Love in the Time of Zombies (10 page)

She
hadn’t left him, after all.

“Your
helpless human came back.”  Caleb murmured.  “Huh.  Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Zeke! 
You’re awake!”  Scotlyn gave him a tentative smile, stopping about ten feet
away from them and setting down her bags.  “Are you okay?”  Her eyes went from
Zeke to Caleb and then back, again.  “Um… I didn’t know what to do for you
after you…well…”  She trailed off, looking nervous.  “But your brother said he
could help you, so I…”

Zeke
cut her off, relief giving way to anger.  “What the fuck were you
thinking?
” 
He stalked towards her, so furious that his vision clouded with the red haze it
got before he Changed.  “You went outside on your own?  To get a fucking
cat?!?
”

Scotlyn’s
eyes went wide.  “Pucci isn’t just a cat.  She’s my baby.  I couldn’t abandon
her.  I
told
you that before we decided what to do next, I had to go rescue…”

“Then
you should’ve waited for me!  You could’ve been
killed
. 
Then
where
would your precious baby be?!”

“Don’t
yell at me!”  She yelled.  “Being my boss doesn’t mean you get to act like a
jackass when we’re not at work!”

“Zeke’s
not acting, cutie-pie.  He’s
always
a jackass.”

“Stay
out of it, Cale!”  Zeke flashed him a deadly look.  “It’s your fault she went
out in the first place.”

“My
fault?! 
I’m
not the one who Changed days before the full moon.  You
would’ve been out of commission for a week if I hadn’t shown up to give you the
salt.”

“You
were very sick, Zeke.”  Scotlyn put in.  “I couldn’t wake you up.  Your brother
really was the one who helped you, so there’s no need to snap at him like…”

“He’s
not
my brother.”

She
snorted.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  Of course he is.  You two look identical.”

Caleb
and Zeke both stared at her.

Scotlyn
blinked.  “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” 
Caleb finally told her.  “I just don’t think anybody’s ever admitted that
before.”  He cleared his throat and looked over at Zeke.  “Well, your secretary
and her cat are safely back in your arms.  Now what?”

“I’m
an assistant, not a secretary.”  Scotlyn put in.

“Don’t
care.”  Caleb kept his attention on Zeke.  “If you wanna protect her, finding the
pack is your best play and you know it.  Out here alone, we’re just waiting to
be picked off by zombies or vamps.”

Shit.

Vampires
could usually only feed on human blood and that had just become one of the
rarest commodities in Vegas.  The vamps would absolutely try and steal Scotlyn
if they could.

“Alright. 
But, we look for Darcy first.”

“Obviously.”

Zeke
rubbed at his pounding temple and forced himself to calm down.  There was only
one thing he could do and it was the longest long shot he’d ever faced in his
life.  “Trixie… I am a shape shifter.”

“Yes.” 
She agreed seriously.

He
met her gaze and just laid it out for her.  “Will you come with me, anyway?” 
He had no idea what he’d do when she said no.

“Yes.” 
She said.

“I
know that it’s frightening, but…  Wait what?”  Zeke paused, unsure he heard her
right.  “I’m a shape shifter.”  He repeated, in case she missed that part.

“I
noticed.”  Scotlyn closed the distance between them.  “Well, honestly, I
guessed werewolf, but, either way, it’s not the craziest news I’ve heard
recently.  And, since you being a shape shifter saved my life, I’ve decided to
just add it my list of stuff to freak out about later and go with it for now.”

Zeke
stared down at her.

Scotlyn
stopped directly in front of him and her anger seemed to fade.  “That zombie would’ve
killed me if you hadn’t stopped it.  Whatever you did and however you did it,
you chose to endanger yourself to protect me.”

Caleb
snorted.  “
One
zombie and you had to Change, Z?  Pussy.”

Zeke
disregarded that, dazed that Scotlyn knew the truth and still wasn’t leaving
him.  That she was looking at him like he’d done something heroic.  “It wasn’t
a choice.”  He said softly.

If
he’d had time to consider the ramifications, he wouldn’t have done it. 
Obviously.  It was basically suicide to Change without the full moon.  A shape shifter
went into a coma-like sleep, his energy all but depleted.  Hell, Zeke had
woken-up feeling like he’d been attacked with a sack of bricks, but he was
still far luckier than most shifters who’d tried it.  They never woke up, at
all.

No,
Changing like that to protect Scotlyn had been pure instinct.  He’d seen her go
down and it had just
happened
.  He hadn’t chosen…  He met her shining
green gaze and his desperate thoughts faded.

God,
she was beautiful.

Scotlyn
smiled at him, her eyes bright.  “It’s lucky for me that I didn’t find a better
job, yet.”  To his utter amazement, she leaned in closer to wrap her arms
around him.  “Thank you.”

Caleb’s
eyebrows soared.

Zeke
froze.  Scotlyn had never hugged him before.  Actually, he was pretty sure
no
one
had ever hugged him before.  It was even more shocking than the kiss
had been.  Hugging was so… intimate.  They might sleep with him, but no woman
had ever wanted to be
intimate
with Zeke.  He’d never been special
enough.

He
gently cradled her closer, not sure where his hands should go.

Scotlyn
didn’t seem to notice his awkwardness.  “It’s odd, though.”  She mumbled into
his shirtfront.  “I remember you telling me that it was stupid to help people
at the end of the world.”

“Not
when she’s
my
person.”  Zeke gave up trying to get the hug right and
just enjoyed it.  He rested his cheek against the top of her head, his whole
body melting into hers.  “Besides, if you were eaten by a zombie, who would refuse
to make my coffee every day?  You and I are a team.”

“Really?”

“Really.” 
He could feel her breathing, smell the perfect fragrance of her skin, and he
knew that he was holding everything that mattered to him.  Zeke’s eyes met
Caleb’s over the top of Scotlyn’s head.  Pack law or not, he’d already mated
with this human in all the ways that mattered.  They both knew it.

Caleb
watched him steadily.  “Alright.”

“I’ll
protect you, too, Zeke.”  Scotlyn promised, missing the exchange.  She moved
back to smile at him.  “I killed four zombies to reach to Pucci, so my aim is
definitely getting better.”

Zeke
cringed and tried not to think about her fighting monsters.  “Awesome.  Let’s let
me and Cale do most of the killing, though, alright?”

She
glanced over at Caleb, like she’d forgotten he was there.  “Oh right.”  She
lowered her voice to a whisper.  “He’s a werewolf, too, isn’t he?”

“Standing
right here, cutie-pie.”  Caleb gave her a wave.  “With super hearing.”

Zeke
flinched at her word choice.  She really needed to understand the werewolf
versus shifter thing, because there was a
big
difference.  “Caleb is a
shape
shifter
, but he’s not going to hurt you.”  Zeke slanted his pack-member an
“or else” kind of glare.

Cale
flicked him off.

“And
did he really say there were vampires around?”  Scotlyn demanded.  “Jesus!  Why
didn’t you tell me all this
before
, Zeke?  Don’t you think it was kind
of important?”

“The
human makes a fair point.”  Caleb agreed.  “I can’t believe you’ve kept her so blind
to the world, Z.  It’s dangerous for her not to know this stuff.”

Zeke
ignored that complaint.  “Of course, vampires are real, Trix.  And a lot of
them
will
hurt you.  So, don’t go near any alone.”

She
shot him a mystified look.  “Do you honestly think I’d ever go near a
vampire?
”

“You’re
currently near two shape shifters,” Caleb interjected, “so self-preservation clearly
isn’t your strong suit.  Just to cover our bases, try not to eat poisoned candy
or set yourself on fire, either.”

Scotlyn
made a face at him.  “If you don’t like me, why are you coming with us?”

“I’m
not
coming with you. 
You’re
coming with Zeke and
Zeke’s
coming with me.”

Zeke
looked up at the clear blue sky and wished for a lightning bolt to strike his
idiot pack-mate right in the head.  “Cale, I swear to God…”

“What? 
I’m
trying
here, but she’s still a bad idea on about fifteen different
levels.  You know that, so don’t expect me to be happy that she’s gonna get us
killed.”

Scotlyn
frowned up at Zeke.  “Are we really a team?”  She asked warily.

“
Yes
.” 
The word was emphatic.  “But, there are a lot of bad things loose in the city
who want to get their hands on a living human, right about now.”

Caleb
rolled his eyes.  “Some want you more than others.”  He absently raised his gun
and fired it towards a zombie that was shuffling their way.  The creature
crumpled to the ground.

Scotlyn
winced, but Zeke wasn’t sure if it was from the gunfire or the conversation. 
“You’re saying it would be safer for you to leave me behind?”

“No.” 
Zeke lied before Caleb could answer.  “I’m saying we have to be careful. 
That’s all.”  He hesitated.  “Just promise me you’ll stay close, alright?  Don’t
wander off and don’t trust anyone.  Just me and,” he hesitated, weighing his
options, “just me and Caleb.”

Caleb’s
gaze slashed over to Zeke.

Zeke
kept his attention on Scotlyn, but the words were meant for his pack-mate. 
“Cale’s about to give me his word that he’ll look out for you.”  He arched a
challenging brow at Caleb.  “Agreed?”

Caleb’s
eyes flicked to Scotlyn and then back to Zeke.  Surly attitude aside, Cale really
was White Hat, by nature.  So many of Zeke’s memories featured Cale protecting
him and Darcy from the others, insisting that they all needed to have each
other’s backs.  To Cale, the pack was everything and, if Scotlyn was Zeke’s
mate, then she was part of the pack.  Simple as that.  Caleb might not like it,
but he would respect it.

Cale
slowly nodded.  “Alright.”  He said grudgingly and pointed to the leopard-print
pet carrier.  “But, you keep that friggin’ cat away from me.”

Bright
side to the zombie apocalypse:

Either you
can enjoy knowing your enemies are now zombie food,

or you’re
a zombie yourself and you can enjoy eating them.

Either way
it’s win/win.

Joseff
the Unconquered, king of the vampires, nearly threw the goblet of blood at his
lackey’s head.  Only the fact that it would be a waste of a suddenly finite
resource and his own legendary control stayed his hand.  “You
lost
her?”

Outside
the windows of the presidential suite, he could see Vegas descending into
hell.  If they didn’t get out of town soon, it would be too late.  The zombies
were pushing at the barriers he’d erected around Fremont Street and desperate
survivors kept trying to break in.

The
entire city was going to fall.

Hell,
the entire
world
was going to fall.  It was just a matter of time.  Before
the electricity had gone out completely, Joseff had threatened the casino’s
computer guru with enough menace that the boy pulled off some kind of techno
magic and got the internet back for twenty precious minutes.  Joseff had stared
at the monitor, the online news site lighting up the infected cities so the
globe looked like a Christmas tree, and he’d known they were all in deep shit. 
Whoever was left alive was just standing on the stern of the Titanic waiting
for it to complete its inevitable slide beneath the waves.

And
somewhere, out in the middle of the chaos, was the niece of the old king and a
royal pain in every sense of the word.  The only being who could challenge his
right to the throne.  The woman he would kill to possess.

Princess
Darcia Eugenia Angelina Laurent.

He
couldn’t leave Vegas until he found Darcy and he couldn’t hunt for her himself
in the daylight.  There were just a few hours left to safely escape this town,
but he couldn’t do a damn thing except wait out the sun.  In the meantime, Joseff
was going out of mind imagining ways Darcy could die.  He’d spent all last
night looking for her and he’d come up empty.

Where
the hell
was
she?  She was so small and the ruined city seemed so vast.

“I
didn’t
lose
her, sire.  I just can’t find her anywhere.”

Joseff’s
jaw clenched.  “She’s usually at that disgusting pit of a bar during the day. 
Did you check there?”

“I
sent men to Prowl, but they haven’t come back.”  Edgar hovered in the doorway,
afraid to get too close.  Unlike Darcy and Joseff, he hadn’t been born a
vampire.  He’d been turned as a human, so he was still able to go into the
sun.  It was why
he’d
been drafted to lead the Darcy hunt instead of someone
with even half a brain.  “I also sent more to search for her at her auto shop,
but they may have been eaten by zombies like the last group.”