Page 14 of The Bunny Blues

Knowing I owed them more of an explanation, I spoke between bites of food. I kept the story simple and to the point, not ready to discuss the full extent of my mates’ treatment toward me.

Monroe’s eyes had filled with tears as I talked, and when I finished speaking, she cleared her throat. She told me about life in her burrows, about her ill-fated matches, and how the wolves had rescued her.

Every couple of minutes, one of her mates would interrupt Monroe to feed her a bite of food from their fork. Reese would roll her eyes each time, acting thoroughly put out by the show of affection, but the sparkle in her eye told another story. She was happy for Monroe.

The wolves were so attentive to Monroe’s every need, and their eyes barely left her throughout the meal. I’d never seen men so hopelessly in love.

Some of my anxiety eased as I sat in the safety of Monroe’s home, surrounded by smiling faces. Even so, my muscles remained tense, and I couldn’t help but dart glances at the windows.

It had been a week since I’d run. My mates, and probably parents, had to know I was gone and not coming back.

What if they had hired someone to track me? I might have gained time cutting through national park forests those first couple of days, but they could have hopped a plane and quickly made up that distance by now.

Why would they want to put in so much effort, though? It wasn’t like my mates wanted me, and my parents made it clear they didn’t consider me their problem anymore.

Pride.

Neither my parents nor my mates would want the burrows to know I’d escaped. Because of me, they’d be the butt of jokes and the target of wild gossip. My mates would have their manliness questioned, and my parents would face scrutiny for raising a rebellious, disrespectful daughter.

No. They would never allow me to go. And they’d never allow me to get away with causing them embarrassment without punishing me.

My stomach pitched uncomfortably at that truth. It was a matter of time before someone, or several someones, came looking for me.

I’d covered my tracks the best I could by using only cash when venturing into cities for food or supplies. I hadn’t even stayed in hotels to avoid further depleting my limited cash and to not risk being caught on security videos.

Instead, I’d found empty holes or fallen logs in the forest to camp inside. Shifting into my rabbit form, I’d back into the stumps, yanking my backpack into the tight space with me to create a sort of door.

It wasn’t the safest, but it was easier to camp in my rabbit form than my human form. I hoped my efforts had bought me some extra time, and if I was lucky, perhaps I wouldn’t ever be found.

A girl could hope, right?

We’d just finished clearing the dishes, despite Stella’s protests, when Reese’s phone chimed.

“I told my brothers dinner was over, so that’s probably them.” Wiping her wet hands on a towel, she pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at the notification. “Yep. They’re on their way.”

Monroe turned to me with a small frown. “I have an idea, but you may not like it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Lately, my life has been nothing but bad ideas. Lay it on me.”

A smile replaced Monroe’s frown. “Since you’re worried about being tracked here, it might be smart for you to shift to your rabbit form for the trip to the guys’ house. We can pack some leftovers in a large cloth grocery bag and stick you inside. The food will cover your scent, so if anyone sees you come inside our house, they’ll think you’re still here. That way, you can get a good night’s sleep without looking over your shoulder every five seconds.”

“Beauty and brains!” Rig grabbed Monroe around the waist. Swinging her around, he placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.

Monroe giggled and tried pushing away from him. “Not the time! We’re in the middle of creating a plan!”

“It’s a solid plan.” Cillian stared out the window, appearing deep in thought. “The wolves running security don’t know the specifics of our guest, and they know better than to gossip about what goes on at our house to anyone other than the rest of the security detail.”

“That gives us time to do some investigating of our own and find out who might be looking for Ellora,” Rig added, finally releasing a wiggling Monroe. “But why wouldn’t Ellora like it?”

Monroe’s sympathetic eyes locked with mine. “Because she’ll be at her most vulnerable in her rabbit form. She’ll be with two wolves she’s never met… while smelling like dinner.”

Reese’s loud cackle caused all our heads to snap in her direction.

She leaned against the wall, trying to control her laughter. It took her a minute to speak, but finally, she wheezed, “That would suck so hard.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

Unable to help it, I giggled. “Frankly, I’d take being served on a silver platter to wolves while smelling like Stella’s incredible food over having my parents dump me on my mates’ doorstep while drenched in the sweet scent of my heat.”

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