Page 76 of Moon Tamed

“I had a burning urge to meet more bunnies,” I informed Calden. “There are many, many bunnies upstairs, and I can meet them whenever I want. I wanted, so I did.”

According to Calden’s expression, the retribution would come sooner than later. “You weren’t home, nobody had seen you in the lobby, and there wasn’t a trace of you anywhere. I should have known you would have sought out the attention of something small, warm, and furry.”

I faked widening my eyes. “Was this ever in doubt?”

The other Hunters snickered, and with their task completed, they scattered, leaving the lobby empty. Giggling over Calden’s prone position, I offered my hand to help him up. “I didn’t mean to make you fall, but I did mean to see how high a wolf can fly.”

“Approximately eighteen inches in dress shoes when caught flat-footed, apparently,” he replied in a rueful tone, taking hold of my hand and getting to his feet. “Should I start assuming if you’re not at home on time, an animal caught your attention?”

“That’s not a bad idea. And your bunnies have convinced me I needed to visit the bunnies here.”

“We can probably fit a litter pan in your office and bunny-proof everything if you’d like some daytime bunny guests in your office to go along with your hummingbirds, your parrots, and the piping plovers creating mayhem in the entire faction.”

No matter how much I enjoyed the tiny songbirds, an endangered species spared from complete extinction thanks to the seventy-five breeding females and fifty-two males sent over, I could live with half of my office having been converted into a sandy beach with a water feature so they felt more at home. The setup, contained within a child’s backyard swimming pool, ate up an entire corner plus the cage that kept the occupants inside. Three times a day, I had the dubious job of seeding the sand with worms and other live prey they could catch.

Someone had made the mistake of providing rocks and nesting material, and the second day after I agreed to work for Allasandro Stephans, my pair had decided to get busy.

Until the eggs hatched, I was stuck with them.

I regarded Calden with my saddest expression. “They bred. In my office. They didn’t even bother waiting until I left to get it on. I was trying to work, and those little shits had themselves a sex fest. In my office! And don’t you get me started on the parrots.”

I expected I’d have baby parrots given some time, too.

Calden laughed at me. “I wasn’t expecting Dad to move so quickly on turning your office into an endangered species refuge, but the results are spectacular. You showed up, and the birds wanted to get some action.”

Once word spread my office was where the wild animals went to have a good time, the jokes would never end. “I’m glad they’re reproducing, especially as endangered as they are, but couldn’t they have waited until I left my office first?”

Calden kept laughing at me. “The vets said it was probably a mix of safe space, the right temperature, and a strong food supply. But they’re going to try to replicate the set-up, because if the chicks survive, the species might do well here. There is a small island with the right conditions with no significant predators they can take over.”

I loved that the Hunters worked to find wild places in our world our rescued animals might be able to call home. “I have a better understanding of how my parents feel about the birds I gave them.”

“Will it stop your future animal-gifting pranks?”

“No. If anything, I have a better understanding of how to get them even better next time. Watch me, Calden. Just watch me. They pull my chain, and I will bring over an entire box of piping plover chicks they get to raise and breed for the sake of their species. I will breed every last one of their chicks and call them my precious little children. And do you know what I’m going to do next?”

“Probably ask if their loving grandparents would please help them take over the world.”

I nodded. “That is exactly what I would do. They’re adorable menaces with ridiculous care requirements. They needed us to mimic an ocean, Calden. And somehow, the Hunters managed.”

“Earth sent care sheets. The crafters helped. Can you escape your feathered charges now?”

“Everyone is good for the night, although there were significant and loud protests from the parrots.”

“I can’t blame them for protesting your departure.”

After my conversation with Sarai, I wondered if I read more into his statement than I should. A part of me wanted to start pushing buttons to find out if she had been right. The sensible side of me decided to continue on as always.

If Calden had an interest in me, he had an interest in the regular me, the one I showed him every day, not the exploratory date-curious me who wanted to add a few extra perks to the general friendship package.

On one thing, Sarai had the right idea: I could be patient.

“Well, yes. I am the controller of food, and they haven’t been with me long enough to realize there are people who will feed them when I’m not around. The parrots are going to cuss me out on Monday, and I have no idea what to expect from the other birds. Maybe you should call in sick, but in reality, you’ll be under my desk as a wolf, keeping my feet warm while I deal with a lot of crabby animals guilt tripping me for rudely leaving them alone.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever called in sick from work to come into work and hide under someone’s desk before.”

“It’s always good to try new things.” I glanced in the direction of the elevator. “I’ve been warned I’m going to be taken down like a baby deer with two broken legs. Is this normal?”

“It’s normal. That you’ve been warned means someone likes you, so that’s a good thing. But yes, all new Hunters are put through the wringer. You’ll probably get pinned to the ground, dragged off, sat on, and otherwise contained. It’s generally expected the new hunters will need a few days to recover from the pummeling. We have a few rules, including avoiding injury to the face. We’re too beautiful to scar, obviously.”

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