Love in the Time of Zombies

by Cassandra Gannon

  “So much for the “all human” part of the All Human Army.” Caleb muttered. “Told you something weird was going on. The humans couldn’t be that organized in their attacks against the supernatural without help.”

  “We’ve been plotting this for years and no shifter bitch is going to screw it up.” Val hissed. “We can’t stop Lars from making his vaccine, but we can make sure that the woman’s blood doesn’t help anyone else.”

  “We’re going to wipe you all out.” Tanner put-in. He was the one who’d thrown Cale through the window. “All you asshole shifters who kept us down. All the asshole vampires who thought they were better than us. All the asshole humans who hunted us in our forests. Only the werewolves will survive. We’re in charge now.”

  “I think the zombies are in charge, Einstein.” Zeke retorted.

  The werewolves didn’t appreciate that appraisal.

  Val stepped closer, his eyes narrowed in menace. “Give us the woman, Macready.”

  Zeke smirked. “Nope.” He said simply.

  Something hit the skylight overhead. Everyone ignored it, too involved in staring each other down to care.

  “Hand her over or we’ll kill you both.” Ranger snapped.

  “Kill us.” Caleb got to his feet. “Or at least try. Scotlyn’s part of our pack and she’s staying right where she is.”

  Zeke?

  Scottie’s voice in his head startled him. He wasn’t used to that aspect of their connection, yet. He almost smiled at the warm feeling it gave him even in the midst of a showdown to the death. Trix, you’d better go back to the fire truck. We’ve hit a little snag.

  No kidding. Can you and Cale take a step back?

  Zeke frowned. “Why?” He asked the question aloud instead of “thinking” it.

  Caleb slanted him an incredulous look. “Why don’t I want to hand your mate over to the werewolves? Did you really just say that?”

  “No. Fuck.” He made a face and tried again. Telepathy was harder than it sounded. Trix, what are you up to?

  I’m about to give you some backup.

  Aw shit. Zeke snagged Caleb by the arm and dragged him backwards. “Just don’t shoot us.” He automatically said out loud.

  Caleb squinted at him in mystification and then seemed to understand what was happening. He slowly looked towards the ceiling.

  The werewolves laughed. “We’re not going to shoot you.” Ranger taunted. “We’re going to rip you apart with our bare…”

  An eight foot gorilla dropped through the skylight. Scotlyn must have figured out how to Change and she’d decided to start with becoming King Kong. One colossal hand tossed a gun to Zeke, while the other grabbed Ranger and threw him through the wall. Literally. The werewolf went sailing through the wall like it was made of tissue paper.

  Caleb’s mouth dropped at the destruction. “Goddamn! She is totally my new favorite. Be glad you mated with that girl or I would be trying to steal her from you, Z.”

  Zeke shoved the gun at him. “Shut-up and kill something.” He launched himself at Val, his body Changing in midair. Shifters could morph into any animal they chose, but, in Zeke’s book, nothing would even be as versatile as wolf. His teeth sank deep into the werewolves’ throat as they hit the ground, tearing out his windpipe with one fierce shake.

  Tanner turned shocked eyes on Caleb, who smiled at him. “Don’t feel bad. Our team’s just more awesome than yours.” He emptied the clip into Tanner’s hairy chest.

  Zeke slowly got to his feet, taking stock of the damage. All the werewolves were dead or incapacitated. Back to the primary mission. He headed for the parking lot again, still in wolf form

  Zombies were gathering by the smashed window, trying to climb over the jagged shards of glass sticking out of the frame. Blackish, half-coagulated blood seeped from their torn skin, but they didn’t notice. All they cared about was getting over the barrier and feeding.

  Zeke crashed right through them, ignoring the clawing fingers and blunt teeth tearing into him. His bit and muscled his way through. Nothing would stop him from getting that map. He spotted Scotlyn’s purse just outside the door. Seizing the strap in his mouth, he executed quick U-turn and headed back into TGW. The same zombies tried to grab him a second time. Now, Zeke couldn’t bite them, though. Not with the handbag clutched in his jaws.

  Luckily, he didn’t have to.

  His eight foot mate swatted the zombies aside like they were flies, clearing him a path. Zeke jumped through the window, again, landing in his human form. “An ape?” He asked with a grin. “Really, Trix?”

  It was the biggest animal I could think of. She retorted in his head. It worked, didn’t it?

  Caleb snorted. “Face it, Zeke. We’ve grown complacent about what animals we Change into. Your mate’s been a shifter for one day and she’s already seeing new opportunities for greatness.” He gave Scotlyn a thumbs-up and turned his back so she could Change into her human form. “Your assistant is a natural born badass.”

  “Thank you, Cale.” Scotlyn said, morphing back into herself. She grabbed the sweater she kept draped over her desk chair and wrapped it around her naked body, which was a damn shame in Zeke’s opinion. “Being a shape shifter is much more fun than I imagined it would be. I think next time I’m going to be a tiger. I like cats better than chimps and gorillas.”

  “Next time there hopefully won’t be a next time.” Zeke arched a brow. “And see why I don’t like it when you call me a werewolf?” He gestured to the Tanner. “They’re dickheads.”

  “They really are.” Caleb agreed, gingerly touching his bruised ribcage. “Can we go, now? Before the zombies get in, or the city burns down, or more werewolves show up?”

  “In a second.” Zeke headed over to kiss the top of Scotlyn’s head. “Thank you for the backup, baby.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Got you an engagement present.” He held up her purse.

  She beamed at him and upended the contents of the handbag on the desktop. Her wallet, makeup, hairbrush, chewing gum, stray earrings, pens, movie ticket stubs, and countless other bits of miscellanea scattered over its surface.

  And there was the box.

  Zeke cracked open the lock and unfolded the yellowed map inside. It looked like it had been drawn hundreds of years before, the parchment stiff and brittle with age. Carefully sketched landmarks and lines showed the way to a spot marked with the word “Iasia.”

  Zeke tapped it with his finger. “Welcome home, Trixie.”

  Epilogue

  Bright side to the zombie apocalypse:

  Whatever comes next has just gotta be an improvement.

  One Year Later

  It was like living in the clouds.

  Mist always seeped through the trees, filtering the light so the surrounding forest took on a mystical glow. High overhead, multicolored parrots cawed at each other, so the air was constantly filled with music. Rounded mountains hid secrets older than legend. Secrets even Zeke didn’t know the answers to, yet. And nestled in the heart of it all was Iasia.

  The lost city was such a beautiful place… Even if the people who lived there were driving him crazy.

  “Don’t tell me you can’t get this fucking thing working.” Zeke ran a hand through his hair. “Not today.”

  “I can get this fucking thing working.” Darcy promised, not looking up from her work inside the machine’s metal guts. “Just relax and give me a minute.”

  “Let her work.” Joseff ordered, shifting Nevada in his arms. “Your hovering is annoying. Isn’t it, Nevi?”

  His daughter responded by chewing on the ends of his hair.

  Joseff didn’t try to stop her. The baby could’ve done anything and Joseff would’ve declared it at act of genius. The kid had the world’s most fanatically devoted vampire daddy. “See?” He told Zeke. “She agrees.”

  “I’m not hovering.” Zeke told Nevada, like she was the one who said it.

  She gave him a gummy smile.

  �
�Nevi’s right.” Darcy put in. “You’re hovering. Go pester Cale. I’ll be done in a sec.”

  Zeke patted Nevada’s head, scowled at Joseff, and went stalking off to find his brother. Damn it, if this didn’t work everything would be ruined.

  All around him, Iasia gleamed in the early evening light. The buildings were constructed of ancient stone, just like he’d pictured when he’d dreamed of the place. Their fanciful shapes and winding pathways were all straight out of his imagination, too. And, as he’d always hoped, pretty much every supernatural species was represented in the mishmash of citizens calling the city home.

  And more showed up every day.

  That was mostly Cale’s doing. The guy couldn’t stop being an Alpha and he somehow took all the credit for finding Iasia. Now, he seemed determined to drag every living creature on Earth back to the city. He White Hatted around, rescuing everyone he came across. There were actually some werewolves in Iasia, now. Werewolves! Zeke figured it was just a matter of time before Cale started trying to rescue the zombies.

  His brother sometimes brought humans home, too. Most of them had been inoculated against the zombie virus by now, but they were all thrilled to find a safe haven from the undead. Even if it did mean having supernatural neighbors. God only knew how long it would be before the zombies died of starvation or decay. Until then, most everyone was content to stay in their walled city and wait it out.

  Not that things were perfect.

  It turned out Iasia was more Tombstone than Eden, after all. When they’d first arrived, there had been conflicts over property and powers and laws. No one had been in control, so most of the city was ruled by whoever was strong enough to force the others in their faction to obey. None of the longtime residents had been happy to see newcomers, especially when Joseff and Brewer were their normal charming selves.

  Over and over, for the first few months, Zeke had wondered if he hadn’t made a huge mistake in bring them all there. Surely there were deserted islands out there that would’ve caused him less headaches.

  Then the Mayor had taken over and things had finally gotten better.

  There were rules, now. Too many rules if you asked Zeke, but no one did. That was okay, though. He was more content than he’d ever been, surrounded by his family and with hundreds of new legends to investigate.

  And, most of all, because he was with Scotlyn.

  Caleb looked up as Zeke entered the main square. A fountain in the middle of the stone plaza provided fresh water and offered the perfect backdrop for a wedding.

  “You’re wearing that?” Cale said disapprovingly. “What happened to the tux?”

  “Nevada happened to the tux.” Zeke didn’t want to talk about the stain that would never come out of the fabric courtesy of their niece. Sometimes he missed dry cleaning. “This was the best I could do.” He waved a hand at the suit. “I stole it from your closet, so I know it’s nice.”

  Caleb still wasn’t completely satisfied, but he moved onto bigger matters. “Don’t panic, but Fredrick is sick.”

  Zeke panicked. “What?!”

  “He ate that plant you’re not supposed to eat, again. He’ll be fine in a couple days. Maybe this time he’ll learn that not everything that tastes good should go in a salad.”

  “I don’t care about a couple of days. I care about today and he can’t be sick today. That jerkoff’s supposed to be officiating!”

  “Don’t worry. Brewer found a replacement.”

  “Who?”

  “Patrick.”

  “Patrick? The leprechaun? He only speaks Gaelic!”

  “He says he’s a priest, though. We think.”

  “Oh for Christ’s sake.” Zeke pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s like herding cats.”

  Why was he the one organizing this train wreck? He was supposed to be planning the honeymoon, which would be somewhere far away from here. The ceremony was supposed to be Scotlyn’s job. They’d agreed. Was he the only one who remembered that they’d agreed? But, somehow he’d assumed more and more control as things rolled along. He just wanted it to be the kind of wedding she’d always dreamed of, even if it was happening at the end of the world. It needed to be perfect for her.

  God, he was going to kill everyone if it wasn’t perfect for her.

  “Speaking of cats, Pucci’s all set to be ring bearer.” Caleb busied himself with his gold cuff links. “We just have to find her.”

  “Oh Jesus…”

  “She ran up a tree. She doesn’t like the bow Scottie put on her neck. I have Brewer working to talk her down, but it’s probably going to take a while.” Caleb shrugged. “If it’s any consolation, Brew’s almost sober. Your bachelor party kind of did him in last night, so it was touch-and-go for most of the morning. We finally found his pants, though.”

  “Don’t tell me anymore.” Zeke held up his hands. “I don’t want to know. You’re the best man. You figure it out. I’m going to go quietly sit someplace and wait for my bride.”

  He stalked over to flop down on one of the random chairs they’d borrowed. A lot of them were already filling up with guests. Iasia didn’t have a lot of social events, so this wedding was a huge deal to the citizens.

  A guy with horns leaned forward from the row behind him. “You getting cold feet, Zeke?” He demanded in a serious tone.

  “No.” He’d never been more sure of anything in his life. “Of course not.”

  “Good. Because you’re a lucky man.” The guy nodded wisely. “The Mayor is a quite a woman. Beautiful, talented, smart…”

  Zeke flashed him a glare. “I’m aware of that.”

  “We’d still have fighting in the streets if it wasn’t for her. She keeps everyone orderly. Some folks say she can be bossy, but I think she’s an angel.”

  “She can be both.” Zeke assured him.

  When they’d first come to town, he’d imagined Joseff would be the one taking over. Instead, it was Scotlyn. At the moment, the vampire was too preoccupied with watching his new baby’s every move to care about rebuilding his empire. Even if he hadn’t been, Joseff was no match for Scotlyn’s resolve. She’d been determined to make Iasia into a real community and that’s what she did.

  Scotlyn ran the town the same way she’d run TGW. She organized and planned and harassed people until they toed the line. Her dictatorial style of management got results, even if Zeke wasn’t always thrilled with them. His mate was insisting that Zeke create a school instead of opening a new and improved version of Topless Golf World. Something about education being more important than mini-golf, and fulfilling his potential, and helping people…

  Honestly, he planned on protesting her nutty decision at the next town meeting.

  Zeke smiled slightly, imagining the puritanical frown that motion would get him from Mayor Killjoy. Teasing Scotlyn was still one of his favorite pastimes. It was so damn fun to ruffle her feathers… and then smooth them back down in bed.

  Speaking of which, when was this ceremony going to happen? The sooner they got a wedding, the sooner they got a wedding night. “Cale, is it time, yet?” He called after a while.

  It seemed like everyone was there. Even the leprechaun, who may or may not have been a priest. Zeke got to his feet and headed for the altar. Patrick said something to him and Zeke nodded like he had a damn clue what it meant.

  “Sorry.” Caleb came jogging over. “I had to stop Barry’s bleeding. We’re set now.”

  Zeke didn’t even want to know who Barry was.

  Caleb stood next to him and brushed a hand over Zeke’s shoulder, inspecting his outfit for microscopic bits of lint. “You ready, bro?”

  “I’ve been ready from the second I saw her.”

  Cale gave him a grin. “If I still smoked, I’d offer you a last cigarette, but she’s probably the one who deserves it. Poor girl has no idea what she’s getting into.”

  Music started, thoughtfully provided by the sirens. Overhead, strings of white lights blinked on, causing everyone in the audie
nce to gasp. After a year of living without power, the twinkling lights seemed magical. Iasia hadn’t had electricity even before the zombie apocalypse, something Darcy was doing to her damnedest to fix. It wasn’t a Ferrari engine, but his sister could do amazing things with a generator.

  Zeke glanced at Caleb. “Darce finally got the…”

  He trailed off, forgetting what he’d planned to say when he spotted his bride. He had no idea where she’d found a wedding dress in the middle of the rainforest. Maybe Cale had looted some Vera Wang store in his travels. Wherever it had come from, Zeke was blown away by how gorgeous she looked in it. He immediately started imagining what she had on under it.

  Scotlyn glided down the aisle on Brewer’s arm and it was perfect.

  Brew still had his trucker hat on and Scotlyn was pulling Pucci along by a pink leash, while the cat glared at everyone with feline revulsion. But, it was perfect.

  Zeke let out a long sigh as she stopped in front of him. “Hi, baby.” He whispered. He hadn’t been able to see her all day and it had been torture. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you more.” She stood on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss. “This is just what I pictured in my head when I was planning our wedding. …Except maybe the leprechaun.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re almost sure he’s an actual priest.”

  Patrick said something that sounded like a rebuke for skipping ahead in the ceremony and started in on some official sounding words. If he was an imposter, at least he was a good one. Eventually, he gestured to Zeke like it was time to say his vows.

  Right.

  “Scotlyn…” He’d written down a speech, but he suddenly didn’t remember a word of it. Instead, he just spoke from the heart. “You are my person. My best friend. My mate. You are every dream I ever had. I am so grateful you thought I was special enough to be your husband. You and I are a team, now and forever. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, I’m always home when I’m with you.”

  She smiled at him, her eyes bright. “That was beautiful.” Patrick gestured for her to say her vows and she met Zeke’s eyes. “You lied to me, Ezekiel.”