Mike and Luke were a tremendous help. Farming was hard work and it took their strong backs to make it work. He was now feeling his age though the werewolf in him kept him strong. He never got sick and he thought perhaps his aging had slowed down. He smiled softly when he saw Rose with her hands on her hips waiting for him. She was laughing and shaking her head.
“You take a nap while you were at it?” she called and he grinned. She always gave him a hard time when it came to gardening and farming. He still went on his nightly patrols but it had been nearly three years since any of them had seen a zombie. Xander said it was about the same there. Every now and then one would stagger down the road and he’d pick it off quickly. Ethan thought that in the larger cities there must still be thousands or hundreds of thousands of the creatures. He just didn’t know because of being so far way.
He’d heard on the radio, others talking. Some complained of infestations while others were like him, claiming not to come into contact with them. He noticed that those who weren’t bothered by zombies never gave their locations, lest they become overrun with people looking for a safe haven. Their resources were limited and carefully watched and used. There was no waste here. He set the handle of the cart down and Caleb walked over with a shovel. He was proud of his seven-year-old son, he was a hard worker with a ready smile. He also had his mother’s gray eyes.
“Mom said she’s gonna pinch you if you don’t get a move on,” Caleb said in his slow southern drawl.
“Well maybe I wanted your momma to pinch me,” Ethan grinned.
“Get a room!” Mike called. Caleb looked over, confusion in his clear gray eyes.
“Don’t listen to him,” Rose said and laughed.
“Where’s Regina?” he asked, shoveling out a load where his wife pointed.
“Lauren has her, I didn’t want to have to bathe her again.” Rose gave him a look. He’d taken their two-year-old daughter to collect eggs earlier that morning and Regina had managed to smear chicken shit all in her hair. Rose was not pleased.
“At least Lauren is getting a taste before she gets to raise her own brood. Let’s just hope she waits a few years, we’ll need a babysitter for a while longer,” Ethen said and got a clod of dirt thrown at his back and turned around to see Lauren walking with Regina in her arms who was now fighting to get down.
“Ha, ha, Uncle Ethan. When I have kids, I’m sending them all here to drive you crazy,” Lauren said and winked at Rose.
“Eeee, mama,” Regina squealed and arched her back, trying to get out of Lauren’s arms. Ethan walked over and took his daughter and snuggled her. She smelled like puppy breath. She would be a werewolf one day as would Caleb. He smiled. When he’d told Rose that their children were werepups she had smiled serenely.
“They will be the guardians of our families,” she’d said.
Over the years they’d had very few incidents with outsiders. Between them and the Jenners, the area was relatively safe and trouble free. Every now and then a family or group would pass by on horseback or in a wagon. They would stop to visit and trade and move on. For now, each day was filled with hard work, laughter and joy. Ethan didn’t think he could ask for more. He just wished his friend, Reggie, had lived longer but he would never be forgotten.
Ž
Jack growled deeply, he was not happy and Xander could see that the teen was frustrated. He was a late bloomer and was just now coming into his werebear self. Shay sat on the porch and watched, bored. She’d been turning for almost five years now and Jack thought he should have turned two years before.
“Jack, I don’t know how this works for werebears, I only know werewolves. Be patient son,” Xander said, his voice calm.
“I know papa, but I feel like I wanna just explode sometimes,” Jack said, his large brown eyes pleading.
“Now that, I do understand. That’s a normal feeling. Don’t try so hard, relax and let the animal inside come out. He wants to, you just can’t force him.”
The door opened and Zahara came out, their five-year-old daughter, Neylan, behind her. She had large green eyes and hair that was blonde and brown curls that was wild about her face. Shay had made her a little wolf-girl doll, which Neylan carried everywhere. The seventeen-year-old was reading an old magazine and put it down and opened her arms. Neylan ran to her older sister and launched herself. She was bundled up in a heavy jacket as was her mother. Shay had a heavy cable sweater on with a knitted cap and scarf.
Xander knew it was only a matter of time before the bear came forth and the more relaxed Jack was the better. Jack was bare-chested with loose sweat pants on, just in case he grew out of his
