Page 8 of Hunny and the Bear

Setting the dishes down onto the leather cushion in front of her, he murmured, “Bon appétit.” She glanced into each one, which looked suspiciously like it was made for a cat or small dog, and narrowed her eyes at what he’d brought her.

Water filled one bowl to the brim, and the other contained lettuce, chopped carrots, and cucumbers. She’d have snarled at him for the stereotypical meal, but she loved salad. Most vegetables, actually. In fact, it looked delicious, and as her stomach rumbled angrily, she dove into the meal.

“Might want to slow down,” he suggested. Hunny growled low in her throat at his audacity, chomping down aggressively on a carrot as she locked eyes with him. His lips twitched again. “My apologies, little rabbit. Eat and rest.” He pointed to somewhere behind her. “I’ll be up there if you need anything.”

And with that, her rescuer turned off the overhead light, keeping a lamp on in the corner, and left. She turned her head, watching as he hustled up a flight of stairs to the second story, which appeared to be a small room with a balcony overlooking the rest of the house.

Gaze shifting around, Hunny took in the rest of the house while she ate. It was pretty inside, if small, with a high ceiling and beautiful, lightly stained oak walls and floors. A dark blue rug covered the center of the living room floor, but aside from that, the rest of his home looked bare.

Kind of a waste of such a pretty cabin. He needed an interior decorator or something to make this place a home. If she lived somewhere nice like this, she’d have art on the walls, vibrantplants hanging from shelves, and whatever else she could dream up to make the space more inviting.

But this place wasn’t her home. Nowhere was.

With that sobering thought, Hunny stopped eating; the food turning to ash in her belly.

The light upstairs switched off, plunging the balcony into darkness. She stiffened, stock-still for several minutes as she waited for him to fall asleep. After what felt like forever, she heard a soft snore and gingerly jumped off the couch. Moving toward the front door, she shifted, bones popping audibly as the gauze tore from her arm. A few seconds later, she was kneeling on the ground.

Standing quickly, she took inventory of her nude body, pleased that every inch of her had healed. Cocking her head to the side, she relaxed when she heard another snore coming from the balcony, relieved she hadn’t woken up the bear.

Quietly, she placed her hand on the doorknob. She needed to go back to her truck, grab her things, and leave. But before she could open the door, a thought intruded.

What if Natasha was back at the cabin? The bear had mentioned nothing about a wolf, so for all Hunny knew, Natasha was lying in wait for another opportunity to strike. She’d been adamant about killing Hunny, so she highly doubted the wolf would give up after one failed attempt. And she definitely didn’t want to face that bitch again. Not when the female had been so eager to rip her and her baby apart.

But all of Hunny’s stuff was back in the truck. Her ID, her clothes … her money. She didn’t have a bank account because she constantly moved, so she kept all of her cash stashed away in the glove compartment.

She couldn’t just leave everything behind. But the thought of going back there and running into Natasha was too much tohandle. Or worse, what if she ran into Jason and found out he had sent his precious new mate to kill her in the first place?

No … he wouldn’t do that. Natasha had been hiding out when Hunny had spotted her initially. Why hide if Jason had given his permission to have her killed?

Then again, Hunny hadn’t believed her true mate capable of using her and discarding her like yesterday’s trash either. She damned sure hadn’t expected him to learn of her pregnancy and abandon her. An ache formed in her chest, ruthless in its intensity. She gripped the doorknob like a lifeline, a sense of hopelessness consuming her.

Stop thinking about Jason, she seethed inwardly.You’ve had a cry, now it’s time to move on.

But that had been before his mate had attacked her. Before she’d found herself in a new place, with fresh wounds and none of her belongings. Hunny sucked in a ragged breath, her chin wobbling as she struggled to dig up a reserve of strength, an ounce of willpower to keep going. Only, she didn’t feel strong. Not right now. She felt beaten down.

Worthless.

Uncertain.

Even if she made it back to her truck without issue, what then? Where would she go? Now that she’d been rejected, she truly had no home. She had belonged nowhere since her parents died, and now she never would. Even her true mate had discarded her.

She was completely alone.

Maybe … maybe she’d just stay here for tonight. Hunny turned around, shifting back into her rabbit form and jumping onto the couch. Getting comfortable on a cushion, she laid down, facing the balcony.

Tonight, she’d rest. And tomorrow, she’d figure everything out.

Four

Aknock on the front door startled Hunny awake. Her head jerked up, and she squinted from the bright sunlight pouring in through the windows. Her nose wrinkled as she caught the scent of a different bear shifter nearby.

She tensed, immediately wary. What time was it?

It had to be early; she never slept for more than a few hours at a time. Another sharp knock had her pushing to her feet, her paws sinking into the soft leather of the couch. She stared at the front door, tension knotting her muscles.

“Fuck’s sake,” the male upstairs grumbled, his voice thick with sleep. At the sound of his gravelly timbre, some of her anxiety eased.

She wasn’t alone. And considering he’d let her sleep peacefully in his home after dressing her wounds, she really didn’t think he’d hurt her. Not anymore.

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