3

Jasper popped the last of the roast beef sandwich he’d made for his lunch into his mouth and shuddered. The closer it got to the moon being full, the less he cared for the taste of cooked meat. Even the rare roast beef tasted off to him. This wasn’t a common complaint of the other werewolves with which he’d been associating. Therefore he assumed that it was either the zombie toxins or the vampire genetics in him that the moon was enhancing. Because the werewolf genetics had proven to have the strongest influence, he was surprised that they didn’t simply overpower the other traits instead of enhancing them. Since it only happened during the time of the full moon, he was confident that he was correct with his deduction.

Coming to this realization filled him with dread and trepidation.

His dislike for cooked meat was getting stronger with each full moon. That in itself was a serious matter. What made it worse was the fact that his craving for the taste of raw flesh was far greater than the desire for blood.

He actually had to stop himself from killing a cat on the day of the onset of the full moon the month prior. With two days still before the next full moon, he’d already had to restrain from killing a dog. Since vampires craved blood and the werewolf only hunted while in werewolf form, this was yet another indication that the zombie toxins were taking hold.

“Am I becoming a zombie?” he muttered as he choked down the masticated roast beef and bread. “Is that to be my fate?”

He wasn’t happy about the inconvenience of having to shift into a wolf each month. He was even less pleased with the unreliable vampire genetics in him that he’d managed to keep at bay so far. Even so, they were at least intelligent, thinking creatures who still harbored humanity; with the werewolf holding more than the vampire. From what he knew about zombies, they were brain dead corpses that ate on instinct. Being someone who prized his intelligence, the thought of becoming a walking, brain dead corpse that walked around chomping on anything that moved like the little yellow ball in the Pacman game was frightening beyond explanation.

The pressures of trying to solve so many problems weighed heavy on him. He needed to find a way to enhance the werewolf’s speed and strength in order to fortify them against a far larger vampire army if they were going to get Lila back. She was safe as long as she carried the baby, but, since a human being impregnated by a vampire with adjusted genetics was something that no one had experienced before, there was no way of telling just how long the gestation period would be. All he knew for sure was that it was clearly shorter than that of a human.

Time was of the essence.

The last thing he needed was to have to stop working on a formula for the werewolves so that he could subdue the zombie toxins that were threatening to emerge. Sadly, he saw no way around it.

He’d developed a pattern of retiring with Freya by nine pm so that he could satisfy her profound lust for sex. It looked like that wasn’t going to happen for the next few days. With his zombie dilemma competing with developing a formula to enhance the werewolves’ battle qualities and aiding Ben and Marcus in coming up with a way of saving Lila, he had no time for Freya’s lustful needs. Or anything else for that matter. He’d be lucky to be able to catch a few minutes sleep now and then.

Shrugging, he quickly, but meticulously washed his sandwich plate and water glass.

His relationship with Freya was something that he’d been wanting to address but had been putting it off. In the beginning, he’d been highly aroused by her lust for his body and his for hers. Unfortunately, it was short lived.

He found their time in bed to be long and tedious while he did the things that she asked of him to bring her pleasure until she was finally ready to allow him to enter her and get the much needed release he’d worked so hard for. It was truly a one sided sexual affair; with her being the receiver and him the giver.

For someone who didn’t consider sex a priority, it quickly became more like a job than a pleasurable recreation. More than once, he’d dragged his feet with dread of what was expected of him as he made his way to her bed.

There was also the fact that he’d rapidly realized that her loveliness didn’t penetrate below the flesh. She was the poster woman for beauty being only skin deep.

He wasn’t exactly able to explain why he felt that way. It was just something about her energy and the way she looked at people now and then and some of the comments that she made.

He could have attributed it to her wolfism, but it wasn’t something that he saw in any other member of the pack. Even Marcus, who was tough to the core, didn’t come across as ugly inside the way Freya did. He’d said nothing to anyone about this feeling he had but, by the whispers floating about, he knew that there were others who felt the same.

As he returned to his lab to focus on subduing the zombie toxins, he looked at the clock and hoped that his lack of showing that night would spur her into finding a new lover.

****

Jasper lifted his face from his forearms as they rested on his lab table and looked out of the oversized window that dominated the outer wall of the room. The deep red, pink, and orange blending into the dark blue that laced the skyline escorting in the day promised that the weather would be as tumultuous as his mood. The numbers on the small digital clock near his elbow turned to display that it was five in the morning. He’d had exactly two hours sleep.

Refreshing his eyes with the palms of his hands, he moved to the sink and splashed cold water on his face before running his wet fingers through his hair. Two hours would have to be enough. He still hadn’t come up with a deterrent for the zombie venom and he needed to get back to work on the formula for Marcus and the werewolves.

He wished that it wasn’t so close to the full moon. Having to stop everything so that he could shift and run with the pack was a major inconvenience. The full moon was when they were at their strongest. This included a few days before and a few days after. It was prime time to take on the vampires and rescue Lila. Sadly, they were waiting for the formula to enhance their strengths and speeds. A formula that he’d yet to perfect.

Because of his damnable zombie problem, he doubted he would have it for them in time and their rescue mission would have to wait for the next full moon. This would leave Lila at the mercy of the vampires for another month!

He’d just drawn a syringe of blood from his arm when Marcus bounded into the room. He’d entered feeling a twinge of guilt over assuming Jasper’s place in Freya’s bed. Seeing how exhausted the scientist looked, he decided he’d done the man a favor. That ancient she-wolf had proven to be an insatiable tiger in the bedroom. Female wolves were stronger in bed than mere humans, but he’d never encountered one with the stamina that Freya possessed. He assumed it had to do with the fact that she was an original. Judging by the scientist’s state, he seriously doubted he’d have been able to make her happy. Heck, there were a few moments when he, himself, doubted he’d be able to keep up with her.

“The moon is full in another day, my man,” he said as he eyed his prize scientist. “You look like shit.”

“Flattery won’t get you that formula any faster,” Jasper grumbled as he put a cotton ball over the spot that he’d drawn blood from and raised his forearm toward his shoulder to hold it there.

“Drawing blood?” Marcus said with a curious tone. “What’s your blood got to do with the formula?”

Adrenaline surged through Jasper’s veins as the reality of the situation set in. By being caught drawing his own blood, he’d placed himself in a position of having to explain his reasoning. As tired as he was, his creative skills were lacking. He had no explanation for Marcus other than the truth.

Fearful of what would happen once he admitted to having Zombie toxins in him, he looked away and pursed his lips.

Jasper’s reaction only served to make the pack leader all the more curious. Moving closer to the lab table, he moved his head back and forth until he was able to align his eyes with Jasper’s.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he demanded. “Are you sick?”

Heaving a sigh of resignation, Jasper slowly shook his head. He was too tired to make up stories. He’d just have to tell the truth and let the chips land as they may.

“Not in the way you might think,” he admitted.

“Is it the vampire genes in you? Are they acting up?” Marcus asked.

“No,” Jasper said without thinking.

Immediately upon hearing his denial come out of his mouth, Jasper cursed his own tired stupidity. Marcus had given him a perfect explanation for drawing his own blood and he’d thrown it away. If he was capable of doing so, he’d have kicked himself in the ass until he couldn’t sit down.

“If you’re not sick and it’s not vampire related, what is it?” Marcus asked. “Why draw your own blood? You have pure original wolf blood for the formula. So, why?”

  Jasper slumped against the back of his chair and looked long and hard at the pack leader. He was too tired, too frustrated, and overly worried about Lila. He just didn’t have it in him to be concerned about what this man or his people would think about the zombie toxins in him.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “As you know, I was attacked in an alley and then rescued by Rowan.”  When Marcus nodded but remained expectantly silent, he reluctantly continued. “It wasn’t just werewolves who got me. They attacked me and beat me up, but it was a zombie that nailed me first.”

“What?” Marcus gasped with clear disbelief. “How can that be?”

Shrugging, Jasper said with a scowl and a solemn tone, “That just be.”

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Marcus demanded. “Are you telling me that a zombie took a chunk out of you before you were bitten and beaten to the brink of death by werewolves? After which Rowan found you and gave you vampire blood?”

“Yes,” Jasper softly said.

“And you healed?” Marcus incredulously asked. “You healed without becoming a zombie?”  Then, before Jasper could respond, he added, “In fact, the only thing that you did become is a werewolf.”

“Not exactly,” Jasper hesitantly said. “The werewolf genetics are the strongest in me, but the other two are in there on some level.”

“You have zombie in you?” Marcus screeched. When Jasper slowly nodded, he continued by bellowing, “And vampire?”

Jasper grinned and gave a light snort, “I’m a regular mutt.”

Marcus moved to the nearest chair and dropped his backside onto it.

“Who else knows?” he asked with a sigh of resignation.

“Ben and Lila and… the vampires,” Jasper admitted.

“The vampires know that you have zombie in you? How?” he asked.

“I attacked one of them and killed them,” he offered.

“That could have been the wolf venom,” Marcus mused.

Guilt was clearly in his voice as Jasper admitted, “It could have been, accept I’d already created a formula to make them resistant to wolf venom. They get sick but don’t die.”  Seeing the pack master’s eyes go wide with surprise and disbelief, he quickly added, “In fairness, I was their prisoner and had to do as they asked.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t develop something to make them completely immune,” Marcus snipped.

“I would have gotten to that eventually, had Ben not rescued us,” Jasper said.

“What happened when you killed the vampire?” Marcus asked.

“I thought they’d put me to death, but they put me back to work instead,” Jasper said.

“Were you taking your blood to add it to the formula you’re preparing for us?” Marcus asked.

Jasper shook his head and said, “With every full moon, I feel the zombie effects just a little bit more. I’ve managed to subdue them until recently. I’m craving raw flesh. Human would be ideal, but I’ve focused on animals. I came very close to eating a dog yesterday. I need to get things back under control. I took my blood to study so that I can work on it again.”

Marcus’ face went white and his body stiffened as he choked out, “You crave human flesh?”

“I haven’t acted on it and I won’t. I just need to see what happened to weaken what I did to subdue things,” Jasper assured him.

“What about the formula? It’s time for the full moon,” the pack leader asked with concern.

“I can only work on one thing at a time,” Jasper informed him with a firm tone. “I was hoping that binding the zombie toxins would be quick and easy.”

“Quick and easy,” Marcus repeated. “Is there anything about what’s happening of late that is easy? Quick, maybe, but not easy.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?” Jasper hesitantly asked.

Marcus’ brows knit together as he asked, “Like who?”

“Freya or Joseph,” he replied.

Marcus took a deep breath and shook his head while saying, “This is something better kept between us, I think.”