Page 38 of It's Kind of a Bunny Story
“She’s right,” Ellora agreed, completely unapologetic. “I’m stubborn.”
“It seems like that might be a rabbit shifter trait,” I half-heartedly joked, taking the bag.
“Hmm.” Monroe rubbed her chin and pretended to be deep in thought. “You might be on to something.”
Following Ellora’s directions, I found the bathroom. I quickly slipped out of the oversized shirt and untied the short’s drawstring I’d been forced to pull tight and wrap around my waist twice just to keep them up.
The blue jeans she’d bought were brand new, but were buttery soft and faded, as though they’d been well worn. They fit perfectly, far better than any pair of hand-me-down pants I’d owned in the burrow. Reaching into the bag, I found a petal pink shirt that was made from the softest fibers I’d ever touched. Curious, I checked the label.
“Bamboo? You can wear bamboo?” I asked the empty bathroom. “Who knew?”
In the bottom of the bag, I found a sports bra, pink socks with a pattern of tiny white bunnies, and a pair of white slip-on sneakers. Within five minutes, I was fully dressed. Ellora had thoughtfully picked everything to be comfortable, the type of clothing you could forget you were wearing.
I moved to the sink to splash water on my face. When I finished, I felt somewhat human again.
Ellora clapped her hands together as I stepped back into the waiting room. “Oh! They fit perfectly!”
“I don’t think I’ve worn anything this comfortable before.” Feeling shy, I bent and gave her a tentative hug. “Thank you.”
“Don’t even mention it!” She wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze.
Before we could say anything more, there was a soft tap on the door and the sound of footsteps behind us. I turned just in time to bump into Fletcher’s chest.
“Hi, love.” Fletcher pulled me into a tight hug.
I wasn’t sure who needed the reassurance of being held by their mate more, Fletcher or me. Unwilling to let me go, Fletcher sat down and pulled me onto his lap.
Cillian stepped into the room and moved to place a soft kiss on the top of Monroe’s head.
Monroe asked the question I was too afraid to voice. “Any changes?”
“No.” Cillian shook his head. “Our doctors aren’t equipped to handle something like this. But there’s a hospital in Bradford, and a specialty team runs a private lab and facility inside it. They have extensive experience with wolf shifters, so we’re hopeful they’ll be able to figure out how to handle this.”
The alpha turned toward me. “Charlee, a helicopter will land in the next few minutes to transport Linc and Copeland to the hospital. There’s enough space in the helicopter for you to fly with them.”
He was doing his best to comfort me, but he’d misread the pain on my face, thinking I was upset about being separated from them; it was something else entirely that had caused my heart to sink to my stomach.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Cillian nodded. “Fletcher, you can go with her. I’ll follow later, but first, I need to travel to meet with the alphas of several packs in a nearby city. They need to be aware of the danger thistoxin poses to their wolves, and they need to be there when I call the burrow and demand answers.”
Fletcher looked at me and back at the alpha, clearly torn. “I want to go with Charlee, but?—”
“It’s fine,” I cut Fletcher off, knowing he felt responsible, as though he should’ve foreseen how Blackberry Burrow would use the toxin. “It’s not your fault. You should go with Cillian in case they have questions you can answer.”
Fletcher rested his cheek on top of my head. “I know very little about it, but I’d like to help if I can.”
This gave me the perfect out I was seeking, and I pounced on it. “Don’t worry about me. I’m so tired that once they take the guys into the facility and start working on them, I’ll probably just sleep.”
Fletcher studied my face. “You promise to eat something? You’re nowhere near recovered from everything?—”
“I know, I know! And I will,” I promised.
“Once they drop off Linc and Copeland, the helicopter will return to get Monroe and a couple of pack members. You won’t be alone for more than a few hours, and there are several shifters among the staff who will help you should you need anything.” Cillian glanced down at his phone. “The helicopter just landed. Let’s go.”
We followed the alpha down the corridor, where we met up with the staff rushing Linc and Copeland to the helipad. Out on the roof, we watched as they loaded the stretchers onto the helicopter.
Fletcher gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be back at your side before you realize it. Be safe.”
