More Than Flesh & Bone

Chapter 32

HUNTING SEASON

My boots clicked against the pavement as I paced back and forth outside the ZOM house. I turned on my heel and walked the other way.

"He still hasn't woken up?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Nope," Bree said over the phone. "Missy's been watching him. Zayne hasn't so much as twitched since last night."

I exhaled heavily. "If he doesn't wake up on his own soon then wake him up. A reaper is in critical condition right now because of that werewolf. Three people have died in the last week, and Zed's dad is breathing down all our necks to find and kill that damn thing."

"You got it, boss," Bree said. "I'll let Missy know the fucker has an hour before we resort to Plan B."

The back door opened and closed behind me. I turned around to see Zed walking toward me, his face set in hard lines.

"Don't let her get too crazy when I'm not home. I just want a location, B."

My best friend hummed in agreement. I could hear Missy in the background letting out a whoop of excitement. I sighed. At this rate, he'd be dead by the time we got back.

"Sounds good. Go deal with Zombie Daddy and the rest of the Bloodthirsty Bunch. Missy and I got it from here."

I opened my mouth to reply, but the line went dead.

"Great," I muttered. "Just… great."

"Everything all good?" Zed asked, coming to stop in front of me.

I pocketed my phone and ran a hand through my hair. "Apart from the fact your brother still hasn't woken up and your dad is half-ready to sic us all on Alpha Psi, everything is totally peachy."

He gave me a wry smile. "We're getting close. Just a little longer now."

I looked away because it wasn't exactly encouraging. I got the feeling there was more to this whole werewolf thing than what we'd been able to gather from Zayne last night. Something still wasn't adding up.

Largely how he'd be able to blackmail and control a werewolf being the weak shit he was. It reaffirmed what I was first thinking when he said it, but the more I thought on it, the more something just wasn't right.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, thoughts still turning over.

The back door of the frat house flew open, banging against the brick building like a gunshot in the mid-afternoon sun. Brothers poured out into the parking lot beside the deck, firearms in hand.

My eyes widened, and I looked between them and Zed. "He didn't…" I said slowly. While I wanted to find this wolf as much as anyone here, him sending reapers into the werewolf houses on campus would only further divide the supe community. He needed a damn good reason to think the wolf in question was there first.

"No," Zed said. "Not yet, at least. The last few murders all happened in the same area where Derek was injured last night. My dad wants the entire Brotherhood to search it. He thinks the wolf might be hiding out nearby."

"Alright then," I said, "What are we waiting for?"

"That's why I came to find you. We're teaming up with…"

"Ah, here you are," Bucky said, interrupting us with a heavy slap to Zed's shoulder. "Trying to sneak off already, little girl? You afraid of the big bad wolf?"

"You afraid of my foot crushing your balls, assface?"

Bucky's smile dropped.

Zed used a hand to hide his grin while the guy standing behind Bucky laughed outright.

"Damn, dude. Burn," a zombie with shaggy green hair and hazel eyes said.

"Shut up, Bonzo," Bucky gritted out. "The only reason I teamed up with you is because no one else wanted to. Don't make me regret my decision more than I already do."

Bonzo's smile dimmed some, but then he seemed to shake it off. "Hey, we haven't been properly introduced yet. I'm James, but you can call me Bonzo… Everyone else does. It's my last name."

There was something about Bonzo that made me instantly like him, which was a rare occurrence on its own, but doubly so for a zombie/reaper dude. There was this aura of calm energy that seemed to radiate out of him, bringing to mind memories of the super Zen millennial hippies back in LA. Although, that might have just been from the weed I was smelling.

"Hey, Bonzo, I'm Addie." I gave him a smile. We shook hands, and I turned back to Zed. "Do I really have to take orders from Fuckface?"

"Yes. So try not to piss him off if you can help it."

"Why do you immediately assume it's me that's going to cause the problem? Have you already forgotten that this asshole is the reason we're bound together?"

Come to think of it, Zed probably thanked his lucky stars Bucky had suggested the blood rite. If the Council had voted differently, Zed wouldn't be standing here at all right now.

I eyed Bucky with a millimeter less disgust than usual.

"As much as I cherish these moments with you, Wells, we don't have time. Each team has been assigned a quadrant. We'll sweep the area and then report back into Kelan, who's acting as our comms guy here at the house. He'll alert the rest of us if any team finds something or requires backup."

Zed, Bonzo, and I all nodded.

Bucky gave me a final, steady look.

"You disobey an order, you could get us all killed, you got me? We don't have to like each other, but we do have to work together."

Even though it grated, I nodded.

"Good, then hop in."

He motioned to the giant conversion van. It was painted black with giant green and pink flames on the side. I couldn't decide if looked sick or ugly as hell as I climbed in the back.

Bucky and Bonzo sat up front. The engine gunned to life before Zed was even fully in the van.

"You two better not be getting up to anything back there while I'm driving," Bucky said, peeling out of the lot. In front of us, a Jeep Wrangler with no top on sported three reapers hanging off the side with their shit guns blazing while the driver floored it like a bat out of hell.

"Seriously?" I asked. "We're fixing to go on a werewolf hunt, and you think…"

"That you're too busy fucking him most of the time to pay attention?" Bucky interrupted. "Yeah, I do."

"God, you're such a pig," I groused, settling in on my side of the truck and not thinking about Zed, who was staring at me intently from all of two feet away.

This day just kept getting better. No news from Zayne, I was stuck taking orders from Bucky the Fuckface, and my first 'hunting' expedition with the Brotherhood was upon me. At least I knew permanent death was an unlikely possibility.

In the front seat, Bonzo started fiddling with the radio.

Some cheesy pop song blared to life for all of three seconds before giving away to static.

I winced and heavy rap came on.

Bucky slapped his hand away. "Can you chill?"

"Sorry man, the awkward silence is just a real mood killer," Bonzo said.

I snorted. "Mood killer? We're going werewolf hunting. I don't see what mood there is to kill."

"I pregame before my hunts," he answered.

"By getting high," Bucky clarified, rolling his eyes. "It's why no one wants to hunt with you."

"Hey man, you get some rounds in on the bag, I have a more… medicinal take. It opens up my neural pathways. I can sense the wolf."

"Ummmm," I piped up from the back. "I'm not one to agree with Fuckface, but I'm pretty sure that's not how that works."

"See, man?" Bucky said. "Even Zed's side piece is calling bullshit."

A hand from the backseat clamped down on Bucky's shoulder. I glanced over at Zed. His eyes burned with fire.

"Don't talk about her that way."

Bucky winced as Zed's hold on his shoulder tightened for another few seconds. I nudged him with my knee, and his fingers uncurled. He settled back in the seat, his heavy gaze watching me as I glared at Bucky in the rear-view mirror. We took the highway for ten minutes and then turned out into farm country near Mansion Lane. Ahead of us, the Jeep pulled over on the side of the road. We kept going for another two miles before doing the same. Four other cars filled with reapers passed us as Bucky pushed the emergency brake and hopped out.

I grit my teeth, following him out, but slammed the back door extra hard.

The metal groaned a little and three pairs of eyes looked up at me from the back of the van.

I shrugged coolly, walking around the side to stand next to Bonzo.

Bucky opened the rear doors and climbed into the back. He opened a metal box the was pushed all the way up against the back seats.

Reaching in, he pulled out a shotgun and cocked it once, then tossed it to Zed.

He caught it with one hand.

Next, Bucky pulled out two rifles and tossed one to Bonzo, who despite being high, caught it with ease. He looked at me and lifted an eyebrow. I returned the pointed stare, and he took it as permission to throw what I was assuming was a loaded firearm.

I didn't play sports. I didn't throw things. I didn't run. While I could shoot pretty damn well, physical activities weren't really my jam until recently.

So when I managed to catch the barrel with one hand, a little thrill went through me.

Bucky didn't say anything, but I could sense an inkling of approval as he grabbed a shotgun for himself and then slammed the box shut.

"Alright, let's move out," Bucky said, hopping down in one swift movement. "Bonzo will take point, Addison and Zed, you two stay close. Any questions?"

I raised my hand.

"Yes, Wells?" Bucky said, exasperation heavy in his voice.

"It's not a question, more of a comment."

He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

Beside me, Zed let out a low, "Addie…"

"I'm no one's side piece, asshole." I twisted my arm, bringing the butt of the rifle in line with Bucky's crotch and slammed it back.

Bucky's eyes bulged, and he dropped to his knees, one hand palming his junk as he moaned.

"Zed and I will take point, you two try and catch up."

Bonzo was howling with laughter as Zed and I made our way toward the line of trees just ahead.

"I appreciate you having my back, but you're just going to make it worse. I can handle myself."

"I don't like the way he talks to you," Zed said gruffly.

"Yeah, well, I don't like that Bucky acts like I'm just some zombie groupie," I said as leaves and twigs crunched beneath out feet. "As far as he knows, I'm just like him, but he insists on treating me like I'm here because I'm hooked on your dick. I'm a fucking bad-ass daughter of death!" I stopped my tirade and sighed. "We may as well be living in the Dark Ages the way most of these guys treat women."

Zed's hand brushed against my back. "I don't like it any more than you do, but things have just been a certain way for a long time. I think once you've been around a while things will get better. The Brotherhood isn't all bad, but it's past time we changed our ways. Most of the guys are open to it. Don't lump us together because of one loud-mouthed asshole."

I studied Zed before giving him a single nod. "Fair enough, but next time he makes disparaging comments about me, I'm ripping his dick off and shoving it up his ass… I'm pretty sure I'm strong enough to do it, too."

"If he keeps being this much of a dick you won't have to," he said. The undercurrent of his voice implying that he would handle Bucky himself. While I didn't need Zed to fight my battles for me, his words did delicious things to my body.

I glanced over at him, opening my mouth to say something completely inappropriate when the others caught up. Bucky was furious, but thankfully silent as the four of us reached the trees.

Bucky made some kind of hand gesture that I took for 'keep your eyes open and walk in a straight line as quietly as possible,' but honestly, he could have been doing the hand jive for all I knew about their signals. I was going on instinct and following Zed's lead.

I may not like Bucky much, but I didn't want to be the reason anyone got hurt. Unless it was Zayne.

We moved forward, and my eyes scanned the ground, looking for paw prints or anything out of the place.

"How far away is the crime scene?" Zed asked in a low voice.

"Maybe thirty yards?" Bucky replied.

The four of us crept forward a bit longer when the crack of a branch had us all spinning around and lifting our weapons.

A guy I recognized from the house lifted his hands. "Just me," he said.

Bucky let out a curse. "What the fuck are you doing this far over, Bro?"

"I thought I saw something…" he said, then shook his head. "I took off running and then slowed when I thought I saw it again. It must have been you guys."

"You think?" Bucky said in a hard tone. "Get back to your group and be quick about it."

"You think he actually saw something?" I asked as we watched him run back through the trees the way he came.

"I don't doubt that he saw something," Bucky said at my back. "I just doubt it was the wolf. That's not something small. The rest of his group should have been able to see it too."

There was a certain logic to that. Still, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight as we approached the spot where the last victim had been found. Dried blood covered the ground like a sacrifice to some dark god.

I let out a low whistle. "How is he even alive?" I found myself asking.

"He got lucky," Bucky said, moving ahead of Zed and me. He tromped across the bloodied clearing. "The reapers he was patrolling with weren't dumb asses. They searched for him until early morning and one of them happened to smell the blood. The wolf was long gone."

I shook my head, swallowing hard.

I wasn't squeamish. Not really. I mean, girls did see more blood in our lifetimes than boys if we're all being honest now. There was just so much of it. The wolf had to have done serious damage. I couldn't help but think of Tracey and how he wasn't as lucky.

They only found him after it was too late.

A hand touched my back and I jumped.

"Just me," Zed whispered.

I blinked. Both Bucky and Bonzo were a good ten yards ahead.

"You zoned out for a second there."

"Yeah…" I murmured. "It just… yeah." I shook my head and kept walking.

Slowly but surely, the woods got quieter as the sun moved across the sky. Our shadows stretched and the trees became darker. More mysterious. A chill crept in as the sun started to lower below the horizon.

My stomach grumbled.

"Guys," I said. "We've been out here for hours." I paused, grabbing my phone from my back pocket. "I'm starving, and there's zero service out here. I think we should head back."

Up ahead, Bonzo chimed in. "I'd be down for some pizza right about now."

Bucky shook his head. "Fucking stoner…" he muttered.

"Hey man, I'm not the only one…"

"Wells doesn't count," Bucky snapped. "She's only a baby reaper who I've yet to see do anything…"

"Guys, over here!" Zed called, cutting off Bucky's assessment. "We've got a problem."

We hustled over to where he was standing, only to stop short in front of the bleeding and mangled body of the reaper we had seen earlier. His eyes were vacant, fresh blood still pouring from the gashes.

"Shit…" Bonzo's voice barely registered as a rustling to the right caught my attention. I paused, squinting into the darkness.

My footsteps were quiet, but leaves crunched beneath them as I walked toward the massive bush. Only inches from it, I peered through the leaves.

Two giant red eyes stared back.

"We got a bigger problem," I said, backing away slowly like that would stop the beast from coming after me. Fat chance that was.

The werewolf lunged forward, and without the distance to shoot the fucker since I had a rifle and not a handgun, I did the only thing I could.

I swung.

The metal barrel made contact with the side of its head. A crack echoed through the forest.

The werewolf toppled to the side in a heap.

I stared, slack-jawed at my impossible luck.

"Damn, Wells," Bucky said, jogging over. He let out a whistle.

Zed was at my side in an instant. He reached for my rifle, which was now warped on one end, curving around like the creature's head.

I gave it to him with no resistance.

"She kill it?" Zed asked.

Bucky knelt over the hulking beast. It was large enough he could ride it. Each paw was easily the size of his face. Its head was as long as the rifle I hit it with.

"I'm not sure…" Bucky said, leaning close.

My heart skittered as the creature opened its eyes.

"Get back!" I shouted.

Zed's arm wrapped around my abdomen, pulling me back. Bucky rolled to the side just in time as a giant paw came swinging for his face.

"Shit! Shit!" Bonzo called, pointing his rifle at the creature.

The werewolf jumped to its feet and turned to look at me pointedly.

For less than a second, I saw something in its eyes other than glaring red hatred.

I saw… Trace.

"That's impossible," I murmured.

Zed's arm released me as several things happened all at once. He dropped my useless gun on the ground and aimed the shotgun. Seeing its death on the horizon, the wolf used its jaws to tear into Bucky, latching onto his back before flinging him like a human chew toy.

His body went flying into Zed.

Because of our bond, I could feel the crack in my ribs at the impact, but it barely registered. I was too focused on the wolf.

Ducking to the side, I yelled at Bonzo, "Shoot it!"

"He keeps moving!" Bonzo complained.

For fuck's sake…

"That's what animals do!" I snapped.

The wolf wheeled on Bonzo and charged. Like the dumb ass he was, he dropped the rifle and ran.

The wolf gave chase, and I knew he was a dead man if I couldn't get my hands on something that could shoot.

Bonzo took off, bolting to the left, and the wolf went after him. I used that brief moment to jump over Bucky and Zed, who were both sprawled out, and grab Zed's discarded shotgun.

"Come on, you piece of shit…" I muttered, taking aim.

The wolf knocked Bonzo to the ground with a sweep of its paw and lunged.

I squeezed the trigger.

A shot went off.

The wolf yelped in pain, and I peered over the top of the metal barrel to see a chunk taken out of its shoulder. Silver fragments reflected in the low light and a sizzling sound was coming from the wound.

Silver.

The wolf's one real weakness.

It lifted its head as I pointed the gun once more, faltering as several faces rushed forth, transposed over the snarling wolf.

In a ghostly guise, I saw my brother in its face.

My father.

Several boys and men that I didn't recognize all writhed in the wolf's form. But it was the last one that gave me the greatest pause.

Zayne.

In my struggle to make sense of the faces peering out at me, the shotgun started to dip.

The wolf, and alpha predator suffering from no such confusion, wheeled around, bolting form the clearing and leaving a bloody trail in its wake.

It was gone.

The shotgun dropped to my side, my mouth hanging open as I stared, dumbfounded, at the place the wounded werewolf had just been standing.

Zed shifted on the floor beside me, letting out a low groan. "Addie, what happened? Where'd it go?"

"Did you see that?" I asked, eyes wild as I looked from Bucky to Zed and back again.

"You mean that you let the target get away? Yeah, that was pretty hard to fucking miss," Bucky said, wincing as he stood.

Bonzo had come back and just stood there like he hadn't run away at all.

"Easy to say for a guy who spent the majority of the fight on his back."

Bucky glared at me. "The fight lasted all of three minutes. Tops. You were the one with a clear shot, but you hesitated."

"Did you really not see that?" I asked, looking back at the other two reapers, ignoring Bucky's taunting for the moment.

"See what?" Zed asked, his voice steady but his eyes filled with uncertainty.

Bonzo was shaking his head. "I was too busy trying not to die, Sorry, Addie."

"The thing with its face, I said, afraid to give away too much in case this was a Daughter of Death thing and not a reaper thing.

Bucky let out a pained laugh. "Are you fucking telling me you couldn't kill it because it was growling at you?"

"No, dickwad. I'm saying that while I was looking at it, I saw someone else staring back at me. Not a wolf. A human." It was more than I wanted to admit, but I was hoping the really intense stare I was sending Zed's way would hint at what I was leaving unsaid. He'd always been able to pick up on my lies, hopefully even though what I'd said was mostly true, this time would be no different.

Given the furrowing of Zed's eyebrows, it was pretty obvious I was not telepathic, and he had no clue what I was talking about.

"It was… there was… I…" I trailed off, floundering. There was no way I could tell Zed what I just saw in front of the other two. Not when I had no fucking clue what it meant.

Shit.

Bucky slowly made his way over, snatching the shotgun out of my loose hold. "Next time you decide to get a case of the feels on a hunt, here's a tip. Don't." He turned and started following the trail of blood back to the body. "Come on Bonzo."

"Seriously?" I called out. "Bonzo didn't even shoot when he had a clear shot and he ran! I at least shot the thing. I'm also the one who knocked it out. You're full of shit, Bucky, if you want to blame this on me when not one of you even helped in the fight!"

I took a step, hands curling into fists, but Zed held me back, his calloused fingers closing around my wrist.

Bucky glanced back, shaking his head. "You did good… until you didn't. We already have one dead brother. My back is torn to shreds and the wolf is injured, but still out there." Bucky thrust the device in his hand toward Bonzo, turning away from me. "Call backup. Let them know I'm hurt, and my energy is fading fast. We need a group out here to deal with the body and the cops."

Bonzo took the device and started speaking in lower tones as they both moved further away.

I sighed. How was it that I was pissed off and feeling guilty at the same time?

Ugh. I kicked at a pile of leaves in frustration.

"What did you see?" Zed asked in a low voice, his eyes shifting between me and searching around us.

My mouth opened and closed, still struggling to find the words to explain what had happened. "While I was looking at it, it was like the ghosts of his victims or something were staring back at me. Usually, ghosts look just like you and me. These guys were wispy though. Transparent. They were writhing like they were in pain…" I trailed off again, shaking my head. "But that doesn't make sense, right? Why would souls be inside a werewolf?"

"I don't know," he said. "But this isn't the first time you've seen something I can't explain. Sounds like we may need to visit Eliza again." He did not sound happy about that prospect.

"Yeah…" I said, looking away. Something was bothering me about it. "The weird part is that it wasn't just his victims. I also saw someone else." Zed lifted an eyebrow, prompting me. I wasn't sure if what I had to say would help or hurt my case, though. "I saw Zayne."

"But Zayne isn't dead," he said narrowing his eyes.

"I know. It doesn't make sense. I just feel like I'm missing something here. I just don't know what." I sighed, running a hand through my sweaty white hair.

"You're not alone in that," Zed mumbled.

We paused at the sound of rustling. I froze.

"Bucky?" a voice called out. "Bonzo? You guys back here?"

"Backup must have gotten here," Zed said.

I let out a tight breath, my shoulders dropping slightly. "Yeah… We need to deal with this and then get back. Missy will have woken Zayne up by now, and I have some questions I want to ask him." I stared into the distance as the sun sank the rest of the way below the horizon. Flashlights switched on, illuminating the forest further.

Up above, only a sliver of the moon was visible.

"Addie?" Zed whispered.

"Hm?" I hummed a reply.

"When the time comes to deal with him… I'll do what I need to do."

I blinked. My lips parted. "Zed…"

"We know he's controlling that werewolf. I'm not an idiot. Ultimately they both gotta go, or people will just keep dying. I can't live with that on my conscience. I want to be the one that does it."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Missy…"

"I am." His eyes gave off a light all their own. I could tell that he'd made a decision, and there was no changing it.

I grabbed his hand. Our fingers were both chilled and dirty, but it didn't matter. I held tight, and he did the same.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I haven't posted in FOREVER. End of summer/ start of school craziness! And then... A flipping hurricane. Currently temporarily residing in a completely different state in a hotel for god only know how long. So... please bear with me. It's a lot to process and my brain is going in 100 different directions all at once and I haven't slept in about a week.