The Wilder Side of Z

in school who’d been a wolf. He’d been able to smell it. The boy had been a senior and Xander had been a freshman. The only indication that the boy knew he was a wolf was when he’d seen the boy in the hall, going to class. There weren’t many children around them and the boy had flashed his eyes for but a brief moment and grinned. Xander had done the same and he’d not felt quite so alone after that. It wasn’t until he’d gone into the CIA that he’d come across others like him. Not many and Zahara was the first woman werewolf he’d ever met. He’d only seen his mother in werewolf form on a few occasions and not when his father was around. He wondered once more if his father knew that his wife had been a werewolf and his son? He thought perhaps female werewolves were rare. Zahara was indeed a rare one.

The birds were calling around them as he watched Ethan struggle. Then, he saw the man’s shoulders relax and smiled when the animal came forth. It grew tall and lengthened in limbs. Xander got up and walked over to Ethan and looked up.

“That’s good, that’s really good. How does it feel?”

The werewolf growled low and displayed its jagged molars. That was the werewolf equivalent of a smile.

“Awesome, now change back to human form and then go back to werewolf. See how fast you can do it and how smoothly.”

Ethan began to shrink before his eyes and the soft popping noises of joints and tendons filled the air around them. When he got to his human shape, he stretched and squatted.

“That freaking hurts like hell,” Ethan grumbled.

“It does, that’s why I try not to change very often. It takes a toll and by the end of the day, you’re wiped out. Tonight, you’ll sleep like the dead,” Xander said and laughed at the filthy look Ethan shot him.

“Yeah, fuck you too. I still can’t believe you planted me,” he grumbled.

“Hey, Zahara was the first to hear you. If we’d been someplace else or gone, you’d more than likely have died in that grave, though you might have dug your way out,” Xander said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Asshole,” Ethan snorted. He began to change again and this time it was a smoother transition. Xander began to strip and folded his clothing and set them aside with his weapon. The werewolf cocked his head to the side.

“I’m gonna change and then we can go for a run. If we run into any zombies, we’ll see how you do at killing them.” Within moments two werewolves stood in the woods. Xander took off running and could hear Ethan behind him. He only hoped there weren’t hunters in the area. He was sure he’d scare the living shit out of them. They kept to a wide circle away from the farm. Xander had wanted to explore the area a bit more before he left, knowing that if there were any zombies, they’d eventually head to the farm.

Their speed was quick and they moved through the forest in near silence. He looked over his shoulder and grinned when he saw Ethan’s tongue hanging from the side of his mouth. He slowed down when he caught glimpses of a farm through the trees. He scented the air and caught the telltale odor of death. He proceeded out of the forest with caution. This farm was just four or five miles from Rose’s farm. There were several horses and they were running around in a fenced pasture, their bodies lathered. In the pasture were three zombies and the creatures were trying to attack the horses. One horse was down and its body ripped open, it was dead. It seemed the zombies killed but wanted to keep killing.

They ran toward the zombies and Xander was sure that the horses would not appreciate them. He was right, the horses started screaming when the two werewolves ventured into the pasture. Xander let Ethan kill the zombies and he thought Ethan did a good job. Quick and no faltering, as he used his long claws to slash and decapitate the zombies. Nothing fancy, just quick in and kill. Both werewolves were snarling low and left the horses behind. As Xander vaulted over the fence, he noted the water in the trough. He’d suggest that Reggie come and get the horses. They may need them later for transportation. He and Ethan moved to the farmhouse and saw several more zombies milling about. There were a couple rotting corpses with parts of their heads blown away. On the ground was a shotgun. Perhaps they’d run out of shells? He watched as Ethan tore the zombies apart. Ethan slung the bodies far and into a pile. Ethan grasped the dead by the feet and hauled them to the growing pile of bodies. He’d suggest burning these.

The two werewolves sniffed around the house and Xander turned when Ethan howled, long and low. He joined that call and the air was filled with howls. In the far distance they heard an answering howl. It was Zahara and Xander’s heart raced for a moment. That was his mate. There were dogs barking in the distance was well and both wolves went to the barn. It was open and also smelled of death. He saw two dead cows and there were four zombies eating them. Ethan went over and bit each of their heads off. As he began to drag the bodies out, Xander looked into the other stalls. Goats and pigs were dead, slaughtered. It was a mess. There was a dead woman in one stall, she’d been ripped apart and there was a shot to her head. Someone had ended her suffering before she could be turned into a zombie.

There had been a slaughter here and there was sadness within his beast. He