Page 19 of Bunny Be Mine
“Goddess, Henry. He even gave you a chance to escape. I was willing to let it go just this once if you had taken his offer.” Patrick, one of Fen’s friends and campus pack leaders, shook his head and tsked. That was another amazing aspect of city life and shifter life on campus. Not only did everyone—for the most part—get along, but everyone mingled. Prey, predator, human. And the fact the campus had its own security? Why didn’t I call for Fen sooner? “Now we need to go through the whole process with you and the council instead. You really should have listened and chosen more wisely.”
“Patrick, man.” Henry lowered his gaze but continued to speak, his entire demeanor changing in an instant. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Let’s just let this go.”
“Now, see. If you had just walked away when Fen offered you the chance, I would have allowed you to prove you’d do better going forward.” Patrick snapped his fingers and two other shifters came and took Henry by the arms. “Sadly you didn’t stop, and now you are going to make us all absent for the rest of the afternoon. And I hate missing philosophy.”
“Seriously?” I wouldn’t have picked that as his favorite class. Then again, I guess it made him good at reading people and situations.
“What can I say? I like to think. Take care, you guys, I’ll handle this one.” Patrick flashed a cheeky smile and led the group away.
“Well that wasn’t what I was hoping for this afternoon.” I closed my eyes and hung my head. “Now I want a blueberry muffin and hot chai, instead of an hour-long lecture on world religions.”
“Then ditch your next class.” Fen rubbed his hands up and down my biceps. I soaked up his comforting scent. It was just what I needed. “If the professor says anything next class, tell him your babies needed food.”
“I really didn’t want to miss any classes.” I was not whining. I was still on edge and crashing. I definitely needed some food. As much as I didn’t want to miss class, I knew taking care of our babies was top priority. I’d never do anything to jeopardize them.
“Well if you want to go to class, go on. But if you want to go get a treat and go home with your hot and sexy mate, I promise you’ll have a better time reducing stress.” Fen winked, knowing me too well.
Smiling, I grabbed my mate’s hand; it was a no-brainer on choice. “Fine, but you have to throw in a forum too.”
“Deal.” Fen pulled me forward and we headed toward the café on campus. “I promise you won’t regret your decision.” I never did when I was with my mate.
Chapter Ten
Fen
“Hey,Dad,What’sup?Are you and Mom okay?” It was strange to get a phone call from my father first thing in the morning on a Wednesday. A sharp stab of fear attacked my chest at the thought that he would deliver bad news.
“Oh, no. Everything is fine with us, Fen.” My father chuckled. “I’m sorry for causing any alarm. I just wanted to let you know that you may see some trouble headed your way.”
“What do you mean?” An icky heaviness covered my skin, my intuition telling me Dad had bad news to share. My wolf began to pace, thinking the worst was to happen.
“Those idiots from the pack. Marcus and his group of followers.” My father swore under his breath. “They think that you and Arley need to pay for leaving town without permission. They told the elders that they are too soft for leadership roles and that they will set things right again within this pack. They think forcing Arley back home will be the key to demanding the respect they deserve.”
“I thought the elders were going to sort out this mess and deal with Marcus and his gang of thugs.” I shook my head, disappointed in how the pack handled the situation. Disappointed in Marcus in general. “What happened?”
“They did have a meeting between Marcus and the elders. It was volatile.” My dad growled. “They roughed up a few of the elders since this wolf virus has weakened us older wolves.”
“What?” I stood from my chair, alarmed at the thought of anyone getting hurt. “Is everyone okay? And when will the doctors or healer solve the mystery of everyone getting sick?”
“Don’t worry, kiddo. Everyone is fine. They just got restrained by Marcus’ men,” Dad said. “As for the virus. They are still running tests and trying to figure it out. They have decided to start testing our water source and anything else that all members use. A small fraction of the younger pups are getting sick too.”
“I don’t know what worries me more. The pack’s politics or everyone getting sick?” I absently wondered if the two were connected; not the elders, per say, but Marcus. But that was my author brain spinning tales.
“For me, it’s the pack. I swear this pack and town are circling the drain. Your mother and I are one foot out of here at this point.” I couldn’t blame them; so much had changed since I left home.
“Well, if you need to, come out here and we will make it work. Maybe get a small house in one of the suburbs or something since the city will be a bit steep.” I looked over at my sleeping mate. Arley looked so peaceful sleeping curled around my pillow. “Do you really think we need to worry, Dad?”
“I do.” He sighed, and I wondered if there was more to it. “Those kids are too full of themselves and some conflated concept of predatory shifters being better than all others.”
“Fuck.” He was right, as much as I wanted him to be wrong. I leaned over and kissed Arley’s shoulder when he rolled over to continue to sleep. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Of course. Let us know if they do show up. And be safe. We love you both.”
“Love you too.” I hung up the phone and lay back down, pulling Arley back into my arms. The scent and feel of my mate settled my nervous wolf. He was ready to attack at any shadow. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“Everything okay?” my mate mumbled. He did a little shift in my arms as he snuggled closer. “It sounded like there might be drama.” My mate was always perceptive. The best mate ever, and I knew I would do whatever it took to keep him safe.
“Marcus and his legion of fools all decided that you and I overstepped pack rules by leaving town without permission. They are on a mission to find us and demand retribution.” I knew I sounded sarcastic and hateful, but it pissed me off and made me worry. I kissed my mate’s neck, pulling him closer, not that there was any room to spare between them. “Promise me you won’t go anywhere alone, all right? Not until this shit passes and they move on to something else. Like training the next generation of wolves to ignore knowledge and only speak into the echo chamber of ideocracy.” Which honestly scared the crap out of me. What if our children ran into Marcus’ idiots one day? I shuddered at the thought.
