“Have you told many people about how you were turned?” Jerrica asked.
“No. Actually, you’re the first person I’ve told the entire story to. I usually only give away bits and pieces.”
“So, what are we going to do now? About us?”
“I don’t know.” Calan brushed his lips across Jerrica’s. “What I do know is that if you decide to take up with Austin, I might not handle it very well and will have to leave the settlement—move on to the next one.”
“Are you trying to use that to influence my decision? Because if you are, that isn’t fair. The settlement needs you here.”
He growled low in his throat with frustration. “No, that isn’t what I meant by it. It’s just… I won’t be able to stand seeing the two of you together. When I go wolf, it’s still me in there, able to think like a human, but there’s also the wild animal side. If I think of you as mine, the wolf does as well. And it’s likely to strike out at Austin if it feels he’s getting between you and it.”
“That wouldn’t be good.”
“Tell me about it.”
Jerrica silently stared at Calan. She searched his face, as if she were looking for an answer on it. “Now you’re the one who has me confused.”
He reached up and cupped one side of her face. “Say you’ll be mine, Jerrica. Let’s see where this takes us. I’ll stay as long as I can.”
“Okay, say you stay for an entire year, and we’re still together. You’ll be expected to marry me. My parents will force the issue. And if you refuse, then leave me behind, I’ll be lucky to find another guy willing to take me, because I’d been with you.”
Calan shook his head. “I have to tell you, your settlement’s idea of forming relationships that end in marriage is screwed up. Other places aren’t this…archaic. To be honest, there are some settlements that don’t have marriages at all. Couples make their own commitment to each other, and that’s good enough.”
“It was like that here in the beginning—at least that’s what my grandparents told me. Only it caused a lot of problems. At one stage, there were more men than women. If a couple didn’t have the bond of marriage between them, the single men tried to steal the women for themselves. Eventually it evened out and that problem disappeared, but marriage and the rules of leading up to one stuck.”
“I guess that’s another byproduct of your settlement being so isolated from others.”
“You haven’t told me what you’d do if a year went by, and we’re still a couple.”
“That’s because I can’t.” Calan sighed. “How about we deal with it when it really becomes an issue? For me, it’s too soon to be thinking along those lines. We really haven’t known each other for very long. I don’t want to make a rash decision and have it be the wrong one.”
“What should I do about Austin?”
Calan kissed Jerrica until he had her clutching him. “Turn him down. Be my girlfriend.”
“He’s still going to come over to my cabin this evening.”
“Tell him your answer when he does. If you want, I’ll be with you when you do.”
“You can be at the cabin, but I think it’d be best if you stayed out of sight while Austin is there.”
“I understand. I’ll go wolf and blend in with the trees around your land.”
Jerrica nodded then turned her head to look at the cave entrance. “It looks as if the rain has stopped…for now.” As if to prove her correct, there was a loud clap of thunder.
Calan lifted Jerrica off his lap before he stood. “Yeah, now would be a good time to leave. I’ll put the fire out first.”
There was a patch of sand and fine stones close to the fire. Calan scooped up a handful then dumped them onto the flames. He continued to do so until he’d extinguished it. Once he was finished, he found Jerrica standing off to the side, watching him. She made him long for things his old self had wanted when he’d just been a normal teenager. Now the world was a mess, and no amount of wishing would set it right again. The zombies had made sure of that.
He brushed his hands off on his jeans before he took one of Jerrica’s. “Are you ready for the ride home?”
She smiled. “Yes, though I might get so used to riding on your back, I won’t want to travel any other way.”
“I’m fine with that. Let’s go before the rain starts again.”
Calan let go of Jerrica and stepped back. He reached inside himself for the wolf part of him. Shifting to that form didn’t hurt. It was as easy as changing clothes, not that he ever had to do that. The jeans and T-shirt he wore were a hundred years old, and they’d been what he’d had on when he’d been turned. After each shift, they appeared on his body, clean and looking like new. He figured it had to be some kind of magic inside him, just like the heatless fire he used to dispose of zombies. He didn’t question it, only accepted it as part of the job.
The change complete, Calan went to the ground on his belly and waited for Jerrica to climb onto his back before he stood. She sank her fingers into the fur around his neck. He left the cave at a fast walk, then broke into a run once they were outside.
Thunder rumbled and lightning zigzagged across the sky. Inside the trees, it was dark. Rainwater dripped off the leaves, soaking the ground, but Calan had no trouble running through the dampness.
Even though they were a few miles away from the settlement, for him, it didn’t take very long to reach the tree line at the fields. Calan detected the scent of zombies even before he saw them milling in front of the walls. There were six of them. They’d have to be taken care of before the guards would open the gates for him and Jerrica.
Calan came to a stop in the middle of the field as it poured once more. The rain, along with his scent, would mask Jerrica’s from the undead. They so far hadn’t noticed them.
“Do you see them?” he asked.
“Yes. You’re going to have to leave me here while you end them.”
“Not a good idea. My scent is masking yours. As soon as I leave you, it won’t be any longer. There could be more of them coming. The rain makes it hard for me to detect them from far distances. I have a better idea. Have you ever tried shooting your bow while on horseback?”
“No. We don’t have many horses. Those we do are used to work the land and pull wagons rather than for riding.”
“I want you to try from my back. Try to take out as many zombies as you can as I run toward them. Your arrows have a greater range. I have to be right on top them to end an undead, since I only have my teeth and claws as weapons. The fewer I have to take you into the middle of, the better. And once we do reach them, stay low on my back and hang on tight. It’s going to get a little rough.”
“I’ll do my best, but I don’t know how many I’ll be able to hit.”
Calan turned his head and watched as Jerrica unslung her bow and took an arrow out of her quiver. She nocked it, then looked at him and nodded. He saw the worry in her eyes, but there really wasn’t any other option. She was already soaked to the bone.
He started off in a loping run so Jerrica could get a chance to balance correctly to shoot before they reached the zombies. Once she seemed settled in place, Calan put on some more speed. He didn’t want to go too fast. She had to have the opportunity to eliminate some of the undead before they reached them.
As they came into range, the twang of Jerrica’s bow being released sounded in his ears. An arrow flew through the air in front of them. It hit one of the zombies in the neck. It wouldn’t end its existence, but it was enough to put it down on the ground.
“Damn it,” Jerrica said as she loosed another arrow. “I aimed for its head.”
The second hit its mark with a third and fourth arrow fired in rapid succession. One missed by a few inches while the last hit an undead through the eye and ended it. If Jerrica had been off by half an inch, the arrow would have only grazed it.
That was all the time she had to shoot her bow, and it was now Calan’s turn to finish the job. Jerrica did as he
’d instructed and lay low on his back with her head alongside his neck. He went in for the kills, ripping and shredding with his teeth and claws. She in no way impeded his movements, and he didn’t allow any of the zombies to get close to her. It was over in less than a minute.
Calan stood in the middle of undead body parts as he caught his breath. He looked up at the walls to see the guards watching them from above. “You have to get off for a couple minutes,” he told Jerrica. “I have to dispose of the zombies, and I have to be in my human form to do it.”
Jerrica slipped off his back, then Calan shifted. He didn’t bother to gather the remains into a pile since he wanted to get her behind the safety of the gates as soon as he could. The guards wouldn’t risk opening them until what was left of the zombies was dealt with. There was always a slim chance the undead would be able to regenerate.
With a wave of his hand, Calan went about setting each part on fire. Jerrica made a strange noise, and he looked at her to see she wore a shocked expression. He’d forgotten to tell her about how he made sure no zombies came back. A look up at the walls showed the guards were just as surprised.
“Something else that only you, as the Werewolf Defender, can do?” Jerrica asked.
Calan smiled. “Yeah. It doesn’t work on wood, though, just zombies. There’s no heat.”
“And it burns them to ash way quicker than a regular fire, as well.”
“That it does.”
After the undead pieces were no more, Calan took on his wolf form again then Jerrica climbed onto his back. The guards opened the gates, and Calan loped through them. He didn’t stop running until they were at Jerrica’s family’s cabin and under the shelter of the porch.
The door opened, and Jerrica’s mom gasped. “Look at the two of you. You’re soaked. You both need to get dry before you catch a chill.”
Jerrica jumped off Calan’s back before he shifted. His clothes had gotten wet as he’d burned the zombies, but with each form change, it dried clothing and fur. “I’m dry,” he said.
“Must be nice.” Jerrica shook her head.
“Come inside,” Jerrica’s mom said, as she motioned them in. “Calan may as well stay for dinner since it’s ready.”
Calan thanked her, then followed Jerrica inside the cabin.
* * * *
Jerrica rushed up the ladder to her loft bedroom. Her boots squished with each step she took. She’d have to set them in front of the fire all night to have them dry for the next day. She stripped out of her wet clothes and used the towel from her washstand to wipe herself down, then she wrung out her hair before she dressed.
As she did so, she thought of what had passed between her and Calan inside the cave. His kisses awoke something inside her that was brand new. And kissing him showed her what she’d felt for Austin was more of an infatuation. She only hoped she’d be able to keep him as a friend.
She ran her hairbrush through her damp hair and left it down to dry. Becoming Calan’s girlfriend would have its complications, but Jerrica would face them when the time came. There was no point stressing herself out about them. She’d enjoy her time with him. She had no idea what the future would hold for them.
As Jerrica reached the main floor, her dad came out from behind the curtain from his and her mother’s room. His hair was damp. He had to have been out tending to their livestock or at Hunter’s, helping to finish off the addition.
Her dad glanced at Calan, then looked at Jerrica. “Where were you? We expected you home once work finished in the fields.”
“Calan wanted to talk to me in private.”
“Outside the walls? Word spread that you two went off on your own into the trees lining the field.”
“Yes. We didn’t run into any zombies until we came back to the settlement, but we took care of them.”
“It wasn’t something you could have discussed where the zombies can’t roam?”
Jerrica figured now was the best time to let her parents know what she’d decided about Calan. “It was the only way he could get me to listen to him. Becca had said some things to me about Calan that weren’t true. The way she told me, I’d thought they were. I got upset. He set me straight. Even though we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, we’ve decided to become girlfriend and boyfriend.”
Calan came to stand at Jerrica’s side. “I hope you don’t have a problem with it.”
Her mom smiled. “I don’t. Does that mean you’ll be staying at the settlement permanently?”
Jerrica answered quickly before Calan could. “We haven’t worked that out yet.”
Her father blew out a loud breath. “Now I understand why John deemed it necessary to talk to me right away. I just came from his cabin. He was fit to be tied about Calan.”
She scowled. “Why?”
“John said Calan should be watched, and since you, Jerrica, have been seen being close to him, John wanted to warn me. He said Calan almost attacked Becca. She feared for her life.”
Calan groaned. “I’ll admit Becca made me angry, but I never would have hurt her. I was in my wolf form when she came to me and told me what she’d said to Jerrica. She said she thought she’d done me a favor. Since I can’t communicate while in that form, I growled and snapped my teeth at her a couple times. I figured it’d have more of an effect over her than if I shifted and yelled at her.”
“Well, it had an effect on Becca,” her dad said. “John believes every word that comes out of his daughter’s mouth. To be honest, she’s a spoiled brat. I managed to convince John that Becca may have been exaggerating things a bit. He was ready to kick Calan out of the settlement.”
“That would have been a stupid thing to do,” her mom said, as she shook her head. “Calan is the Werewolf Defender, someone the settlers can look to in the form of hope against the zombies. John would have had a riot on his hands if he’d done that.”
Her dad chuckled. “I gave him the impression that would happen. I think that’s what had him changing his mind.”
“Then I have to thank you,” Calan said. “I guess I’ll have to try to avoid Becca whenever I can.”
Jerrica nodded. “That would be a good idea, but good luck with it. I’ve been trying to do that for years.”
“Well, enough about that girl,” her mom said. “I’m going to dish up dinner. And, Calan, you’re more than welcome to come here whenever you want, now that you and Jerrica are a couple.”
As her mom went about getting dinner on the table, her dad came to stand in front of Calan. “I have no problem with you seeing my daughter. I also realize, given what you are, the normal rules won’t apply. As long as the two of you are happy, I’m happy. Just tread carefully around Becca.” He looked at Jerrica. “How did Austin take the news of you being Calan’s girlfriend?”
Jerrica cringed. “I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet. I’d already said he could come by after dinner this evening before Calan and I had our talk. I’m going to let him know once he arrives.”
“Well, break it to him gently.”
After they all sat at the table, they ate their food and talked about general things. Jerrica found Calan’s gaze on her every once in a while. Now that it was sinking in that he actually was her boyfriend, she made a vow to herself to make it work between them. Even though she’d told him she thought it’d be too dangerous for her to leave the settlement with him when he decided it was time to move on, she figured it might not be such a bad idea, after all. They’d worked as a team to take out those six zombies at the gate. With some practice, she’d be able to hit her mark every time. None of the undead had reacted to her presence, so maybe Calan’s scent had masked hers enough to make her as invisible to them as he was.
Jerrica looked at her parents. It’d be hard leaving them behind, but she’d visit. She needed to live her life the way she wanted, and would she be satisfied being stuck behind the settlement’s walls when Calan could offer her the adventure she craved? She’d be stupid to turn him down
. For now, she’d keep her decision to herself. Their relationship hadn’t reached that point yet. It was still early days.
* * * *
After they’d finished eating, Jerrica and Calan went outside. The rain had finally stopped. She looked at him. “Austin is going to be here soon.”
Calan nodded. “I’ll shift then hide in the trees over there.” He pointed to the ones at the side of the yard. “That’s a good vantage point.”
“Will you be able to hear us?”
He grinned. “Of course. I have exceptional werewolf hearing. Remember, I found out about that buck I’d overheard you and Austin talking about when John led me away to my cabin?”
Jerrica shook her head. “I do remember, and you said you can smell really well too.”
“I’d better get out of sight.”
Calan shifted to his wolf form with a bright flash of light. He stepped closer and rubbed the side of his furred head against her cheek, then jumped off the porch. He ran into the trees. Since it was still overcast from the storm, she had a hard time seeing him. If she hadn’t watched where he’d gone, she wouldn’t have known he was there at all.
Not long after that, Austin came walking down the road in front of the cabin. He turned onto her yard and smiled when he saw Jerrica. Once he reached the porch, she sat on the swing and he joined her. She wasn’t looking forward to this.
Austin started the conversation. “How did it go with Calan? Did the two of you get things worked out?”
Jerrica nodded. “Yeah, we did.”
“So he was okay with you no longer patrolling with him? He understood that you wanted to work in the fields to be closer to me?”
She looked to where Calan stood hidden in the trees, then back at Austin. “About that. It seems as if there was a misunderstanding. I stupidly took something that Becca told me as the truth, something she said about Calan. I now know she lied to me.”
“Does it have to do with Becca running around claiming Calan almost attacked her? She’s going all over the settlement, telling everyone who’ll listen to her.”
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