Claiming Her Beasts #2 by Dia Cole

1

Lee

“It’s a good day to die,” Zara said, pointing her semiautomatic assault rifle up at the cloudless sky.

My friend’s words made the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickle. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think it.” Keeping my fingers tightly wrapped around my tactical knife, I wiped away the sweat on my forehead. It was only New Year’s Eve, but the stifling heat wave was a familiar prelude to a scorching Saguaro Valley spring—a spring we probably wouldn’t live long enough to see.

Zara swiped her frizzy rainbow curls out of her face and flashed me a feral grin. “We all got to go someday. Why not today?” She moved farther out into the debris-covered street, her face shadowed by the Festival of Lights banner doing the splits between two palm trees overhead.

“Hush,” hissed her younger brother, Dev. He flattened his back against the abandoned Suburban we were using as cover and glared at Zara through his glasses. “Get back here if you know what’s good for you.” At eighteen he was only a few years younger than Zara and me, but when he acted like this, he reminded me of his bossy older brother.

My lips curled as the ruggedly handsome face of Avi flashed in my mind. Since Christmas, he and I had spent every free moment together. At this point, I knew every square inch of Avi’s gorgeous, ripped body better than my own. And yet, I still ached for more of his touch, something that was creating tension with my other lover, Reed.

Zara blew a raspberry at Dev. “You’re fast becoming my least favorite brother.”

“Should I care?” Dev’s comeback was ruined by his muffled sneeze. It seemed he was coming down with whatever cold was going around the safe house.

As he wiped his nose with his sleeve, Zara snorted and bounced up and down on the balls of her sneakers like the overexcited puppies my sister, Eden, had once rescued. Of course, that had been long before the canine flu vaccine brought about the zombie apocalypse. Now the human species needed rescuing far more than any animals.

“Calm down. You’re making me nervous,” Dev pleaded. “And I already have a headache.”

Zara rubbed her belly. “Well, I’m starving. Why did we have to skip breakfast for this stupid field training test?”

My stomach rumbled at the reminder of our missed meal. I’d given my sister most of my dinner last night, which made missing the single protein bar we were rationed for breakfast hurt more than usual.

“Shut up, Zara. They’ll hear you.” Dev jerked his acne covered chin in the direction of the crowd gathering in front of the Euro Gift Shop down the street.

I tensed, glancing at the mob.

Even with their heads and limbs bent at odd angles, the shambling bodies could almost be mistaken for normal people. Almost. But a closer look at their milky eyes, uncoordinated gait, and rotting skin gave them away.

Zara scoffed. “The Biters are all the way over there.”

She can’t be serious.

We all knew how dangerous zombies could be when they gathered together, and that pack was one of the largest I’d seen since the day the world went to hell a few weeks ago. The memory of the horde of dead smashing through my house had me shivering despite the warm temperature.

Zara held her fingers to her lips and mocked her brother by making loud shushing noises.

Neither the desert heat nor Zara’s cavalier attitude was doing anything to thaw the ice water running through my veins.

Why did I volunteer for this? Oh wait. I didn’t.

Sergeant Dominic Rosario, the leader of our group, ordered us to accompany him on this training mission. Before he’d left to scout ahead, he’d announced we'd be tested on our survival skills and our knowledge of his rules.

Ugh.He has so many goddamn rules.

Living under Dominic’s command kept us alive, but sometimes I wondered if we'd embraced the devil in an attempt to survive hell.

I rubbed a sweaty palm on my jeans. I have to pass his test. Those that failed were exiled or assigned the most menial jobs back at the school where we were staying. Although being shackled with the sanitation group wasn’t the end of the world, being thrown out of the safe house without the protection of Dominic and his soldiers might be. Especially since I had a body snatching demon after me.

I shuddered at the thought of the comatose, ten-foot-tall, creature lying on the floor of Dominic’s office. Hunter was supposed to be under Dominic’s control, but he’d somehow slipped the sergeant’s leash to possess Reed and take my virginity.

A familiar wave of disgust and anger pulsed through me. Thankfully, Hunter was gone now, but Dominic warned he would continue to stalk me, perhaps in the guise of a different body.

I shivered, bile rising in my throat.

As if sensing my fear, two of the Biters down the street lifted their heads and sniffed the air.

I froze, not daring to move a muscle.

After a tense moment, the creatures turned back to their shambling.

I let out a relieved breath.

“Those Biters have the right idea. We should get breakfast there.” Zara pointed at the gift shop. “They have the most amazing fruit pies. They’re even better than sex.” She smacked her lips. “Anyone want to get a pie with me?”

Dev gritted his teeth. “No one is getting a pie with you. Stop acting crazy.”

Zara flipped him off.

Dev and I shared a troubled look. Although sassy as hell, the pixie-sized girl’s survival skills and razor-sharp focus during training drills had earned her a spot on Dominic’s coveted red team. Her strange behavior only made my anxiousness grow.

“I’m getting breakfast.” Zara spun on her heel and marched down the street.

Has she lost her damn mind?

“Stop her,” Dev begged. “She listens to you more than me.”

I wasn’t sure that was true, but I ran after my friend and snagged the strap of her weapon with my free hand. “Do you have a death wish?”

Zara winked at me and mouthed, “Play along.” The overpowering scent of rum wafted off her clothes.

I gasped in disbelief. We’re out in one of the deadliest parts of the neighborhood, and she’s drunk? Great. Just great. Not only weren’t we going to pass the field training test, she was going to get us killed. I cast a quick glance at the Biters. Thankfully, they hadn’t detected our presence. Yet.

“Let me go,” she exclaimed, trying to shake me off.

Years of spinning around a pole, along with Dominic’s daily defensive trainings, gave me the strength to reel the smaller woman in. I dragged her behind an overturned gray sedan trying to ignore the blood-streaked windows. “Dominic ordered us to stay by the Suburban.” Rule of survival number one, follow Dominic’s orders.

Zara gave a dramatic eye roll. “He’s been gone too long. He’s probably been eaten.”

My stomach dropped. Not Dominic. He can’t die. Despite my conflicting feelings for the gorgeous sergeant, I couldn’t bear to consider anything bad happening to him. I shook off her words. “Seriously? He can take out a horde with his bare hands. You don’t want to piss him off.”

Zara scoffed. “Just because you have the hots for one of the scariest mofos still alive on this planet doesn’t mean I’m going to roast my lady balls off waiting for him.” She whipped around and elbowed me in the gut.

I doubled over with a grunt, losing my grip on her. “Why the hell did you do that?”

She glared at me with her hands on her hips. “I’m getting that fruit pie.”

“Not only is that suicidal, you know we’re never supposed to travel anywhere alone.” Rule of survival number eight, always travel with backup.

She arched a brow. “So, come with me.”

Movement over her shoulder quickened my pulse. Two zombies peeled off from the pack and lurched our way. “Biters, eight o’clock!”

The closest flesh-eater wore teal medical scrubs and an ID badge linking her to the retirement home up the street. The shredded skin of her throat revealed a half-eaten trachea, the same color as her sunken white eyes.

Close behind her shambled a hulking, male Biter, wearing a blue polo and bloodstained chinos. Maggots danced in and out of the gaping hole where his nose had once been.

I gulped. These Biters weren’t like the toothless, armless ones we’d practiced fighting back at the school. These monsters will fight us to the death.

Zara spun around, her eyes narrowing. “I’ll teach these cock blockers to get between me and my breakfast.” She shouldered her rifle and pointed it at the female Biter.

“What are you doing?” I grabbed the weapon and ripped it from her hands. “Guns are only used as a last resort.” Rule of survival number five. “The noise will attract the others.”

“You’re right. Damn, I forgot my spear. Can you handle them?”

Crap!I gave Zara her rifle back and shoved her behind me.

The Biter was only a few yards away. Seeing us, she clicked her bloodstained teeth together in frenzied anticipation.

Terror slammed into me. My muscles froze and my heart hammered so hard I feared it’d burst through my chest like some kind of alien monster.

“Snap out of it, Lee!” Zara whispered hoarsely. “Do something or we’ll die.”

I took a deep breath and immediately choked on the pungent, rotting-meat stench of the approaching zombie. Quickly switching to mouth breathing, I focused on Dominic’s training. The words he’d drilled into my mind came back to me.

Attack. Don’t react.

Stiffening my shoulders, I raised my knife and ran at the flesh-eater head-on.

She opened her jaws and reached for me.

Avoiding her long, jagged fingernails, I stabbed my blade straight through her milky eye. It exploded like an overripe grape.

Ugh.I ripped my blade free, and she collapsed to the street, lifeless.

Before I could congratulate myself on the kill, the male Biter shambled over her body and tackled me to the asphalt.

Shit!The air whooshed out of my lungs and my knife flew out of my hand.

“Kick him off!” Zara cried.

Adrenaline roared through me as I fought to keep the Biter’s snapping jaws away from my throat.

“You’ve got this,” Zara called out, suddenly becoming my personal cheerleader.

No, I don’t. It’s too strong.My arms shook with the strain of trying to hold off the freakishly huge creature.

It gnashed its teeth, and several writhing maggots fell onto my face.

Oh, God!I couldn’t stop the impulse to shake them away. I lost my grip on the Biter.

He lunged for my throat.

Zara swung the butt of her rifle into the side of his head, knocking him off me.

I scrambled away as she brought the rifle down on his forehead, crunching in its skull like an eggshell.

“Th-thanks,” I stammered wondering why she’d waited so long to help.

She let out a heavy sigh. “You may not thank me in a few minutes. Just remember whatever happens, it’ll be okay.”

I stared at her in confusion. “What will be okay?”

Ignoring my question, she glanced up at Dev who’d run over to join us.

He sneezed and offered me his hand.

I shook my head and pushed myself up. I so did not need to catch whatever bug Dev and some of the other survivors were coming down with. Dominic’s trainings kicked my ass as it was, and Sergeant Pain in the Ass didn’t allow days off for sickness.

“Better luck next time,” Dev said, coughing into his elbow.

“Assuming there is a next time,” Zara added, shaking her head. “This was your field training test.

I blinked in slow understanding. “Wait, you mean you guys staged this?”

They shared a guilty look.

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you being tested today too?”

“We passed our field training already,” Zara replied in an apologetic voice. She bent down to pick up my knife and handed it to me.

“Oh,” I said, shoving my knife into my waistband. I tried smother the bitter feeling of betrayal, but I couldn’t meet Zara’s gaze.

“Please don’t be mad. Dominic didn’t give us a choi—” Zara broke off as a large shadow fell over us.

My breathing went choppy as I spied all six-foot-six muscular inches of Dominic standing a few yards away. His dark close-cropped hair, tactical vest lined with throwing knives, and shiny black combat boots marked him as the Special Forces soldier he was.

“You three, over here,” he rumbled in a deep voice.

Not wanting to test the sergeant’s limited patience, we hustled to follow him down the street.

A small gasp of surprise escaped my lips when I saw the carnage in front of the gift shop. The entire pack of Biters lay motionless on the ground—a single knife wound in the center of their skulls. Dominic’s calling card.

As I stepped over the piles of bodies, I realized the sergeant must’ve been inside the shop watching us the entire time. No wonder the Biters were gathering in front.

Way to be observant, Lee.

Dominic’s midnight eyes bore into mine as he propped the door to the shop open. His scowl was damning. “Inside. Now.”

A sinking feeling grew in my stomach. Crap. I’ve failed the test.