The Last Shewolf Ch. 12-16

"Not when I've got him riding bitch on another man's bike," he laughed. "It's going to be a while, I want to leave the Jeep far from here after we grab your ride." They closed the door behind them. I pulled the covers over her, settling in by her side. I held her hand as I fell asleep.

I woke up when Vivian started to move, she was crying softly from the pain. I looked at my watch, it was three in the morning. "I need to give her more morphine," Doc said. He gave her the injection and she settled down. "My turn to sleep," he said. "Can you watch over her for a few hours?"

"Sure, just let me get some stuff off my bike first." I went out and got my latest read, Vince Flynn's Transfer of Power. Turning on the light on my side of the bed, I sat up and started to read while Doc crashed on the couch. At five, I woke Viper; being an old guy, he was going to be up soon anyway. I caught a few more hours of sleep before Vivian woke up. "How are you feeling," I said as I stared into her eyes.

"Better," she said. "Bathroom." I went around to her, helping her sit up and put her feet on the floor. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"I'll make it," she said. I helped her to her feet and stood by her side as she shuffled to the bathroom. I set her on the toilet. "I'll call you when I'm done," she said.

I stepped out, closing the door. I heard the toilet flush, and expected to hear her call me back in, or at least hear water running, but I didn't. All I heard was... her crying. I knocked gently. "Vivian?"

"Leave me alone," she said, her sobs getting louder.

"Let me help," I begged. "I can't bear hearing you like this."

"Well, EXCUSE ME for being raped and almost killed in front of you! I'm RUINED now, nothing will EVER be the same, and now I've killed you guys too!" She started to sob even louder. I couldn't take it anymore, I went in and knelt in front of her, taking her head and placing it on my shoulder. "I told you, it doesn't change how I feel about you, in fact, I love you even more because you showed me how strong you really are." She nodded into my shoulder, a minute later she stood up with my help and washed up.

"Thank you," she said.

"I'm here for you, Vivian. Now we should get out of here, Doc is going to want to use this bathroom, and you don't want to be in here after that happens."

We went back out to the room, and I sat her down. Viper had been out already, there was a McDonald's bag and some bottles of juice on the table by the window. I heated up a breakfast sandwich for her and grabbed her an orange juice before I got my own. We ate in silence.

Finally, Viper broke the silence. "Vivian, you said something in there about endangering us. I think it's time we talked about what's going on, since it will affect the club."

She finished chewing her bite of food, then nodded. "It's going to take a little time to explain," she said.

"We have another hour before we have to get out of this room," he said. "I don't need everything now, just the highlights. We'll have to have Church when we get back home and we can talk about it in more detail. For now, I need to know what you are, why those men were after you and why we are in danger."

She took a drink, I moved my hand over, holding hers. "I guess I should start with me. As you saw, I'm a werewolf; I can change from human to wolf form at will. In my mind, I have a second personality, if you will, that of my wolf; we share this body. Our DNA is different than yours, that's why I couldn't go to the hospital. One blood test would show the difference. I'm a doctor, but I work on werewolves for my Pack and humans for the money," she said.

"Your Pack?" I thought I knew the answer.

"Gone. All dead or missing."

"They were in Zumbrota, right? All those dead dogs, they were your family." God, what that must have been like for her.

"Yes. To protect our secrets, we normally burn the bodies. I piled them all in one of the houses and set it alight, then burned the other houses. However, I was working at a Pack up by the Boundary Waters. I have four years left on a contract to serve their Pack and surrounding Packs. They are the ones I was running from when I came to you."

Viper started to laugh. "So, the cult we thought you were in is really a pack of werewolves?"

"Yes, it was easier to explain that way. Something started happening this summer, something terrible. I don't know if it is a curse, an epidemic or biological warfare, but it attacks women in the middle of their pregnancy. It causes the placenta to detach, but worse, the mother's arteries don't close. I couldn't stop them both from dying, every woman this year who was pregnant didn't make it past 24 weeks." She paused, tears running down her face. "The Alpha, he's the leader of the Pack, his wife was one of the pregnant women. She died, he blamed me. I barely got out of there alive."

"These three guys, they are after you for him? Shit, we'll just kill him," Viper said.

"That's not all. It's happening everywhere, I know of dozens of Pack doctors who have been killed or just disappeared. Not a single pregnant Werewolf female has survived this year. Packs are starting to attack each other, taking the women for their own, killing the men so they can mate us instead. That's what happened to my Pack. Werewolf women of childbearing age have become the most sought-after thing in our world."

I squeezed her hand. "Can't they just turn humans like in all those stories?"

"No, our DNA isn't compatible. You have to be born from werewolves to have werewolves. As the number of women drops, Packs become more desperate. No women, no future, and our wolves are driven to mate and have children."

"That's the real reason you said you can't get pregnant from me," I said.

She nodded. "Those men were what we call rogues, werewolves who don't belong to a Pack. They smelled me, they knew just what I was, and they took me." She leaned into my shoulder for comfort. "Just me being me is enough to place you in danger, they will do anything to get me. And, if they find out you know what I am, they'll kill you for it."

"I can't take you anywhere," I teased.

"I thought this would be all right, there aren't organized Packs in this area. Most are from the Pacific Northwest through Maine, and across Canada. These rogues, they can be anywhere. It's probably best if I stay out of sight."

"You're in no shape to go dancing, my love," I said as I kissed her head.

"I'm healing already, we heal faster than humans. Give me a week and I'll be good as new." She pulled off one of the bandaids, showing how the small cut was already scarred over.

"Cool. Any more superpowers?" Doc was busy inspecting the healing wound.

"Night vision, great hearing, stamina, a wolf form and mates."

"Mates? You mean like life mates?" My stomach was turning over.

"Yes. The Moon Goddess granted us soul mates, the perfect other half. It's rare to find one, but it's the best thing ever if you do. Most don't wait, they choose someone they love, much like you humans do. When you find your mate, they bite you on the neck when you both orgasm while making love; it forges a bond that can only be broken through death. You can feel their emotions, you are bound together, your hearts beat as one. If one dies, the other often follows."

I'd never have that with her, I realized. "I'm sorry," I said.

"If I could, I'd choose you, love. Now I can't, he took that away from me. He raped me, bit my neck as we came, and he bonded himself to me for the minute we both lived. He ripped away the bond, he took away any chance I might have of finding my fated mate, then he tore my heart out." She started crying into my shoulder. "My wolf is howling in grief. Even though he was my rapist, he hurt me, he still formed that bond and I HATE IT. I hate that something meant to be so beautiful, so deep and meaningful, was done to me this way. I'll never be the same. I'm going to have mood swings, depression, even suicidal thoughts. It's what happens when your mate dies, and I can't stop it. Plus, mating kicks off the heat cycle."

"Heat? Like with a dog? Your parts swell up and every dog in the neighborhood starts hanging out outside your door?"

She laughed a little. "Not that far off. It only happens in the spring, and lasts about a week. Our sex drive is supercharged, my scent will call to other werewolves. Normally, you and your mate go somewhere remote and bang the shit out of each other, hopefully getting you pregnant. Now? Without relief, it's horribly painful and difficult."

"I'll help you," I said.

"Damn right you will. By the time I'm done with my week of heat, your boa constrictor will be a garter snake." I laughed heartily as she smiled. "We can talk more about that later."

I heard the sound of motorcycles outside, followed by a truck. Viper looked at the clock. "We need to load up the trailer and hit the road," he said. "I got the gist of it. We'll get you loaded in the truck, then you can stay in the hotel until it's time to head back home. I'll make sure we have a couple people around you for protection at all times."

"Thanks, Pres. I'm sorry I'm all this trouble."

He got up and walked over, kissing her forehead. "You've got nothing to feel sorry for, DeWalt. You're family, and we protect our family."

"And so do I," I said as I hugged her head to my chest. "I won't let you get hurt again." I buried my nose in her hair. "Ever."

Doc gave her another shot, not as strong this time. I picked her up to carry her outside, finding our entire group there waiting for us. "We already stopped to pick up your bikes," Tiny said as he tossed me the keys. "Load up, let's go home." I carried her to the passenger seat, setting her inside. The others took a moment to talk to her or give her a hug as Doc was settling our bill.

"Let's go," Viper said as he mounted up. I followed behind them as we headed south. I looked over at Vivian, she was smiling as she fell asleep.

I was going to find a way to make this work.

Ch. 14

Vivian's POV

I woke up hungry as our group pulled into the parking lot of our hotel near Jacksonville. Snake put it in park and looked over at me. "Don't move, I'll get you," he said. He had barely unlocked the doors when Teri, Katie and Taser were at my door, opening it up.

I assured them I was doing all right, and Snake gave Kelly his room key and asked her to run ahead and open things up. I winced a little as he picked me up; he was trying to be gently, but it pulled at the wounds on my back and butt when I moved. He stopped, but I just leaned my head on his shoulder. "Keep moving, it's going to hurt no matter how slow you do this," I said. He walked us across the lot, as I was surrounded by what had become my family. Kelly had propped the room door open and turned down the bed by the time we got there. He sat me on the edge.

Viper kept everyone else out but Doc, he came inside with his bag of supplies and my first aid kit. "We need to check the wounds, then I want to take a shower," I said.

Kelly closed the door and went to go. "Kelly, please stay," I said. "I'll need help later." She closed and locked the door as Snake returned with some towels. He laid them out on the bed, then helped me take my shirt off.

Kelly went pale. "Holy shit, I didn't know it was this bad," she said as she looked at the patchwork of bandages that was my body.

"Yeah, this is going to hurt," I said. I had Doc open my kit, inside was a bottle of Tylenol 500's with codeine. I palmed two as Kelly got me some water out of the fridge. "I don't need the morphine any more, I need my wits about me," I said. They started tearing off bandages, starting with the smaller wounds. If they were scarred over, they just left them alone. Kelly came back with some wet washcloths to clean up the blood that came with ripping off some of the scabs.

The deeper wounds, the ones that were stitched, were just starting to close up. "Shit, that's fast," Doc said. "Normally it would take a week to get to this point."

"Like I said, healing is accelerated." Kelly looked at me funny. "I'll explain it all to the rest of the club soon."

I couldn't see most of my wounds, but Doc said they were good enough to take a quick shower. I asked Snake to go get me some lunch, I was going to need a lot of food for my healing. I also wanted to tell the rest of the Club what was going on before I was sleepy again. I had Kelly help me into the bathroom so I could do my business; she stripped and joined me in the shower, helping clean me because bending over would hurt too much, and I couldn't reach my back.

I felt a lot better when I returned; Snake and Doc had left fresh clothes on the counter for me. I dried off and put on a robe, while Kelly got dressed. When I came out, the guys had sandwiches and cokes waiting for us. I kissed Snake and sat on his lap at the small table as we ate. "Everyone will be here in ten minutes," Doc said. "Are you sure you don't want me to dress your wounds first?"

"Yes, there's something I need to do first." The Club members started coming in as we were finishing, taking seats around the room until it was full. I made sure all the windows were closed and the doors were locked before I started talking. "First, I'm sorry I ruined your dinner," I said. "What happened back there I didn't expect. The three men who I was running from were after me, I knew it as soon as I saw them. They ran me off the road, then when I tried to run through the swamps to escape, they caught me. I was beaten and raped." Snake held me tight in his lap as that news hit the others like a bolt of lightning. I could see anger, shock and sympathy in the group; Kelly jumped out of Doc's lap and hugged me, followed by Teri and Taser. It took a few minutes to reassure the girls I was all right and to get the other men calmed down.

"The three men are gone," Viper said, "So there is no one left to go after. Our little DeWalt here killed one in the fight, and another she stabbed in the groin and stomach with a combat knife. We finally caught up to her and killed the guy who raped her."

That calmed things down a little, they wanted vengeance and they had gotten it. "Did you know the guys," asked Kelly.

"No. I could smell them, and they could smell me. That's why they went after me," I said.

"What, your perfume set this off?" Kelly looked confused.

"In a way. I'm not like you, I'm a different species. I'm actually a werewolf."

A few people laughed, while Rocket even asked if I was more Teen Wolf or American Werewolf in London. They didn't believe me. "I can prove it," I said as I pulled my arms out of the sleeves of my robe. "Help me up," I said.

Snake helped me stand as I loosened the tie on my robe. "Should you be doing this?"

"Shifting will be painful, but it will help with the healing," I said.

Viper's low voice boomed through the room. "When she does this, nobody fucking moves or says anything. I don't need the neighbors wondering what is going on. This is DeWalt, she won't hurt you," he said.

I shifted as I leaned forward, turning into my wolf before my arms hit the ground. The robe fell off as I walked forward a few steps; I was waiting for screams, but they didn't come. People were shocked but not afraid. I moved over to Viper and put my head on his leg, he scratched my ears as my tail wagged. "This is how we saw her in the swamp, those three men were also werewolves." I moved around the room slowly; I was bigger than a German Shepherd, grey in color with white and black patches.

"My God, you're beautiful," Teri said before I licked her face. "Ewww..."

I chuffed softly and moved around the rest of the room, making sure everyone got a chance to touch me if they wanted to. When I made it back to Snake, he covered me with the robe. "Guys, turn around," he said. I shifted back to my human form and pulled the robe back on.

"Decent," I said. I felt much better after the shift. "Now I know you must have questions." I repeated what I had told the others yesterday; what I was, what was happening with our women and why the men were after me.

"So just how many werewolves are out there," Rocket asked.

"I don't know. Before all this started, I knew there were about five hundred Packs in North America, each with between ten and two hundred members. There are also loners, wolves without Packs, and rogues, wolves who were kicked out of Packs. Up north there were three smaller Packs the Alpha was allied to, all are gone, some of the survivors joined his Pack. Most of these raids, everyone is killed except the women who are captured and forced into mating. There's no way to get a count now, but I know that there used to be about a hundred Pack Doctors like me, and there may only be a handful left now."

"What about back home," Tiny asked.

"Packs like having land to run and hunt in, plus being in close proximity to humans makes it harder to keep our secret," I said. "That's why they are in remote, rural areas. The smells and sounds of the city can be overwhelming. I have trouble being downtown too long," I said. "So, I don't expect to run into werewolves there, but you never know."

"And any male werewolf is a danger?"

"Yes... if they don't want me for themselves, females like me have become valuable. If they will wipe out entire Packs to get women, they will pay for them too, or trade."

Viper stood up. "I can tell she's getting tired, and she needs to rest. Snake will be staying with her, but I'd like at least one other Club member to be around as backup... armed backup, just in case."

"I'll stay this afternoon," Doc said. "I still need to dress her wounds."

"Sounds good. Everyone else, get ready, we're rolling in fifteen minutes. We're taking the backup run, back roads between here and Gainesville. Since you guys already rode all morning, we'll make the Daytona Beach run tomorrow instead." The Club spent a lot of time talking with local clubs and figuring out good routes and stopping places, and they always had extras.

"We'll watch football and rest," Snake said. "Have fun." There was one more riding day on the second, then the next morning they all went back to the airport. The trip was almost over.

When they were gone, Doc had me lay down on the bed so he could check the wounds. He put dressings over the ones that were still healing, hoping to protect the stitches and scabs a while longer. "It looks better since you shifted," he said. "Not as much blood as earlier."

"I'll need to shift twice a day until the scars are gone," I said. "This is a pet-free hotel, so I can't exactly spend a lot of time as a wolf."

He put the clean clothes on me and tucked me in, turning the bedside light off. "I'm going to nap with her if you're good," he told Doc.

"Sure, I'll watch the game." I heard Snake pull his clothes off and felt him get into the bed behind me.

He wasn't touching me, and that bothered my wolf. "Hold me?"

"Always." He scooted over until his chest met my back, and an arm carefully laid over my waist. I rested my head on his arm and was instantly asleep.

I woke up to a knock on the door; Snake wasn't in bed, but I could smell him in the room along with Doc. I heard Doc open the door and pay for the delivery, the smell of pizza was enough to get my eyes open. "Feed me," I said softly.

"Good, you're awake," Snake said. "The others are back, there were thunderstorms moving in so they returned early. They're all going out to a bar tonight, so dinner is just us."

I sat up, the pain wasn't as bad now. I took the pills on the bedside table and the glass of water he'd left for me before he handed me a plate of food. "A quiet night with you sounds good," I said.