by Mila Young
“Let’s make this quick,” I say, my muscles clenching at how she puts herself in danger without thought.
Outside, the orange sun peeks over the horizon in the distance, tinting the woodlands in strokes of fiery colors. Meira hurries near the trees to my right, and I take the chance to relieve myself too on a huge shrub located in a spot that still lets me keep an eye on her.
A sudden snap of a twig has me stiffening, my feet glued to the ground. I jerk my head up in the direction of the sound from deeper in the woods.
The stale wind brings no scents. Panic rises through me, and I quickly tuck my cock in, retreating.
I give a thin whistle and glance over at Meira, who’s standing, looking at me. She heard it too.
I point into the woods, in the direction the sound came from, then cock my head for her to join me.
Fast steps bring her to me just as the scent of death finds me, floods my nostrils, and stirs sickness in my gut. Undead have tracked us.
Before I step back into the cave, four shapes stumble out of the woods farther to my left, exactly where Meira stood barely moments ago.
She pauses, staring at them, while I snatch her arm to drag her inside. Once these fuckers get a whiff of me, they’ll be crawling all over these woods.
“Wait.” She bats my hand away and turns back toward the zombies.
“Meira, this isn’t the time—” But my words flatline when I sweep my gaze over the deathly monsters.
Familiar faces I’ve seen before. “Hang on. Are they—”
“Yes. They followed us before and never attacked.” She suddenly heads toward them and unease curls in my gut. I don’t want to be anywhere near those filthy things.
They roam around her like she’s a magnet and completely disregard the fact that I’m even standing here. She takes steps toward me, and the creatures lurch after her.
I back up, standing in the cave’s entrance, as I’m too damn close to these things. One twitch, and they’ll come at me.
“That’s close enough,” I command.
Meira stops about five feet away, and again, the zombies pause as well.
“Sit,” she orders them.
Instantly, all four fall to the ground, sitting.
My mouth drops open with utter shock. “How the fuck are you doing that?”
Meira twists her head in my direction, smiling like she’s just discovered a treasure chest. “I think I have an idea for how to take down Mad.”
Chapter 19
Meira
I burst into the bunker, Bardhyl on my heels. “Wake up! I have incredible news!”
Just as the words leave my mouth, I notice they aren’t needed. Both Lucien and Dušan are up and about, dressed and staring my way. Lucien lowers the bottle of water from his lips, while Dušan takes a bite from a large cracker.
“What’s going on?” he asks, crumbs dusting down his top, a black sweater with a few tears around the neckline.
Bardhyl shuts the door behind us. “What I just saw outside might hold the answer to everything we need,” he says, excitement teeming through his voice. “It seems our girl is a lot more special than we first thought.”
“Out with it,” Lucien insists, his attention completely on us.
“I think I can control those undead that have been following me around,” I say in a strong voice. “I probably need to try again to make sure, but I just told them to sit and they obeyed me.” Adrenaline zips through my veins, and I’m bouncing on my toes at what this means for us. “It just never occurred to me until now to understand why those four zombies followed me.”
Dušan and Lucien blink at me like I’ve gone mad.
“She’s telling the truth,” Bardhyl adds. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d be as bug-eyed as you two are right now.”
“You can control the four undead that were following you around?” Dušan repeats my words as though shocked, scratching his head. “What makes them so special? What about other zombies?”
I pinch my lips together, running through all my encounters with these specific Shadow Monsters, all the way back to when I first saw them. Then it hits me like a lightning bolt.
“I might know why. I don’t understand the reason, but—”
“What is it?” Lucien asks, his voice taut and impatient.
“When I was helping Jae escape from Mad’s attack in the woods, I fought several undead to stop them from reaching her. And the four outside, I think I bit during our scuffle.”
Bardhyl’s gasp draws my attention. “You infected them?”
“I think… maybe I did.” My voice comes out unsure. “Whatever makes me still immune to the undead seems to have the opposite effect on them.”
“Sweet fuck!” Lucien runs his hand through his hair, pacing, his gaze miles away. “This changes so much. Here Mad thinks you are the key to immunity. Except you’re a million times better.” He pauses in front of me, taking my hands and kisses the back of them. “You, my little one, can whip the zombies to your command. They are your slaves. You could rule sectors with this ability alone.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I almost choke on my response. His enthusiasm is a bit scary. Ruling over zombies has never been my lifelong ambition, and this is a means to the end to get rid of Mad and gain the Ash Pack back.
“I was right,” Bardhyl declares, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “You are our gorgeous little Zombie Queen.”
I cringe on the inside at the title, but it’s not like I can even rebuke it now.
“The question is,” Dušan, who’s been quiet, says, “how do you get more zombies under your control so we have an army against Mad? Do you need to bite each one?”
“Most likely. But what if it was something else… Me giving them a scratch?” I don’t know why I’m tossing out random ideas… Maybe it’s the whole idea of me going around biting zombies for a living to convert them. Doesn’t that make me one of them but in reverse? And it was disgusting the first time I tasted their blood… I sure as hell don’t look forward to doing it again.
“Only one way to find out. We’re going zombie hunting,” Dušan commands.
My mouth is suddenly dry, but I’m nodding. As much as the notion is strange, he has a point. And if this is the way to eradicate the world of Mad, I’m ready. Not like I have much of a choice if I intend to help my men. I straighten my spine and summon my bravery. “Let’s do this.”
Lucien claps like an excited kid while Bardhyl grins, and Dušan draws me toward him. “Are you sure you’re okay with doing this?”
“Not really, but what are our other options?” I hold on to his hands a bit too tightly.
“I can see the fear in your eyes.” His expression softens, but there’s strength behind his gaze, like he’s ready to catch me if I fall from this mission. “What are you scared of?”
“That I’ll fail and somehow this is a huge misunderstanding that will get you three killed.” My arms tremble.
Concern worries his brow. “If you have several zombies out there following your lead, we’re already one step ahead of Mad.” His hands squeeze mine lightly as his words reassure me.
“What’s the plan?” Lucien looks at me, wearing the same painted expression of dread. “We track down a zombie, then we stay close as you do your thing in case we need to come help you?”
As much as dread fills me, I know pulling back now isn’t going to help us. I swallow my trepidation and suggest, “It’s still morning, so hopefully Ash Wolves aren’t roaming the woods. So we should do it now.” I hate my suggestion, but it’s for the best. This isn’t about me, but the pack’s safety.
“Agreed,” the three of them say in unison, which should make me laugh, but I’m too worried about having missed anything in our plan that might come back to haunt us. Mostly, I need to calm my jumping nerves that I have to change into a wolf again, and I still struggle to control her.
We are heading down the tunnels in no time, and the thou
ght that so much relies on me making this work strikes me. It’s one thing to make the undead sit down, but I have no clue how I’m meant to get an army to attack just Mad without hurting innocents.
I push those doubts aside. For now, let’s just make sure they listen to me. It isn’t like we’re swimming in easy options, so I need to make this work.
Once we’re outside, my ears prick for sounds and my gaze falls on the four Shadow Monsters still sitting on the ground exactly where I left them. Each of them look my way, not seeming to notice my men.
“Well, fuck me!” Lucien growls. “Never thought I’d ever see anything like this.”
Bardhyl stands close by my side, and Dušan steps closer to the undead. He pauses within arm’s reach, but none of them even seem to observe him.
Bardhyl murmurs, “I can hardly believe this. It's like they're hypnotized or under a spell of something. They're loyal to you, listening to your orders and all but completely ignoring us. This is insane.”
“I want to get this done,” I say, cracking my knuckles. The moment I emerge from the cave’s entrance, I say, “Stand.” The undead climb to their feet.
Dušan retreats instantly in panic, as do the other two men.
“I don’t think they’re going to attack you,” I say. The four creatures stand there, staring at me. “Maybe it’s best I do this alone.”
When I meet my men’s gazes, their eyes fill with the fire to argue, but I don’t give them the chance. “I’m quieter on my own. The zombies can’t trap me, and I can be faster this way.”
“I said, no more separation.” Dušan raises his voice, and it takes me off guard.
He comes from a place of caring, but my hackles rise too. “I’m doing this my way, and you know it makes sense. It’s not like I’m going to go far.”
He’s shaking his head. “I’m going with you, and as soon as we find zombies, I’ll retreat.”
It’s not something I want to keep arguing over when I know he won’t back down.
“Fine.” I unbutton the shirt and pull down my pants, then step out of them.
Their eyes are on me… I feel them like a lover’s caress. The cool morning breeze curls around my body, rousing goosebumps over my skin. My heart bangs in my chest as I remember Lucien’s instructions to bring out my wolf. I can do this.
It still terrifies me how much she fights against me when I’m in wolf form, so what happens that one day when I lose control of her? What then? She’ll kill everyone in sight?
As if sensing my uncertainty, Dušan whispers, “Deep breaths in and out, then let her flow out of you.”
If only it were that simple.
Swallowing hard, I close my eyes and fill my lungs with oxygen. On my exhale, I call my wolf.
This time, she spills forward and out of me fast, like rushing water. I tense all over as I groan and fall to my knees, the stinging like the pain of a hundred blades slashing across my body.
Moments later, I’m breathing heavily, standing there as a wolf in my tawny red fur, the agony melting away. I embrace the sharpness of sights, the crispness of pine smells. And even before I take a step from where I am, the pungent scent of undead finds me from up ahead in the woods.
She half-howls, half-growls. The buzz of adrenaline soars through me as my wolf shoves me forward. I mentally push her aside, so it’s not just her in the driver’s seat.
Energy flares down my body and I teeter on the spot.
“You okay, angel legs?” Bardhyl asks.
The four undead watch me, waiting for a command, while my men stand alongside me. I suddenly burst into the woods, the fresh air splashing through my fur.
A quick glance back shows Dušan trailing behind, but so are the four undead.
I dart forward, past trees and over logs, when two silhouettes linger straight ahead.
But I keep running, my wolf refusing to pause. The inner battle inside me is like two animals fighting for control. Next thing I know, I’m veering directly into a pine tree, bumping into it. I can’t even walk straight with both of us fighting for control.
My wolf silences, and I use that moment to sniff the air. The pungent reek confirms the creatures are Shadow Monsters.
Ruffling myself, savagery plays through my veins, and I lunge toward the newcomers.
Foliage crunches under the feet of two undead lurching forward, their heads suddenly jerking upward like something’s caught their attention. Something behind me.
Dušan.
My heart pounds just as my wolf unleashes a dangerous snarl.
I fly past a dense bank of trees and charge for the first creature. Crashing into it, I bring it down with a thud to the ground. The sharp snap of my teeth crunching bones in its shoulder cuts through the silent woods. Tainted, stale, putrid blood coats my tongue, and I release my grip. Even my wolf agrees and backs off.
The breeze whips around me, and I coil around, throwing myself into a sprint after the second Shadow Monster.
I glance at the four other undead standing in the woods, watching like spectators at an arena.
I close the distance between me and the new fiend, then I slam into its back, flattening it in a heartbeat. I lash out, sinking my teeth into the back of its neck. I’m certain biting them will be more reliable than scratching. His flesh is tight and hard. Like before, I lurch off him right afterward, and shake my head to get the taste out of my mouth.
Wrenching my gaze over my shoulder, I watch the first Shadow Monster stagger to its feet. The shoulder I’ve bitten into slopes lower than the other, dark blood oozing from the wound down its gaunt, bare chest.
I’ve done my deed, and while my wolf is still coping with the putrid taste in our mouth, I shove her deep within me. The flare of energy clamps around me, and I suck in rapid breaths, calling to my human side.
Darkness rises in my mind as she fights the transformation, her hunger spilling through me like a river breaking its banks. Panic grips me, but I won’t give in, won’t let her take control, won’t let her win.
The air pulses. I clench my whole body and shove her aside.
A warning growl cracks past my throat, shuddering me right to my bones.
No, you don’t. I stiffen, holding myself strong… She is mine and I won’t let an animal take me. I shove her energy as far as possible within me. Grasping that moment of reprieve, I fling myself out.
My change tears through me. I wince at the agony, at the drumming of my heart. I stumble upright on two feet, falling into the arms of a tree.
That was too damn close. She’s getting harder and harder to control.
I turn to the encroaching undead, watching everything, waiting to see its behavior.
The second one is climbing to its feet as well.
There’s no sign of Dušan, but if the Shadow Monsters gained his scent earlier, they’ll keep following him.
“Please stop,” I whisper. Holding myself tightly, I glance from one fiend to the next.
In unison, they both come to an abrupt halt a couple of feet in front of me. They stare at me with blank, dead eyes.
A hulking outline emerges from the shadows from the direction of the cave. Dušan steps forward, and his eyes are wide, shock palpable on his face. What is he thinking? What a freak I am?
“Fuck, you did it!” he says, and his words soften the hardness in my chest.
“Where there were four, now we have six.” I grin at him.
He closes in to my side, and none of the monsters are going for him. They literally don’t sense him. “This is incredible.”
I look over and search his eyes. “Maybe this is going to work. I think six will be plenty. Easy for me to command and we can go do this now. Sneak into the compound. Right?”
The corner of his mouth twitches with tightness. “We only get one chance to take him by surprise with the zombies. So we need more of them, as Mad’s guards know how to take out the undead.”
I take a step backward. “I think we’re fine like this,” I a
nswer.
He studies me for a long pause. “What’s going on, Meira?” he asks.
I shake my head and look away from him, studying the undead watching us. Like statues, they stand as still as the trunks surrounding us. Getting more of them to follow me isn’t the problem. It’s the process of me doing it and not losing control of my wolf. Each time I transform, I worry this will be the last time before she claims me completely.
“Let’s go see what the others think about how many undead we need,” I suggest and I turn to move, but Dušan steps in my path.
“Meira.” His stern voice carves through me.
“It’s nothing.” Just when I think I finally succeeded by transforming, by keeping my men, the universe refuses to give me a clean break. Not only am I still immune to the zombies, which makes me worry that I’m still sick, but my wolf refuses to kneel.
“Talk to me,” he persists, his eyes narrowing. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
His question wrenches me from my thoughts, and I blink at Dušan. There’s a silence between us, and I don’t know why I struggle to tell him about this. Or why it scares me to reveal the truth with the others too.
“We can help,” he suggests, his concern swimming behind his eyes.
“I-I d-don’t think I’m fully healed,” I admit, my voice low. It’s only when I see the reaction flaring over his face that I realize why I kept from talking to my men about this. His lips tighten and the color in his face drops a few shades. Fear darkens his gaze. That terror right there is like a knife in my gut, twisting and twisting.
“Because you’re still immune to the undead? We’re going to fix this, Meira, as soon as we deal with Mad. I promise.”
“No, it’s not just that.” My arms shake by my side. I lick my lips and let the words roll free. “I can’t control my wolf. When I change, she tries to take over, every single time. All she wants is to attack and hunt.”
He takes my hands into his. “Oh, Meira, that’s normal. The first time I shifted, my wolf took over and ate all the neighbor’s chickens.”
“And what about your next change and the one after?”