“Do it.”
Once more Calan opened his mouth then closed his teeth on Jerrica’s neck where it met her shoulder. He bit hard and deep until he tasted her blood on his tongue, then he let go. He waited a second then another with nothing seeming to happen.
“It’s not working,” Austin said, his voice choked with emotion.
For good measure, Calan bit Jerrica again on the other side of her neck. He pulled back and watched her once more, looking for any sign that the turn to werewolf was taking place rather than that of a zombie.
A few more seconds ticked by and Jerrica’s skin grew paler, her skin taking on the tinge of an undead. Just as Calan was about ready to try a third bite, she sucked in a ragged breath and her back arched as a sudden glowing light surrounded her.
“It’s happening,” he said to Geoff and Austin. “This is what happened when I became the Werewolf Defender. She’s turning into a werewolf.”
The light intensified in brightness, and Jerrica whimpered. Calan remembered the pain. Her eyes cleared and her gaze focused on him. He held it and told her it’d be all right. The zombie bite on her arm healed as well.
It was a few seconds more before the light sank into her body. It flashed around her again, then Jerrica was a wolf with dark blonde fur that matched the color of her hair. Her father let her go, and she stood on her paws and looked around. She rubbed noses with Calan before she sank to the ground and her eyes closed.
“Jerrica!” Austin and her dad shouted.
Calan bent his head and licked her muzzle, then met their gazes. “It’s all right. She’s fine. She’s only asleep. I can hear her heart beating strong. I slept right after I turned for the first time as well.”
“For how long?” Austin asked.
“Twenty years.”
“What?” Austin asked, as he went down on his knees beside Jerrica. “She can’t sleep for that long.”
“I don’t think she will. The spirits who turned me sent me into that deep sleep to wait for the time when I’d be needed.” Calan looked at Geoff. “Take her home where she’ll be safe. I have to take out the rest of the zombies then dispose of the bodies once they’re all ended.”
“Okay. We’ll keep her safe.”
Jerrica’s father lifted her into his arms, which was no easy feat since in wolf form she was almost as big as Geoff and probably weighed as much, as well. He waited until Geoff and Austin were ready before he took off ahead of them at a run on the road that would take them to the cabin. The few zombies he found, he quickly ended.
Once Jerrica, Geoff and Austin were safely locked inside the cabin, Calan ran back to the center of the settlement to clear out any undead that remained inside the walls. Even though he wanted nothing more than to stay by Jerrica’s side while she slept, he still had a job to do and wouldn’t stop until the people he was to protect were safe once more.
* * * *
Jerrica knew she was sleeping, but it wasn’t like any sleep she’d experienced before. She was well aware of what happened around her. She ‘watched’ as her dad struggled to pick up her wolf’s body then carried her toward home. She ‘saw’ Austin was with them, his axe raised, ready to use it to defend them if a zombie attacked. Then there was Calan, still in his wolf form, running ahead to make sure the road was clear of the undead. She saw it all, but she felt as if it wasn’t really happening to her. It was as if she watched what Calan had described as ‘a movie from his past’.
Once inside her family’s cabin, her mom came rushing to Austin and her dad, asking what had happened. Her mother cried as her dad explained how a zombie had bitten Jerrica but that Calan had saved her by biting her and turning her. Jerrica wanted to tell her mom that she was all right and not to cry, but she couldn’t wake up.
They put Jerrica in her parents’ bed, since there was no way her father would be able to manage climbing the ladder to her loft bedroom with her in his arms. Austin refused to leave her and sat beside her wolf’s body, gently stroking the fur on her back.
Then the ‘sight’ of her world changed, and she was in a vast empty space with mist all around. Chanting began, surrounding her, coming closer and closer until four figures appeared before her. From Calan’s descriptions, Jerrica knew these were the spirits of the Native American warriors who’d turned him. They were dressed the same in traditional clothes. Their long, black hair hung straight around their shoulders and down their backs with feathers. They all looked young and strong.
One of the spirits stepped forward and smiled. “We’re glad to see you, Jerrica.”
“You know my name?” She spoke using her mind instead of her mouth.
“Yes. Calan told us when we saw him last, but we knew of you long before he’d met you. On the day you were born, we saw that you would be the one for Calan—that you would be his mate in all ways.”
“Am I just like Calan now? Am I immortal?”
A second spirit answered. “Yes. He needed you to be a true mate, and the world could use another wolf warrior.”
“I know I’m asleep, but I can’t wake up. Calan told he slept for twenty years after he shifted for the first time. Will I as well?”
The third spirit shook his head. “No, not for that long. It will be a couple days, though. Your body needs that time to adjust to the changes inside it.”
“Okay. Good.”
The fourth spirit stepped forward. “We welcome you, our daughter. Since we created Calan, we think of him as our son. We will always watch over the two of you.”
The first spirit said, “You will protect this world from the undead creatures as Calan does. The two of you will eventually win the battle. As long as you have each other, you will stand the tide.”
With those cryptic words, the four spirits faded, their chanting filling Jerrica’s mind. The misty world disappeared, and she was once again in her wolf’s body, able to ‘watch’ the world around her.
Chapter Fourteen
Calan was beyond exhausted, but he still had one last thing to do before he could seek out Jerrica and get some sleep.
All through the night he’d hunted zombies. Once he’d made sure all the ones inside the settlement were no more, he’d gone around to all the remains and burned them with his fire. The loss of settlers had been high. In a populated area, zombies spread like wildfire. He’d come across settlements where a couple undead had managed to get inside and almost wiped out everyone.
After only the living remained safely behind the walls, Calan had focused on the zombies that had gathered outside at the gates. There had been nearly a hundred of them. They had to be taken out or none of the workers would have been able to get to the fields and orchard, the settlers’ main source of food. To lose the crops now could mean starvation come winter.
Unable to have the gates open for him to pass through, Calan had done the only thing possible. He’d climbed to the top of the walls where the guards patrolled and jumped off to the ground below. Being immortal and a werewolf had its advantages, and this was one of them. He’d landed uninjured and set to work on the grisly task of ending the existence of every zombie there.
Once the creatures were no more and their remains disposed of, Calan had taken up a position in front of the gates and waited. More zombies had come, but soon they’d stopped, and he was able to leave his post. He’d walked the trail that would take him to very back of the walls where he and the workers had been cutting down trees.
As he went, he sniffed out the arrows that lined the path at spaced-out intervals. Calan buried the blood that had sprayed on the ground at impact. The dirt would mask the lingering scent and no longer draw the zombies toward the settlement.
By the time he’d done a complete circuit, Calan had collected thirty arrows that had been shot over the walls, each delivering a package of blood. He carried them in his mouth and was going to take them to Geoff. Since Calan hadn’t had the chance to explain what had caused the zombies to attack in such large numbers, Jerrica’s father had
no idea he needed to look for the owner of the arrows. Besides smelling like pig and human blood, the shafts had the scent of the shooter.
After he gained access through the gates and they’d closed behind him, Calan dropped what he carried, shifted, then picked up the bundle of arrows. He headed for the road that would take him to Jerrica’s cabin. As he passed by others, he heard those who’d lost loved ones crying. At one home, a woman ran out and hugged him then thanked him for saving the settlement. He hugged her back, not feeling very comfortable with the praise when he hadn’t been able to save everyone.
At Jerrica’s family’s cabin, Calan knocked on the door. Geoff answered it. “Come inside, Calan. Jerrica isn’t awake.”
“Not yet. We have to have a talk first.”
Geoff’s gaze dropped to the bundle of arrows Calan held. “Those aren’t mine and Jerrica’s arrows.”
“No. I already gathered those from the zombies before I disposed of them. One of the guards, Drew, said he’d take care of cleaning them and return them to you later today.” Calan selected one of the arrows and handed it to Geoff. “These were used for something else rather than a defense against the undead. I know every owner uses different colored fletching to tell their arrows apart from another’s. Do you know whose this is?”
Geoff looked at the arrow, then up at Calan. “Yes. Tell me what happened?”
Calan dropped the rest of the arrows onto the porch. “The zombie attack last night wasn’t something that just happened. It was provoked.”
Geoff’s eyes grew hard. “How?”
“Those arrows were shot over top the walls while the men and I were cutting down the trees at the back of them. They were used to deliver something. Each one had a package attached to them that burst open when it impacted with the ground, spraying blood around it.”
“Blood?”
“Pig’s blood mixed with some human blood. It didn’t have to be a lot to lure any zombie within a quarter-mile radius of the settlement. The arrows were shot at almost even intervals all around the outside of the walls, except for where the guards patrol at the front. It had to have taken two people to do it, one working on each side.”
“Crap,” Geoff said. “The guards told me how they’d had to open the gates to allow those men with you in, and how you tried to keep the zombies away for them to do so. They also explained how five of the undead managed to slip into the settlement before so many of them plugged up the entrance. I know you did everything you could to clear the gates so they could be closed. What I didn’t know was why so many zombies would have attacked like that. Now I do.”
“Once the arrows came, we were doomed. I didn’t think at first I’d be able to save all six of them, but I managed it. I just wish I could have saved everyone. And I wish I could have protected Jerrica better so she wouldn’t have gotten bitten, then I wouldn’t have had to turn her before she was ready.”
Geoff threw the arrow he held onto the pile of the others and put his hand on Calan’s shoulder. “If you hadn’t been here, I’m pretty sure all of us would have been wiped out. And as for Jerrica, I doubt she’ll be upset with you, considering what the alternative was. She’d already decided to let you turn her. You only did it sooner than you both expected. Don’t blame the deaths of those settlers we lost on yourself. It lies squarely on the shoulders of the man who shot those arrows.”
“What are you going to do about him?”
“John owns those arrows.”
“I know. I smelled his scent on half of them. The others had his son’s. I wanted to have you confirm the fletching on the arrows before I said anything.”
“I had a feeling John’s son would have been the other shooter. He’s just as bad as his father. I dreaded what it’d be like to be under his leadership once he took his father’s place.”
“Now that won’t ever be an issue.”
“No, and once I’m done with them, they’ll no longer be able to put the settlement in jeopardy as they did last night.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“The same thing John did to you. I’m going to throw him and his son out of the settlement, and I want you to run them off. Unlike John, I’ll have the other settlers’ support and will allow John and his son to take whatever they can carry with them. Once everyone learns what they did, they’ll be more than happy to get them out.”
“What about their families?”
“Their wives and children can stay. They didn’t do anything wrong. John’s daughter, Becca, may be a spoiled, mean-spirited kid, but she wouldn’t do anything to cost lives, as her father and brother did.” Geoff took a step back. “For now, come inside to see Jerrica, then get something to eat. And I should warn you, Austin is here. He hasn’t left Jerrica’s side since we brought her home.”
Calan nodded then followed Geoff inside the cabin. He was greeted with a hug from Jerrica’s mom before she led him to the bedroom on the main floor where Jerrica lay sleeping, still in her wolf form.
Austin stood when he saw Calan. “She’s still sleeping. I tried waking her up, but it doesn’t work.”
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”
Geoff poked his head into the room. “Austin, I want to talk to you about what Calan found out.”
Austin nodded then stepped around Calan and headed out to the main part of the cabin. Calan went and sat on the bed next to Jerrica. He ran his hand along her side. He wanted nothing more than to go wolf, lie beside her and sleep, but he wouldn’t be able to do that until John and his son had been dealt with. He heard Geoff telling his wife and Austin how the ex-leader had provoked the zombie attack. Once Geoff was finished, Calan heard Austin leave after he’d promised to talk to his father and gather everyone else at the center of the settlement in a half hour.
* * * *
Calan was once more in his wolf form and stood in the center of the settlement with Geoff while everyone else formed a ring around them. Their numbers were a quarter smaller than they had been. The bundle of arrows Calan had collected outside the walls lay in a pile in front of them.
Geoff put two fingers into his mouth and let loose with a shrill whistle. Once everyone stopped talking and focused on him, he said in loud voice, “Okay, bring them forward.”
Austin’s father and his oldest son, both tall and heavily muscled from their work in the blacksmith, brought John and his son into the center of the crowd where Calan and Geoff stood. Neither of the big men let go of the one they held onto by the arm.
After the whispering quieted, Geoff continued to speak. “We took a big loss to our settlement last night, but it was no happenstance. It was a provoked attack by these two men.” He pointed to John and his son.
“That’s not true,” John shouted over the crowd’s angry words. “If you want to blame anyone, it should be the Werewolf Defender. He didn’t stop the zombies from getting into the settlement.”
“Shut up,” Geoff said with a snarl. He picked up an arrow and held it in front of John’s face. “Recognize this? You should, since this and the others on the ground are yours and your son’s. You two shot each one over the top of the walls, carrying pig and human blood, which sprayed the area where they hit. Everyone knows a zombie can smell human blood from a great distance and will zero in on it. You provoked the attack, and don’t deny it. The fletching on the arrows is yours. Calan also can smell yours and your son’s scent on them.”
The crowd’s mumbling turned into rumblings with some very real threats being hurled at the ex-leader and his son. A look of panic flashed on John’s face. He schooled his features with disdain as he looked at Geoff.
“You forced my hand,” John said, “by taking the leadership from me. It was my birthright, as it was to be my son’s. I did it thinking Calan wouldn’t be able to keep the six men with him alive. Their deaths would have shown how the Werewolf Defender isn’t as much of a hero as everyone thinks he is. I never thought zombies would breach the gates.”
“It doesn�
��t matter your intentions,” Geoff said, anger lacing his words. “We all lost friends and family because of you. If not for Calan, we would have all been turned. And without him, I would have lost my daughter to a zombie’s bite.” He looked at the crowd, turning in a circle. “For what John and his son have done, I suggest they be kicked out of the settlement then run off, never to be allowed back. Who agrees with this?”
One by one everyone, except for John’s and his son’s families, raised their hands.
Geoff nodded. “Then it will be done.” He looked at the blacksmith and his son. “Take them to their cabins. Let them get whatever they can carry to take with them, then they’ll be banished. Calan will escort them away from the settlement.”
Cries of denial rose from John’s family, but they were ignored as Austin’s father and brother walked the condemned men away. The rest of the settlers remained where they were, and when John and his son were returned, Austin’s father and brother walked them to the gates, which opened.
Once through them, Calan took over escort duty. He walked behind the two men. When they slowed or looked behind them at him, he snapped his teeth close to their faces. He herded them past the fields and into the trees that lined it. He kept them walking until they’d reached a clearing far away from the settlement.
Calan circled the two men, then said telepathically, “If I were you, I’d see if I could find the other side of the woods before night falls. It’s not safe for the living in the trees. And if I catch your scent or see you anywhere near the settlement, I will do more than run you off. You’ll see how much of a wolf I really am.”
With those parting words, Calan turned and ran back into the trees. He didn’t once look behind him as he left the men to their fates.
* * * *
It was now the second day since Calan had turned Jerrica, and during that time, not once had she awakened. After leaving John and his son in the woods, Calan had gone to Jerrica’s family’s cabin to be with his mate and had slept most of the day away in wolf form at her side. Geoff and his wife had even allowed him to stay with Jerrica through the night, and they had slept up in the loft bedroom.
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