Chapter 29

Mila stroked Rori’s hard cheekbone as she knelt in front of him. He was a little thicker, less gangly since he’d been able to eat meals on a regular basis. Though the grooves of his body made his clothing look like something thrown onto a scarecrow, Mila thought he looked good. ‘

His bright yellow-orange eyes sparkled as he looked back at her. “I’ll be good.”

She smiled. “I know you will. Stay close to Winnie and if there’s any trouble, send for the witches. They have ways to contact me and I’ll come right back.”

He nodded and blinked when she pressed a kiss to the top of his beak. When she turned away, climbing up onto the unicorn’s back, he made forlorn cooing sounds.

Again, she felt a shot of worry. Rori seemed too gentle for the life of a wolf pack. Even with Winnie and the elder working so hard to ease tensions, the hostility was barely contained.

Once she was gone, if the young wolves picked a fight with Rori, she wouldn’t be able to break it up. She wouldn’t be able to take care of him if he lost a spar. Or comfort him if he won.

Winnie placed a kind hand on Rori’s shoulder. Dillon was kneeling in front of her, his ear pressed to her swollen belly. He kept whispering and pressing kisses to her until the very last moment, popping up to kiss her in a way that might be a tad inappropriate standing right next to Rori, then turning on his heel to catch up with his packmates.

Mila smiled and waved.



-



The numbers as they got closer and closer to the heart of the city were unbelievable. Mila and Jed hadn’t been entirely able to accurately predict the situation. Even with Jed running ahead to inform them of the situation, the wolves were quickly overwhelmed.

Mila jumped off the unicorn early in. It bleated in panic then all but dissipated into smoke. She could blame it.

Though it was easy to cut through them as their bodies had continued to decay, they converged with great enthusiasm. The remnants threw themselves at the wolves like rugby players in a reckless full-body assault.

Mila had to reach for higher ground as even the massive wolves were engulfed in a sea of undead. She’d joined a team consisting of Kody, Dillon, and two other members from their pack, but could hardly see them. Kody was the largest of the wolves and was little more than two grey triangle ears sticking out of a hoard.

The remnants gnashed their foul jaws, blank, empty eyes rolling in their sockets. Mila recoiled as they bit at her leather boots, aware that her protection wouldn’t last long. It would be harder for them to tear through the thick furry hides of the wolves, but they would eventually get there.

Mila vaulted from the roof of a car and up onto a tipped over semi truck that had evidentially run into a light post which was bent awkwardly over the road. She hooked her sword sheath over the metal pole, sliding along toward Kody’s ears.

“On your flank!” She yelled, running over the heads and shoulders of the remnants to land on Kody’s back.

She swung her sword in a wide arc, cutting down some of the remnants on either side of Kody’s wolf body, but the sea was still coming.

Kody worked hard to shake them off, bucking like a bull so she was forced to stop fighting in order to cling to his back. “I think we need to fall back and regroup. I can’t see the others.”

Kody snarled though it seemed that he agreed. He threw his head back and howled to his pack. There were a few answering howls.

Mila had to bury her hands in his fur and hold herself tightly to him as he leaped up in a massive bound. He jumped onto the same tipped over truck from the ground level, still howling.

Mila lifted her head just enough to catch a glimpse of Jed running along a rooftop. “Jed! We’re retreating!”

She saw him turn his head, clearly hearing her. But he gave a vague little wave of his arm and continued on his way. She could see in his posture that he wasn’t the least bit overwhelmed. He was enjoying this challenge and was not ready to leave yet.

Part of her wanted to follow him. Instead, she continued to cling to Kody, letting him carry her out of the mess of the city, running until the remnants could no longer track them.



-



Once they were far enough away, they assessed the situation. To her surprise, the wolves had really not faired well. Kody was unscathed, save for some ripped out hairs, but he had been lucky.

A few wolves Mila didn’t know well had taken some thrashings. There were sore tails, heavy limps, ripped ears, and many scratches to go around. Of Mila’s own group though, it was Dillon that had taken the worst damage.

Dillon’s muzzle was bloody where some remnants had gone for his eyes. When he turned into his human form, Mila even blanched slightly. One of his wrists had taken a great deal of damage. Apparently a child remnant had been able to sneak in close under the mass of adults to assault his legs.

“Where’s your little vamp friend?” One of the wolves asked her in a snide tone while Kody busied himself with tending to the wounded.

Mila shrugged, mildly disheartened. “Guess he wasn’t ready to fall back.”

“Real team player, huh?” The wolf snarled.

Mila scowled, but was unable to refute. It wasn’t exactly the first time that Jed had bailed or moved ahead. Instead of defending Jed, she moved to help Kody. Perhaps, if she kept busy, she wouldn’t feel too hurt by the absence of one of her few comrades.

Dillon blinked at her blearily through his blood-streaked face. He forced a brave smile. “Tell me honestly, how bad is it?”

Mila smiled tightly, shaking her head. “I’ve seen much worse, friend. Don’t worry, Winnie will still think your handsome.”

He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, she will. Scars are sexy aren’t they?”

“Mhmm,” Mila laughed and rolled her eyes, knowing full well that werewolves very rarely scarred unless attacked by silver or wolfsbane.