Chapter 10

In her head, she was counting. It had been a long while since she’d last observed wolves, but this seemed like a large pack. She counted roughly two hundred wolves.

Two hundred thriving wolves with food enough to spare. Mila helped herself to a fair portion of food though she was the last to claim any. She moved to the far table with Winnie and Dillon, smiling as the unicorn trotted closer.

Winnie paused with a forkful of food midway to her mouth, watching the creature. She glanced down at her food. “Will it eat some salad?”

Mila chuckled softly, shaking her head, but she needn’t have said more. In a swift motion, the unicorn ducked its head and speared a too-curious vole from a patch of grass. It dropped the rodent onto the ground and bit into it.

“The unicorn is a carnivore.” Mila smiled.

Winnie looked mildly disgusted watching it eat. Mila doubted she’d ever bothered to eat raw meat as a wolf. Though they were perfectly able to consume meat like regular wolves, they usually brought the food back to be prepared for the pack.

Mila didn’t eat raw out of habit. Humans cooked their food and it was considered abnormal to eat it without cooking. Not to mention, it tasted better.



A couple of tables over, Mila could hear a couple of youngster wolves conversing enthusiastically about the fate of the humans.

“I’m telling you, the proper name for them is ‘ghouls’.” One of the young wolves said firmly.

“No, no they’re zombies. Legit zombies.” Another argued. “I heard there’s a witch in California taking credit. Used some sort of hoodoo magic to kick off the apocalypse.”

“Before the news networks cut out, they said it was a virus.”

“Of course they said it was a virus! Humans don’t believe in the power of witches. That’s why she did it.”

“Anyone can take credit. Doesn’t mean they actually did anything.”

Mila shook her head, her lips twisted into an unwilling smile. Such a ridiculous argument.

It was perfectly possible that the apocalypse was manmade or even witchmade. The human population had hit billions in recent years. World-spread pandemics happened more frequently due to this density and the more humans crowded out the earth, the harder it was for certain other species to find comfortable ways to live.

Mila could easily imagine how a virus might mutate enough to cause an extinction-level event. However, she had also been around witches. Not all of them were real, but some were. Some were powerful enough to create blights and overturn the world.

She didn’t think that anyone responsible would actually take credit though. Witches tended to rely more heavily on humans for an income. Most of them liked to sell folk remedies as a front so they could move magical product.

Without the humans around to help with shipping, most of the big-time witches would see a setback. Not to mention, the loss of magics that involved human beings themselves. Whatever the humans had become, Mila doubted that their hair and plasma would suffice for spellcasting.

Most likely, Mila thought, the apocalypse had been an accident. Had a witch been involved, they may have been attempting to summon someone back from the dead. An old taboo that may have gotten out of hand.

In the end, it may never be known what the cause was. Mila didn’t truly care. The result wouldn’t change just because of the answer.



“This pack is quite large.” Mila said conversationally after finishing her portion of stew and biscuits. It had been a fantastic meal, the best she’d had in ages. She felt quite contented as she listened to the chattering from other tables.

Dillon’s eyes widened for a moment, but as his mouth was crammed tight with his third helping of venison, he could say nothing. Winnie shook her blond head with a laugh, petting his bulging cheek.

“It’s not all one pack.” She said softly. “This the Blood Moon Pack’s territory and the Lupine Forest Pack are our neighbors.”

Mila’s brows lifted. “Are you having some sort of ceremony?”

It would normally be unusual for two fair sized wolf packs to get close. Of all creatures that wore human disguises, the werewolves might be the most organized, but to avoid notice, they rarely socialized in such large groups.

Winnie shook her head. “Not exactly.”

“Winnie,” Dillon warned. He looked a little upset.

Mila surmised that whatever the wolves were doing, it wasn’t for outsiders to butt in on. She gave a little shrug. “It’s alright. I don’t need to know. It doesn’t involve me.”

Winnie nibbled her bottom lip, narrowing her eyes at Dillon. “That may not be entirely true.”

It was cryptic, but Dillon looked ready to jump out of his skin. His eyes darted around to the neighboring tables. He put a large hand on Winnie’s slim shoulders. “Now is not the time.”

Feeling that she had toed a landmine, Mila backtracked. “No worries for now. Tell me about you two. Are you a couple?”

It was a stupid question. The way the two of them moved around each other, looking at each other with soft puppy-eyes. There was no question that they were a couple.

Winnie perked up at once and Dillon’s posture relaxed. “Yeah, we are. We just had our mating ceremony two months back.”

Mila forced an unnatural “aww”. She wasn’t particularly sappy, but she couldn’t deny that it was sweet. They must still be in their honeymoon faze. “Congratulations. Have you known each other long?”

Winnie nodded enthusiastically. “We’ve been friends since childhood, but we only just got together last year.”

Winnie moved a smidgen closer to Dillon, leaning into his side. He looked down at her as though she were the single most captivating thing in the universe. It was almost nauseating how adorable they were. Mila had to fight to not roll her eyes.

The unicorn gave a bleat that sounded like a long sigh. The sound, thankfully, jarred them out of their stupor.

“Sorry, um... I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s bothering me.” Dillon said, his eyes flicking toward the unicorn. “What exactly is a mermaid doing all the way out here? You know- instead of in the ocean? I didn’t know you could even grow legs.. I mean...”

He looked so flustered asking. A red tinge was creeping up his neck and Winnie looked like she wanted to melt through the earth. Neither of them wanted to make proper eye contact.

Mila’s chest was a little tight, but she ignored it. She couldn’t very well snap when he was being so earnest. “Most of my people can’t. I worked hard for the honor of being allowed to walk the surface world.”

Dillon’s expression dropped. “Sorry you came at such a rocky time what with the humans...”

What a funny thing to say.

Mila gave a hallow sort of laugh. “Not at all. I’ve been here for centuries.”