Page 12 of Ensnaring Their Rabbit

I heard Brynn whimper from behind me, and I almost lost it. Riven was vibrating with anger, and I shot him a warning glare to get his shit together.

“You have five seconds to obey, inmate, or we’re coming in shooting, and I don’t give a fuck who gets in the way. May hit your precious plaything,” Markel sneered, “And then you and inmate 46721 can recover in solitary. Separately.”

That was almost a worse threat than taking Brynn. We already knew we couldn’t survive separated, literally. There was a chance that the mating bond hadn’t fully taken, since we didn’t complete it, and we could survive long enough to find each other again. That wouldn’t happen if we were locked in solitary.

“Do what they say,” Brynn pleaded, sounding scared. I…well, it grated having to obey these assholes, but I didn’t see another choice. I nodded to Riv, and the two of us walked to the back wall and faced it with our hands on our head like was required. Brynn tucked himself in the far corner.

The locks cranked, and the door opened. I sucked in a breath trying to get a sense of who was there. Three humans, two shifters. Fuck. They meant business. The cigarette smell almost overwhelmed everything, but as they got closer, I was able to scent metal. Years here had helped me hone the difference between certain scents, and this was more than cuffs. Weapons. Tranq guns? Markel came so he was standing just inches behind me, his stale nauseating smell making it hard to concentrate on anything. I held my breath and focused on the ugly gray cinder block. I could not lose control. I couldn’t give into my impulses and tear this fucker limb from limb. We were outnumbered, and I had Riven and Brynn to think about.

He grabbed my wrists, with way more force than necessary and wrenched my arms down and behind my back, cuffing me. I grit my teeth but let it happen. Next to him someone else was doing the same to Riven. He growled, just a little, but otherwise didn’t fight the guard.

“Are you going to be a good boy and let us take the toy? Or do we need to use these?” He grabbed a handful of my hair, which wasn’t really long enough to fist like that and tugged my head back so I could see the tranq gun. Markel was grinning, his eyes bright with sadistic glee since he thought he was the one in control here. Even cuffed with wolfsbane infused cuffs and this fucking collar, I could rip him in half if I wanted to. I blinked slowly at him, knowing that not reacting would piss him off the most.

Markel scowled, the glee replaced with annoyance as he gave me a small shove away. The tranq gun was against my chest in a second.

“Markel, easy man,” one of the other guards warned. I was pretty sure it was the new one. “The warden said to only use it if it was necessary.”

Markel grinned again. “Oh, but it is necessary. He tried to attack me. And the other one hasn’t stopped growling. We were scared for our lives. We had no choice.”

Oh this asshole…

“What! They haven’t done anything, you piece of shit!” Brynn screamed, standing up and stepping out of his spot. I tried to shoot him a warning glare not to get involved, but it was too late. Two of the guards swung to him, their guns pointed in his direction.

My wolf was back, painfully clawing at my brain trying to get free. The pain in my head was unbearable as he tried to fight the collar, and I staggered on my feet. Riven stiffened. “Reeve?”

“I-I’m okay.” I stumbled.

The tranq gun stabbed my chest. “What the fuck is going on?” Markel snapped. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Something’s wrong,” Riven screamed.

“He’s sick. Stop waving those things around and help him!”

I smiled as the world started to swim. My brave, reckless mate. He didn’t need to worry. I would be fine. I tried to tell him that. To worry about himself. But another stabbing pain rocked me, and I collapsed to my knees.

There was a lot of shouting, some growling. Maybe a weapon sounded. Then everything went black.

When I woke up hours later we were back in our cell, and Brynn was nowhere to be found.

CHAPTER9

RIVEN

I paced the cell,feeling more like a caged beast than I ever had before, and that was saying something. Twice my claws broke through, which I quickly hid, not wanting that news to come out. It seemed like my wolf was getting stronger than the collar, something that would come in handy as long as no one found out about it. Because I would gut every one of these fuckers with these claws once I got a chance.

Reeve was still passed out on the bottom bunk. If it wasn’t for the steady sound of his heartbeat I’d be panicking by now. Well, panicking more than I already was. I didn’t know what was happening to him, and it scared me.

After Reeve passed out, all hell broke loose. Brynn tried to go to him and Markel hit him in the face with a baton. I was already on the edge of my control and that was the last straw. I broke through the cuffs, despite them being infused with wolfsbane, and knocked out two of the guards before I finally got hit with the tranquilizer. When I woke up, we were back in our cell, and Brynn was nowhere to be found. Since the mate bond hadn’t been fully formed, I couldn’t feel him, and wherever he was, he was too far away for me to scent him. I wasn’t handling it well.

The only thing that kept me from completely lashing out was that they hadn’t separated Reeve and me. I was shocked we weren’t in solitary. Taking out two guards would definitely warrant that. Maybe because Markel went off script with that bullshit we got away with it? Whatever, that was a worry for later. Our cell was locked, and none of the others were, so I didn’t know what was up with that, but it was better than nothing.

I paced the length, back and forth, back and forth, ten steps forward, ten steps back, as I waited for Reeve to wake up. Why was it taking so long? What happened to him? Markel was being an asshole, but he had barely touched him. That wasn’t what made him collapse, so what did?

I had no idea how much time had passed before the painful groan alerted me that Reeve was finally waking up. Thank fuck, I was climbing the walls with worry, frustration and anger.

I bounded to the bed and knelt next to it, trying to stay patient as Reeve slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to me.

“Riv?”

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