Apocalyptic Moon (After the Bane) (6 page)

The big dude’s lower lip twitched.

Mansfield blanched. “Everyone, out!”

His men escaped the stall and sealed the door shut.

Maybe he would be used as zombie bait? Most likely, like her, bitten by zombies to test his immunity.

She waited with bated breath for the man to wake. Afraid, but curious. Would he be insane or some drug addict? Violent. Absolutely.

His eyes shot open and he gripped the collar, digging his thick fingers beneath it to tear it apart. He growled and roared, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. His bellow reminded her of the cursed prince in the recent remake of
Beauty and the Beast
. He stood, growled again, and hurtled his powerful bulk against the bulletproof glass barrier. She wouldn’t have been shocked if by sheer force, he broke it.

Jaeger walked up to the glass. The intercom system allowed all to hear. “Aren’t you pleased I didn’t kill you? Before you’re terminated, you’ll be of some use to mankind.”

The redheaded hunk roared, displaying large canines and again threw himself against the glass. It shook but didn’t shatter. She wondered how much more the door could withstand before falling to the ground. Though she could use an ally, she preferred a less angry one. His furious red face matched his fiery hair. Who could blame him for being pissed, sane or not? If she could physically overpower her captors, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

He pounded his massive fist on the glass and beat the men back with his stare. His canines grew longer.

Dora gasped. “Fangs.”
Holy Wolverine
! Could he suffer from Porphyria? No, his skin looked too healthy and no sign that his ears, lips or nose had been eaten away.

He turned and met Dora’s gaze for a brief moment.

Oh, shit, he noticed me
. She pressed her hand over her throat.

He gave her a toothy grin. Stepping back, he inhaled like a bull and body slammed the barrier. The impact didn’t work and he growled. The doors must have been designed for space travel.

Jaeger turned to Mansfield. “Allow me to show you how the gleipnir collar works.” He pressed a red button on the remote. The big man plummeted to the floor and hollered as if electrocuted. He curled into a tight ball and writhed in agony.

Dora banged on the glass. “Stop it. You’re killing him!”

Jaeger released the button and laughed. “She has a soft heart.”

“Dora was a medical doctor,” quipped Mansfield.

“Still am, asshole!”

The man stood and wobbled while gripping the torture collar. His breath ragged, he shot daggers at his tormentor. He rasped, “When I get a hold of you Jaeger, I’ll tear you apart and feed you to the zombies as you die.”

Dora frowned. He called him Jaeger. They must be old enemies.

Jaeger smirked. “By then, the disease will have run its course and all monsters will be gone.” He laughed. “I just wish I could have stomped on Fang. In due time. Who’s watching him, your human-loving sister?” He traced a finger down the scar over his right eye. “If she ever wanders away from your pack, she’s mine. She’d make a better guinea pig.”

Dirk tensed and his muscles quivered. “Leave her out of it!”

So, they did have a history. Pack? Was Fang a member of his gang? Maybe an even bigger specimen?

He stepped closer to the barrier and pierced his loathing gaze into Jaeger’s. “She’s no threat to you.”

Jaeger turned his gaze from him. “You are all threats to our kind.” He turned to Mansfield. “I take it my cases of silver bars have been delivered to my helicopter?”

Why bother with precious metals, wondered Dora. Okay, so the price of gas was forty bucks per gallon, but by now, who operated the stations?

Mansfield punched in a program on a computer and a screen displayed his men delivering the silver. “As we speak.”

Dora widened her eyes. A flurry of raw emotions from hope to ultimate despair coursed through her. This was the first time she’d seen the outside since her arrival. Only an elevator ride from freedom.

Two soldiers carried a crate and loaded it onto a helicopter. Two dozen zombies shambled around a chain-linked fence that surrounded the building next to the helipad. Several wore blue jeans and cowboy boots, perhaps local ranch hands. One even wore spurs. “Died with their boots on,” she muttered. The other zombies looked like campers or people afflicted on the road while trying to escape. One woman about her age wore a small backpack and shook the gate, her bloodied teeth gnashing at the soldiers. The terrain was high desert with a coniferous forest in the distance.

Hmm. If she escaped, what were the odds of her surviving? How could she expect her brother to be alive when even the desolate country was infested? But he was. And so was little Mel. She sensed it.

Mansfield switched off the screen.

Jaeger nodded. “Good doing business with you, Doctor Mansfield.” Before entering the elevator, he turned to the collared man. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

The redheaded man growled at him as the elevator closed. He turned to her. With her hands still plastered on the glass and her mouth gaping she fell back. He stared at her with the most intense eyes she’d ever seen. Light blue with tawny flecks of gold around his pupils. Feral eyes. Her skin prickled as if he was predator and she the prey.

He leaned closer, his tone accusatory. “What are you doing here?”

“You mean besides being tortured? I’m being held prisoner. Like you.”

“You’re being kept safe,” said Mansfield. He tilted his head toward the new prisoner. “Go on. Introduce yourselves.”

Why not? She took two steps closer. “I’m Dr. Dora Adler.”

His tone lightened. “Hmm. Doctor huh? I’m Dirk Gunderson. I’d invite you to the nearest city for a nice dinner but it looks like we’re stuck here.”

“I’m open to dinner, maybe pizza. I doubt we’ll get delivery this far out, so I’m all for leaving this place and picking up takeout,” Dora quipped.
We need to escape.

Mansfield shot her a cold glare before addressing Dirk. “Dr. Adler is immune to Z-phage, just like you.”

He sniffed her glass barrier. “But she’s human.”

“Of course I’m human, what else would I be?” Dora rolled her eyes. Great, a nut job.

He shrugged and donned the blue drawstring pants they’d laid out for him, but he didn’t bother with the t-shirt. By the looks of it, the shirt appeared much too small for his brawny chest. For the first time in…what? An eternity? A real man, not one on a cover or one starring in some romantic movie, had turned her on. Even from behind the glass barrier, he reeked of testosterone.

Mansfield laughed. “Maybe you and Dirk will be the new Adam and Eve.”

Her cheeks burned.
Yeah, right. Adam was never on steroids
. Besides this man would prefer a Venus not an Eve.
Never happen
. “He’s too big.”

“You’re too small,” Dirk retorted. “Besides, you’re not my kind.”

She winced.
Ouch
. A hurtful insult, since she found him deliciously attractive.
In a caveman sort of way
. Like her romance book cover, she imagined him dragging her away into his cave. She spoke directly to Mansfield as if Dirk wasn’t there. “His type only goes for busty supermodels. You should see if you can find any former waitresses from Hooters.”

“Hey, for a human you’re hot in your…” His gaze lingered on her nipples hardening beneath her tank top.

She crossed her arms over her breasts, feeling naked and damn, aroused. “By that, you mean you’re not human?” She wanted to add,
But still a horny male
.

He leaned a muscular arm against the glass and gave her a somber look. “Ah hell, you’ll learn soon enough. I’m a werewolf.”

She gaped and her brow leapt in realization. Is that why he said not
his kind,
instead of
his type
?
Then the odd reference by Jaeger for his sister not to leave their pack
. “The silver collar, what did he call it?”

Mansfield explained, “It’s a modern version of the gleipnir, the material that held the Norse wolf, Fenrir, in check.”

Fenrir? She recalled the chained wolf mentioned in her silly Viking romance novel. She scoffed. “And the sedative, what’s that? Wolfsbane?”

Mansfield nodded. “Why Dr. Adler, I hadn’t realized you were up on werewolf lore.”

“I grew up with
Harry Potter
and
Twilight
. Not to mention a string of bad horror movies, but none of it is real.” She shook her head. “My first lycanthropy case.” The guy was psycho, but it didn’t matter, he was immune to Z-phage. He’d be another lab rat to experiment on. Maybe they’d give her a break and poke him instead, giving her injection bruises time to heal. Still, he was mentally ill and needed her help.

Mansfield chuckled. “More like lupus or rather
Canis lupus
.”

Dirk corrected. “
Homo sapiens lupus
.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed, “Can I change rooms? Maybe one with a view?”

Dirk gave her a seductive gaze. “Actually, my view is stunning.”

Her knees weakened and her voice disappeared. For once in her life, she had no smart-ass comeback.

Mansfield smiled. “All other rooms are reserved for the undead.” He unlocked her door and dragged her out. “Time for your daily shower.”

“Hey, take me along. I don’t mind sharing a shower with the doc.” Dirk winked at her.

Had he forgotten that he was strangled with a torture collar, locked up in a rat cage and oh yeah, the outside world overrun by zombies?
It wasn’t the time to flirt.

As Mansfield escorted her out, she twisted around and glared at Dirk. “Bite me!”

“I promise.” He cupped his hands over his mouth and howled.

Damn real
. She pulled away from Mansfield. “Great, I’m stuck in a psych ward.”

****

Dirk paced his sealed prison cell. He sniffed. The stench of rotting flesh seeped through the walls. This fucking place was infested with zombies. They must be keeping a zombie zoo. One breach and they’d be overrun. Soon the hot little brunette would fall prey to the zombies. He needed an escape plan. ASAP.

The soldier that escorted Jaeger out had the virus. The soldier reeked of fear. He hid his recent bite.
Oh well, not sharing
. Only he and the woman mattered. He needed the access code since the damn door was werewolf proof.

Mad Scientist
Mansfield definitely thought Dora could mate a werewolf. Why hadn’t Jaeger mentioned that was impossible? Hmm. Maybe he could use his ignorance as an advantage and convince Mansfield they should share quarters. If he pretended to attack her, the door would be opened and during the confusion, they’d escape. The doc would help. It was their only chance. If they got to play the birds and the bees, even better. He liked her hot svelte body and spunk.
Too big, my ass. I’ve slept with chicks smaller than you, honey and rocked their world.
Why not enjoy her?
That is, until they broke out. He tugged on his collar. First, he needed to get the gleipnir off. Mansfield kept the remote in his right pocket. Dora would need to get it before he was zapped.

The elevator opened and Dora walked in, her hair sodden from the shower. He took in her fresh scent. More from her intoxicating aroma, than from the perfumed shampoo and soaps she’d used. He stood straight and took deep notice. She wore lime green pajama pants and a matching tank top that revealed delectable nipples on her rounded luscious breasts. She had long legs and svelte curves. He suppressed a growl of satisfaction. Their gazes locked. She had the biggest most stunningly beautiful brown eyes he’d ever laid his female-conquest experienced eyes on. He was spellbound. They matched her deep chocolate with red hues hair, which draped like liquid silk down her mid-back. When he first saw her, she’d worn it in a ponytail, practical, but he preferred it down. It gave her a wild sensual look.

She broke from his gaze and stepped into her room.
Holy shit, what an ass
. His mouth dropped open, drool dribbling down his lips. He imagined her perfectly round bottom was soft as velvet. Human women had a cushier feel than hard muscled she-wolves. His wolf fought to be released. His cock bulged against his pants. He swallowed his slaver and clenched his fists.

The guard sealed her door shut. He too gave her a once over and Dirk gritted his teeth. A low growl escaped. Why should sharing her bother him? She was human, a plaything, nothing more.

The guard glared at Dirk. “Lights out in ten minutes.”

The second guard, the one in the non-detectible stages of infection waited by the elevator entrance. His skin was warm, but not too feverish. Only a werewolf would notice the subtle scent and skin temperature. The sooner he came down with the infection, the better the odds of escaping. The guards left. At last, alone. She sat on her bed, winced and rubbed her upper thigh. He pressed the intercom. “How are you doing?”

“The shower stung the hell out my recent bite.”

He raised a worried brow and flared his nose. “You’re not infected. You really are immune.”

She moved toward her sink and grabbed her toothbrush. “You think?” He understood her sarcastic tone. She’d been through hell. “Of course, I’m immune.”

“How did you get bit? Was it on the way to a shower or lab room?”

She plastered too much toothpaste on her toothbrush. “Every two weeks they bring in a zombie, usually a kid, to bite me. They want to make sure I’m still immune. The last one had braces and I nearly bled to death after they pulled her off.”

A surge of fury coursed through his blood. If he had a choice, he’d kill Mansfield rather than Jaeger for what he’d done to Dora. Unnecessary torture. His gums tingled as his fangs erupted.
Not now.
The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her more than she already was. “I promise to…”