Page 17 of The Bunny Blues

“She is safe from my wolf as well. We’ll protect her with our lives, Alpha,” Quin added.

“Good.” The alpha power rolling from Cillian eased enough so I could stand straight once more.

“Monroe would be devastated if something happened to Ellora—or to either of you. But I swear on the moon”—Rig closed the gap between us until we were nearly touching noses—“if you lose control and attack Ellora, I will have no mercy.”

When Rig finally stepped back, I found Syrus’s glowing eyes were locked on me. “This is your last chance to turn down this mission. We know we’re asking a lot of you both. You can say no, and we will find other wolves to guard her.”

They couldn’t do that! Ellora belonged with me.

MINE.

“NO!” I rasped, raw desperation clawing at my windpipe.

My wolf lunged to the surface, stopping just beneath my skin. Every hair on my body stood on end. My canine teeth lengthened to sharp points while my eyes glowed and burned with an intensity I’d never experienced before.

“Ellora is going home with us.” I looked between the three wolf shifters. “She belongs with us.”

My wolf was ready to challenge Cillian if he tried to send her home with another wolf. From the corner of my eye, I caught the bright glow of Quin’s eyes and the bulging muscles beneath his shirt. If we were going down, we were going to do it together.

“Huh.” The glow faded from Syrus’s eyes, and his lips curved into a smirk. “Isn’t this interesting?”

“Back down.” Cillian’s alpha command collided against my will as though he were slapping me with a brick wall, but my wolf continued to struggle against it.

If I’d done this to any other alpha, my face would have been raw and covered in splinters from being dragged across the wood floor as he made me pay for being disrespectful.

But Cillian wasn’t any other alpha. Instead of reacting with another show of force, the alpha power pulsing in the hall faded.

“Coda, Quin. I’m sending her home with you. Calm down.” His tone was the same casual one he used on the nights he ate pizza and watched sports with the pack.

My relief was instantaneous, and my wolf backed off without complaint.

Ellora is going home with me.

I’d be able to protect her, feed her, and cuddle her…

Syrus’s snicker had my eyes darting up.

“What’s so funny?” Quin flipped the silver coin between his fingers, a sign he was still on edge.

Syrus stepped to the side, waving us toward the door. “I recognize that look and have a pretty good idea of what’s going through your mind right now.”

As my brother and I moved past him, Syrus whispered, “If you feel protective now, just wait until you see her in her bunny form.”

“Coda?”

I paused with my hand on the doorknob and glanced over my shoulder at Cillian. “Yes?”

“If your wolf ever pulls a stunt like that again, I won’t be so lenient.” Cillian’s eyes held understanding and a warning.

“Understood, Alpha.” I ducked my head in a quick bow and then opened the door.

In the middle of the room sat the most adorable bunny. Bright blue eyes that matched the exact hue of Ellora’s human hair blinked up at me. The cerulean blue contrasted beautifully against the smoky black of her fur.

Her tiny nose twitched, and my wolf’s tail brushed against my mind.

While I stood in awe, staring at her like a weirdo, Quin slid to his knees in front of her.

“Hades!” He scooped her into his arms. “Aren’t you the cutest bunny on earth?”

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