Page 4 of Bunny Be Mine
“Don’t worry about me. Doc said I’ll be just fine. There seems to be a shifter-inclusive virus going around. The best doctors in the area are looking into it. Most of us older folks seem to have caught it. But I bet in a week or two we will all be back to normal.” Elder Mitchell looked at his phone. “Isn’t it time to close up? Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? My mate, Stanley, is cooking my favorite dinner tonight, steak, candied sweet potatoes, and cheesy broccoli. Can I tell him to add one more to the dinner table?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m a bit tired tonight. Let’s have dinner another time when we are both feeling 100 percent?” I checked the time and saw that he was right. It was indeed almost time for me to lock up the bakery for the day. “I’m just going to clean up for the day and head home.”
“Alright, Arley. Let’s plan for dinner next week. I’ll check at home with Stanley and let you know tomorrow which day works best for his schedule and hopefully then you can make it.” Elder Mitchell winked and opened the door, sniffing the air. Probably searching for signs of trouble. “Be safe tonight walking home. Call me if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Walking over to the door, I flipped the sign over, telling customers the bakery was officially closed and began my nighttime cleanup procedures.
I was a bit sad when I locked up the storefront half an hour later. My parents’ friends were the best, but seeing them always brought a small amount of pain. They made me realize how much I missed my family.
“Arley.” Marcus’ gravelly voice surprised me as he gripped my arm. I twirled around to find him and his two friends, Kris and Harley. “Where are you going, my sweet whittle bunny?”
I rolled my eyes at the annoying men in front of me. I struggled to break free from Marcus’ grip but it proved fruitless. Sighing, I answered his question. “Home. Now if you will move out of my way, I can get going.”
“Nah, I would rather you spend a bit of time with me tonight.” Marcus leaned in closer and took a deep sniff at the juncture of my neck and shoulder, licking it. “You smell delicious tonight. I wonder if you taste just as sweet.” I held back the gag and bile threatening to surface. The chills skittering across my flesh was bad enough.
I called on my ancestors to give me a bit of extra strength and pushed away from him. “I have to go. Just leave me alone.” I started walking down the block, praying he’d leave me alone. However, I didn’t run. Running meant he’d chase. At times, I wished I was fast enough to run far away from him.
Marcus growled and grabbed my arm, pulling me back into his body. His grip pinched, and had I not been a shifter, I would have been bruised for days. “I didn’t say you could leave. You need to give it to me, Arley, give me what I want. You are no match for me. You should be lucky I want to give you this pity fuck. Now take my cock and be thankful a poor little prey shifter like you is allowed to be filled by an alpha wolf like me.”
I spit in his face and prepared myself to be slapped by him for the offense. Like last time. But just like that time before, my resistance was worth it. Maybe I should have vomited on him. He would never be the one to breach my barriers. I would fight to the bitter end. Marcus grabbed me back to his chest and I hated that I flinched, but I was prepared to fight.
“He said leave him alone.” The town’s most respected physician, Doctor Elliot, stepped out of his medical office building next door to the bakery. He was an older gentleman but stood at six foot six and was an opposing figure. He was also on the elder council of the pack and now a witness to the abuse of power that Marcus and his group were partaking in. At this rate, Marcus would be showing the elders and the rest of the pack his true colors all by himself and I wouldn’t need to even testify. “Let Arley go, Marcus.”
Marcus’ iron-clad grip on my shoulders released, and I dropped to the ground from the force. I quickly pushed myself up and away from him, my heart beating erratically in my chest. “Thanks, Doctor Elliot. I’ll be heading home now.”
“You go on, Arley. I’ll make sure these three don’t follow.” Doctor Elliot let out a troublesome wheezing sound and wiped his nose in a handkerchief. “I may have this strange wolf-cold right now, but I can still kick some ass.”
“We weren’t doing anything, right, Arley?” Marcus called after me, Doc blocking him from pursuing me.
Overcome with bold confidence because backup had arrived, I raised a hand in the air, middle finger proudly displayed as I walked steadily down the block, head held high.
I heard the doc laugh and a low growl from Marcus. But I didn’t care.
I was saved.
For now.
***
I needed to shift.
The insidious itch started in my core and crawled up my waist and into my chest, soon spreading across my shoulders and flushing my face. My legs ached, heavy with the need to transform into that of my animal. The desire to let my rabbit free into the air. I’d been attempting to put this off for as long as I could, to stay inside my warded cabin and not tempt danger. But I could no longer hold off.
Undressing and folding my clothes, I laid them on the entry table in my hallway for quick access once I returned. Facing the door, I unlatched the triple-lock mechanism that my father had always insisted we engage, a mix of mundane security with the special magical wards my mother had bespelled upon our property. Now that they were gone, I continued the tradition of mixing magic with non-magical means to make sure the predators of the world didn’t take advantage of any sign of weakness in me.
I had checked my calendar earlier this week and was positive my heat was not due until a week from now. I was always reliable, never late and never early. So this couldn’t be related to my heat. I should be fine to venture out into the woods for a quick shift. Besides, from the few bits of rumor I had heard from a few other prey omegas in the area, the wolves had only hunted those they could scent were close to their time of need, using the lust the heat induced in the prey to take advantage of those they perceived as lesser.
My rabbit was confused by the actions of the local pack.Why do they want to fuck us if we are not worthy of dating or even befriending any other time?
Because they are horrible beasts who want anything they can get.I had discussed this with my animal before. While my animal waited for a mate, he still couldn’t seem to comprehend why no one wanted him.
Why aren’t the elders doing anything about Marcus and his friends, then?
Both my rabbit and I had no solid answers on that one. I am sure the pack was working on a solution, but I didn’t feel confident they were working quickly enough.
But what if the rumors are true and they don’t only hunt to take pleasure in our bodies, but to devour us fully afterward?My animal was torn between wanting to take his fur form and wanting to stay safely at home. If it wasn’t for the itch to shift, I would be half inclined to agree with him.
I shook my head, not allowing what my rabbit suggested to take real shape in my mind.No. There is no proof that has happened.
