Page 54 of It's Kind of a Bunny Story
She was completely motionless, her breathing so shallow that her chest wasn’t rising or falling. I reached out, terrified I’d find her skin cool because she’d already left me. But before I could touch her, the medical staff pushed me aside.
They quickly transferred her from the car to a stretcher, then rushed back inside. The staff moved with the speed of a well-oiled team… or shifters who were afraid their alpha would destroy them if they failed to save her. They were taking her directly into Dr. Blaine’s private facility, which was off limits to the rest of the hospital, but I still wasn’t sure how many members of the staff were paranormal or if some were humans who’d been let in on our secret. That was a rare occurrence because of our need for secrecy, but it would make sense to have some humans working in various hospitals who could alert local alphas when an unconscious paranormal was brought in.
I stumbled into the hospital after them, my legs feeling as though they might give out from the weight of my grief. As a second stretcher rushed by me, I squinted, trying to focus on the man’s face. He looked vaguely familiar.
Monroe appeared at my side and must have read my confused expression. “That’s the shifter who helped Charlee escape.”
“He’s a rabbit shifter?” I asked, still trying to place his face.
“Yes. That’s Boone.” The wolf who’d driven Charlee to the hospital walked down the hall toward us. She stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Reese.”
On autopilot, I grasped her hand and shook it. “Fletcher. And thank you for bringing Charlee back to us.”
Reese shrugged. “No problem. I wasn’t the only one out there searching for her. I just happened to get to them first.”
I stared down the hall in the direction they’d taken Boone. My mistrust of the burrow ran deep, and I found it hard to believe one of the men had helped her out of the goodness of his heart.
“Are you sure he’s actually here to help?” I asked.
“There are only three things in life you can be sure of. Taxes, death, and needing to pee as soon as you get into bed. But yeah, my gut says Boone’s one of the good guys.” The way her eyes softened as she spoke made me think her heart was saying some things about him, too.
Interesting.I filed the observation away.
“What happened to him and Charlee?” The image of my mate’s bruised face flashed through my mind. “What did the burrow do to her?”
“I don’t have all the details since they became incoherent shortly after I found them.” Reese ran trembling fingers through her hair. “Apparently, Boone injected Charlee with a high dose of the toxin.”
“He did what?” My voice came out sharper than I’d intended, and several pack members’ heads snapped in my direction.
They’d accepted me and had treated me with nothing but kindness, but I knew any show of violence would end with me being nothing more than a lucky rabbit’s foot on someone’s keychain.
Reese waved her hand toward the shifters to let them know she was fine. “Only because she forced him to. He didn’t like her plan any more than you do.”
“I find that hard to believe. What did she do? Hold a gun to his head? The man is nearly twice her size!” I demanded.
“Not a gun.” Reese smirked. “It was a knife, actually.”
“You can’t be serious.” My jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Dead serious.” Reese grinned, looking positively delighted at my mate’s abilities.
Despite what she said, I struggled to reconcile it with the Charlee I knew. She was such a sweet, gentle person. It was difficult to imagine anyone would feel threatened by her, with or without a knife. It was the equivalent of an adult being scared of a kid with a sharp pencil… Then again, kids could be terrifying. So maybe a pint-sized woman wielding a knife was just as disconcerting.
“That explains what happened to Charlee, but why does he look like he’s on death’s doorstep?” I focused back on Reese.
“Because he injected himself with the toxin as well.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Why would he do that? It’s not his mates who are dying. The men in the burrow don’t do things from the kindness of their hearts—they don’t have hearts.”
“I don’t know. Guilt over the part he might have played in this mess? Maybe he was inspired by the courage and love your mate showed. Not many people can face their traumas head-on.” Reese bit her lip, seeming to think over what she wanted to say next. “From what I’ve heard, you treat her as though she’s a fragile thing that can easily be broken. But you’ve got your girl all wrong, and you need to watch out. One misstep on your part, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find yourself neutered. The girl’s good with a blade, after all.”
Her wicked smile had me feeling like I needed to check if my testicles were still intact. But not wanting to show weakness, I resisted and stuck my hands in my pockets instead.
“I think I’m going to go make sure Boone’s okay. After all, he doesn’t know anyone here except Charlee and me.” Reese trotted down the hall.
Yep. There was definitely something going on between the two of them. Monroe and I followed after her. “I’ll come withyou. They won’t let me see Charlee right now.” Truthfully, I just didn’t want to be alone.
We slipped inside Boone’s room, moving to stand against the wall so we weren’t in the doctor or nurses’ way. They bustled around his bed, attaching various wires and tubes to him.
