Wolfman 5: Genesis Brannan Black All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2011 Brannan Black
ISBN: 978-1-60521-725-3
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Wolfman 5: Genesis Brannan Black The world fell apart after the virus killed billions, turning most male survivors into violent monsters. Then I met Mace and he changed everything I thought I knew about wolfmen. Mace is my mate. And I’m his. Unfortunately the new psycho rabid wants to destroy Mace’s pack with extreme prejudice. Our defenses are damaged and supplies are running low. Mace is going to have to reach out to other packs to hunt down and eliminate this new threat. Wolfmen. Working together. What’s the world coming to? Maybe the dawn of a new kind of civilization. A new beginning. One thing’s for sure. Things are going to get a lot uglier before they get better. If we survive at all…
Chapter One I ran down the dark street, heart pounding in my ears, lungs heaving, desperate for air. The hounds of hell ran on my heels, terror weighting my feet. Mace. I had to get to Mace. I rounded a corner, nowhere left to go. Turning back, I fired my shotgun at point blank range. RK’s head exploded like a ripe watermelon. A scream rang in my head. It still echoed around the room as I jerked awake, soaked in sweat, heart pounding and sucking air like I’d just run a fucking marathon. The miasma from the nightmare left me shaking. At least it wasn’t Mace I’d shot this time. The running was new, too. Was that a good thing? Maybe I was getting over it. Or I could just be losing my fucking mind. Mace’s spot on the bed felt cold, like he’d been gone a while. Where the fuck was he? Why hadn’t he woken me? RK’s whine came through the door just before he stuck his head in. “Daniel? OK?” “Yeah, RK, just a fucking nightmare. Where’s Mace?” I flipped the switch for the bedside lamp I’d recently installed. I’d never take flipping a switch for granted again after a month of oil lamps and candles. The loud sounds from the hall clued me in that it wasn’t early. I really, really wanted a fucking window! Or even a skylight. On the other hand, if the lower windows hadn’t all been boarded up, those fucking rabids would have gotten in. Hmm. Maybe skylights with iron cages over them. Nah, still wouldn’t reach a first floor room. “He’s in the yard with others. Want breakfast?” RK’s answer left me scrabbling to remember the fucking question.
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“Well, I’m awake now, so how about you get me some coffee while I get dressed?” RK cocked his head, thinking or looking, I couldn’t tell. He shrugged. “OK.” I sighed and hurried to dress before my own personal wolfman lackey came back. Not what I had in mind when I saved his life. I was dressed, been to the head, and still no coffee. If RK was going to hover, the least he could do was get me coffee. I let out a deep breath. Fucking nightmares, always left me grumpy and more than a little scattered. I mentally shook it off. Late morning sun streamed in from the high windows highlighting the chaos running rampant in the main room. A little over twenty-four hours after the rabid attack and it looked like a fucking gun factory. Weapons were being stripped and cleaned. Others were inventorying ammo. Yum, the smell of gun oil mixed with coffee. Doc leaned over a whining Eagle, smearing ointment on his many burns. On the nearest couch, Fox lay in an odd twisted pose, I assumed to miss the worst of the burns scattered over his body. A couple of the younger wolfmen who’d been injured while defending the den lay sprawled around the room and were being tended by their buddies. Finding the normal kitchen crew hard at work cleaning up the mess the guys left surprised me. Guess it was OK for the women to be back in the main room even with the former rabids about. The women seemed awfully quiet, focused on their work. I knew from experience that getting back to a normal routine after a loss helped. And maybe we’d get some better meals. Anything but mystery meat on a stick sounded like gourmet fare. RK stood by the stove waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. I wove my way through the crowd. A wave of quiet spread out around me like ripples in a pond. The pack tracked my course across the room. Fucking reminded me of when I first arrived and they looked at me like prey. “What?” I snapped, staring hard. A few tilted their heads in my direction and sniffed, loudly. I did a quick check to make sure I didn’t have my clothes on backward
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or something. Nope, relatively clean jeans, no holes. Black T-shirt with a tribal design in grey, right side out, no bloodstains. “What the fuck is up? Did I sprout fucking horns and a tail or something?” I yanked out a stool at the kitchen counter. “Anything edible over there?” Den-Mom, one of the rare women affected by the virus, snickered and passed me a plate with fried mystery meat and a bowl of oatmeal. A little canned fruit topped the oatmeal. Wow, a veritable feast! RK passed my coffee over as well. I plopped onto a barstool at the counter to eat. If I ignored them, maybe they’d go away. “They’re just curious to see if you smell different, like Mace does.” Den-Mom leaned across the counter, sniffing. I jerked back. “That’s just fucking weird. And why would Mace smell different?” Granted, that knot thing on his penis hadn’t ever happened before. Part of the mating thing I’d assumed. “Something wrong with him?” Surely they couldn’t fucking tell he’d bottomed? Something told me that wouldn’t sit well with the rank obsessed pack. “No, not wrong, just different. And he looks a lot more relaxed. Something happened between you two last night.” She leaned closer, gaze boring holes in me. I took that first sip of coffee and sighed. Damn, that tasted good, even without milk. “What’s between me and Mace isn’t your fucking business.” I took another sip of coffee to cover the stupid ass grin spreading over my face. Fuck, that had been amazing sex. And Mace giving himself to me like that… might piss the pack off, but it meant the world to me. I’d never felt so loved, cherished. No, that didn’t even begin to explain what I felt. “He’s our pack alpha. If it affects him, it’s our business.” She growled and flashed fangs at me, pulling me from my reverie. I shrugged and dug into breakfast. She could growl all she wanted. Didn’t fucking scare me anymore. “Thanks for the fruit. Mmmm.” I savored the sweetness with closed eyes. Chewing while smiling, that didn’t happen to me often. Felt weird. Good but weird.
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“Daniel!” Claws hooked into my shirtsleeve and tugged. “You two have been at odds for days and all of a sudden everything is fine? Spill, brain boy.” Was she that fucking dense, or did she want a blow by blow? “If you haven’t figured it out, go ask my mate.” And that was all they were getting. Den-Mom smiled triumphantly. “I knew it! You are mated now!” The quiet of the room erupted in yips, howls and excited voices. A loud growl stood out among the noise. Alpha glared at me with death in her eyes. “Sorry, sweetheart. You never really had a chance anyway.” I smirked at her and turned back to savoring my meal. My stomach felt like a black hole. When was the last time I’d had a good meal? When was the last time I’d really felt like eating? Oh yeah, before that brain splatting incident. My stomach roiled and I mentally slapped myself for digging that fucking memory up again. Doc slouched into the kitchen, snagging some coffee. “God, that’s good!” She turned to me with a smile. “So, you two found a workaround?” No point in answering. The stupid shit-eating grin on my face said it all. The front door banged open. Mace, Slade and a few others came in from the yard. “We need a better damned fence!” Slade snarled. Calm, cool Slade fucking snarled at Mace? What the fuck? Mace’s deep rumble stirred my cock to life. Fucking thing ought to be tired after last night, but no. “I’m all ears if you’ve got a suggestion.” Yellow-gold eyes focused on me, the wolf spotting his prey. Immediately the room stilled again. They all watched him stalk over to me. His broad shoulders stretched his grey T-shirt tight across chiseled muscles. Those jeans looked painted on, nicely accenting his impressive package, lean hips and strong thighs. For once, my hardening cock avoided getting cramped up. I stood, leaning against the counter, waiting for him. That silly grin just got wider. My fucking cheeks were starting to hurt. Mace stopped right in front of me, staring down. For a heartbeat we just drank each other in. As one, we grabbed hold and leaped into a scorching kiss. The pack must
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have approved, because the noise they made nearly deafened me. Mace pressed me against the counter; his hard cock nestled next to mine. I moaned softly and rolled my hips, rubbing us together. Hot desire flooded me. The room vanished into the background. It was just me and Mace and a burning need for each other. “God, mate, I want you.” I laughed against his lips. “So what’s new?” Someone cleared their throat. Mace’s team, all but Cowboy, surrounded us. I didn’t see him so he must have been on patrol or watch duty. I gave Mace’s braid a playful tug and urged him to back up a bit. Hawk spoke softly as always, kept his eyes down. “Hate to break this up but we need to figure something out about that fence.” Still earned himself a snarl from Mace. Despite Doc snuggling up to him, Slade scowled. “So what’s up with the fence?” That turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Slade looked like he wanted to strangle me. “It needs to keep those damned rabids out! We’re not losing more women to those bastards!” I’d never seen Slade so pissed off. “And you could learn to hit what you shoot at!” “Good luck with that. Fuckers are damned hard to keep out.” No point arguing that last bit. I had hesitated. And missed killing the lead psycho rabid. Pissed me off, too. Slade snarled again. “Any bright ideas, genius?” I ignored him and slipped back on my stool to finish breakfast. Did I mention I was hungry? I gave it some thought while chewing. “You could add stronger posts set in concrete.” “Can’t we just hook it to the generator? That ought to keep them off it or fry their stinking hides.” That came from one of the cooks. I shook my head. “It’d ground out.” They waited for me to swallow so I guess they wanted more info. “Metal fence hooked to metal posts sends the current to ground, literally. To electrify the chain link you’d have to find a way to insulate it from the posts
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and keep it off the ground. Or you could run some strands of properly mounted hotwire around the outside. In my experience, though, you guys just rip that shit off unless it’s hot enough to fry a buffalo.” They chewed on that a while, letting me finish my meal. Doc raised an eyebrow. “I see you’ve got your appetite back.” I shrugged and gave Mace an appraising look. “You could say that.” He growled low and sexy. My cock surged back to fully hard just listening to him. “Can’t you two give it a rest now that you’re mated?” Mace laughed softly, his gaze running heatedly over me. “Hmm. No.” Slade and Doc shared a knowing smirk. Then she smiled at me just a bit too sweetly. “So no more nightmares?” I scowled slightly. A single night of amazing, soul bonding sex could only do so much. The kind of healing I needed took time. Couldn’t help but notice the pack looked a hundred percent calmer despite yesterday’s attack. Had our mating really made that much difference? My gaze came to rest on Mace. The tension that had crinkled the corners of his eyes and drawn his lips into a taut line had eased, despite the strain of having the den attacked. He once more looked solid and in control. Guess it was a fucking big deal. If only it was that fucking simple for me. Mace got that faraway look that meant he was thinking. “All right, how about we add a second fence? Set both in concrete with razor wire on top?” Slade’s brows drew down. “Can we at least hotwire the edge of the roof? Slow them down if they make it that far again.” I nodded. “Sure, that’s a good idea, and we can switch it with the emergency lights so it’s not hot all the time.” Mace frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t want you taking time away from the still.” “Patty and Lori can handle the hotwire. I’ll show them what to do first. Wouldn’t hurt to teach some of your guys this shit either. As for the fence, that needs muscle, which you wolfmen have in plenty.”
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Mace nodded approval. “Get them started, then back to work on the still.”
*** I only got in a couple hours work, mostly on the still before my assistants wanted to break for lunch. I decided to find Mace. “He’s in the basement with Slade and Hawk.” The three former rabids were back up here and he’d allowed Beta, Fang and Spike to stay after their help fighting off the rabids. I thumped down the stairs. What the fuck were they up to? Birds could have nested in my gaping mouth when I got a look. The basement had been turned into a fucking prison, complete with a hospital. The three well-spaced and very secure looking cages along the back wall I’d seen before. Each held two rabids, including the one Mace had captured earlier. He looked better than the freshly shot up ones, but that wasn’t saying much. They were still ragged, filthy rabids. Doc worked on a seventh, the one I’d seen trying to drag himself away by his arms. Several pack members were putting up an outer cage to encase it all while Mace supervised. What the fuck were we going to do with more rabids? How many could a pack absorb at one time? “Don’t look so shocked, mate. After listening to you go on about how any rabid might become pack, killing them felt wrong.” He pulled me against him and nuzzled my neck. Damn, that made me fucking hard! Hawk snickered and looked past my shoulder to where RK hovered. “Helps that your pet project is coming around so well.” Junior, Boss’ former beta, snarled at the nearest ones. “I still say we should just kill them and be done with it.” “Any one of them could become pack once they see there is another way to live. They deserve a chance.” Mace’s voice was gentle but firm. Junior scowled but didn’t argue.
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My gaze drifted to the caged rabids. The way those fuckers looked at me sent shivers up my spine -- a cold, clammy, painful-death-is-staring-at-me kind of shiver. This was going to be a fucking picnic. Yeah, right. Me and my big mouth. I just prayed it didn’t get us all killed. “I won’t let any of them hurt you, mate.” Took that fucking little for Mace to smell my fear? OK, he did have his nose jammed against my skin while he nibbled and kissed my neck. A sharp tug on my earlobe sent shocks of pleasure rippling through me. What the fuck had we been talking about again? Mace chuckled softly and let me go. “So what are you planning?” I hoped he had a plan. He shrugged. “Same as always, offer them a chance to join the pack.” He nodded toward Doc’s current patient, being restrained by Slade and Slick. “Will he walk again?” She sighed heavily. “I think in addition to his left femur and right tibia, his pelvis is broken. If he’s ever to walk correctly, he needs surgery.” Which meant a trip to Mom’s. “Speaking of Mom, we told her we’d be back for Derek and Jay.” Mace stared at the wounded rabid whose wide eyes showed plenty of fear and pain. “Dope him up best you can, Doc. Slade, assign a couple extra pack to watch him. He can’t go back in with the others just yet.” No doubt because his cage mates might try to kill him and eat him. OK, maybe not eat him, but I’d seen it a few times. Fucking rabids. Slade nodded. “Should I see if any pack take a shine to him? Or even one of the women?” Cold fear shocked my system. “You can’t let any of the women near that beast!” Mace snorted. “Just like I couldn’t let you near RK before we knew what he’d be like?”
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Well, fuck. Mom would have my balls for suggesting the women couldn’t handle what I could. Hell, even Doc looked insulted. I sighed. “Fuck, right, but I suggest you not keep him down here in that case.” Mace nodded and ushered me toward the stairs. “If one or more of the women want in on this, that makes sense.” We started up the stairs. “So did you want something, Daniel?” I couldn’t resist giving him a heated once over. Mace grinned. “Other than that?” Doc laughed. “Get your mind out of Mace’s pants. You’re getting as bad as they are! When do you think we can go out to the compound?” “Not until the den is secure enough we can take most of the pack with us or we’ve killed those bastards.” Mace’s hard face and icy tone made it clear he favored hunting them down and ripping their throats out. “Strengthening the fence and adding a second layer would go a long way. We held them off for a good while.” Once the fence fell, we’d been hard pressed, but we’d managed. “At too high a cost,” Slade snarled. “No, we need this den secure.” Mace nodded. “There’s no such thing as an impenetrable fortress, Slade, and we only have so much time before they try again. The double fence and a hotwire around the top of the roof railing will have to do.” Slade growled but didn’t say anything more. Doc brushed her face on his shoulder and he smiled briefly. “As soon as that’s done, we take both trucks to the compound. I want as many pack as we can spare when we go out. They could ambush us anywhere, anytime.” I’d forgotten they had one of our small trucks around here somewhere. OK, it was really a mid-sized truck, but compared to my full size, extended cab, four door long bed, it looked small. It could still carry a good load. Assuming it had fuel. By this time we’d reached the main room. “We’ll take that injured rabid and Beta with us so Doc Sylvia can fix them up.” Mace sought out a shocked looking Beta. “You
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defended the pack and den, Beta. After you’re healed, you need to decide if you’re really part of this pack or not.” Mace’s tone hardened. “This is your last chance.” He speared Fang and Spike with a glare. “You two have the same choice to make. I won’t tolerate you making trouble anymore. Just submitting is not enough. I need to know you’re really with me.” He looked around the room, pausing on each of Boss’ former pack. “I need to know from all of you that you’re committed to this pack, to my leadership. For the welfare of the pack, we must be united.” Every wolfman in the room settled into a submissive pose, even the former rabids. Former rabids, that was a fucking mouthful. We settled at the table to eat. With the women back, we got real food. Sort of. Canned veggy stew. Yeah! At least it hid the mystery meat. That was something the compound could trade, meat and fresh veggies. I started thinking about how to increase production so they’d have enough to trade. Or better yet, get a greenhouse going here. Mace bumped my shoulder. “What’s going on in that big brain of yours?” “Just thinking how nice some real beef would taste about now. Not to mention some vegetables that aren’t canned.” Doc bristled. “We’ll have fresh meat as soon as the guys can get out to hunt and we have a big garden every summer down along the river. Not everything you’re eating is pre-collapse. We can as much as possible.” “Didn’t mean to insult you. I was just thinking of things the pack and compound could trade. We’ve got access to old wheat fields, but can only work a small portion. With extra manpower, or wolfman power, we could raise a fucking hell of a lot more.” “That’s all well and good, but will it put fuel in our truck?” Apparently my mate had a one track mind -- ethanol. I drew a deep breath. “Yes and no. Any grain can be used to make ethanol but right now, it’s better used as food.” “What if it’s spoiled?”
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I leaned forward to look at Hawk on the other side of Mace. “Not sure, might depend on how it’s spoiled. As long as it won’t affect the fermentation process, it’s fine.” Mace cocked a brow at Hawk. “Wonder what we’ve got to trade with Ace’s pack.” “Ace?” Who the fuck was Ace? “His territory includes the old pet food plant.” “Think there’s still some grain stored up there?” I knew the place. Shit, anyone who’d driven north of downtown on I-70 had smelled it. “I know there is. We had an agreement with Ace to trade fresh meat for grain. Unfortunately, the grain soured and mice got to it.” “Not like we have any fresh meat to spare anyway.” Slade sighed. Was that a bird leg he was chewing? Maybe it was more flying rat, AKA pigeon, than rodent. I wasn’t sure that was any better. “No, but you do have me. Might be something I could do to make their lives easier,” I suggested. “Daniel, you’ve got enough to do here.” “Lori and I can handle a lot of the grunt work. All Daniel has to do is show us what and how.” Patty sounded excited, and she was right. Those two ladies could handle most of it. Junior jumped in. “Would pet food work? I mean like big bags of dog food, since they’re made out of grain?” I chuckled. “Ethanol from dog food. That’d be a first. Most have preservatives that might prevent the mash from fermenting, but it’s worth a try. Know where we can find a shitload?” Hawk nodded. “There’s a few pet stores around we didn’t bother raiding. As long as mice getting to it won’t hurt.”
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“Bring me all you can find and we’ll give it a try.” Beat the hell out of working with weeds. For as long as it held out. “Mace, you do understand at some point we will be right back here looking for bio-matter?” He nodded. “Everything runs out eventually. I thought you said you could grow grain, at the compound?” Had he not heard me before? “Sure, with enough acres, something to plant and harvest with, since all those huge agricultural machines won’t be running, and enough rain. But you’re using food to make fuel. There are some other options I’m working on, things I read about if I can just find more information. Google would be so fucking useful about now.” There’d been a lot of info on the net in recent years and real progress had been made in providing fuel without using labor and resource intensive foodstuffs. Like the facility in Fort Collins working with an algae that could produce oil for bio-diesel and then be fermented for ethanol. Or that switchgrass that’d grow anywhere. Unfortunately, most of it required either specialized equipment or modified bacteria I didn’t have. Mace finished crunching something bony before speaking. “We can pick up some dog food on our way back from the compound. I don’t want us out any more than necessary until we have those rabids dealt with.” He had a good point. Those fuckers could be anywhere. I turned to Vegas, who was overseeing the project. “How’s the fence coming?” Everything hinged on that. “We don’t have enough chain link for another full fence.” “We’ve got sheet metal in storage. Might be enough to fill in the gaps.” It’d be harder for them to climb but also provide them with cover. Hmm… “If we only used it where we could fire over the top, fine.” Slade didn’t sound too enthusiastic. “Cut it into strips and leave the edges sharp so it cuts when they try to climb it,” Lori suggested.
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“Good idea, Lori.” She was one smart woman, and now that she didn’t feel so intimidated by the pack, was really coming into her own. Oddly, she said it was watching me that gave her the courage to speak up. Had she fucking missed how many times I’d gotten the shit beat out of me? Still, I was glad to see her opening up. We finished lunch and I headed back to my shop to start ripping sheet metal. It wasn’t the ideal fence material, but it would have to do.
Chapter Two I was late getting to dinner, but with plenty of help we’d gotten all the strips cut. A rotating crew was working setting posts in concrete for both rows of fencing. All in all, a productive day without even a hint of rabids on the prowl. I sighed and sank down next to Mace with my dinner, a thin stew with a fishy smell. “What, we ran out of fucking pigeons to eat?” “I don’t get why we can’t go hunting. After the ass kicking they got, I’d bet those stinking rabids are still running.” That was the tall lanky kid from Boss’ pack with the ignominious name of Gofer. Not the rodent but as in “Go get me…” He sat with Junior and the rest at the edge of the dais. RK snorted rudely, earning a snarl from Gofer. Mace nudged my side and tipped his head toward RK. Guess he wanted me to do the asking. “RK, what do you think Max will do?” “Mace? I thought we were talking about rabids?” Junior wasn’t the only one looking confused. “We could call him ‘The First Brother’ but that’s a fucking mouthful and makes him sound like some kind of messiah. I thought Max, short for Psycho-Rabid-EscapeeFrom-Super-Max worked better.” Several chuckled and Mace arched a brow at me. “What? I thought that was how you named each other. Find something weird or definitive and use that.” Junior growled. “Oh. Could have sworn you said Mace. I don’t think that psycho son of a bitch deserves a name.” “We need to call him something to avoid confusion.” “Calling him Max doesn’t work. Too much like Mace. We keep referring to him as a psycho. That seems appropriate,” Vegas pointed out.
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Hadn’t occurred to me how similar the names were. “Psycho?” I shrugged. “Works for me.” No one spoke up with an objection. Mace shook his head but a grin twitched his lips. “So, RK, any ideas?” RK shrugged. “He’ll look for more brothers.” Gofer sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you said that before. He likes to find more rabids. But what will he do after getting his ass kicked? Run off like a good little rabid with his tail between his legs?” RK met the kid’s gaze. “Look for more brothers to replace ones lost.” It sounded like he meant something more but he needed to be clearer. I nudged him with my foot and he elaborated, “He’ll want more brothers and then look for way to get advantage. You challenged him. He wants to destroy you now. No way will he just run off.” Tension in the room ratcheted up several notches even as it got quieter. Those who hadn’t been paying attention were now, and pushed closer to the dais. “Will he arm them?” Mace sounded worried. We’d lose our advantage if Psycho armed his pack. RK shook his head. “Only those close to him, the First Brothers, a few others.” “How many is that?” He closed his eyes a moment. “Seven First Brothers still with him. Five more he trusts, treat like First Brothers.” “OK, twelve or so will be armed. Think he’d try to burn us out?” He’d set the building we were using as a watchtower on fire. Fox and Eagle had been badly burned. Buck went through a window escaping the fire and the rabids tore him to pieces. “If he can’t get to you any other way, yes.”
“You sound awfully certain.” Mace nudged RK into turning to face him.
“Yours is not the first big pack to challenge him.”
“Tell us exactly what happened.”
“First, found weapons. Then hunted the other pack, waiting to catch them out in
smaller groups. He’d shoot them then let brothers tear them apart. Pack tried to hide in
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building, not go out so he couldn’t hunt them. Burned building, killing all as they fled. Some women they didn’t kill right away.” I felt cold inside. We all knew how those women would have died. “You join in the fun?” Junior growled with barely contained fury. “Me? No, not allowed, thankfully.” He paused and then visibly pulled himself together. “Only First Brothers and higher ranked brothers get chance. Women not live very long.” That statement delivered so calmly hit the room like an arctic wind. “So just what was your place in this gang of rabids?” Junior’s growl deepened, his hostility clear. RK looked down at the floor. A tremor ran through his body. “Belong to First Brothers.” I could barely make out his words for the tremble in his voice. I set my hand on his head, stroking it and praying he didn’t seize from the obvious fear. “It’s OK, we’ll talk about that later.” I turned to Mace. “I think now would be a good time to start working with the other packs in the area. At least warn them what’s coming.” Mace nodded. “Slade, get the map. Let’s move to the table.” “You have a map of pack territories?” Wow, they never ceased to amaze me. Doc sounded amused by my surprise. “Helped us learn the area when we first came here, keep track of resources and threats. We marked our neighbors and Ice filled in some around the East Burb pack. Might not be completely accurate after the winter, but it’s a start.” Mace turned to Junior. “We should have warned you when we first met them. I’m sorry.” Junior faced Mace. “Did you know they were this bad?” Mace shook his head no. “Not sure it would have mattered, then. They simply outnumbered us.” Sorrow filled his voice for what they’d lost: their alpha, half the wolfmen in their pack and their den.
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“He’s right, just warning them isn’t enough. We need to band together and hunt these fuckers down before they pick us off one by one.” Not something I ever thought I’d hear Beta say. But then I only knew him as Tat’s follower. Mace stared at nothing, deep in thought. “OK, here’s what we do. We send messages to the packs we know and ask them to pass the word on. In that message will be everything we’ve learned plus an offer to work together. I think we need to warn Sylvia’s compound, too.” “We’ll have to be careful not to lead those fuckers there.” Defending the compound against a pack of rabids that size, organized and armed, would be nearly impossible. Especially with all those nice wood buildings they could burn. “Hey, now there’s a thought. We could set a trap for them, send out a truck and see if they follow it.” My head jerked up, looking for the asshole who wanted to play bait. Mace didn’t even pause to consider it. “Nope. We hunt those bastards down just as soon as we get the fence repaired. The more time we give them, the more time they have to replenish their numbers, get better armed or find some other way of fucking with us.” Excited howls echoed off the rafters. Guess the pack liked that idea. I hoped that didn’t get a bunch of them killed. These fuckers had already proven they were devious shits. “When do you want to send the messages?” Hawk was all business, ignoring the pack’s noisy enthusiasm for the hunt. “As soon as the sun’s up. So far, Psycho’s always attacked at night. Let’s hope they stick to that pattern.” Mace pointed to various territories, assigning two man teams to contact each. The message was composed and copied down for each team.
*** The evening fuck-fest had a festive air. Nothing like impending death and destruction to get a wolfman in party mode. Several women braved the room despite
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the presence of the former rabids. No one said a thing as the rest of the women retreated to their sanctuary. Why did they give the women more choice right now? Because of the former rabids? Or the attack? When this was over, I’d speak to Mace about making it a permanent option. Mace and his team kept a close eye on the festivities. There were still a few guys not mobile enough to join in, but no one bothered them. Well, not overtly anyway. I flinched. A sparring match stumbled into the couch where Eagle and Fox sprawled. Howls of pain and anger rattled the rafters. Mutt and Jeff often hung with Eagle and Fox. They jumped up, shoving the playful pile away. And the fight was on. The darker rabid got really fucking excited and jumped over the couch to join in. Mace and his team were off the dais in a flash. Ice and Wraith, who’d been nearer the whole mess, were tossing smaller wolfmen away like rag dolls as they waded in. Dark skinned rabid got batted aside to land on Eagle. Fucker just didn’t get that wounded should be left alone. Eagle found himself fighting for his life while lying on a couch. Fox jumped the rabid’s back and they tumbled to the floor but he wasn’t in much better shape. Ice reached him, yanking the dark rabid away and slamming him to the floor. A scream of agony ripped from the dark one’s throat and he went limp in submission. Bet the fucker got the wind knocked out of him at the very least. A few broken bones might settle his ass. By this time most of the room was involved. RK stood near the edge of the dais, watching and clearly on guard. I heard a scream. Former rabids two and three had attacked a trio of wolfmen trying to get a woman to safety. Mace and Slade changed course but by the time they’d gotten there, the two former rabids were buried under a pile of pissed off pack. That changed the nature of the fight. Now the pack was in protective mode and quickly the fighting settled into submitting and bonding. I watched women slinking to the stairs. The woman who’d screamed took the time to kick rabid number two and lay
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a kiss on one of her defenders. Another reached for her, snarling a warning at the wolfman she’d kissed. “Stop! Let her go, now,” Mace roared and grabbed the aggressor by the neck. The man submitted instantly. Watching Mace put his pack in order had me questioning my sanity. Never had I ever thought violence was sexy. But on Mace… Fuck, he was hot! Grade A prime alpha male and all fucking mine! I’d forgotten how long it could take to settle things after a near riot. I sighed. So much for our mating curing all the pack’s ills. I yawned and stretched. “Might as well get some rest, Daniel. He’s going to be a while.” Doc rested her chin in her hand. She would stay in case they needed her. I sighed. “No fucking kidding. I think I will turn in.” Either that or my cock was going to explode watching him.
*** I woke to a warm body spooned along my back like we had been custom made for each other. I loved the feel of his chest hair, his pubes tickling my ass. His hard cock nestled between us. One arm draped over me, caressing my chest and belly. One finger teased my nipple. I gasped and wiggled back against him. He flexed his thighs, pressing deeper between my ass cheeks. Light little kisses and nibbles blanketed my neck. Arousal shivered down to my swelling cock. I parted my legs and Mace’s cock slipped between them on the next rock of his hips. I clamped down, a whined moan my reward. A couple of thrusts and I decided it was worth moving to get some lube before we both ended up chafed. I greased his pole as he thrust forward and back. “Ahhggg, yesss! Daniel, you feel so good.” He whispered in my ear, lipped and sucked the rim. More shivers of lust rocked through me. My cock filled to aching fullness, and I guided his hand down to it.
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“Unngggh! Mace, fuck, unnnggh.” He stroked down each time he thrust, caressing the underside of my balls. My ass quivered, fucking hungry thing. Never had I craved a man’s cock in me like I did Mace’s. Never. I cocked my leg up, opening for him. “Fuck me, lover.” I turned my head; stretching to claim his lips, swallow the deep moan rumbling up. He slipped a hand down to rim my hole. I gasped and pressed back, all but begging for more. The tip of his finger pressed in, teased back out. “Fuck! Mace, unng, more!” I couldn’t stop the needy sounds he wrenched from me with each thrust of his finger. Deeper each time. He pulled out, laying his palm up on my thigh. Didn’t take a genius to figure he wanted some lube. Then he set to finger fucking my ass with enthusiasm. I moaned and wiggled my ass into each thrust. He nailed my prostate and I nearly jumped off the bed. “Such a hot ass, Daniel.” He kissed and sucked on my neck. “Are you OK with this?” Amazingly, I was. Something about this didn’t trigger the ugly memories of a night that ended with me in a hospital bed. The trust I felt right then filled a hole I would never have admitted to. “Yeah, Mace. I want this.” If wolves could purr he would have, because that sexy growl of his was fucking close. Carefully, gently, he eased into me. “Ah, fuck, Mace. Good, so good.” I pressed back until he fitted snug to me, back to chest, butt to hips and legs curved together. I braced my arm on the bed as he began gentler thrusts, honing his position until he could caress my prostate with each stroke. “Unnggg! Fuck, yeah, yeah. Ahgggun.” Sensation flowed from deep inside me. His hard muscled arm slipped under my neck, cupping my shoulders. The other wrapped around to take my leaking cock in hand. Fuck, he had amazing coordination, stroking down as he thrust in. “Unngggn, Daniel, yesss.” I felt him stiffen behind me a mere heartbeat before hot jizz slicked my passage. He found his rhythm again even though his cock still pulsed with aftershocks. Steadily he built my need higher, until I could only feel. Feel the need to come burn inside me.
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My cock swelled almost painfully and then shot cum over the bed. I jerked in his warm embrace with wave after wave of orgasm rolling through me. Somewhere in there he howled his second orgasm. I yawned and stretched, trying to shake off the stupor of sleep. “What the fuck time is it? Fuck, I’m tired.” Mace handed me a damp rag to clean myself with. “Late, really late.” I sighed. Fuck, felt like I’d hardly slept at all. “Guess we should get up then.” He snickered. “No, mate, go back to sleep. It’s late at night. Or really, really early morning.” “You woke me up?” He snuggled up to my side. “How horrible of me.” “Evil wolfman.” I sighed and let sleep overtake me.
*** I sighed and snuggled into the warmth at my back. A peaceful glow from last night still infused me. I wiggled my ass into Mace’s groin expecting his hard, naked cock. But the weight behind me wasn’t naked or hard. Confused, I rolled to my back. “Mace?” A soft whine answered me. What the fuck? I knew that whine. “RK? What the fuck are you doing here?” He whined and dipped his head to bump it against my shoulder. “Keep you company so you sleep.” “Mace will fucking kill you if he catches you in our bed!” I jerked up, pulling the covers over my nakedness. “He told me to.” That left me speechless. Why the fuck would he do that? After a few stunned moments my brain stuttered back into gear. “Um, could you, you know, leave so I can get dressed?” As much as I needed the can right now, I didn’t want RK ogling my naked ass. No point tempting fate, or Mace’s wrath. He whined and rubbed his cheek on my shoulder again before scampering off to do my bidding.
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That was just fucking weird! Having my own personal wolfman waiting on me was fucking weird enough but finding him in my fucking bed? On Mace’s say so? What the fuck? Then it hit me. No nightmares. Huh. Mace might be on to something. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I made straight for the kitchen. RK passed my coffee to me. Ah, sweet caffeine. I was really going to miss it when we ran out. Too bad it didn’t grow here. More oatmeal with canned fruit for breakfast. Wow, I felt special. What the fuck were we going to eat after the oatmeal ran out? Mystery meat, yum. If we could get some irrigation going, we could grow more oats. I stored that thought for later. “Where’s Mace?” I paused with my spoon almost to my mouth. “He decided to use the truck instead of runners. Safer I guess. Anyway, he took a dozen heavily armed wolfmen with him, including Hawk and Vegas.” Doc sat down with a sigh. “He said if things stay quiet, we can try for the compound right after he gets back. Hopefully before dark and before Psycho gets any new ideas.” Oddly, I didn’t get that going home feeling. In fact, I wondered how much of my stuff I could bring back with me. If I was going to really live here, it was time to make that room as much mine as Mace’s. Better to focus on that than any danger Mace might be in. “Sounds good. How’s the broken guy?” That glare could melt paint. “Bane,” she made a point of his name, “is doing as well as expected.” She pointed with her chin to where he lay on a couch watching the room. “Maybe we should injure all the rabids before bringing them in. He’s getting pretty attached to Missy and Alice. Doesn’t hurt that the pack is constantly on his ass making sure he’s behaving.” “Behaving or unable to do much?” “Both I’d guess, but after the pack made it clear the women aren’t to be hurt, he’s been pretty good.” “The pack’s not after him like they were RK?”
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Doc shrugged. “Not as bad, but the newer guys and Boss’ pack still snarl at him every chance they get. They’ve had to be reminded to behave, too.” So what was it about RK that had set the pack off so badly? My face must have given me away. “It wasn’t just about RK, Daniel. The whole pack was reacting to the tension between you and Mace.” I snorted rudely and finished my breakfast. I had a lot to do today. “Oh, Mace also said to be ready with the still, they’ll bring back as much dog food or other animal feed as they can. Hawk remembers a feed store in one of the areas they’re headed to.” Now why hadn’t I thought about feed stores? Not pet stores, but farm stores where you could buy grain and feed for everything from horses to chickens. The Denver area still had several, mostly catering to the horse crowd. A lot of folks had owned horses in and around the metro area. We’d raided the ones close to the compound early on so I hadn’t even thought about it here. They might have a decent supply of grain products. “That’s fantastic. The still’s ready and so are the fermentation tanks. Got plenty of yeast culture started.” So what to do with myself this morning? “I’m going to check on the fence and hotwire. See how things are going.” That took up what was left of the morning.
Chapter Three Mace returned just after lunch, minus Stretch and Gofer, but with guys from the South Lakes pack. Their alpha worried if Mace’s pack fell, their much smaller pack would be next. They promised to join the hunt. “Bow, their alpha, told us one of the small packs around Chatfield reservoir has taken over the others in the area. And they’re still growing. He and Bow have a boundary agreement. And through them, they’ve heard of a pack forming from the rabids around Sedalia and maybe one in Castle Rock, too.” “Assuming the psycho rabids didn’t get them already.” Junior sounded pretty grim. “Bow’s offered to send word on to the packs around him. I want to talk to this Chatfield pack myself. Bow’s setting it up for this afternoon. So everyone who’s coming with us, time to gear up. Slade, the fence looks like it’s about done so you should be set. Any wounded stay put just in case Slade needs you.” “Is that hotwire ready?” Slade demanded. Lori nodded. “Just hit the switch for the yard lights and it’ll shock the snot out of anyone who touches it.” “Get that rabid loaded in the big truck. Beta, you too. I want the small one armed to the teeth, largest guns we’ve got. Daniel, much as I’d like to leave you here, you’re driving the big truck.” It didn’t take long to get the bulk of the pack armed and organized into the two trucks. We headed down Santa Fe Drive as fast as we could manage. Considering it was a pretty straight road and I didn’t have to fuck with traffic or stop lights, we cruised.
***
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We traveled south, more or less following the South Platte River upstream toward Chatfield reservoir. The river and reservoir joined tracks of open space leading straight up into the mountains. And all those tasty deer and elk. We met the Chatfield pack at the intersection of C-470 and Santa Fe Drive. “Park right on the overpass,” Mace instructed me. That would leave us with fewer avenues of escape and no cover if things got dicey, but maybe that was the point. Give up some of the advantage since we’d showed up in their territory armed to the teeth. We didn’t have to wait long. As soon as Mace got out and walked around to stand in front of the truck a booming voice called out from a clump of small trees and bushes nestled between the highway and on ramp. “You here to talk or fight?” A huge bear of a wolfman rose from his hiding place, flanked by six others. I wondered if the scattered clumps of brushy landscaping held more of his pack. He was younger than I expected, mid twenties I’d guess. A good seven feet tall with close cropped brown hair. Not a bad looking guy if you liked beefcake. Pro body builders dreamed of the kind of muscle this guy packed. He had lips made for smiling but he wasn’t smiling now. His yellow eyes narrowed in suspicious slits. Mace shrugged, his voice even but with just a hint of growling. “It’s a precaution. These rabids have successfully dealt with large packs before. In part by picking them off when they went out in smaller groups. We’ve counted between twenty and thirty but they make it hard to get an accurate count.” “Bow said they will try to find new members before coming back at you. I take it you aren’t planning on waiting around.” “We both know there are plenty of rabids around the edges of the city. Won’t take him long if he’s aggressive about recruiting.” He nodded. “With most of the prey animals hunted out of the urban areas we’re seeing a lot more hungry rabids skulking around. If he can feed them, many will be eager to join up.”
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Mace nodded. “I’m Mace. You have a name, Chatfield?” “Bear.” What a fucking appropriate name. “So where’s this former ‘brother’ you’ve tamed? You trust him to tell you the truth?” RK followed me to stand by Mace. Head down and body tense, he reiterated what he had already shared with us. Bear’s face darkened and low angry growls rose from his betas. Guess they didn’t like what they were hearing any more than we had. “You can count us in, but after we get these pricks, we need to talk about boundaries. I won’t tolerate your hunting trips into my territory anymore. You’re not the biggest and baddest on the block now.” He flashed fangs and somehow puffed himself up to look even more intimidating. Mace smiled with a hint of fang showing. He leaned against the truck, relaxed and unimpressed with the younger wolfman’s display. “Believe that at your own risk, cub. Takes more than brawn to run a big pack.” He blatantly blew off the younger alpha’s challenge as if it were meaningless. “If nothing else, this situation proves we need to learn to communicate and work together. Might even find we have things we can trade peacefully.” Their gazes locked. Tension radiated off Bear like a cat ready to pounce. Was it something Mace said? Something that made him seem weak in Bear’s eyes? Or had Mace just dissed him badly? RK whined and tugged at my sleeve, trying to pull me away. Fuck that. Bear growled low and deep like a high performance engine. Mace’s growl grew in answer but otherwise he remained leaning against the hood of my truck. “Do we fucking have time for this shit?” No one answered me. Which was an answer in itself. Wolfman quick, RK grabbed and whirled me out of the way. Bear roared and leaped forward. Mace ducked under his charge and leveled a kick at his ass, propelling him into the truck. Bear snarled, rolling to the side. The truck rocked, he shoved off it so hard.
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Bear outweighed Mace by close to a hundred pounds. He had reach and all that muscle didn’t seem to slow him any. Fuck! I struggled against RK’s hold. I wasn’t going to let my lover face that alone. Like I could fucking help. I couldn’t even get loose from RK! Mace dodged but even the glancing blow staggered him. Bear spun with a dancer’s ease, leaping at Mace’s back. And sailing right over it to land with a heavy thud on his back. It happened so fast I hadn’t seen the grab needed for that throw but somehow Mace had pulled it off. Bear kicked up at Mace, who had to drop his wristlock or get it in the face. Bear followed the momentum of his feet into a crouch and sprung at Mace in one fluid move. Mace ducked to the side, lashing out with a foot to the gut. Bear grunted and snarled, but it didn’t slow him down. Mace stumbled back several feet. Bear’d got a hit in there somewhere. A flicker of surprise crossed Mace’s face before his cold fighter’s mask fell back into place. Bear attacked, Mace jumped clear. They circled. Mace rubbed his chest where Bear’d struck him. Seemed almost winded. But I’d seen Mace take way worse than that. Unless that fucking mongrel’d got lucky and busted some ribs. “What’s the matter, old dog? That rabid cut your balls off?” Bear sneered. His pack laughed and howled while ours snarled. But none made a move to join in and the guns stayed down. Which meant this was a big fucking pissing match. Fuck this. I hadn’t even shifted my weight when Hawk grabbed me, hand over my mouth. “They’re just taking each other’s measure. Unless you get in the middle, and then Mace will have to defend his mate.” Fuck! Killing or severely maiming their alpha would end any chance for an alliance. I refused to consider the consequences of Mace getting trounced.
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Bear continued to taunt Mace as they circled. Mace leaped into an attack. Bear rushed to meet him head on. The overpass shook with the impact. Of Bear hitting the pavement, again. Mace backed up and waved his hand, telling Bear to bring it. Bear roared and rushed Mace. Mace backed into the rail, nowhere to go. A flurry of movement and Bear was pinned to the rail with his arm behind his back. Mace’s fangs brushed his neck. “I told you it takes more than muscle, cub. Much as I’d like to dance all day, we’ve got better shit to do.” Bear snarled but nodded briefly. Mace backed off, rubbed his ribs again. “You’ve got a hell of a punch, I’ll give you that.” Bear snorted. “If I’d been serious, you’d be trailing guts about now.” Mace laughed. “Think I’d let you get that close?” He looked at me, smiled and winked. Bear shook his head, a look of respect in his eyes. “Pretty words. But you’re right, we’ve got shit to do.” Bear’s smile changed his whole demeanor like the sun chasing dark storms from the sky. “You really have running water and electricity?” And just like that, one wolfman pissing match, done. Mace smirked. “My mate, Daniel, is very smart.” He dropped a possessive arm around my shoulders. “He’s not only set us up with lights and water but these trucks that run on fuel we can make.” Bear looked me over with narrowed eyes. “Is he available for trade?” Mace growled possessively. “No, but his knowledge is.” “Good enough. Now, when do we go hunting?” Like a switch had been thrown, his smile turned predatory. Sent a chill racing down my spine. This guy shifted moods faster than my sister at fourteen. “We’ve got some others to contact and we need to drop a couple pack members off to get patched up by a surgeon we’re allied with. She’s really good at putting bones
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back so they heal right.” Could he sound any smugger? I shifted, wishing I dared smack him for letting on about my mother. I didn’t trust other wolfmen not to try to take over the compound. Bear raised his brows. “And this person isn’t at your den?” Mace’s easy stance hardened, a warning glint in his gold eyes. “Do you understand the concept of allies?” Bear met his gaze for several tense minutes. Growls rose from all around. Some ours, some theirs. Fucking wolfmen! Not again! I stepped between Mace and Bear, breaking their eye contact. “Save it for the rabids. We’ve got a lot to do today.” Bear nodded. “And then we hunt!” That young alpha had way too much enthusiasm. I doubted he really understood what we faced. Mace nodded. “I’m asking others to meet near my den tomorrow before noon.” “We’ll be there.” Bear watched us load up and leave. I glanced in the rearview to see maybe a couple dozen wolfmen surrounding him on the overpass. I wondered how many more he had back at his den. Fuck, he might be right about being a bigger pack than Mace’s. I just hoped he wouldn’t turn into as big a threat as Psycho. “How are your ribs?” I glanced over. Mace chuckled. “Fine.” “Not even cracked? You seemed a bit sore.” Mace snorted. “I didn’t want to spank the kid too badly in front of his pack.” Was that true, or just Mace showing no weakness? Oh, that answered that, he wouldn’t have shown any pain unless he wanted to or was near death. I snickered, shaking my head. “Let’s just hope he knows that. He can’t be too stupid to have amassed a pack that size.” “No, not stupid. And next time won’t be so easy. He expected his size to give him an advantage. I took that away from him today. He’s already thinking it through, won’t make the same mistake twice.”
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We followed Santa Fe south to Sedalia and then skirted the north side of Castle Rock. We stopped both places to see if any local packs would talk to us but couldn’t find any. The signs were there but I guess our size and guns made them nervous. Couldn’t really blame them. Mace left fliers in prominent places hoping they would come out after we left.
*** A bell rang as we topped the rise to drop down into the valley holding the compound. Newly leafed out scrub oak swathed the fringes of the cliff base. The cottonwoods along the seasonal stream mixed with willow in shimmering greens. Wildflowers bloomed in shades of blue, purple and a few yellows. We drove past cows with new calves kicking their heels. The herd held steady at about twenty head, which was all we could make enough hay to winter. We’d planned to round up some strays to vary our gene pool. That would also allow us fresh beef. The goats and sheep we kept mostly for wool were already on the high pastures, above the ridges and cliffs that lined our little valley. I pulled to a stop about twenty feet from the wall and rolled down my window. Angie leaned over the top of the stockade fence. “What the hell is this, Daniel? Looks like a damned invasion.” “Nope, just my escort. Never know when you might run into trouble.” “And what do you call two dozen armed to the teeth wolfmen?” I snorted. “My escort! I told you that.” She laughed. “Right, un-huh.” “I confess, Ang, I’m leading an attack on the compound, putting my mother and sister in danger ’cause I’m that big a bastard.” She snickered, but had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. She turned to signal and the gates opened. It surprised me that there weren’t armed women all over the yard and on the roof. I parked in front of the clinic. Hound parked the smaller truck next to mine. Mom was coming up from the garden. I smiled and waved.
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“Daniel! I was starting to worry. What took you so long?” She gave me a big hug that belied the scolding tone. “That’s a long story. You might want to gather the council.” Her smile vanished. Her gaze swept the trucks full of heavily armed wolfmen. I doubt she’d ever seen so many in one place. “I assume that’s why you brought a small army with you?” Mom pursed her lips. “Don’t worry about them, Sylvia. They’ll behave.” Mace stepped up to shake her hand. Two wolfmen slipped in the gate behind us and crossed the yard quickly to tug at Mom’s sleeve. Looked like they were trying to gently pull her away. A low growl started deep inside Mace and he all but shoved me behind him. Must be Derek. I recognized Jay, but Derek had looked like death warmed over last I’d seen him. What a difference a week made. He wasn’t any taller than me, with brown hair and a lanky build that indicated he still had some growing to do. Didn’t make a dint in his alpha attitude, all scowls and growls. Jay towered behind him. The dark ebony of his skin highlighted the glowing amber of his eyes. Fucking cool, in a weird way. Mom set her hand on his arm. “It’s OK, Derek. This is Mace. He saved your life.” Mace ignored her, much as Derek did. They were heartbeats from a knockdown. Mom dropped the quiet act. “This is my den. Both of you knock it off right now.” “He needs to learn his place before he comes to my den.” “He’s not going with you. Mei, Derek, and Jay are staying here.” The boss had spoken and woe be unto any who argued. Mom took that attitude to a whole new level. Mace cocked a brow but didn’t break eye contact with Derek. “Here? You’re letting two wolfmen fucking live here?” For once, she ignored my bad language. “Yes, Daniel. We are. Mei’s helped us to see things differently and the boys have been very helpful.” No fucking shit. Wow! Where were those pigs with wings?
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Mom frowned, her gaze tracking the guys helping Bane out of the truck. He snarled at the crowd growing around us. Mace snarled once and he whined, ducking his head. I grinned. “Oh, and we’ve got a couple patients for you, too.” She snorted. “Part of that long story?” She followed along as the guys carried the lame rabid toward the clinic. “Yup. But they can wait while we fill you in. Oooff.” Lindsey nearly knocked me over with her enthusiastic welcome. “Good to see you too, Linds.” Mace snorted and chuckled. Jill stepped out of the crowd and practically snarled at me. “I see you brought our truck back.” Even without the Major here she was still a bitch. Now all we needed to make it a perfect reunion was for Frank to show up and start posturing. Odd that he was nowhere to be seen. Fucking nice, actually. The crowd followed us across the yard to the big house and packed into the dining room. A second chair was placed next to the hot seat so Mace and I could sit together. His deep growly voice overrode the noise of the crowd as he filled them in. The tension in the room soared while the sounds dropped until only Mace and I were talking. Psycho and his pack were every survivor’s worst nightmare. Mom took a deep breath and let it out in a long drawn out sigh. “So, what do you need from us?” “Other than your surgical skills, keep alert. Very alert. They like to strike in the wee hours of the morning.” Sharon Donovan, who took over compound security after the Major was tossed out, leaned forward to meet Mace’s gaze. “We could help with your hunt. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve gone up against the bad guys. And we do have all the good toys to play with.” Mace snorted. “You could share some of those toys but I wouldn’t put you where these bastards can get you.”
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“We have just as much to lose as you do. God help us if they find the compound.” Miss Ellie sounded worried. “Which is why we’re joining forces with other packs to hunt them. They’re after our blood and when they’re done with us, they’ll move on to the next target. You need to let us handle it, or have you forgotten why you’re hiding all the way out here?” Sharon arched a brow at Mom and Kacey but didn’t say anything else. I got the distinct feeling they weren’t going to let this go. It wasn’t like they needed Mace’s permission to leave the compound. I just hoped they were careful because he was right, wolfmen were killing machines we couldn’t physically match. “So why bother telling us this? Or did you just need our hospital again?” Kacey sounded a bit irritated, insulted maybe. “So you can be prepared in case they find their way here. And yes, we could use Dr. Sylvia’s special touch. Unless that’s a problem for you? We could shoot Bane instead, because without help, he’ll never walk right, if at all.” He could have been talking about the weather he said it so casually. Got the effect he’d wanted. “What? No, of course it’s not a problem. No need to shoot anyone.” Mom sounded truly horrified. “Leave it to beasts to kill their own rather than help one that’s handicapped.” Mace turned an icy stare on Jill. “He can’t hunt or defend himself. He’d be at the bottom of the entire pack and at the mercy of any willing to carry his broken body around. Personally, I’d rather be put down.” I remembered Mace telling Mom to save his arm or he’d rather die. Their social structure depended on a lot of very physical contact, good and bad. I brought us back to the more important matter. “Were there any more questions about the rabids?” No one spoke up, so I decided now might be a good time to propose something more. “We’ve already done some trading between the compound and Mace’s den. I’d like to see more of that happen. We can help each other a lot.” “What could they really offer us, other than some parts?”
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“Those parts you’re going to need and my time to either teach one of you what to do with them or have me do it. Also, much as you may not like the idea, Mace and his den can do a lot to keep this compound safe from the other dens in the area.” I held up my hand. “Don’t fool yourselves. We all know they are faster, stronger and fucking harder to knock down, much less kill. This compound has stayed safe mostly because they didn’t know we’re here.” Jill snorted rudely. “And he can do us so much good from over an hour away in town.” Mom ignored Jill. “We are aware of how useful wolfmen can be. We’ve had Derek and Jay here this past week. They’ve fit in rather well. Even so, we are not open to accepting even part of Mace’s pack as permanent residents or submitting to him in any way. Besides, sounds like you need all the help you can get with these rabids.” Mace nodded. “I understand. But I think Daniel had something in mind besides us moving in with you.” He turned to me with an expectant look. “Right, I was thinking more of general policing the area than keeping watch behind walls. Food’s getting scare in the urban areas. Rabid packs are on the move, mostly out of the city. We get a handle on them and life will get a whole lot safer for all of us. Then we can focus on producing food, especially things like grains, and finding ways to keep at least some level of civilization going. That’s going to take cooperation.” My fucking dream, and for the first time, it just might be possible. The council as a whole looked interested. Jill, of course, scowled at us. Mom looked thoughtful before finally speaking. “That sounds like something we should discuss. We do have fields that could be put back into production if we had both the manpower and better security. Right now they are too far away to risk working.” I smiled. “Exactly.” Derek, who’d been lounging against the wall, pushed himself up to face Mace. “I won’t tolerate foreign wolfmen here. But, if you find some that need a home and are willing to follow my lead,” he smiled at Mom, “and Sylvia’s, I’d be willing to increase my pack size.”
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Mace smiled, a wicked smirk. “Of course you would. I’ll keep it in mind. You do realize any wolfmen that join you could challenge you. You’re still pretty young…” He didn’t have to finish that statement. As much as Derek might try, he could still be overpowered by most older wolfmen. “They challenge him, they challenge me,” Mom stated coldly, “and they won’t be welcome here.” Mace shrugged. “Just saying.” Mom pushed her chair back. “We’ll give your ideas some thought and discuss it among ourselves. In the meantime, I have patients to deal with.” I walked Mom to the clinic. “Did you need something, Daniel?” “Ah, yeah, see because of this f… stupid rabid, the pack hasn’t been able to hunt. I was hoping you could spare a cow or pig, maybe a couple of goats.” She stopped and stared at me hard. “You’re running out of food?” She sounded as shocked as I felt embarrassed. “The pack is used to hunting for fresh meat and they can’t. We’ve been reduced to small game and… well, shit, pigeons and other birds. They don’t eat a lot of vegetable matter.” She looked from me to Mace and back. “Good lord, are you always that close to starvation?” Mace stared at the ground, stubbing his boot toe in the dust. “No. Well, more this last year. Deer and larger game are getting scarce and the canned and dried food we’d stored is almost gone and best saved for the women and young. It was a long winter.” I could tell Mace didn’t like asking for help like this. “So, can we trade for some meat?” “A whole cow is not some meat, Daniel. What are you offering?” I couldn’t believe she’d be that fucking cold. I glanced at Mace, who gave me a what-are-you-thinking look. “What do you need most? Parts? Labor or security for the fields? Or we could take it as a loan to be paid back later.”
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Mom pursed her lips and continued toward the clinic. “We’ll consider it a down payment on parts. Daniel,” she hesitated, sounding a bit confused, “are you really going to charge us for your time? I thought you lived here?” I sighed. “Mom, I’ve been living at the den for a month. In fact, while you’re working, I’m going to pack up most of my stuff to take back. But I only mentioned me as a trade item because another pack asked.” She sighed heavily. “Well, it’s your life.” Why did she have to make it sound like I was running off to join the circus? “But know that you always have a place here.” When you come to your senses. The unspoken words I heard all too clearly. I didn’t say anything as I opened the door for her, and I followed her and Mace into the first treatment room. “Good lord, Daniel. What happened to…” “Bane. Um. I think he got thrown off the roof.” “By one of those horrible rabids?” “Ah, no, Mom, he was one of the horrible rabids.” She stared at him, and then at me, then back at Bane. “Oh.” Seeing my Mom speechless, priceless! “He’ll behave, Dr. Sylvia. Won’t you?” Mace snarled and leaned menacingly over Bane. He nodded and whined, baring his throat. “So is this one of your projects?” She turned a haughty brow at me. “Well, not directly. Hound and Slick took him on and a couple of the women have taken an interest.” “What happened to that poor thing you dragged in here before?” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at my ever-present shadow. “Mom, meet RK. I guess I’m like his sponsor or mentor or something. I also owe him my life from the attack.” Ironic that I suspected Bane was the rabid he’d dumped off the roof to save me. This whole save-the-rabid thing just kept getting weirder. Might be time to start some sort of twelve step program for rabids and those who felt compelled to save them. Mom smiled at RK. “RK? That’s an interesting name.” He shrugged. “Daniel named me. I didn’t have a name before.”
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She cocked a brow at me. “I’m going to go pack my shit.” I didn’t want to admit I’d named him Road Kill. Should have thought that one through better, but now it was too late. What the fuck does RK think about the name I stuck him with? Does he know what it stands for? Mace stayed with Mom to make sure the rabid behaved. RK followed me to my apartment.
Chapter Four I froze in the door. What the fuck was up with my apartment? Wasn’t messy. In fact it was almost rigidly neat, with nothing out of place. Fresh food smells assailed my nose. “What the fuck?” I took a few steps in. Something wasn’t right here. Mei appeared from the bedroom. “You aren’t Derek or Jay.” She held onto the wall, her head tipped as if listening. She sounded worried. At that moment, both wolfmen slammed through the door, snarling. At me. RK not so subtly put himself between us. “What are you doing here?” Derek demanded with a snarl. “What am I doing here? What the fuck are you doing here? This is my fucking apartment!” Mei’s calm voice broke in. “Daniel? I’m sorry. Your mother let us use it while you were gone. I guess we can find someplace else now that you’re back.” That brought me up short. “Well, actually, I just came to pack most of my stuff. I’m moving to the den permanently. Mom neglected to tell me you were here.” And just why had she omitted that bit of information? She must be mad at me, likely about me moving out again. “Derek, you and Jay can quit growling now, please? I’d like to go down to the big house. Unless Daniel would like some help?” “There’s another wolfman here. He should leave,” Derek snarled. I snorted. “That’s RK. Not a threat as long as you don’t attack me. RK, let it go. You can help me with my clothes.” I smiled at Derek. “If you guys want to help, I can get out of your hair faster.”
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In the end, I took my books, computer and clothes. I could always come back for the TV and movies. I had no use for my kitchen stuff at the den. I had a couple pictures and a painting I wanted. I left the rest for Mei and her boys to enjoy. We’d arrived at the compound late afternoon. By the time we finished packing me up, we were late for dinner. They’d started a fire in the fire pit and were serving on the veranda. Looked like a fucking feast, especially after nothing but mystery meat. I’d never been much of a salad guy, until fresh veggies became scarce. My mouth watered over the big bowl of fresh spring greens. Ham and sausage from the compound smokehouse piled on plates. Fresh elk, courtesy of restless wolfmen and the local elk herd, with plenty more to take back to the den. Thankfully, someone had thought to send them out. Idle wolfmen were like bored five year olds. They’d find a way to amuse themselves. Really big five year olds with a tendency to break shit while playing. Most of the compound women seemed a lot more at ease with the guys. It was one big party. I kept a wary eye out. I couldn’t imagine how Derek and Jay had changed the compound’s attitude in just a week. Or maybe it was little Mei. I found her pleasant, smart and very much in love with her wolfmen. And those two fucking fell over themselves doting on her. Mace sprawled in a lawn chair near the fire pit. I expected him to still be with Mom or to come find me. Instead he was lounging around the fire stuffing his face. I sank onto the lawn chair next to him. “Enjoying yourself?” He grinned. “It’s your going away party, I think someone said. So yeah, I am.” “Going away party?” What the fuck was up with that? Angie spoke from the other side of Mace. “Heard you were packing up so it seemed like a good idea.” “Wow. Does that mean you’ll miss me, or can’t wait to get rid of me?” They both laughed. I shook my head and dug into the first real meal in a week. I moaned in appreciation of the first bite of salad. Mace gave me a weird look, but then, wolfmen preferred meat, any way they could get it. Green stuff was for prey.
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“How’d the surgery go?” I asked as soon as I swallowed.
“Bane will recover, and I might even let him live.”
I cocked a brow. “Oh?”
Mace growled. “Sylvia says getting your hips cut open and pelvis put back
together is excruciatingly painful. Fine, but that damned rabid had to be tied down and then I had to choke him unconscious, twice! Those sedatives barely made a dent. Neither did the stuff Doc sent.” Angie shook her head. “We’ve tested a few different things on Derek and Jay but so far, nothing they can’t shake off way too fast. Your mom thinks it has to do with their increased metabolism and freakish healing rate.” That made sense. Most painkillers and anesthesia were just this side of poison. Their bodies would deal with them as just that. Sucked to be a wolfman if you were hurting. “Can’t just get them drunk enough to pass out?” I teased. Now that I thought about it, I’d never seen a wolfman drink liquor, much less get drunk. Drunken wolfmen. I shuddered at the thought. Mace snorted. “You’d have to hold him down and pump it in him. That stuff burns, and it tastes like truck fuel. The only good thing is the slight dizzy feeling doesn’t last long. I don’t get the human attraction.” “Wimps.”
He growled, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes.
The smell of roasting meat tempted my nose. I dug back into my dinner. The first
notes from Sarah’s guitar floated on the still night air. A pleasant warmth from the fire offset the slight chill of the occasional breeze. A perfect Colorado night. I sighed. Quiet times like these were all too rare. “Things have changed. No guns following you everywhere.” The conspicuous lack of guards really threw me. Mace snorted. “Oh, they’re still out there. Just less obvious. I’m guessing Derek and Jay had something to do with that.”
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Derek’s chuckle sounded behind us. “You’d be guessing right. We played findthe-guards for a few days. Eventually they accepted that we weren’t going to freak out and start killing everyone.” “And they figured out where to put the guards so you two clowns couldn’t reach them as easily,” Mei teased. “Derek and Jay have been helping Sharon improve compound defenses.” She sounded proud of her men. “That’s very good. I see a lot of trees have been cleared from the ridge.” Mace turned his chair to face Derek, Jay and Mei. I followed suit. Derek nodded. “We’ve gotten pretty good with an ax. We’re planning a stone watch tower, and, if we can find enough, putting sheet metal on the roofs to make it hard to start them on fire.” “Cool. I think we can help with that.” I looked to Mace, who nodded. “Once that’s done, we’ll start replacing the wooden stockade wall with stone.” “You should move the compound onto the ridge. It’d be safer.” Hawk pulled up a chair. “The council vetoed that. Too many buildings here already and until now, there’d never been a real threat from rabids.” “What about other packs? Not all are as nice as we are,” Mace pointed out. Angie laughed. “Nice? You guys are nice?” She pointed to Rif and Raf mixing it up with a couple of other wolfmen. I shrugged. “That’s just friendly roughhousing. Also known as foreplay. You might want to send the kids to bed unless you want them to get an education.” The women looked at me to see if I was serious. Lindsey walked by and smacked the back of my head. “Then make them quit. This isn’t that den of iniquity you’re so fond of.” I laughed and Mace answered. “It’s how we bond and blow off steam. You want a couple dozen agitated wolfmen hanging around? Perhaps you’d prefer to help them settle for the night.” Hawk raked Linds with a heated leer.
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She arched her brow. “You want Mom putting them in their place? Derek and Jay don’t seem to have this problem, so I don’t see why your pack can’t behave.” Mei started to laugh, and Derek and Jay joined in. Linds and Angie stared at them until Mei choked out, “We just don’t do it in public.” “Seriously? They, umm, wrestle like that?” Lindsey pointed at the guys whose sparring had taken a sensual turn. “Well, I would assume.” Mei sounded amused that Lindsey had forgotten she was blind. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mei, that was thoughtless of me.” Derek stroked her head. “Yes, often.” “Knock that off right now!” That could only be Mom’s bellow echoing across the yard. The four wolfmen jerked up to see what was wrong. Their blank, confused looks were fucking hilarious. Like a bunch of kids with their hands in the cookie jar. “But we weren’t doing anything. We left the women alone like you said.” Mace walked over and clapped Rif on the shoulder. “This is Sylvia’s den. Her rules. Save it for later.” Mom had reached us and glared. “Later? You think that sort of behavior is acceptable at any time?” Mace faced her. “Physical contact is important to us. This is our preferred kind.” Mom’s lips turned down in a disapproving frown. “And it can’t wait until you get home?” “You want us to leave tonight, Mom?” Leave it to my overbearing mom to spoil the most fun I’d had, outside the bedroom, in a very long time. Mace growled. “I don’t want to be out after dark. More likely to run into those rabid freaks.” Mom huffed. “We’ll have to find space for all of you. Won’t be easy.” She glared at Rif, Raf and the others. “Might be room in the barn.” She turned to Mace, her voice coldly professional once more. “When will you leave then?”
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“First light. Need to be back at the den for a meeting by noon.” Angie leaned forward. “Meeting? You have other packs coming to powwow about these rabids?” “We hope so.” “I’m thinking the compound should be represented.” Angie looked to Mom for permission. “I’m thinking you don’t want half the wolfmen in Denver knowing you exist.” “You might be right about that.” Mom nodded her agreement. “At least for now. Things are changing, Mom. Someday, I’m hoping no one has to hide anymore.” “Dream on, fag boy. Sooner or later, their true nature is going to show through. And then we’re all going to be sorry we listened to you.” Jill stood near the fire pretending to warm herself. “You’re assuming mindless beast is their true nature. I beg to differ. Just like humans, part of their nature tends to violence and part to kindness and compassion. It’s how they balance the two that will determine their fate, and ours. Because in the end, if we plan on surviving, much less regaining some of what we’ve lost, we need each other.” And now the whole fucking place was staring at me like I’d started speaking in tongues. I felt my face flushing with heat. “My lord, Daniel. That’s the longest I’ve ever heard you speak without swearing.” Did Mom have to sound so fucking surprised? Hurt turned to anger as I thought about it. “All you fucking heard was me not swearing? Do you ever really listen to me?” Mace turned to Mom. “Your son sees what most of us would deny. We do need each other. If nothing else, we need you to help us remember we are more than mindless monsters.”
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“Does that include not screwing each other in public? Such behavior is not acceptable in a civilized society.” Mom glared down her nose at him like a prim Victorian princess. Mace laughed. “I promise we’ll behave until after the children and those offended by our play have gone to bed. I hope that will satisfy you.” Mom must have gotten the same feeling I did. That was as far as Mace was willing to go. She drew herself up and responded in her cool, professional tone, “If it’s that important to you, fine. You have your choice of the barn or Daniel’s workshop. We don’t have enough room for all of you anywhere else.” She turned to me. “Since you’ve packed up all your stuff, your old apartment now belongs to Mei, Derek and Jay.” “I noticed. And I’m thinking if we include the basement, there’s room in the clinic. And we can keep a closer eye on Bane.” No fucking way were we sleeping in the fucking barn like a bunch of flea-bitten animals. “Fine, but you’d better not break anything while you’re playing!” She turned on her heel and left. Mace sat down next to me, a perplexed look on his face. “Did we insult her that much? I thought she understood us better.” “It’s not you or the pack. It’s me moving out. You should have seen the snit she threw the first time I moved away. Me being gay didn’t bother her at all, me leaving the nest amounted to a national crisis.” Lindsey laughed. “I think the second time was worse. Even Dad got fed up with her snarking.” I chuckled. “At least I didn’t have to deal with it.” I’d moved home after the attack. As soon as possible I’d moved back out. Until I needed a workshop and Dad offered me space. The apartment over it made sense and gave me enough privacy. “Why would you want to leave your den?” RK sounded totally perplexed. “Because that’s what adults used to do, go out and make their own way in the world. Then they’d find a partner or spouse to settle down with and make a home.” “Just two of you?”
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That concept seemed odd to wolfmen, who preferred not only to live under one roof but also to sleep in the same room. The private rooms were an attempt to make the women they slept with more comfortable. “Yeah, although most of my life I’ve lived alone.” Lindsey chimed in. “And a lot of couples start families, have kids.” “Kids, just two humans to raise how many kids by themselves? What happens if you aren’t there to watch them? Or something happens to one parent?” RK looked between us like we were some kind of aliens. Lindsey shrugged. “That’s what babysitters and grandparents are for.” “Huh. I think it’s a lot better and easier to have a pack to help care for the young.” I had no idea RK even noticed the kids at the den, much less had an opinion about childcare. “Well, we weren’t raised that way. Frankly, I’m surprised big brother has adapted to living in a commune so well. He’s been fiercely independent most of his life.” Hawk leaned toward her and whispered loud enough for most of the yard to hear. “It’s the sex.” I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help grinning. Lindsey started laughing and others joined in. Might as well own it. “Go ahead, make fun of me. You have no idea what you’re missing.” A couple of the women raked Mace with a speculative gaze. “Hands off, ladies, he’s mine. Get your own wolfman!” I scooted my chair closer. The pack perked up, eager to find willing partners. As much as they seemed to enjoy sex with each other, most of them preferred a woman. By true dark, all the kids had been sent to bed and about half of the women went with them. I’d seen Isaiah around, but not Frank. Not that I was complaining. Last person I wanted to deal with was that homophobic asshole. The several women left seemed fascinated by the pack as the fuck-fest started in earnest. A few brave ones like Peg and Jackie let themselves be drawn into the fun.
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Derek and Jay put Mei between them and watched the pack warily. The pack was on its best behavior. Mace only had to step in to cool things off twice. Mace sent the few couples and trios looking for privacy off to the clinic. A few slipped away into the dark, but Mace and his team seemed to track all of them. I sighed. Looked like it was going to be a long night. Derek stood. “Time to go, Mei.” He touched her shoulder lovingly. She smiled, a sexy, sure smile, and let her wolfmen lead her across the yard to my apartment. Only it wasn’t mine anymore. A small pit of sadness welled up. Another fork in the road of my life had come and gone. Mace pulled me close as if sensing my melancholy. We watched over the pack together. Our pack. Lindsey was right. Me, the ultimate loner, part of a fucking pack. That was irony at its best.
Chapter Five The pack stirring around us in the waiting room pulled me from a deep sleep. Predawn light filtered in the window and bathed the room in a pale rosy glow. I groaned and buried my head under a pillow. Mace laughed and slapped my ass. “Come on, mate. Time to get moving.” “Fuck, fine. But I’m getting a shower first.” Mace snorted. “Make it fast. New packs to meet, rabids to hunt.” Did he have to sound so cheery this fucking early? I yawned and stretched. “I’m moving and there better be breakfast before we leave.” I was in no fucking hurry to leave. Which struck me as odd. That hollow feeling… Fuck, I was going to miss this place. Reluctantly, I headed down the hall to the shower. Leaning against the sink, I pulled the razor down my face. Wonder when we’ll run out of blades? Everything had an expiration date -- the day we’d use the last one. The day we’d have to find some way to make our own, do the same thing differently, or just do without. Personally, not shaving wasn’t an option. I turned my head, looking for any sign of the bruises I’d carried for weeks. They’d all faded to nothing, even the deep ones around my nose. Nothing remained on my shoulders and ribs but a few pale lines left from the raking Fang had given me. Even those would fade to nothing soon. Four raised red scars peeked from under the edge of the towel wrapped around my waist, like a primitive tattoo celebrating my survival. I’d carry that little present from Fang the rest of my life. I twisted my shoulder to see the angry red pucker where I’d taken a bullet meant for Mace. Time would fade the color, but the raised ridge of flesh would remain.
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The door swung open while I was poking at my shoulder. Shit. Mace was ready to leave and here I was fucking around in the mirror getting all mushy and introspective. What the fuck was up with me lately? Mace nuzzled my neck, breath ghosting across my skin. A shiver ran through me and my cock twitched to life. “Mmm. You smell nice, Daniel.” His arms slid around me, stroking my ribs and around to palm my flat man nipples. I sucked a breath. Tingles of desire radiated out to settle deep in my groin. Water dripped off my chin to land coldly on the arm holding my razor. “Umm, Mace, I… Ah, fuck, that feels good!” He continued his assault on my body and senses. A sexy growl vibrated across my shoulder, drawing a moan from me. He stepped back, grinning. “Did you want to finish shaving?” “Fucker!” Couldn’t help the amusement in my voice. He rewetted the cloth I’d been using with hot water and gently placed it over the unshaved side of my face. His palm cupped my cheek through the warm fabric. A simple touch I felt deep in my heart, and clear to my cock. He dropped his hand away from the warmed skin. I smeared more soap on. My hand trembled slightly as I raised the blade to scrape stubble away. Mace took the razor from me. “Here, let me. Before you cut yourself.” “And whose fucking fault is that?” I met his heated gaze in the mirror, hazel eyes to his yellow-gold ones. He smiled and growled again, drawing the blade firmly and surely down my cheek. I’d never had someone shave me before. Who knew it could be so fucking sexy? I watched Mace in the mirror, focused intently on his task. His lips parted in concentration as he drew the blade down my cheek. A swish in the sink to clean it and then along my jaw. My cock rose and filled like a flower opening to the sun’s warmth. Shit, I was in a fucking weird mood, or I’d finally snapped and become a pansy-assed romantic. Next I’d be wearing eyeliner and high heels.
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I raised my chin without breaking my focus on Mace. He pressed closer to reach under my sharp jaw. I took advantage and rubbed my ass against his very hard cock. The blade wavered and he gasped, then growled. “You want me to slit your throat?” I chuckled wickedly but stilled so he could finish. A last wipe with the warm cloth. Done. He ran the back of his hand down my smooth cheek. “Hmm, smooth, soft. I wonder what the rest of you would feel like this smooth.” I laughed and turned around. “You first! Just the thought of a razor near my manly bits makes them want to crawl inside me.” Mace palmed my cock. “Seems hard enough to me.” He squeezed firmly. “I want this, mate.” I gasped. Lust raged through me, remembering our mating, his tight heat surrounding my cock. And when he came, squeezing me so hard it almost hurt. “You want…” His lips brushed mine, stopping me mid-sentence. “Yes.” With that one word, I groaned and nearly ripped his shirt getting it off. Mace pushed me back. Before I could protest, he stepped just far enough away to lock the door, insuring our privacy. I leaned against the counter, watching him stalk back toward me, slowly unzipping his jeans as he went. Ah, fuck! That was so fucking sexy. My cock strained against the rough cotton towel. His jeans dropped to the floor. Fuck, it took everything I had not to jump him right then. He stripped his briefs off, tossing them to land on his jeans. I let the towel drop from around my hips and reached for a little soap since we had no lube. I didn’t feel like messing around. His wicked grin showed a hint of fang. “In a hurry?” I raked him with a lusty gaze. “Oh, fuck yeah.”
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Grinning, he grabbed me for a hot kiss. Our tongues dueled for dominance. Our cocks rubbed each other. Shit, we kept that up and I was going to spill way too soon! I dropped to my knees, licking up Mace’s hard, hot cock. God, he tasted good! I held his hip with one hand and he buried his fingers in my hair. Slurping his cock in like a sucker, I left him gasping and whining for more. My cock jerked in sympathy and want. My other hand toyed briefly with his balls before sliding farther back. I found his opening and started rimming him with just one finger. He groaned and shifted his legs wider, giving me more room to play. I grabbed the wet cloth off the sink and slowly, sensually cleaned his hole. “Bend over the sink.” My voice came out a husky growl. Mace cocked a brow but bent over. I switched to kneel behind him, palming his well muscled ass cheeks, spreading them. He jumped and howled when my tongue touched his tight flesh. I licked circles around his hole. Slowly the muscles relaxed and softened for me. I stabbed in with my tongue and Mace howled again, ropes of come shooting over the sink. And that was what I was waiting for. Now he’d be loose and ready for me to fuck the living shit out of him. I moaned, my cock aching to be inside him. Standing, I ran my hand up and down his back. “Sure you want this?” “Fuck me, mate. Hard, like you mean it.” I moaned and kissed a line down his back. I inhaled his musky scent, a heady aroma that had my head spinning. My cock welled precum. My balls hung heavy, aching for release. I lined up and gently pushed past the first ring. Mace wasn’t having any of that slow and gentle shit. He shoved back against me, nearly knocking me off my feet. I grabbed his hips and slammed it home. Fuck! So tight! So hot! “Aahhgg! Daniel!” Mace howled and thrust back to meet me. His body shuddered. “Yesss!” I pulled back and thrust hard, watching myself disappear inside his hot channel. A slow slide out and sharp thrust in. I groaned, my orgasm winding tighter, higher.
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I leaned over him, wrapping my hand around his cock, still hard as nails. He moaned and rocked into my hand. I held his hip with my other hand and started pounding him in a steady rhythm with all the strength I had. “Aggnnn!” He moaned deep and sexy. He dropped his head; his braid fell to the side, baring his neck. A fucking sexy invitation. I bit, hard. He keened and moaned. The knot rose on his cock. I cried out and thrust deep. He moaned again, and shuddered as I stroked his prostate and the sensitive knot on his cock. Fuck, I couldn’t last. My orgasm wound so tight I could hardly breathe. I bit harder. Mace howled and came, jetting cum over my hand. Stars danced behind my eyes. “Fuck! Mace!” I shattered into a thousand pieces. His body pulsed around mine, driving my pleasure on until I thought I’d pass out. I sucked in breath after breath, lying there on Mace’s back. My legs felt like JellO. Somehow he held us both up. “Fuck, Mace, I think my heart stopped for a moment.” He chuckled smugly. “We can’t have that. Guess we better take it easy next time.” I let my shrinking cock slide free. “Like fucking hell!” I staggered a step to lean against the sink. He leaned into me with a kiss as tender as our fucking had been hard. “We’ve dallied long enough. Got rabids to hunt!” He looked like a fucking kid heading to an amusement park. I snorted and set about dressing for the day.
*** By the time we left the clinic, most of the pack had eaten and were loading the trucks for the return trip. We didn’t need that beef after all. Yesterday’s hunting party took two young bull elk. We’d eaten part of one last night and were leaving the rest here. The other was going with us. Early this morning they’d located an old buck, thin from winter, that we were splitting with the compound. They’d turn it into sausage and dog food. Yup, Mom’s monster mastiffs got real meat and bones now. A younger deer
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was being butchered and wrapped to take home. Note to self, see if we can find more plastic wrap, and maybe even some butcher paper. “Hawk, since the smaller truck’s ready, take it and ten pack. Head back the route we came and see if anyone comes out to talk. Don’t dick around. I don’t want you running into the rabids, either. Meet us outside the den. Hopefully, some other packs will be joining us.” Hawk nodded and turned to gather his team. Mace and I sat on the front porch of the big house to eat. Angie climbed the porch steps with a soft-sided rifle case in her hand. “Here, Daniel. You could use this.” She handed it to me. I reached for the rifle case. The .30-06 hunting rifle my grandmother had given me for my sixteenth birthday lay inside. “I thought you guys needed this?” The Major had talked Mom into having all the weapons stored in a few central locations so anyone could use them in an attack. It had made sense, and kept certain yahoos from shooting each other. Angie shrugged and stared at the porch. “It’s yours. And a box of shells. Figured with all the shit going on in town you might need it more.” “Thanks, Angie.” It felt oddly like a going away present. I’d expected more of a foot in the ass and a locked gate behind me. We’d never really gotten along, but this felt not only like a gift, but that she cared. “This is fucking great, but you know I’ll be back to piss the hell out of you often.” She smiled faintly and met my gaze. It hit me like a brick to the head. She had a thing for me. Well, fuck. That explained some of the shit she’d pulled. In a schoolyard crush sort of way. “Great, more wounded wolfmen to eat us out of house and home.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Try staying out of trouble for once.” “And where’s the fun in that?” She snorted and turned back down the steps. “Keep your head down, Daniel. We need your sorry ass to keep shit running.”
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Shaking my head, I checked out my rifle. Looked pretty good. A flak jacket and helmet thudded to the porch next to me. Lindsey, Sarah, Kate and Sharon Donovan stood together. Lindsey pointed at me. “For when you forget to keep your head down.” Sarah toed the equipment toward me. “Unfortunately, it won’t protect you from your own big mouth. I suggested duct tape, but it’s too valuable.” Now it really felt like a fucking going away party. “Thanks. Ah, is there something I don’t know? ’Cause you guys are acting like you’ll never see me again. It’s freaking the shit out of me.” Linds shuffled her feet. “You’re officially moving out, big bro. So think of it as a housewarming gift.” Her eyes held a playful glint. “I realize it’s not stylish for everyday wear…” I started laughing. How fucking appropriate, all things considered. “Still better than a fucking Crock-Pot.” Mace shot us a pained look. “Daniel is not in danger.” Lindsey smiled sweetly. “Uh huh, tell us that when you can go more than a week without using the clinic.” Mace snorted. “Tell that to the damned rabids! But there are no threats to Daniel inside our pack.” Our pack. I was fucking married to a whole fucking pack of beasts. I looked at Mace. Yeah, totally worth it. And time to go. I hugged Lindsey and made it all the way down the steps before Mom flew out the door. “Daniel, I need to know when you’re going to get to that irrigation system. And the greenhouse fans are acting up. Not to mention the dozen other projects you had set for this summer.” Why did she make it sound like I’d broken not only a dozen promises but her heart? She’d perfected that guilt inducing tone to the highest level. I sighed. “Mom, I’ll get to what I can, but maybe now you’ll believe me when I say I need to teach others to maintain all this shit.” We’d argued about this in private more than once. I’d never really understood why she was so against teaching others to do what I did. Now it made sense. She wanted leverage.
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She sighed heavily, the weight of the world on her shoulders and me too stupid to help. I hated that. “No one else has your knack for making things work, Daniel. You can’t just abandon us to run off with your fling.” I rubbed my temples. “I’m not abandoning you or the compound.” Not that there hadn’t been times I’d thought about it. “And Mace isn’t a fling. We’re mated, which is wolfman speak for married. Get used to it.” Harsh, I knew, but she’d ignore subtle when it suited her. “Daniel…” “No! Stop.” I climbed back up the steps and pulled her stiff body into a hug. “Mom, I still love you. But I love Mace, too. And no, it doesn’t mean I love him more, just different.” “I don’t see why the two of you can’t live here like you and Steven planned.” I pulled back to stare at her. “You gave my apartment away, remember?” “It’s not a permanent thing,” she hurried to assure me. “They just needed a private place.” “So then, you’re good with Mace moving his whole pack in here permanently?” She frowned and used her authoritative voice. “Now, Daniel, you know that’s not feasible.” “Yes, I do.” Surprise crossed her face. “And that’s why I’m moving to the den.” “You don’t have to do that. You can still live here and visit him now and then.” I shook my head, gave her one last hug. “I love you, Mom. When this is over, I’ll be back to work on those projects.” I let her go and headed back down the stairs. I stopped and turned. “I will be back, Mom. I’m not Adam.” Adam, my much older brother, committed the sin of marrying young and moving away. When I came out in high school, he announced he wouldn’t have a fag for a brother. He refused to come home if I was here, not even after I nearly got beaten to death. Refused to let his kids, Mom’s only grandkids, come visit. They’d hardly spoken in the years before the end of the world.
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I had the door to the truck open before she came to the porch edge and called after me. “I know, Daniel. For the love of God, keep your head down. You take care of him, Mace.” Her voice hardened. “You hurt him and I will hunt you down and rip your heart out.” Mace arched a brow. “I’d save you the trouble. Sooner rip my own throat out than hurt my mate.” My heart swelled with love. Yup, pansy ass romantic. Better start looking for some eyeliner. Mom nodded and turned, but not before I saw the glint of tears in her eye. I looked at the gathered throng. Why the fuck was everyone treating this like I was moving to China or some fucking shit? I would be back at least to visit. Visit. A shiver ran down my spine. Fuck, I was leaving all this behind me. My first allegiance now lay with Mace. Mace smiled from the passenger seat as I put the truck in motion. “Whether they like it or acknowledge it, the family of my mate has my protection. You’re not abandoning them, Daniel.” Then why did it feel like I was? I watched the gates close behind us in the rearview mirror. I drew a breath and focused on the road. I’d made my choice. I glanced at Mace. Worth it, worth every fucking minute of it.
Chapter Six We passed the tall building that had been one of Mace’s watch points. Fire had busted out some of the windows and smoke stained the ones above. Fucking amazing it hadn’t burned worse. Wasn’t like the sprinkler system still worked or the fire department had put it out. Sometimes fire was weird like that. That fucking devious psycho rabid needed putting down like a mad dog. My mind ran circles around the problem of finding him, and, from there, leapfrogged over to getting the packs in the area to cooperate. Good thing I was the only thing moving on the road. I took the off ramp toward the den on autopilot. Turned the corner. What the fuck was that in the road? “Daniel, stop!” Mace roared in my ear and my foot slammed the brakes before my bemused brain finally caught up. Cars, trucks and other shit blocked the fucking road. No way for us to go around or over. The side streets were also blocked. Fuck! We were boxed in. “Get us out of here!” Mace’s snarl garbled his words but he didn’t need to fucking tell me that. I hit reverse and floored the gas. My windshield cracked as a bullet ricocheted off it. Fucking rabids were shoving cars into the street to block our escape. I jammed the pedal down, hoping to slip through the closing gap like the hero in an action flick. If only. Fuck! Shit! My heart hammered in my chest, blood roaring in my ears. “Hang on!” I slammed the brakes at the last minute. The anti-lock brakes shook the whole fucking truck but we only bumped the cars in the road. Rabids swarmed over the barrier vehicles but at least we weren’t in the middle of the kill zone. Automatic fire blasted from the back and out the windows in a deafening roar.
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“Daniel! Get out, down!” Mace snarled without a single pause in firing into the rabids swarming us from every direction. He shoved his own door open with one hand, shooting with the other. I rammed my door into a rabid clawing at it. He fell back and RK reached across me to shoot him. My ears rang with the blast. The smell of copper mixed with gunpowder choked me. Then the windshield exploded and RK howled, blood blooming on his shoulder. “Get out!” I grabbed his shirt and yanked, using my weight to pull us both to the ground. I grunted as air whooshed out of my lungs when RK landed on me. My head slammed into the rabid’s gut instead of hard pavement. Fucker wasn’t dead yet, and for a few brief moments, I was the lunchmeat in a wolfman sandwich. Hot blood sprayed over me as RK’s claws sunk into the rabid’s throat. The smell gagged me but I held it in. RK snarled and jerked as another bullet found its mark. I shoved him and together we rolled under the truck. Eagle was there with a sniper rifle. He shoved my .30-06 at me. He faced one way, I took the other and we tried to find those fucking snipers on the rooftops. RK had my shotgun and put it to good use on the closer rabids. Where were those fucking snipers? I snarled and scanned the rooftops, not easy cowering under a fucking truck. The bad news was they were too far away to hit with the M-16As. The good news, they couldn’t shoot for shit. Better, they weren’t even taking shelter. One rabid sniper in my sights, I went for the kill shot. Score! I scanned for my next target but now those asswipes were hiding. Where the fuck were they? The truck rocked and glass sprayed onto the ground. The fuckers were shooting up my truck! Fucking rabids. “Ah, there you are, you fucking bastard.” I aimed and squeezed. My target jerked and howled, dropping his rifle and diving out of sight. Before I could line up another shot, a wounded rabid fell in front of me. He snarled and clawed at me, just missing my outstretched arm. He took a bullet in the face. At least a rifle point blank doesn’t spray shit all over the shooter. The rabid crouching behind him howled as gore sprayed all over him. That pause cost him his life.
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Another used the tire as cover and snagged my pant leg. RK raked his claws down the rabid’s arm. How fucking many rabids were there? Fear ran cold shivers up and down my spine, cramping my gut. Were we losing? Mace. Where the fuck was Mace? Focus on staying alive, Daniel. Mace can handle himself. Please let him be all right! I wiggled back to avoid another rabid’s claws, firing as I moved. The ground shook and the truck rocked from an explosion. Debris rained down from the roof with the snipers. A second explosion rattled us from the other side before I could even grasp what the fuck had happened. The cavalry had arrived and from the sound of it, they had the RPG’s out to play! The rabid I’d wounded sprang to his feet and fled. I inched to the edge in time to see the fleeing backs of panicked rabids, their blood rage turning to yips of fear. A hail of automatic gunfire nipped their heels. I dropped my head to my arm and drew a shuddering breath. My hands cramped from their hold on the rifle stock. The sounds of fighting drew farther away. “Daniel?” Lindsey, dressed in black body armor, jerked dead rabids away to let us out. Didn’t surprise me at all that she’d ignored Mace and followed us. “Yeah, here.” I wiggled out from under the truck, turning to give RK a hand. “Mace?” I grunted with the impact of his body crashing into mine. “Daniel…” was all he could choke out before his words devolved into wolfy whimpers of relief. I threw my arms around him just as hard, burying my face wet with tears in his neck. Warm wetness slicked my hands. I pulled away. Blood. “Fuck, Mace, you’re hurt.” He grunted and shrugged. As if being covered in blood and guts meant nothing. Fucking alpha show-no-weakness bullshit. “I’m not the only one, mate. I’m leaving you in charge of this mess. Help who you can.” He raised his voice. “If you’re standing, you’re with me. We’ve got rabids to hunt.”
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“You can’t go after them like this, Mace! You’re hurt.” Long lines of red marked every claw gouge. Were those fucking teeth marks in his arm? “Better now than after they regroup. Look how fast they managed to set up this damned ambush.” That he was fucking right pissed me the hell off. I yanked my long sleeve shirt off and held it taut. Without me needing to ask, RK obliged by tearing it into strips with his claws. It was warm enough I didn’t need anything but my T-shirt anyway. I hurried to bandage what I could, whether Mace liked it or not. Of the fifteen pack in the truck, only three looked ready for another fight. Mace snarled in frustrated rage. A chilling howl split the air. Almost as one, the pack turned to face north. Movement on the far side of the barrier resolved into our smaller truck hurtling toward us. A chill shocked me like ice water in the blood. A huge pack ran at their heels. But the pack in the truck weren’t shooting at them. That’s when I noticed the wolfmen following didn’t look ragged and dirty. Oh my God! That giant leading them had to be Bear. How many fucking wolfmen were in the Chatfield pack? The truck had to stop at the barrier. Wolfmen piled out while those following flowed around them, over and through the barrier. And stopped. From a block away I couldn’t see their faces but heads swiveled between one bombed rooftop to the carnage in between to the other rooftop. Hawk pushed his way through with his team following. Despite the wounded rabids snarling and whimpering at them and their injured pack mates, they stayed in a tight formation behind Hawk. Hawk’s soft commanding tones seemed so out of place in the midst of such mayhem. “Mace, Bear and most of his whole damned pack are here with Bow, his pack, and six guys from around Sedalia. They saw our flier and wanted in on the hunt.” Hawk gestured toward each group as he named them off. Holy fuck! I looked around at the gathered throng of wolfmen. I estimated between forty and fifty wolfmen, without counting any of our pack. Fucking A! Even
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with better than half of Mace’s pack out of commission, those fucking rabids didn’t stand a chance! If we could catch them… Mace turned to Sharon. “Can you handle the wounded? Even the rabids?” She snorted. “Yeah, I think we can handle the clean up. Unless you’d like a little backup on your hunt?” She motioned to the Humvee on the other side of the car barricade. Mace shook his head. “Stay here. Make sure they stay safe.” He turned to the three wolfmen who had come through the fight nominally on their feet. “Stay here, help Daniel with clean up.” He should have been staying, too, since he seemed to be at least as bloody as any of the others. But he was pack leader and I knew better than to argue. His tight face and the anger burning in his eyes wouldn’t be denied. “Bear, you head west. Bow and the rest of you, with me. We’re headed east. I don’t give a shit about the little rabids. We need to find and kill the leaders. You can tell them because they’re better dressed and packing heat. Watch yourselves. They had this set and ready for us in less than a day. No telling what else they’ve got out there. RK tells us they like to ambush small groups. Best to stay together and watch each other’s backs.” Guns and ammo were passed to those lacking. Mace grabbed me and kissed the shit out of me. Hot, possessive and filled with post-fight need. His hard cock jammed against me. Mine perked up in response. At that moment, I didn’t fucking care who was watching or that the whimpers of the wounded surrounded us. I ground against him, letting him know I needed him just as much. I gasped for air when he let me go. Yellow-gold eyes shone with passion, and something softer, love. My throat swelled with a chaotic mix of emotions. I grabbed a hold of my familiar companion, anger. “You better fucking come back in one piece, mate.” I gave a last tug to a makeshift bandage on his arm. His lips curled into a smile before he turned. “Let’s hunt!”
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For the first time, I heard Mace’s pack take up that blood curdling, bone chilling hunting howl. The other packs joined in. The air boiled in a promise of death. I couldn’t stop the shudder running through me. They started with a quick search of the surrounding buildings, casting for trails. Each group fanned out and moved out of sight. The hunt could take hours, maybe even days. Wolfmen had staggering stamina. Like real wolves, they could travel for miles, trailing prey to wear it down before moving in for the kill. From the west a chilling howl signaled -- prey found. With a sigh, I turned to my responsibilities.
*** I surveyed the kill zone Psycho had created. One smart fucker, he’d left us nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. So fucking many injured. Mace had only Hawk and the ten with him. The others I didn’t know and didn’t fucking trust. Not with Mace’s life and in the face of such a relentless and intelligent enemy. “Sharon, I don’t give a fuck what Mace said, take that hummer and follow him. There’s got to be at least one wolfman here whole enough to track him for you.” Derek stepped forward, snarling and full of challenge. Sharon ducked her head before speaking to him. “It’s OK, Derek. We’re here to help, not fight over dominance.” Seemed she’d learned a lot about handling touchy alphas. Derek flashed fang at me but backed off. A soft whine called our attention. Hound was wrapping his torn up leg with one hand. Blood ran from a gunshot wound in his shoulder. That arm lay across his lap, apparently useless. He tugged at the strip of cloth. “I’ll do it, but Mace is going to be pissed.” “Just make sure he lives long enough to be pissed.” I took over wrapping his leg. He gave me a nod. RK rushed over and applied a very efficient field dressing to his shoulder.
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Sharon took two women with her, and Derek, Jay and Hound. That left me with six women, a few wounded but mobile pack, RK and myself, to deal with not only our own wounded but however fucking many rabids had survived. “OK, let’s start with the pack. See who needs help the most. Remember they can survive what would kill us so don’t assume they’re dead or beyond help unless they’re cold and stiff.” “Daniel, what do we do with all the wounded rabids?” Kim wanted to know. Couldn’t tell from her tone of voice if she wanted to save them or shoot them. I sighed hard and rubbed my aching forehead. How the fuck should I know? But I was Mace’s mate. Time to start acting like it and man up to the responsibility. “Fuck, I’m not sure what we’ll do with ’em but we can’t just shoot the fuckers. So, once you’re done with the pack, treat them.” “How can you say that after what they did? Look around you.” Crissy looked shocked. “Two reasons. First, showing mercy is part of what separates us from them, pack from rabid. Second, they may not know anything else. Without remembering their past, this kind of living is likely all they’ve known. And it’s their nature to follow a strong leader, even if he is fucking evil.” RK surprised us all by joining in. “To join the brothers is to live. To fight them is to die. Most want to live. Now we show them there is another choice. A better way to live.” I nodded. “There’s no telling how many of them can be pack, like RK.” Didn’t hurt to remind them that a very short while ago RK had been on the other side in this war. “Find at least one pack member to help you before you approach any of them.”
*** I was surprised to find Vegas among the badly wounded. He’d been shot at least four times. A nasty row of claw gouges in his shoulder just missed catching his throat. RK immediately started assessing the damage and bandaging wounds to stop the bleeding. Looked like RK really knew what he was doing.
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Cowboy was taking care of his own wounds nearby. Peg barked a sharp cry and fell to her knees next to Slick’s body. I set a hand on her shoulder. Her whole body shook and moments later she whirled and started puking. My stomach turned in sympathy. He’d been eviscerated as well as having a bullet hole in his skull. Nothing I could do here. Raf’s arm hung useless by his side, clothes tattered and bloody. One handed he tended a pale, moaning Rif. He held a bloody rag to Rif’s thigh. Blood oozed sluggishly from under it. Lindsey knelt next to them. “Let me see your arm.” Raf snarled at her. “That’s my fucking sister, Raf. Snarl at her again and I’ll shoot you.” Raf’s words shook with pain so badly I could barely make them out. “Treat Rif first. I’ll live.” Linds checked the bloody gash on Rif’s head while her other hand rested on his neck pulse. She looked in each eye. I carefully pulled Raf’s hand away to check the thigh wound. He’d been shot and clawed. I used the rag over the wound and strips of fabric to secure it. “His vitals are good, Raf. You stopped the bleeding, so he’ll be fine. Now let me see your arm.” Raf snarled again. “Give it up, Raf. Let her help.” Lindsey gingerly started cleaning his injured arm. Injured? More like it’d been stuck in a garbage disposal. I wondered if even a wolfman could heal enough to ever use it again. I looked closer. Cold numbed me from the inside out. It looked like someone had chewed on it. Or more like Raf had jammed it down some rabid’s throat. At least all his fingers were still there. If the muscles grew back, he might appreciate still having all his fingers. That was cold! You are fucking losing it. Get a grip. Freak out later. Right now, others need you.
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I moved on to the next injured wolfman. A shock ran through my system. It was Spike, huddled over a body pulled half into his lap. Fang, a very dead Fang by the dull, vacant stare of his eyes. “Spike?” His head jerked up and he snarled, showing bloodied fangs. Bile rose in my throat. His bloodied fangs reminded me of Raf’s gnawed arm. A blatant reminder that even pack could revert to rabid savagery. Behind the surge of anger briefly lighting Spike’s eyes was a hollow desperation. I’d seen that look on too many refugees who’d just lost everyone they cared about. Was that a twinge of sympathy? Fuck, it was. My gaze drifted down to Fang. The urge to retch cramped my stomach. He’d been gut shot, his throat torn out, and it looked like someone had been gnawing on his shoulder. And ribs. And thigh. I swallowed hard, fighting back nausea. I looked at the dead rabids around them, counting four that looked half starved. A much healthier looking rabid moaned softly nearby. He, too, was missing chunks. The fuckers had turned on their own injured. Hot anger and disgust scorched the sickness from me. “Fucking rabids!” At that moment, had any of them been alive, I’d have shot them. I drew a deep breath. “Spike, man, I’m fucking sorry.” His glowing yellow gaze bore into me as he snarled louder. “OK, so we aren’t exactly friends but no one deserves to die like that. Best you can do is take him over by the truck where they’re laying out the others.” I didn’t add that Spike looked more than a little pale himself. How much of the blood soaking him was his? Considering he and Fang rarely parted, I was betting a lot of it was. Spike whined soft slurred words. “I can’t.” “Can’t what?” “Can’t carry him.” Each syllable carried deep, soul wrenching despair. “Well, fuck.” Looking around I didn’t see anyone available to heft Fang’s dead body. Personally, I’d prefer to just leave him, and Spike, too, but they were still part of
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Mace’s pack. My pack now. Fucking son of a bitch. I was going to have to carry the body of the asshole who’d almost raped me. “OK. Will you let me take him?” Spike whined and loosened his hold on Fang. I squatted down to get a good grip on him. I wasn’t at all sure I could heft him. The change gave them denser bones and heavier muscles as well as several inches in height. I heaved and managed to drag him off Spike but no fucking way was I carrying him to the truck by myself. “Shit!” And then I got a look at Spike. He had rips and gouges out of his lower leg and -Oh, fuck! I leaned in to get a better look. Surely it couldn’t be what it looked like. I brushed the tatters of his shirt aside. Son of a fucking bitch! It looked like the fuckers had tried to eat him alive. They’d gotten some pretty good bites out of the fleshy area between his hips and rib cage. Like sharks in a feeding frenzy. “RK!” I stood, looked around for him. “Get some bandages and get over here as soon as you can.” After watching RK with Vegas I felt sure he’d had medical training way back when. Spike needed it. Spike stared down dispassionately like it wasn’t even him. He poked listlessly at the gut wound, whining softly. RK hustled over and Spike let him treat his wounds. The whole time he never took his eyes off Fang. Beta hobbled over. “They were close. Probably went through the change together. Sometimes that leaves a pretty strong bond. Losing a partner is like losing a part of yourself.” He sounded like he spoke from experience. Fuck, had Tat and Beta been partners? I nodded. “Can you help me carry the… um, Fang to the truck?” He waved toward the truck. A couple of women stacked the few boxes of my shit off to one side. “Not enough room with all the wounded, Daniel. We’ll have to come back for the dead.” He sighed heavily. I hated to leave our dead here. No guarantee those hungry fuckers wouldn’t come back, drawn by the smell of fresh blood and an easy meal. Fuck! Nothing to be done about it at the moment.
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Beta wavered, fighting to stay standing. He sported his share of bloody bandages. “Can you stay with Spike?” “Yeah, sure.” He dropped down more than knelt, and adjusted Fang’s body into the classic pose, hands over his chest. I shoved to my feet with a weary sigh. Now that most of the wounded were being helped, time to assess the damage. Looked like five dead including Fang. Two, make that three, not moving, but bandaged so I assumed they were alive. That was half the wolfmen who’d been with us in the truck. None of the pack had escaped injury. Fucking Psycho! I hoped Mace found him and tore the shit out of him before killing him. “Daniel! Over here.” Lanky’s call snapped me back to the tasks at hand. Lanky was just that, a tall lanky wolfman I barely knew. I picked my way around a few dead rabids to the boarded up storefront he stood next to. Someone had torn the door off its hinges to get inside. “What’s up?” “Rabids, a pair. One is either dead or unconscious. The second doesn’t seem hurt too bad but he won’t let me near since he’s protecting the other. I figure he’ll fight to the death rather than submit.” And he thought I could handle this why? Because I’m Mace’s fucking mate. “Let me see what I can do.” I stepped over the twisted remains of the door. “Hey, it’s OK, we just want to help.” A ragged looking rabid growled loudly, blocking my progress toward his buddy. He looked pretty thin. Considering how many of them did, I suspected Psycho was recruiting among the smaller, less successful rabid packs. I glanced back at Lanky. “Get some of that fresh venison from the truck.” It worked on stray dogs. Why not rabids? “You look hungry. We’ve got some fresh meat for you. That sound good?” I kept up a constant stream of chatter, most of it meaningless, but I pitched my voice for a quiet strength, hoping that would soothe him without making me look like prey.
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Lanky handed me a hunk of the venison. “Hey, look what I have for you.” I held it out. “It’s all yours if you’ll let us take a look at your friend there.” The rabid’s gaze locked onto the meat in my hand. He raised his head in a very wolf-like sniff. A hungry growl rose from his too thin chest. He inched forward, gaze darting from the meat to Lanky and back. I leaned forward and in the blink of an eye, he snatched the meat from my hand and jumped back out of reach. What shocked me was he turned to nudge his buddy, offering him the food first. A distraught whine followed when his buddy didn’t do more than moan weakly. “Medic!” I called for help. Now that I could see his buddy, it was obvious he had a broken leg, but in the shadows, I couldn’t tell what else. I moved to one side, splitting the rabid’s attention between me and his buddy. Lanky slipped in the door, moving in the opposite way and hugging the wall. “Hey, big guy, just settle down and let us help you both.” The rabid looked at the food and back at me then a quick glance with a soft whine at his buddy. “Just want to help. No one’s going to hurt him.” All the while I drew his attention by moving to one side and closer. Lanky moved slow and stealthy into place, ready to jump the fucker if he didn’t give up. The rabid whirled on Lanky, dropping the meat, but Lanky was ready. He had the smaller rabid pinned against the wall in a flash. Just as fast he spun them both, dropping the rabid to the ground under him. Lanky had fifty healthy pounds or more on the skinny rabid -- not much of a contest. I moved to check his buddy and the rabid howled and thrashed. Didn’t do him any good. His partner whined and stirred restlessly when I opened his eyes to check his pupils. Looked fine. The rabid’s leg stuck out at a bad angle. Looked like a bullet had broken his femur. He had a second wound just above his pelvis. I suspected blood loss was keeping him down. Let’s see, couple of wooden chair legs for the splint, the seat cushion for padding and the seat fabric cut into strips to hold it in place… I had all the pieces ready to go by the time RK joined me. “Need to set leg. Can you do it, Daniel, while I hold him?”
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“Maybe, but you’d be better at it.” I spared a glance at Lanky to make sure he still had a good hold on this guy’s partner. “Careful he doesn’t bite you, Daniel. This is going to hurt enough he may come to.” I nodded, slipping behind the groggy rabid and pulling his back against my chest. One arm went around his neck in a chokehold. The other locked it in place. No way he could turn his head enough to bite me. I wrapped my legs around his middle. I’d need my whole body to hold him if he put up a fight. RK wrapped the splints in padding and set them on either side of his leg. He stuffed some padding around and threaded the strips he would use to tie it on under the rabid’s leg. He nodded and I braced. In one smooth pull, he straightened the rabid’s broken leg. A screeching howl nearly deafened me and the rabid struggled weakly. His buddy thrashed and growled, spit flying from his mouth as he tried to get free. Yellow eyes bright with rage locked on me. RK braced his foot against the rabid’s groin and held tight to his ankle with one hand, keeping traction. With the other hand, he struggled to get the ties together. That wasn’t working. Years ago Steve showed me how to knock someone out by cutting off the blood to the brain. Worked in seconds and didn’t cause a choking reflex. Not a nice thing to do to someone whose brain was already starved for oxygen but my options were few. He went limp. Wouldn’t keep him out long, but hopefully long enough. With RK now holding the break in place, I set the splints. He wouldn’t be walking on it until the bones knit but at least now it would heal so he could walk again. His buddy had grown very still, gaze tracking everything RK and I did. I gave him a soft smile. “See, we just want to help. Behave and everything will be fine.” The rabid looked at me much like RK did, like I was some kind of fucking hero. Fucking weird, but at least he didn’t look like he wanted to eat me anymore.
Chapter Seven Without warning, Lanky howled and leaped to his feet. A dark shape hurtled out of the shadows. They smashed into the ground, snarling, biting and clawing. Claws sank into my shoulders from behind, yanking me away from my patient. Fear and rage fueled my instinct to fight. I clawed behind me for the fucker’s eyes, kicking to get my feet under me at the same time. “Fucking son of bitch!” A sickening wrenching motion and I was facedown with a snarling rabid’s fangs dripping spit on the back of my neck. Death couldn’t be far behind. Fuck! Why hadn’t I let Mace mate me the way he needed? God, Mace! Only death didn’t come. The rabid just kept me pinned to the floor. A desperate sounding whine drew my attention to RK, groveling belly up at the feet of a fucking rabid. My gaze traveled up to meet the stone cold gaze of Psycho. Fucking Psycho rabid himself! I strained to hear if there was still fighting going on but only distant voices drifted in from the door. No screams, no gunfire. I wanted to raise my head to look around but didn’t dare. Not with that fucker salivating on my neck. Psycho snarled down at RK. “Mine.” I shuddered at the raw possessive rage in that single growled word. Just like the human fucker who’d attacked me all those years ago. “Yours, only yours, First Brother.” RK’s plaintive whine grated like fingers on a chalkboard. No one should have to grovel like that. Psycho kicked him in the ribs, rolling RK across the floor. “Soon, you can prove it.” He strode over to tower over me. “Human male. Weak. Kill it.”
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“Wait!” RK’s cry turned to a whimper when Psycho rounded on him. “First Brother, he’s smart. Makes cars run, lights, running water at their den.” RK’s words rushed out to be cut off by another sound kick from Psycho. The one holding me shifted, standing and yanking me to my feet at the same time. “That why the not-brothers follow such a weak human? You make things?” I swallowed hard. “Yeah,” was all I got out before a hand clapped over my mouth, smashing me against a hard chest. “Stay quiet, live. For now.” Psycho snarled at me. There were just four I could see, including the one holding me. Psycho snarled at the rabids we’d been helping. The mobile one crawled to Psycho’s feet and rolled over, baring his soft underside and throat. Psycho flicked a glance at the one with the broken leg who stirred, whining. Lanky lay in a still heap nearby. Fuck! Not another one dead. “Come on, bring them.” He turned to the back of the store. I got shoved along behind them with that prick’s hand still over my mouth. Fucking hard to walk with someone on your heels. I stumbled a couple of times. His other arm wrapped around my waist and picked me the fuck up. Big fucking bruiser to pick me up like a doll. Bright light stabbed into my eyes through the back door of the store. We made our way to the end of the alley. A brief pause and they darted across the street into the next alley. They stopped and waited while one slipped between two buildings. He stood at the corner for a while, turning his head like he was listening. With their superior hearing, maybe he was. He crouched and peered around the corner, then waved us to come. Psycho nodded at my captor, who shoved me into Psycho. He spun me into the same hold the first guy had used. The cold barrel of a gun caressed my cheek. “You stay quiet.” His head turned. “Little brother, you get small truck.” RK whined softly, gaze darting up, but to meet my gaze or Psycho’s? The little traitor hustled out of the alley ahead of us.
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And I hadn’t bothered to set anyone to watch the fucking truck. Too stupid to live, Daniel. Fuck! When had I gotten so fucking careless? No guards and I sent our best defense, the Humvee, after Mace. He was going to fucking kill me. If Psycho didn’t do it first. RK jumped into the truck, started it, and sent it flying in reverse to meet us. Psycho picked me up and tossed me to the rabid who’d jumped in the truck bed. A shout went up from the barricade of useless cars. Why the fuck hadn’t I had that cleared? Oh, yeah, Mace had taken all the able-bodied wolfmen hunting for the very son of a bitch who had me. Fuck! Psycho swung up and set the gun to my temple. “Don’t shoot! Daniel!” Lindsey hollered as the truck flew down the street in reverse, away from any hope of escape. Fear danced a tune on my spine. She should have fucking shot me herself. God! I’d fucked up, put them all at risk. The women and the few wolfmen capable of climbing over the cars faded into the distance as we drove away. A keening cry similar to the hunting howl rose faintly over the rumble of the truck engine. A block later, Psycho shoved me down and thumped the roof. RK stopped and they dropped me out of the bed and shoved me into the back seat, sandwiched between Thing One and Thing Two. Honest, they were so fucking hairy they looked like bad Hollywood cavemen. I gagged on their stench. How the fuck could they ambush anything stinking like that? RK turned the truck around and headed toward the interstate. “You fucking weasel of a coward!” I wanted to bash his face in again only this time I wouldn’t stop there. Psycho looked back at me with an evil smirk. “You think he’d follow a weak, pathetic human?” “Fucker.” Thing One grabbed my hair, claws raking across my scalp, and twisted me to face him.
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“Fucking beasts!” I nearly spat in his face. Here I was facing certain death and I met it the same way as always. So fucking scared I was pissed; snark and attitude came right along for the ride. He snarled and slapped me with the other hand hard enough I saw stars. Yeah, too fucking stupid to live. A last snarl from Psycho and Thing One shoved me back, letting go of my hair. I wiped blood from my busted lips. “You with brothers now. Do what brothers say. You live.” I laughed. Despite the thick growl and bad grammar, he sounded a lot like Mace when we’d met. The confused look that flickered across his face just made it even better. The harder I laughed, the more crazy and desperate I sounded. I didn’t fucking care any more than I could fucking stop. Psycho snarled and Thing One slapped me again. I sucked in a breath, and the hysterical laughter stopped in a blinding wash of rage. “I am so fucking tired of you fucking pricks knocking me around! Shit, ever think of asking first? Fucking sons of whores.” Psycho’s brows rose. Thing Two grabbed me this time but Psycho’s snarl stopped him from hitting me. Psycho glared at RK. “You said he was smart. Seems stupid, or crazy.” I started to swear when I realized RK had missed the turn for the highway. Where the fuck was he taking us? “I am not fucking crazy. OK, maybe a little, but I swear to God the next one who hits me I’m gonna go postal on your ass!” Psycho reached over the seat back and grabbed my shirt, yanking me close enough my eyes threatened to cross. “You have death wish, weak human?” I snorted. “Does it fucking matter? You’re gonna fucking kill me one way or another.” Déjà vu… How many fucking times would I have to do this? “First Brother, Daniel can make trucks run, make fuel and more. Knows places, safe places to stay away from not-brothers. I take you to one but we need him so they let us in. Many women, food, safe place.”
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Psycho turned to glare at RK without letting go of me. RK whined submissively and Psycho turned back to me. RK turned another corner. What the fuck? He was almost driving in circles. We’d fucking run out of gas before we got anywhere. I caught a flicker of a look in the rearview mirror. Oh, good thinking, RK! Psycho would kill him if he figured it out. I might be able to help. “Great. Fucking great.” I rolled my eyes. “Here it comes. The ‘you work for me I’ll only hurt you a little’ speech. Well, fuck you. Been there, done that and sick and tired of everyone and his beast fucking brother kicking me around.” I dropped my voice to ape Mace’s. “‘Daniel, fix the generator. Daniel, make a still. Do this and we won’t fuck with you.’ Like fucking hell. Didn’t even last an hour before that fucker had me naked and on my knees.” There was some truth to that. Never mind I’d wanted it. I slapped my leg. “You should see the fucking scars they gave me! Fucking lying bastards.” Psycho’s look flitted from pissed to confused to amused and back. All three rabids focused on me -- and not RK. I caught sight of the one in the back looking just as rapt. Good. “Oh, oh, my favorite,” I raised my voice into my best imitation of the Major. “‘It’s your duty to fuck the women until they get pregnant. We have to save the human race.’ So why the fuck set me up with the ugly women? Huh? So we could have ugly fucking brats? Why did Frank get all the babes?” The more I talked the more real anger came out, even if I was embellishing things a bit. Shocked the shit out of me but it made it believable. “And then turn around and demand I fix the well pump and build a greenhouse while fucking Frank sits on his ass flirting with the cute chicks. Well, fuck them. Fuck you too!” I wrangled with his grip on my shirt to no avail. Scary how well I pulled off crazy bastard. “They use you. Not appreciate you. Brothers don’t use each other. We work together, share together. Join brothers, live free.”
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Wolfman 5: Genesis
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I snorted. “Yeah, want to start now by letting the fuck go of my shirt?” RK had taken us the very long way around to the interstate while I distracted them. I caught another flicker of his gaze in the mirror. He drove right past the on ramp again, headed more or less the way Mace had gone. A huge risk if Psycho figured out what he was doing. Psycho let go of my shirt and smiled. That nearly scared the shit out of me. It was so… so… pleasant. And friendly. The kind of smile that would get you to open your door to a stranger. Had Psycho been in prison because he was a fucking serial killer or just a charismatic sociopath? Not sure it really mattered. He’d proved to be a devious twisted fucker in the here-and-now. I made a show of straightening my shirt. “Not-brothers tell you we hurt you, but not true. We help other brothers.” Psycho gestured toward the truck bed where the two rabids from the store rode. “They hungry, not-brothers not help them. I help them. Saw you help them. You could be brother.” Psycho leaned back against the door, looking open and relaxed. Wow, even as a wolfman he pulled off a boyish charm meant to disarm the most jaded. This guy could sell ice cubes to Eskimos, right before slitting their throats. And he thought he knew just how to play me, I hoped. I let myself react to his smile with a faint one of my own before scowling and sitting back in a huff. He wouldn’t believe it if I gave in too quickly. I hated fucking head games but that didn’t mean I couldn’t play with the best of them. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “What happened to ‘Weak little human, kill it’?” He shrugged and looked amazingly apologetic. “You help kill so many brothers, I was angry. Good little brother share how smart you are.” Okay, this dude’s fucked up grammar was killing me. What the fuck did he mean? I tilted my head as if considering his words. Time to nibble on his bait. “So what are you offering?” “Safe place, food, be with brothers. Help brothers.”
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“And if I don’t help brothers? You fuck me to death?” He smiled softly but flashed a hint of fang. “Why not help brothers? We accept you, not make you fuck ugly women.” I snorted. “What about ugly wolfmen?” He smiled wider. “Wolfmen, that what you call not-brothers?” I shrugged. “Nah, that’s what I call all beasts. The, ah, not-brothers didn’t like being called beasts so I came up with that instead.” He nodded. “Brothers not beasts.” I snorted. “Funny, my face says different.” He leaned forward a bit. “You are not brother. Once become brother, not hit you. Not need hit you. All brothers work together to live. Others are prey.” Ah, the sales pitch. Join us and be saved. Only the details ever fucking changed. “So no getting beaten or fucked -- you know, unless I want it?” He smiled. “You like get fucked by wolfman alpha?” I gave him a frank stare, leaning toward him slightly. “Not really. Bastard beast didn’t give me a choice.” “So tell me why we should make you brother. You not strong like brothers.” He leaned back, face drawn into a speculative scowl. Oh, that was good. Make the mark want in by suggesting they weren’t good enough. “Hey, I got skills, man. Who do you think converted this truck and made the fuel? Huh? Not some lazy redneck or bitch, that’s for damned sure.” And I launched into a mind numbing exposition of my many talents. I had to give that slick bastard credit. He paid attention, asked questions, gave every indication he cared. If I hadn’t been on to his game he’d have had me eating out of his fucking hand. The slick fucker manipulated me into practically begging to sign up. And none of them paid attention to how RK drove, how many turns he took. Or when he finally took the on ramp like a half blind granny. Would take us all day to go nowhere at this pace.
***
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Wolfman 5: Genesis
- 80 -
“How far is this safe place? Little brother, you been there?”
RK nodded and shrugged. “Not sure, south of city.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “And east.” My voice said moron. “You should get
off on 225.” Please Lord, don’t let them know the city real well. “Where’s that?” “Umm.” I made a show of looking at landmarks. “Fuck, we passed it, I think.” Psycho snarled. “You think?” “Well, I wasn’t paying attention and I’m not that familiar with this part of the fucking city.” I grumbled under my breath. “Miss my fucking GPS.” Psycho snorted rudely. “What do you think, brother?” He cocked a brow and sneered at RK, who whimpered and nearly crashed trying to drive while baring his throat. “Shit!” I grabbed hold of the back seat as the truck overcorrected to avoid hitting the center barrier. Psycho and the other two rabids snarled their rage. “Don’t do that again!” Psycho’s growled words dripped with menace. RK whined and squirmed, bringing the truck to a shaky stop. “Drive! Now! We don’t need not-brothers catching up!” RK jammed on the gas, burning rubber down the road. “Wait! We’re going the wrong way,” I shouted. “Turn around and take that last exit.” RK slammed on the brakes, jarring us all again. We’d barely got going again when the Humvee announced its presence with an explosion right in front of us. Once more the truck swerved and rather than hitting the brakes, RK gunned it, making a run for the off ramp. Which suddenly filled with chunks of concrete wall. Just how many fucking RPG rounds did they have? RK swerved around the rubble. High walls meant to deaden road noise hugged the long off ramp, hemming us in. An explosion hit from the side and he swerved, the truck fishtailing wildly. RK fought the wheel and almost got it back under control, until
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the tail clipped the concrete wall. Metal screamed, sparks flew. We spun but somehow stayed upright. The truck sputtered, coughed and died. Out of gas or broken, didn’t matter. It was done. Psycho glared at RK, who was frantically trying to restart the engine. “Fuck! We got to get out of here! We’re sitting ducks!” I pushed on Thing One, trying to get out the driver’s side. Pavement sprayed over the hood of the truck. Were they fucking trying to kill me? I was going to kill that trigger happy bitch. If I lived through this. We scrambled to get out. Bone chilling howls sounded ahead and to the right. Mace’s pack, I hoped. Psycho leaped over the truck to grab me like a fucking shield. RK tackled us both as the road heaved with the very near hit of a grenade. Chunks of debris rained down on us. On the bottom of the pile, I escaped the worst but my fucking ears rang. Psycho staggered to his feet and silently snarled at me. I could see his lips moving but no sound. I shook my head. Bad move. The world spun around me. Fucking blast rang my bell pretty fucking hard! Psycho yanked me up by my shoulder. I let my knees fold as if I couldn’t stand. It caught him off guard and he staggered forward. I was able to drive my feet into the pavement and spring up, wrapping both my hands around his arm. My back hit the side of the truck. I planted both feet in his gut and kicked like a fucking mule. He grimaced and folded slightly, dropping his hold on me and staggering back. Clawed hands nearly pulled my fucking shoulders from their sockets yanking me into the truck bed. The rabid from the store saved my fucking life. Whoa! A mask of killing rage twisted Psycho’s face, his body coiled to strike. Instead, he jerked and a wet, red stain spread across his chest, a shocked look crossed his face. A second hit to his shoulder left his arm dangling. I could just make out muffled noise that might be gunfire. Psycho whirled and staggered away just as a huge blast of concrete and pavement bombarded us, rocking the truck.
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Wolfman 5: Genesis
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I choked and coughed in the hot dusty air. Blinking rapidly, I tried to see beyond the tears flushing the grit from my eyes. RK lay in a heap, groaning and half covered in rubble. Store-rabid yanked me down next to his injured buddy, saving me from the reaching claws of Thing One. Thing Two grabbed the tailgate to jump up, and froze. He dropped back to defend himself against the full rage of my mate. Hawk jumped into the bed and out the other side, taking Thing One to the pavement. The truck shook with the impact of bodies hitting it. Thing Two and Mace wrestled against the tailgate. Clawed hands dug into each other’s arms, grappling for an advantage. Thing Two snapped slavering fangs inches from Mace’s throat. Mace jerked to the side and Thing Two pressed the advantage to pin Mace. He was seconds from tearing Mace’s fucking throat out. Punching a wolfman is never wise, but I gave it all I had. Pain exploded from my fist up my arm. Thing Two’s head snapped back from the impact of my fist in his eye. Mace’s fangs sunk into the rabid’s throat as they tumbled to the pavement. Blood sprayed in a sickening shower. Mace lay on top of the dead rabid, chest heaving. I flexed my hand. Good. Nothing broken, even if it did hurt like a bitch. Before I could jump out, my new friend grabbed me and shoved me back down by his barely conscious buddy. Mace’s pack surrounded us, fangs bared, their growls a distant rumble in my abused ears. “Fuck, it’s OK, they’re friends. Back the fuck off.” I was looking at the rabid but the pack responded, backing a step. Fucking amazing. Wolfmen taking my orders. The truck shook again and my rabid friend pushed me back against the cab. With the tailgate now down, Mace braced his hands on it, ready to spring up. He snarled and glared death at the rabid. “Mace, hang on. He’s just trying to protect me.” Could they hear me? He yelled back. “No shit, or he’d be dead already.” Hey, I heard that! I felt a bit giddy. I saw Mace’s lips moving but couldn’t make it out since he wasn’t yelling anymore.
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“What?” I’d worry about it later. “Hey, buddy, these are my friends. It’s OK. That’s Mace, my mate.” The rabid’s body tensed even more. Mace grimaced and yelled back. “Stop yelling at him! What the hell is wrong, Daniel?” Yelling? “Oh, explosion too close. My ears are still ringing.” Mace’s eyes widened and his mouth moved. I made out something about blowing things up and killing someone. Whatever. “Offer him some meat.” Sounded to me like I was whispering but they obviously heard me. “Where the hell are we going to find any?” Mace was pissed enough I heard that loud and clear. Right, that was in the other truck. His voice lowered to where I couldn’t really hear all he said. He was talking to my rabid protector. I gathered it was something like give up or die. Finally, the rabid looked back at me then down at his friend who was stirring a bit more. “Yeah, I’ll make sure he’s OK.” That seemed to do it. He crouched down and crawled to Mace before rolling over, belly and throat exposed. I heaved a sigh, walked over and sat on the tailgate waiting for Mace to finish his whole alpha wolf routine. He looked like shit warmed over. Dried blood, fresh blood from the gouges Thing Two had given him, tattered clothes… even his braid looked ratty. “So what the hell happened?” he practically yelled in my face. I winced. My hearing wasn’t that bad. “Can we discuss this later?” I sighed. “You look like shit. Are you OK?” “You get kidnapped by that rabid Psycho and you want to know if I’m OK?” “Fuck yeah. I’m not the one covered in blood.”
Chapter Eight Mace stepped between my knees, hugging me tight. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling his hips into mine. Fucker had a raging hard on. Wolfmen. He snickered and replied as if he knew what I was thinking. “That’s not for the fighting, it’s for the surviving. God, Daniel. Don’t do that to me again!” I held him closer, whispering in his ear. “I hadn’t planned on doing it the first time. Tell me that fucker’s dead.” Mace sighed and looked up. “Hawk?” My gaze followed Hawk’s gesture toward the smoke. The Humvee was headed our way without a pack of wolfmen in their wake. I hoped they hadn’t fucking missed and hit the good guys. Mace gave me one last hug and started barking orders. I smiled. He couldn’t be hurt that bad if he could still kick ass and take names. Both Things were dead. The rabid who had been in the back with my new friend was missing. I suspected he’d taken off with Psycho. RK sat on some rubble, stripped to the waist, while others checked his back, head and gunshot wound. He looked a lot like road kill again thanks to the blasts. Angie hopped out of the back of the Humvee. I dropped off the truck, hands on hips. “Do I have you to thank for busting my fucking eardrums?” She had the good grace to look sheepish. “Yeah, that one got a little close. We were trying to stop the truck. Figured if he’d made off with you, your days were numbered anyway. What with your charming personality and all.” I snorted. “Gee, thanks. I feel so loved. So, did you get the fucker?”
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Sharon Donovan shrugged. “Don’t know. Bow told us to hit that building, so we did. Now they’re sorting through the rubble.” “How about any of the other First Brothers?” Mace growled. “They love to throw their pack at you while they make a run for it. God damned cowards!” I took that as a no. Hawk clapped Mace on the shoulder. “But we did get at least one. And we’ve killed or captured so many of his pack, he may never recover.” My ears were clearing enough I could follow the conversation. “Speaking of recovery, any idea what’s going on back where this started?” Hawk shook his head. “We’re too far away for the whistles to work.” “Well, let’s get going. There’s a shitload of wounded who need to be taken back to the pack.” Mace thumped the truck. “This thing still run?” “Sounded like RK flooded it, but it’s running on empty, too.” Sharon turned. “Glory, get that Jerry can.” “Thanks, we’ll owe you.” Her smile promised she’d collect with interest. Mace glanced around. “Let’s get a move on, people.” I reached for the driver’s door but Mace yanked me back. “Let someone else.” That breathless tone and heated look surged straight to my cock. “Uhh, I’m not big on audiences.” Mace grinned. “I can’t just hold you?” “Like that’s all you’re going to do.” He smiled and tugged my hand until I relented and got in the cramped back seat with him. He laid his head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and he slumped against me. I started checking wounds, but his clothes were so torn and bloody, I couldn’t tell. Nothing seemed to be running or squirting. That was good. “Daniel, I’m fine. Now, would you quit squirming.” That wasn’t a request.
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Wolfman 5: Genesis
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I sighed, frustrated, but let him rest on the short trip back to the ambush site. A whole lot more wolfmen were milling around, healthy looking wolfmen. Lindsey rushed over to give me a big hug, then filled us in. A couple other packs had shown up for the meet and followed the noise until they found us. So far, they’d been helpful, and even nice to the women. The wounded rabids were taken off our hands save for my new friend and his lame buddy. Derek suggested taking the worst of the injured to the compound immediately. That turned out to be Vegas, two other pack, and two rabids. The Humvee couldn’t carry that many prone bodies so they took it and the smaller truck with a promise to return before dark. Bear returned with his pack looking the worse for it. They had one confirmed First Brother kill and a possible second, but the rabids had splintered into such small groups they couldn’t track them all. The rabids they did find tended to be the full-on cannibal kind. Those fuckers fought to the death. They’d brought a few other injured rabids back with them, much like Mace’s group. Mace sent the truck limping back to the compound with our wounded while he and I stayed and hammered out the beginnings of an agreement. First and most important was to deprive the brothers of new members by rounding up all the loose rabids we could. Beyond that, we agreed to meet later. I made sure to get a private moment with Bear, who watched the women like a fox watches chickens. “See those buildings?” I pointed to the ones ravaged by the RPGs. “That could be your den, or worse. They have bigger cannons than that. I pity the pack that thinks they’re weak.” I left him staring at the bombed out buildings with narrowed eyes. “Derek, you need to keep a sharp eye out. I don’t trust that fucker as far as I could throw him. You might want to find those new pack members soon, real soon.” Derek nodded. “Junior and his pack asked to join us. I’m taking them home with us. If the council doesn’t like it, tough shit. Sylvia’s already given the go ahead to let me decide who and when.”
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I liked the young alpha. “Just remember, they may say they’ll submit to you, but Mace has had them turn on him later.” Derek nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks, I’ll keep alert.” Finally we were ready to return to our den!
*** The den was pretty subdued with most of the wolfmen injured in some fashion. Until the after dinner bonding started. You’d think with all that hurt going on they’d take a night off and rest. Shit, each one seemed intent on fucking or being fucked by every other wolfman in the den. Should have fucking known better. The real shocker? The number of women who wanted in on it. Although they seemed to have particular wolfmen in mind. “Mace, I think Hawk and Slade can handle this. I’m ready for a fucking shower and bed. Coming?” I winked mischievously. Mace snickered. “Not yet, but I hope to be cuming soon, mate.” He jumped up with more energy than I’d expected. I groaned at his bad pun and watched his tight ass crossing the dais. Fucking sexy. Mace already had the shower ready and most of his clothes peeled off. “Holy shit. I expected you to be fucking shot up.” I saw plenty of claw marks and a few that looked like bites, but how had he managed to dodge all the bullets? “I noticed they shot everywhere but at me. So I asked that new rabid you adopted. He told me they had orders not to kill me. Psycho wanted me to suffer the loss of my pack before he took the pleasure of killing me slowly.” “Did they find his stinking carcass in that building?” “No. The building caught fire and burned before they could really search it. No one ran out and he was pretty shot up, so I’m hopeful.” I yanked the chain, getting us both wet. “So why were you so wobbly looking when you caught up with us? I thought you were nearly dead.”
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He snarled. “Just because I didn’t get my brains blown out doesn’t mean I was hiding under the truck!” He grimaced. “Broke three ribs, but no way was that going to stop me from getting to you. Try running with broken ribs.” I wrapped my arms around him. “Sorry, mate. But I was fucking worried all this time that you were hiding something major, like missing half your lung or something.” He growled then yanked me close. “When I heard the message that you’d been taken, my heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe or even really think. I just had to get to you before he could hurt you.” I hugged him back with the same desperation. “I’m so fucking sorry. I was stupid to send Sharon after you.” He sighed. “I doubt it would have made a difference. Didn’t you say he wanted RK in the worst way? And skulked around until he got an opportunity?” “Yeah, I think he considers RK his little bitch. Guys like that don’t let go of anything they consider theirs.” I’d had enough of talking about rabids. I turned and rubbed my ass against Mace’s half hard cock. He gasped in a breath and growled low. “Careful, mate, I need you. Too much to be gentle.” Oh, fuck yeah! My cock shook off the cold water and bobbed its approval. “Really? ’Cause that’s the first fight you haven’t dragged me off to fuck right afterward. I wondered if the honeymoon was over.” He growled even deeper, nipping my neck. “I wanted to fuck you, hard, right then, right there. There just wasn’t time or the privacy you like.” “There’s no one here now.” Mace’s sexy whimper rolled down my spine to settle deep inside. Heat scorched back up. Loud voices sounded in the hall. The door flew open and a trio of wolfmen stumbled in. They were already mostly naked and headed more or less our way as a single writhing mass. “Time to take this elsewhere.” They didn’t even slow down as we dodged around them.
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***
Mace shut the door, leaning against it, eyes closed as if struggling to control himself. “You want to mate me, don’t you?” “Daniel, I…” He growled with frustration. “I thought I was going to die today. The one regret I had was not having shared myself with you like that.” I sprawled out on the bed, lazily stroking my cock. “I want this, Mace, and if we start like before…” My breath caught. Fuck, the image in my mind of him pounding me from behind? Oh, fuck yeah, I wanted it. I rolled my back to him and he climbed into bed behind me. He growled sexy and deep, pressing his body to mine. I sighed out the last bit of tension still haunting me. This felt good. Just like when we slept. A little awkwardly, our lips met over my shoulder. His upper arm slid up and down my side. The lower cradled my head, rocking it back to tuck under his chin. His cock ground into my ass. I cocked a leg and reached under, pulling it into place between my thighs before squeezing them around him. He grunted and thrust between my thighs, his breath speeding, gripping me tighter. His other hand reached down, teasing my cock with light strokes in time to his thrusts. I moaned, rocking into his hand, all but begging him to jack me. He closed his fist around my cock, pumping slowly at first, then faster, harder. My balls drew up. The need to come coiled tighter, tighter. He released me, rising up. “Lube?” Had to stretch but I managed to get my fingers on the tube without breaking all contact with his hard, hot body. He took it, and moments later spread my ass cheeks and pressed lightly against my hole. I moaned and he started massaging my rim with maddening strokes, so soft I could barely feel him, followed by firm, sure circles and back. Fucking driving me crazy it felt so damned good! I shifted, bracing with my upper arm, and rested my knee on the mattress so I could push back into that delicious pressure. He let a finger slip deeper, almost inside.
Brannan Black
Wolfman 5: Genesis
- 90 -
Moaning my need, I pushed back, leaning even more on my arm and knee. Mace followed, keeping most of his body pressed to mine. He pulled his fingers out to brace himself. His cock left a trail of precum down the cleft of my ass, sliding over my tingling hole and nudging my balls. A deep sexy growl rumbled from Mace’s chest through my back and straight to my cock. His full weight pressed against me as he wrapped a hand around to stroke my aching balls. An echo of the fear I once felt rang through me. Between hot kisses, his softly growled words soothed me. “Shhh, Daniel. Stay with me, lover. You know I won’t hurt you, mate.” The steady stroking of my cock helped. Tension wound tighter in my groin, the need to come kind. I sighed out my fear and focused on the feel. “Unnggg, Mace!” I gasped and moaned, thrusting into his hand. He let my ridged cock go to continue rimming my hole with a single fingertip. I pushed back, inviting it inside. “Aggh, yessss, so hot, so tight.” He moaned into my neck, lipping me, kissing me. He hit my prostate just as his teeth nipped tender skin. “Fuck!” I jerked, shoving hard onto his finger. “Mace, fuck, unggh.” Not sure when he snuck the second and third fingers in. Sensations raced from my prostate to my cock, short circuiting my brain along the way. Climax rose like a riptide. “Uuuhnnn,” I moaned, rocking with his rhythm, desperate for more. He pulled back and I shoved harder to get him deeper. I shifted, desperately seeking purchase to fuck myself on his fingers, rocking my ass back, spreading my knees and offering all of myself. It wasn’t a finger I thrust back onto but the slick, broad head of his cock. I gasped, pressing back as my eager ass welcomed his shaft. He had me so fucking hot, I didn’t notice the burn of intrusion or that I had risen on my hands and knees. We rocked together, shifting, adjusting so he could get deeper. He froze, back tight against me, cock buried deep. His lips brushed back and forth across the back of my neck. “OK, lover?”
Brannan Black
Wolfman 5: Genesis
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“Unn, yeah, fuck me, unngghh!” I was near mindless with need. He shoved in hard. I stiffened both arms to hold against his harder and harder thrusts. He gripped my hips with one hand, the other wrapping my cock. All thought shattered as he stroked me. “Fuck!” I bucked under him, desperate to come, to have him fill me. Lips turned to teeth. The shock of that almost pain froze me. His hand slid from my cock to grasp my middle, holding me tight. He growled and thrust. His cock swelled, ready to pump jizz into me. I gasped, groaning, my own need shattering whatever thought had tried to form. A bump rose, stroking from my prostate to outer rim with every stroke. Never had I ever felt anything like it. Two strokes had me screaming. “Fuck!” I dropped my head, arching my neck into his bite, body shaking as my climax roared through me like a runaway train. Fangs gripped me tighter, ripping another spurt out of me. I gasped, moaning with each hard thrust. Then he gripped me so tight I could hardly breathe, his cock buried so deep the thought flew through my mind that I’d taste him when he came. And then he did, growling, jerking hips, whole body tighter than a drum. Each and every spurt pulled more from me. Time, thought, everything vanished except where our bodies joined, sending pleasure exploding through me. Gasping for breath, we collapsed in a sweaty heap. That echo of fear sounded again but fainter. A deep sense of satisfaction and love buried it, burning it from me forever. The emotions overwhelmed me. It was either laugh or scream. My body shook with the laughter I buried in the pillow under me. Mace rose on his elbows, hard cock still deep in me. “Mate? Daniel? Are you all right?” I sucked a breath and managed to choke out, “Perfect, fucking perfect.” He stroked the back of my head in a tender gesture. “I love you, mate.” I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. “I love you, too, mate.”
Epilogue I sat on the rail around the roof, feet dangling, watching the sunset, listening to the sounds of laughter and life from inside and outside the den. Nature had blessed us with a day of beautiful autumn sunshine and warmth. Birds gathered in flocks, settling for the night, then stirring to swirl through the sky like a swarm of fish. Their chirps blended with a symphony of crickets and the laughter below. Life was fucking good! I felt… content. It was nice. The aspen should be turning in the high country. I used to love driving or hiking up there just to see them. Would I ever get to do that again? Mace joined me and I turned sideways so just one leg dangled over the side. He slipped up behind and wrapped his arms around me. “What’re you thinking?” “Wondering if the aspen will be pretty this year. It’d be fucking nice to take a couple days off, just you and me. Wander around the back country. I think you’d love it.” What wouldn’t I give to share that pleasure with my lover, my mate? Mace set his chin on my shoulder. “I don’t see the appeal, but maybe someday we can. Look at how much better things are now.” I sighed and leaned back, letting his warmth chase the growing chill away. The sinking sun lit the clouds to a brilliant orange-red streaked with pink. We’d accomplished a lot this summer. Started a coalition of packs in the metro area. A few like the East Burb pack didn’t want anything to do with it, but most saw the benefit of cooperation and trade. We’d worked out trade deals with not only the compound but the Chatfield pack, Ace’s downtown pack, Bow’s, and a few others. We traded my time mostly, but received fresh meat, produce and other things.
Brannan Black
Wolfman 5: Genesis
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We never found Psycho’s body, but we hadn’t seen any sign of the First Brothers. One thing the packs all agreed on was getting the rabids off the streets and into packs. That was working pretty well although some refused and headed for the hills instead. The compound had seen an increase in signs of rabids passing through. Derek and his new pack made sure they didn’t linger. Beta and Spike had joined the Chatfield pack. I guess staying here was too hard with all the bad blood and memories. Worked for me. Our pack had grown from both the rabids we brought in and a few new members who had come from other packs. And we found several pairs and trios that weren’t rabid but had avoided the larger packs, much like Derek and Jay had. We had thirty-six adult wolfmen here now, and without the tension from last spring. It was fucking nice. A few women had left for the compound. Peg and Jackie joined the den. They’d learned the joy of wolfman sex. Several others visited from time to time, but still preferred living at the compound. Food and fuel stores for the winter were more than enough. And the whole den now had heat, lights, and hot and cold running water. All and all, life was pretty fucking good. The sun sank, sending a last burst of fiery red across the sky. Dinner smells drifted up to tantalize. Mmm, smelled like sausage and peppers. I slapped Mace’s thigh. “Let’s eat, I’m starved.” He pulled me to my feet, our lips meeting in a lingering kiss. Holding hands, we joined our pack for a peaceful evening before fucking our brains out. I had a thing for wolfman sex, too. Sex with one very special wolfman.
Brannan Black Brannan Black grew up dreaming about epic adventures with strong men and women doing heroic deeds. She’s been a belly dancer, horse breeder, mom, Reiki master and crazy. Really, certifiably crazy. That’s what folks say when the people in your head won’t leave you alone. When their worlds and lives seem as real as this one. Now she writes their stories, making them happy, and people call her an author instead of nuts. She lives quietly, more or less, on a small ranch with her husband, multiple cats, dogs and horses. Blog: http://brannansfantasies.blogspot.com Website: www.EpicRomances.com Email:
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