The Last Shewolf Ch. 40-45

Snake's POV

"Mitch, do you have those wolves on camera?"

"I do for now, but they are heading into the State Forest. Wait... they are out of view now." I was at once relieved and apprehensive, I didn't want them here, but they had protected Vivian effectively.

"Keep watching," I told him.

Viper moved into the clearing but had his hands up to the others. "Stay put, everyone, just in case. Dagger, you come up, make sure all these wolves are dead. Shakes, disarm those charges so we can approach the house. Snake, up here with me." He got on the walkie talkie. "Bring their cars up to the house, they won't need them anymore."

"Yes boss."

I walked up to where Viper was standing, surveying the field that was stained red with Sheridan Pack blood. After what they must have done to Carson, I only wished it could have lasted longer. "Jesus Christ, these guys didn't have a chance."

"I know, Gabriel's men were on a different level, it seems. Not only did they cheat me out of a kill, but they left us the fucking mess to clean up."

"They're gone?" Vivian's voice from inside snapped my eyes over to the cabin.

"Yes, but don't open a door yet, just in case they come back," I said.

I heard metal sliding, and she looked out the window of the living room after sliding the shutter aside. "Wow. They killed them all."

"Yes, then they knelt down in worship to you, DeWalt. I'm not sure what to think." Viper looked around. "How the hell did they know about Eve?"

"I have no idea," she said as she looked out.

"SAFE NOW," Shakes shouted as he walked towards us.

I didn't need any more encouragement, I ran to the window and damn near pulled her out as I took her in my arms and kissed her. "I was so scared when those wolves came running in, I thought we might not be able to protect you," I said.

"I'm fine." She kissed me again.

"Stay here for a bit, just in case. We have some cleanup to do." Viper left four guys farther out with walkie-talkies while we took care of the cleanup. We didn't have time to build a fire big enough to cremate nineteen huge wolves, so we would have to improvise.

"Viper," Scrape said as he came up. "On the way here we passed a gully, it's maybe twelve feet deep and six across. We could pile them at the bottom, then cover it up."

"We'd need a hell of a lot of material for that," I said. "If they aren't six feet deep the smell will be noticed."

"Thought about that, Shakes could use those charges of his to blow the sides, collapse it down."

"SHAKES!" Viper waited until he ran over. "Come with us." The four of us headed off into the woods while the others got busy with laying out a tarp and tossing all the bodies and body parts on it. The gully was about a quarter mile away. We got to the edge, it seemed promising. "We'll have to bury it good, this is washout from snowmelt. It can uncover quickly in the spring."

"I think we'll be all right if all these big rocks are blasted on top," I said. "We just need them to stay in place until they decompose. Dog bones won't arouse suspicions if they pop up out here. Shakes, what do you think?"

"I think I'm saving my silver Claymores for later. I've got stuff in my bag I can use for this."

"Wait a minute, the bag in the back of my truck?" He nodded. "Just how much 'stuff' did you bring?"

"Plenty, don't worry, if I'm not running, you're all right." He smiled and ran off towards the cabin we were parked at. We went back and started carrying the carcasses out there, dumping them in the deepest part. It took him about two hours to place explosives in the cracks in the rock wall of the gully and wire it all up. We stood back a good hundred yards as he connected it to his hand detonator, a silly grin on his face. "I was worried I wouldn't get any fun," he said. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

A few seconds later there was a loud bang and the sound of a landslide. When I looked up, dust and smoke was obscuring the area, soon taken away by the wind. "Hope that doesn't attract too much attention," I said.

"Just one they'll blame it on something else," he said. "Do it again and it'll get noticed."

It was pushing six by the time we were done and cleaned up. We had passed a pizza and beer place on the way in, and Moose had verified it was a good place when he stopped by after dropping Sheri off at her bar. "Boss, what should we do with their cars?"

"Drive them back to the clubhouse for now, I know a chop shop that will take them," I said. "They won't miss them."

I walked back to the house, three of my brothers were inside cleaning up and had just finished putting a new steel entry door on. "How are you doing, baby?"

Vivian looked tired as I pulled her into my lap on the chair. "I'm not sure how I am anymore, Snake. I miss my baby, though."

"She's fine, Teri and Meghan will take good care of her. Feel like some pizza and beer?"

"Sure, why not." We walked out the door, everyone was loading into vehicles and we fell into the middle of the caravan. It took us fifteen minutes to get to the small town, and we half-filled the parking lot.

We hadn't worn our cuts for this trip, not wanting any wolf to trace us back, so we looked like a big group of friends out for the night. The beer was flowing, the pizza was good, the fellowship better, but we couldn't stay long. "She needs to get home," I told Viper as Vivian started to snore softly, she had fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder. All those late-night feedings were still catching up to her.

"I think we all should go," he said. "We can relax back at the clubhouse."

"Do you think that is safe for her now?"

"You are safe to return, my men have cleared the area of any threats." The voice came from behind me, it was the same man from the clearing. He had two men with him, all were dressed in motorcycle boots, jeans, black T-shirts and leather cuts. His long hair was held back with a bandana, it was a black Harley-Davidson print. His vest had "PRESIDENT" and "GABE" on the front, with a crest showing a shadowed knight in armor, a full moon rising behind him. "May I join you?"

Teri's POV

"Meghan, is that bottle ready yet?" I damn near had to shout over Eve's screams, she had woken up cranky and it had spun downhill from there. I was walking her back and forth in the living room of the small guest house, patting her back and softly begging her to settle down, and it wasn't working. She had woken from her nap about seven PM, and wasn't happy about it.

"Here," she said as she ran into the room. I quickly sat down and tried to feed her, but she wouldn't take the bottle, she was too interested in setting new decibel records for crying.

"Can I try?"

"Here," I said. Meghan settled her in her arm, singing softly to her as she rocked back and forth. Almost instantly, Eve settled down and seconds later was sucking hard at her bottle. "That's SO unfair. How can I raise three kids and get shown up by a teenager?"

She just giggled. "Well, you didn't spend time singing to her and holding her hand while she was in the incubator. She likes me better."

"Showoff." I got up in a huff, walking towards the kitchen. I grabbed a Coke out of the fridge and walked back out to the living room. Eve was working on the bottle, her little hand gripping Meghan's shirt as she continued to sing her song. "You're going to be a great mother someday," I said as I watched her.

"A long time from now," she said. "College, med school, residency... I'll be in my late twenties before I have time for a man." She pulled the bottle away and put Eve on her shoulder, patting her back. "I'm not giving up my dream for anyone."

"You shouldn't have to," I said. "Any man worthy of your love will support your dreams."

She coaxed a strong burp out of her and cleaned her face up. "Here, you can have her back."

"That's all right." She gave her back to me anyway, and almost immediately her face started to scrunch up. "Oh you little..." Meghan just started to laugh as she ran out of the room. "Oh GOD, you KNEW she was going to poop and you give her to me?"

"I can't help if I know the warning signs," she said as she grabbed her own Coke. She walked back into the living room and "Hey, what's that out by the fence?"

I got up, holding Eve away from my nose as I went in to see what it was. I looked out across the front yard where Elias' border collie was going nuts by the fence. Running back and forth, she was barking at something on the other side. I followed her eyes, and the biggest wolf I had ever seen was pacing along the ditch, just outside the fence. "Meghan, take Eve to the bedroom and lock the door behind you," I said.

"You're making me change her?" She took Eve from me, scrunching her face.

I ignored her, reaching under the couch for the scoped rifle that was kept there. "Call Elias, let them know there's a wolf outside the fence. Then call the clubhouse, have then send anyone available down here to help. Make sure they are armed."

"Are you going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine. There's a pistol in the bedside table, don't open the door for anyone but me or someone you know." She turned for the hall as I opened the window. Using the scope, I scanned the fence line, stopping when I saw another. "MEGHAN, TELL THEM THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO!"

I pulled the bolt back a little, making sure the .30-06 modified hunting cartridge was chambered. The bullet was injected with silver, another Moose special. "Where the hell is Viking," I whispered to myself. He was supposed to be on patrol outside, how he could miss two huge freaking wolves by the front gates, I had no idea.

The two wolves were now together near the double gates for the driveway. I took a bead on the larger one, it was closest to the fence. I settled behind the rifle, doing a quick breathing exercise to steady my heart rate. I thumbed off the safety, then took up most of the trigger pull. I watched the crosshairs settle over the right shoulder, taking a deep breath and then letting it halfway out, the way my Dad had taught me while learning to hunt.

"MOM!" The noise scared me, just enough to make up the remaining pressure on the trigger and the shot rang out.

Ch. 41

Snake's POV

I reacted immediately to the three werewolves, moving my body in front of Vivian's as my left hand reached for my pistol. I had a holster sewn into the cut under my right arm, so I could draw and fire while riding if needed. I wasn't the only one, hands reached for weapons all around the tables, and a few of my brothers stood up. None of us pulled them, we were in a public place and the three had stopped coming towards Vivian. Gabriel and his men didn't even twitch, their hands were visible, and their postures were not threatening at all. They just looked like three fellow bikers coming to join their friends.

Maybe they were.

Viper stood up and walked towards them, stopping in front of Gabriel. He extended his hand. "I'm Viper. President of the Northwoods Riders."

I was getting a bad feeling about this as they shook hands. "I am Gabriel, President of the Knights of the Moon. My Vice President, Michael," as the man to his right stepped forward and shook Viper's hand, "And my Master at Arms, Abaddon."

While they talked, Hammer and Moose had taken positions behind Viper. "This is my Vice President, Moose, and my Master at Arms, Hammer." The men exchanged handshakes. "Now, you're making a few people nervous, so perhaps it would be best if the six of us sat over here and talked for a bit."

"I understand completely, you don't trust us yet." His men turned and walked over to the empty table, our leaders followed them. "I wouldn't either, too much has gone on in the past seven years. I'm glad she has found protection and a home with you. We wish her no harm, in fact we are offering our help in protecting the Doctor and her daughter."

"Why? What is she to you?"

"She holds the last hope of our people," he said gravely.

"And how do you know that?"

"The Goddess told me in a vision."

I rolled my eyes, this was all we needed, a werewolf biker gang on a mission from Luna. We had enough people out there to worry about. I heard my cellphone ring, it woke Vivian up. I pulled it out of my pocket, it was Teri. "Teri? Everything all right?"

"Mom's out front, there are two wolves outside the fence! We don't know where Viking is, and Mom has the rifle out!"

"Hang on." I yelled over. "Gabriel, are any of your men near Eve?"

"Of course, three of my men are patrolling outside the game farm now. They won't go any closer than the fence, though." I put the phone back up. "Meghan, they're friends. Tell Teri not to do anything unless they get inside the fence."

"Thank God," she said. "I'll tell her." I heard a door open, and Eve was fussing. "MOM!"

"BANG!" I flinched at the noise.

"MOM, they are FRIENDS." I could hear Teri curse in the background. "Snake, one of them is hit. It looks bad."

My face paled as I looked back to the leaders. "One of them has been shot," I said. "Teri didn't know."

"Give me the phone," Vivian said. She now was wide awake. "Meghan, I need you to go out there and help. My kit is in the back of the car. Load him up and get him to the Clubhouse, bring Eve with."

"OK. I'll call you back."

"We have to go," she said. "The only chance to help your man is to get him to the clubhouse, and we're ninety minutes away. Those rounds had silver in them."

"Take my bike and her, I'll right back with you guys," Gabriel said as he tossed me his keys. "Michael and Abbadon will go with you."

"Moose, you go too." We took off for the motorcycles. Gabriel had a nice ride, but only one helmet which I gave to Vivian. Luckily, it had a microphone and speaker built in she could use to talk on the phone. I fired it up and pulled out of the parking lot as soon as her arms wrapped around me, and we were off.

We'd be there in under an hour.

Meghan's POV

I ran out to the car, grabbing her first aid kit before I jumped on an ATV to drive out there. When I got to the fence, I parked the ATV on the side before hitting the button to open the gates. The wolf was lying on its side, bleeding from his stomach, and in a lot of pain. The other man was kneeling naked by him, his hand over the wound. I kept my eyes away from his male form as I set the kit down next to the wolf. "Do you have a car?"

"Motorcycles," he said.

"Run to the house, put some clothes on and bring my Mom and Eve out here in the car. I've got this." He took off, and as his hand moved I saw the entry wounds for the bullet fragments. There were two, so the bullet must have hit the fence and broken up before it got to him. I called Vivian back and described what I had as I kept pressure on the wound with one hand. By the time I had rinsed my hands in alcohol, put on gloves and poured the alcohol on his wound, which caused him to pass out from the pain, Mom was back with the car and Viking. "Mom, leave Eve with Viking, I need you."

She came up next to me. "Oh God, I'm so sorry," she started to cry.

"Later. I need you to hold pressure on these while I draw up a syringe." Vivian talked me through drawing up the sedative and how to inject it on the foreleg of the big wolf. "This would be so much easier if he was human," I complained.

"Can't shift with silver inside," she said. "He won't wake up now, and we have to get the fragments out."

"How?"

"Put the headlamp on so you can see and use a pair of forceps. There is a disposable scalpel In the top center, you'll need that first." The man's friend, who said his name was Maalik and the injured wolf was Zephaniel, pulled out the headlamp and put it on my head while I got the knife. "Open the entry wound to about three inches wide with the scalpel. You'll need to cut through the tissue carefully and use a retractor to hold it so you can see. There's a handheld suction unit, have Teri use that to keep the blood clear while you work."

We got the equipment out and Mom started to suction the wound as I worked my way past the skin and muscles of his stomach. "I feel like I'm going to get sick," Mom said.

"Just focus, he needs you. You break it, you bought it, right?" I laughed a little at I used the retractors to hold the muscles apart. I used my finger to search around for the fragment. It took about twenty seconds to find it by the intestine. I used the forceps to pull it out and toss it aside. I didn't see anything else, so Vivian told me to go to the second entry wound.

"Don't I have to stitch this up?"

"Just pack it with gauze for now, I'll have to follow up anyway," she said. I did so, and repeated the action on the other wound. This time I found the main bullet, at least more than half of one. "Good job," she said. "Pack it up, keep pressure on the wounds, and get moving."

While we were working on him, the third man arrived on his motorcycle, thankfully he was fully dressed. His name was Urial. "We'll follow you," he said.

"Viking, you drive. Fold down the far back seats and put the blanket down, I'll go in the back with him." The guys quickly prepped the car, then two of them picked their buddy up and set him in the back of the Expedition. I packed the kit back up and set it on the back seat, next to the car seat that Eve was strapped into. I crawled into the back with the injured wolf as we pulled out, Mom sitting next to Eve.

"We're on our way, Doc."

"Good job, Meghan. You kept your cool and did what had to be done, I'm so proud of you," she said. "Now we are an hour out, tell Viking not to get pulled over because we don't need to explain a huge, injured wolf."

It took us forty minutes to arrive at the clubhouse, in the meantime I had started an IV and figured out how to use a blood pressure cuff on a wolf leg. Mom had called ahead, and a stretcher was waiting for us when we arrived. We got him up to the clinic room and on the exam table about the time Vivian's motorcycle was crossing the river at Hudson. "Does anyone know his blood type," she asked.

They didn't, but she had shown me how to type and cross blood. Wolf blood was similar, but different, it had to be another wolf, not a human. I did the test and it turned out Urial was a match. "I'm going to get you started on donating a pint, but I'll wait for Doc to verify my match before I use it," I said. I had him lay down on the desk and I had just inserted the needle when I heard the commotion.

Vivian rushed in, going immediately to the injured wolf. She lifted the gauze, looking at the wounds. "Nice job," she said.

"I need you to check his blood type match," I said as I left Urial. She nodded. "As soon as it's full we'll hang it, now I need you to set up for surgery while I scrub in. Sterile tray, light, suction, monitor."

"Are we going to do this in wolf form?"

"No choice, that shot you gave him will keep him down for two more hours." I went to set things up while she quickly changed into scrubs and scrubbed in. The blood pressure cuff was tricky, but I got it to work. I set the surgical instrument tray on a stand by the bed, and pulled the ceiling lamp over and aimed it at the injury site. I had the suction machine ready as well. "Put on my gown and scrub in," she told me. I helped her put her arms through and tied it in back before I went over to change and scrub up.

By the time I had returned to help, she was already inside, starting to suture up the wounds to his intestines. "He's lucky you were there," she said. "See this burned tissue? That's what silver does. The longer it stays in contact, the more damage, and he can't heal with it in him." She sewed up the wounds, at one point having to cut out a damaged section of intestine before sewing it back together. When she was done, she started carefully working her way down. "This is called running the bowels. The intestines are difficult to check, and a single little nick can cause a deadly infection if not corrected. You work through methodically until you have verified no other damage." When she was done, she used sterile saline rinse to clean the cavity, again to prevent infection. The surgery took us ninety minutes to complete.