Page 1 of The Bunny Blues

Curling into a ball on my side, I tried to make myself as small as possible.

It was strange that I was trying to avoid being noticed by my mates when the thing I longed for most was their attention. But experience had taught me that although they might notice me, I’d never get the type of attention I craved.

The four male rabbits were happy to answer the seductive call of my heat. And why wouldn’t they? The alluring perfume of hormones, the provocative changes to my lips and curves, and the candy-sweet taste of my skin—they were the ways biology made sure my mates couldn’t resist me.

I ran my fingers over my skin, hating the way it still tingled from their groping hands. Every muscle in my body ached from the near-feral way they’d pounded themselves inside me. My heat was temporarily satisfied, but my heart lay shattered in my chest.

When the men had finished their “duties,” they’d rolled from the bed and dressed. Without a backward glance, each man had left the room and returned to his business as usual.

Young female rabbits were taught about the agony of being in heat and the dangers that came with it. But we were also reassured that our mates would be by our side to help bring us through it, thus creating a stronger bond within the fluffle.

Yep, most female rabbits were blessed with adoring mates who brought them plates piled high with their favorite snacks. I’d even heard of men who, after mating, would carry their female into the bathroom to soak in a steaming hot bath while being gently washed.

Did I wish I could have mates like that? Absolutely. However, I could survive without those tender, thoughtful gestures. Still, I would’ve given anything to feel my mates wrap their arms around me as I fell asleep in their arms rather than lying alone in an empty bed.

I knew what it was like to have mates who lusted after me, but what would it feel like to have mates who loved me?

Edward, Jay, Henry, and Brett had made it clear from the day we were paired that love wasn’t something I would ever receive from them. Henry and Brett were too busy pursuing careers as high-powered attorneys.

Edward and Jay’s lives had been consumed with buying up every piece of investment property they found and reselling them to clients with pockets deeper than the Mariana Trench. And before we were matched, both men had gained a reputation for having a different cottontail in their beds every chance they got.

A single tear slid down my cheek as I recalled the nightmarish day my world had crumbled around me. When I’d learned these four men were my match, I’d been horrified. They were not the type of men you could build a fairytale life with.

After I’d gotten over the shock, I’d met with the guys, hoping maybe I’d misjudged them. Maybe they were ready to settle down and create a strong partnership.

The meeting had gone exactly how I’d thought it would.

Edward had droned on about the importance of making sure they weren’t all tied to one female because if I was infertile, they’d need to consider taking another mate to ensure their bloodlines continued. Did he really think I was so stupid that I couldn’t see through his bullcrap?

We both knew that if they claimed me, they would be unable to have sex with another woman. Ever. Their inner rabbits would be faithful to their claimed mate and wouldn’t allow the human side to get it up for anyone but me.

I called them out on the lie, but Jay and Edward protested that wasn’t the true reason.

Henry and Brett were too focused on their careers to bother with women other than occasionally fulfilling their biological needs. They just didn’t want the inconvenience of the mate bond to hamper their travel and work schedules.

According to them, it would be unfair to the company stockholders for them to claim me because their focus would be on me, their bonded mate, instead of their work.

It was yet another lie, and we all knew it. The CEOs of nearly every rabbit-run corporation were bonded to a mate, and they’d done just fine moving up the corporate ladder while maintaining a work-life balance.

When I’d left the meeting, I’d been even more desperate to be released from the match. Rushing home, I’d pleaded with my parents to speak to the burrow’s elders to change their minds.

My parents were powerful within the burrow, and if they asked for me to be matched to another fluffle, the elders would’ve bowed to their wishes without a peep of complaint.

Unsurprisingly, my pleas fell on deaf ears. My parents were delighted with my match—probably because my four mates just happened to be the sons of their closest friends. I’d collapsed to the floor, unable to control my horror and heartbreak.

Instead of pulling me into her arms to assure me everything would work out, my mother had hissed at me to get off my knees before I ruined my dress and embarrassed my family.

Her uncaring attitude to my anguish was like a knife to my chest. But I shouldn’t have been shocked. Status and wealth were the only things that mattered to the upper-class rabbits within the burrow… and my parents were no exception.

They then revealed that, unbeknownst to me, my match had been decided the moment I was born. Every drop of blood in my body had rushed to the floor, leaving me lightheaded.

I’d listened as my beaming father explained that the other four leading families had already given birth to sons, and how delighted they’d all been when I was born.

A daughter to bind our families in a close bond.

A mating contract had been signed before I’d turned a week old, making sure the money and power would stay within the five leading families.

It wasn’t the elders who had decided my match.

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