the door to see what I had. There was a complete tactical loadout inside on the shelves. My gear included a Kevlar helmet with a night-vision device clipped to the front, black gloves, boots, and elbow and knee pads. I could tell it was Marine camouflage spray-painted black. I pulled out the helmet and looked at it carefully. There was blood spatter on the strap that the cleaning had missed. The helmet hadn’t saved that Marine’s life when the wolves attacked. I put it back on the shelf for now. I dressed and used the bathroom, and then it was off to breakfast.

I ate at the main table, talking with Lead Warrior Ted Fulman about plans for the day. “We head out in five three-vehicle groups. Each is led by a Humvee with a fifty-cal gun turret, protecting a pair of two-and-a-half ton cargo trucks. The leaders of each team have their destinations and a list of items to look for.”

“I’ve got groups of six females set up to go to each location,” I replied. “I want them in the front of the trucks, where they can see what is going on out there. Ideally, they would recognize leaving the Pack is a bad idea.”

“Everyone will ask one last time before dropping them off,” Cole replied. “The groups will make a few stops before reaching the dropoff point. They will see how bad it is getting.”

“Good. I’ll bring the women out in twenty minutes,” I said as I stood up from the table. The ones leaving stood up in the back when I did.

Lois Fulman, my Luna Guard, stood up with me. “Stay with her,” Cole ordered. “I’ll meet you at the truck heading towards Silverdale.” That was good news for me; from the hills in Silverdale, I could see fires as far away as Bremerton and Seattle.

The women had their bags packed along the side of the cafeteria, and there was one last place to go before we loaded up. “Take me to the armory,” I told Lois.

She looked at me quizzically. “Why? I put your pistol in your closet myself.”

“It’s not for me. I’m not sending these women into the field without the ability to defend themselves. Knives and pistols.”

“I’ll have to ask,” she said before her eyes glazed slightly in the mind-link. “This way.” We walked to a room guarded by a wolf, the vault door already open. “One pistol or rifle, and no more than three knives per group,” Lois said. “We aren’t going to give away our armory for them.”

It would have to do. It took a while to decide who got the weapons, what weapons they wanted, and issue them. Luckily, each group had at least one woman who knew her way around a gun. Using the confusion, I slipped two Glocks into my cargo pockets. “Escort them to the trucks. I’ve got to gear up.”

Lois followed me to our room, where she helped me don and fit the combat gear. On the way out, I picked up Mary and Anna. Both were carrying their backpacks. “They aren’t part of the groups,” Lois objected.

“Nope. They are leaving, but not on a truck.” We exited the underground bunkers into the twilight. With the filtered air underground, you didn’t have the smell of rotting flesh and fires. The pungent smell hit us like a hammer. “Jesus, Lois! Did you leave the dead where you killed them?”

“That would bring disease and rodents,” she replied. “We trucked them to the docks, then tossed them in the water on an outgoing tide. The Sound will take care of the rest.”

“Get us a vehicle. We’re heading to the triangle dock.” Lois started to object, but I reminded her Cole had given me run of the base provided I had an escort. She found a flatbed truck and started it up. The girls tossed their bags in the back, and I slipped them the guns with my body blocking what was going on.

We stopped by the guard shack near the shoreline. I hopped out, and the girls followed. The kayak was where we left it; it only took a minute to stow their bags and put the lifejackets on. “Good luck,” I said.

“You too,” Mary replied. I got back in the truck with Lois, and she drove us to the assembly area. The other four groups had already left when we arrived, and the last group was loaded up and waiting on me. I joined Alpha Cole in the back of the Humvee. As soon as the door closed, we took off with the two trucks following us.

“Lois informed me you made a diversion,” Cole said with a hint of annoyance.

“Yes. Two of the women wanted to go to Whidbey Island. Since you can’t travel there by land, they are using the kayak I arrived in.”

“We should have discussed that first, just like we should have discussed arming them,” Cole replied. “You and I need to communicate freely and often to make this work.”

“The women are mine, and I told you I wanted to give them a chance to survive. You have more guns than you could ever need.” I stopped arguing and looked out the window, not wanting to miss what had changed during my captivity.

We left electric lighting behind, exiting the gates to a post-apocalyptic nightmare of useless vehicles, bloated bodies, and burned-out or looted buildings. The headlights went from one ugly scene to the next. Entire towns were gone, burned to the foundations.

It was far worse than I’d seen on the way here.