by Angela White
“He’s second in command here, right?” Tara asked, speaking to Daryl.
Kendle instantly assumed the new woman had already heard the Eagles talking and had decided to ignore her, too.
“That’s our XO and the mate of our boss,” Daryl stated pointedly. Kendle was still staring at Marc like a lovesick teenager.
“He seems…edgy,” Tara commented carefully.
“He is,” Daryl confirmed. “And you’re the reason why. He knows trouble will follow you guys.”
“I’m sorry,” Tara apologized shaky. “There’s no one else who can help us.”
Guilt swamped Daryl, but before he could reply, Tara ducked into the tent and blew out the lantern.
Daryl glanced at Kendle, expecting empathy, and found her smirking.
“Was that funny?” he demanded.
“You swallowing your own boot? Sure. It’s what you get for being mean to someone weaker than you.”
“Me? Do you know we call you the Queen of Cruel around here?”
“Why? Because I kill on command? Because I enjoy it like you and your team leader?” Kendle accused scornfully. “I’m not afraid of the truth.”
Daryl’s face was scarlet and he fired ruthlessly, “You’re cruel in every way, even to Marc. Do you think it’s fair for him to watch your misery and carry that guilt? It’s already eating at him. Angela may not care about your presence here, but Marc does and so do I!”
Kendle thought about leaving her post and also about pulling her knife, but chose instead to accept the nickname she’d been given. If they thought she was cruel, she would prove it. “Your sloppy-second is carrying the bastard of a traitor and you beat on people as punishment for their supposed crime. You’re not better than me. You’re not better than any of us.”
“Why you snarky little bitch!” Daryl exclaimed. “How dare you!”
“You gave me the nickname,” Kendle smirked. “I will now be the Queen of Cruel every time you speak to me. I suggest shutting up.”
Daryl’s mouth opened.
“Goodie!” Kendle cackled, rubbing her hands together eagerly. “Another man who doesn’t know when to quit.”
Daryl snapped his mouth shut and resigned himself to glowering. This bitch has to go.
Marc heard their raised voices behind him, but didn’t stop. Kendle was much better now, and Daryl was an Eagle in good standing with everyone. They would learn to work together.
Happy to find security cameras going up around their front gate, Marc strolled through the Indian area next. He noted that the natives had a guard posted even though they were inside the QZ, with Eagles on duty. The soldiers didn’t. Marc understood both actions, but only approved of one. The soldiers felt safe here because the leadership style was familiar to them, but only the Indians were truly wise. In Marc’s opinion, the soldiers were too trusting.
As Marc re-entered the main gate, Shawn fell in step. “We’re all calm and clear. You have Point.”
“Yeah, until four, then Kenn has it,” Marc confirmed that he’d seen the board as he went to their rear gate to check-in.
“Well, I’m yours until then,” Shawn stated. “What do you want me on?”
Marc considered the sizable list in his mind and gave Shawn the top few things, thinking there was no need to rush on most of it. They would have a lot of nights to bring his to-do list under control. Thanks to the apocalypse, disasters and wildcards were now a way of life, and they had to prepare for as many of them as they could. Marc didn’t know what was coming next, but he was tired of being caught off-guard and he was fed up with running.
Shawn stopped suddenly, turning with a concerned expression. “Is she okay? The new woman, Tara. Can we trust her?”
Marc understood instantly, but only said, “It’s too soon to tell about any of the new arrivals. Watch your six.”
Shawn’s happiness burst and he nodded, sighing. “I always do.”
Chapter Three
Doggone Shame
1
I’m hungry.
Dog had only been gone from Safe Haven for a few days, but he was missing the mess. Out here, surrounded by mountains and wilderness, there was only whatever food he could hunt.
Nasty shit, Dog whined. Brady ruined me.
Dog stared intently at the small town below him. He’d been studying it for hours and hadn’t witnessed a single movement–human or animal. Whining again, he rose and made his way down the street. The farthest building held what he wanted, but he wasn’t at all happy about it.
Always scratching my ears and wipin’ rain from my ass. Made me into a damn house pet!
Dog padded down the weed-dotted street, wincing a bit at the soreness. His paws had been used to the slow shifts and canvas floors until Angela’s war and he was still aching from all that traveling. The pads of his feet would build up again and become stronger over the next weeks, but until then, it was easy for him to imagine curling up inside the building he was now facing. A long rest already sounded good.
He had only taken one so far, during the ash storm. The urge to catch the wild female was too strong to ignore for long and he’d pushed on even though he knew breathing the ash was a bad idea. He had to catch up.
And I won’t if I keep stopping to hunt, Dog scolded himself. Easy meals from here on.
Dog went to the main doors of the brick building and scratched gently with his paw, testing.
The door swung open with a loud groan and Dog’s spirits picked up. Any of his fellow canines would already be dead or gone and there was little reason for the humans to come here now that the animals had turned on them. The pound was a perfect place to hunt up a meal that he didn’t have to stalk, chase, and then kill while listening to it scream for mercy.
The smell was old and empty, the sounds the same, and Dog eased into the pound with nerves mocking him. He’d only spent time in a place like this right after being captured, but the experience had stayed with him.
Dog ignored the many rooms with their desks and cabinets, following his nose down the long hall. The doors at the end swung open at his touch and he padded through.
The swinging door came back hard and fast, and smacked him in the hip.
Dog jumped forward, stifling a yelp, and then snorted in annoyance at himself as he spotted the cause.
What am I, a pup? he complained.
The doors continued to swing, stirring the air and Dog caught a whiff of what he was both dreading and anticipating. He followed the scent down another long hall, this one ending at a steel door with a handle that he nudged down with his paw.
The odor was powerful–one of rot and of abandonment. Humans hadn’t been here in a long time. They’d fled and left their animals to die.
Dog almost understood this time. He’d been locked in the bottom of Brady’s home, but he’d witnessed and heard the panic and understood the humans had all been in fear for their lives. It was the first time he’d ever been able discover an excuse for their behavior.
Dog padded down the row of cages without glancing into any of them. He kept his gaze on the door at the end. It was where the food had come from. During his weeks in that cage, Dog had spent the miserable hours studying the people and the patterns. When he realized the humans weren’t evil, just inconsiderate, it had helped him to control himself and not attack.
Dog was surprised when the hall ended with a rear door to the outside pound, showing an overcast sky. He had assumed there would be more rooms and retraced his steps, now inspecting each cage to determine if he had missed a door.
The skeletons bothered him more than he would have ever admitted. Caging his kind had been a way of life and after living with the humans and learning their reasons for such things, Dog had even agreed. Nevertheless, to be here and witness their bodies was another view–one he wished the humans also had to experience.
As he’d figured out, one of the cages was actually a gate and Dog leapt it in a two-lunge process that balanced him on a file cabinet an
d allowed him to spot another series of doors. One of those was open and the comforting smell of crunchy food came.
Not used to such a slippery surface under his paws, Dog slid as he jumped.
The crash of cabinets was loud, but he landed in the office chair and rolled to the ground without being hurt.
The cabinet he’d fallen from toppled over and smashed through a side of the gate. It was now possible to squeeze through the bottom and Dog was glad he didn’t have to try to jump over it later. One fall a day was enough.
Dog entered the feeding area with a feeling of pride, counting five full bags, one of which was already open.
Dog plunged in and began to eat, moaning, Not the kind I love, but good! Good!
Crack!
Thunder rumbled a few seconds after the lightning strike and the rain soon followed.
Dog kept eating. He emptied a quarter of the bag before he came up for air, belching and farting as he sat down.
Next?
A drink.
Dog went to the opposite side of the room, to the deep boxes that smelled like water. He rose up, paws on the edges, and found the sinks dry. He licked the faucet, able to taste the chemicals left from the water. It had definitely come from here.
Dog tried to remember watching the humans gather water in Safe Haven. It had come from big blue buckets with white stems. They had rotated those stems!
Dog stretched his neck out and pushed on the silver stem by the faucet, but it didn’t react. He danced on his hind legs to get close and used his front paw to swipe at it.
Water gushed from the faucet, splashing him. The stream immediately became smaller and smaller, but the hole in the bottom was plugged and the basin slowly began to fill with rusty water.
Dog didn’t mind. He drank his fill, not stopping even when the trickle of liquid turned to drops and then halted. He hadn’t had a good, long drink in days.
Dog dropped down from the sink, listening to the storm beat against his shelter. He had no intentions of going out in the rain, especially on a full stomach. He was searching for a place to nap.
A pile of empty dog food sacks in the corner was inviting and Dog nosed under a few of them, inhaling deeply. It smelled a bit like home, like Brady’s backseat, and he quickly fell into a dreamless slumber.
2
Dog jerked awake to the sound of lapping and crunching.
The noises echoed through the brick building, sounding like an army of animals was in the room with him.
Dog stayed still.
The crunching became quieter after a while, as did the lapping, and Dog guessed both sources had run out. That would mean at least three animals his size to have cleared the bag of food so fast. And what else is my size? Wild dogs.
The wolf tensed, ready to spring out, and then the smell of the mutts hit him.
It’s…her! She’s in the room!
Dog stiffened further. So was her pack. He was trapped in the corner by a pack of wild wolves.
Unable to remain still with her so near, Dog raised his snout a bit to get a glimpse.
And found her nose inches from his.
The female wolf was resting on the floor near him, waiting for her pack to finish eating. Her startled gaze met Dog’s, neck fur bristling.
Dog scanned her pack, counting, evaluating, and then regarded the female. In that glance, he conveyed his interest and a warning. “I’ll kill all of them.”
The female’s snout drew up, a low growl rumbling, and Dog pushed his Alpha power as hard as he could. “You don’t see me!”
Stung by the command, the female whimpered and rose, retreating.
“What is it?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Where do we kill?”
The female’s pack circled her protectively, not finding whatever it was that she had, but ready to rip apart whatever she told them to.
“It stinks here.” The female wolf lowered her snout in disgust. “Let’s go.”
The pack dutifully followed her from the feed room, none of them understanding there was more food. The closed bags didn’t have a smell and were discounted.
Paws and nails echoed for only a moment and then the pack was gone.
Dog stayed where he was, positive he’d gotten inside the female’s mind. He would be okay to finish resting here, and knowing she was near would help. He hadn’t been sure how far ahead of him she was. Now, he would be able to catch up to her within hours.
Dog quickly returned to his dreams of the female. Her scent covered the room.
3
The female took her pack to the cave they’d sheltered in overnight, all of them eager for sleep in the late afternoon drowsy period. The food would become needed energy, but until then, they would be sluggish and irritated.
The pack was asleep in minutes, but the female lingered at the entrance. Her thoughts were scattered and that was unusual for her. Even when the Angry Wind had come and forced them to go north, her thoughts hadn’t been this confused. She had never chosen a stranger over her own pack.
He wasn’t a threat to us, she excused her behavior, knowing that wasn’t true. The big wolf she’d been nose to nose with was a killer.
He interests me.
The female lay down in the entrance, enjoying the blowing spray that her pack avoided when they could. She didn’t have an aversion to the things that they did and she was capable of questioning the Wind’s orders even while following them. Her pack was single-minded. They wanted to go north, join the others, and attack humans. It’s all they thought about after food, drink, and mating. In fact, if not for her season being so close, she wouldn’t even be with these males.
Her scent had pulled them as she traveled north, but females were the leaders, giving her time to pick a mate from among them. Then they would fight it out and the survivor would be her new owner. The female had avoided mating for almost a year now, but the season was closing in on her and the choice would be taken away.
Her thoughts returned to the strange wolf, the huge male who could have attacked and killed her before her pack could help. Why hadn’t he? Surely, he knew there were already too many males around. Perhaps he would also fight for her. The thought was a good one, a ray of hope, and the female went to sleep.
During their rest, the males woke to find her away from them and joined her at the entrance, shielding her from the awful rain with their bodies in hopes of currying favor.
The last wolf to pile on was a brute. He nosed and bit his way to the bottom until he was covering the female with his body and his scent. She would be his, no matter who she chose.
4
Dog had little trouble tracking the female to the cave. He’d torn open another bag of the food and had a full stomach again, but the need for a drink had brought him out of the brick shelter sooner than he had planned. He had found the scents of unclean water abundant, but the stream near the cave was pristine and it was obvious to Dog that he was supposed to come here. He didn’t know why, but he expected it to be bad. His time in Safe Haven had taught him that survival was nearly impossible when you were alone.
The wild female’s scent filled Dog’s mouth and he opened his jaws to catch a stronger version of it. Alone or not, trap or not, he wanted a taste of that, wanted to roll in it.
And I will.
The cave was low and wide, too dark for even his vision to peer through. Dog sighed in resignation. The things I’ll do for a bitch.
He stepped into the cave, waiting, and let his instincts tell him which set of appearing red orbs was the biggest threat.
Death appeared in the rear and Dog lunged that way.
Outside the cave, the female waited. It wasn’t time for her to choose, but she’d underestimated the intelligence of those with her. Her pack had developed a keen dislike of man’s ways and even after using mimicking his methods to gain a meal and drink, they hated this big stranger.
Snarls and yelps of agony echoed from the cave and spread through the
damp woods, making the female whine. She didn’t want the stranger driven off or killed. She wanted to get to know him and study his ways. He wasn’t going hungry. Watching his big body pad into the cave had been mesmerizing.
Silence fell for an instant and two bleeding shadows fled the cave, both from her pack. They took off into the town below, but the female doubted they would go far.
Ugly noises came again and the female was unable to stand it. She darted inside, unsure if she would break up the fight or help kill the stranger to have peace in her thoughts.
5
Dog snarled in warning as the last two wolves approached him. The bodies of the others, in various conditions, were strewn about the cave.
“Stay back!” Dog growled. “Pain will come!”
The big brute’s snout drew up in fury and he lunged with the intensity that he’d been lacking before as he let the inferior mutts fight for him.
Dog winced, whining as the wolf’s teeth sank into his shoulder, but the fight in Safe Haven had prepared him for this and he struck back viciously, going for the throat.
He found a grip and squeezed.
“Stop!”
The female’s command wasn’t the same as an Alpha, but it was still hard to resist and Dog reluctantly let go of the throat between his powerful jaws.
“The Wind has forbidden killing each other!” the female shouted angrily. “You’ll bring her against us. Go away!”
Dog didn’t understand, but he wasn’t about to be run off after winning the fight. He strutted toward the female with light steps.
“I’m Dog.”
The female gaped at him as if he were stupid.
“Why do you take the name of a human pet?” she asked, confused. “Humans are the enemy.”
“Not true,” Dog refuted, already positive he couldn’t win that argument. “I like being called Dog.”
“Why?”
“It takes people by surprise, gives me the advantage,” Dog explained, aware of the other wolves slinking toward the cave entrance. Except for Brute, who stayed on the ground, growling lowly as he observed them.