Page 23 of The Bunny Blues

The tension between the pair of wolves gained strength until it finally snapped. Coda snarled, baring his sharp, white teeth at Quin.

Quin responded by shoving hard against his brother’s shoulder. Coda stumbled back a step, and Quin used that to his advantage by stepping over me and blocking Coda from getting to me.

My gaze darted between the two wolves, noting with trepidation the raised hair along their spines and the way their eyes began to glow as they stared each other down. Red flags waved wildly in my mind, and I didn’t need to be a wolf expert to recognize the signs of an impending fight.

The good news was their attention was on each other, not me.

The bad news was they seemed to have forgotten I was there, and if they started fighting, I was going to end up flatter than three-day-old roadkill.

The muscles along their haunches rippled, and I slowly rolled to my feet. When the two wolves launched themselves at each other, I was ready. Dodging claws, I darted between their legs with the skill of an agility dog speeding through the weave poles.

No sooner had I cleared the pile of blankets than Coda’s dark wolf leaped over my head. Crouching low and keeping me tucked under his body, he spun around to face Quin.

Frickin’ carrot fronds! Did these two doofuses think they were protecting me from each other? I’d gone from being ignored by my matched, to meeting my death under the paws of overly protective wolves.

Quin snapped his jaws and released a warning snarl that had my hair standing on end like I’d been electrocuted. He was dangerous, but peeking up at him from beneath Coda’s thick belly fur, I felt a sharp pang of desire rather than fear.

That settled it. I was one twisted bunny.

Quin launched himself at Coda, but Coda was ready. With a gentle but swift swipe of his massive front paw, I was sent sliding across the hardwood floor.

I tried to get traction on the polished floors, but it was futile, and I ended up looking like a cartoon character running uselessly in place. It wasn’t until Quin’s wolf sank his teeth into Coda’s shoulder and sent him sailing into the wall that my tiny claws caught the edge of a wooden floorboard.

Kicking hard with my back legs, I found myself skidding across the floor with all the grace of a first-time ice skater. Coda’s wolf shook off the blow and rushed toward Quin.

This time, it was a swift nudge from Quin’s wolf that sent me spinning across the floor and sliding beneath a cabinet. Cowering among the dust bunnies that had gathered in the tight space, I watched a battle scene from a nature documentary play out in front of me.

The house trembled as the couch was flipped over, and Quin’s body smashed into the large flat-screen TV. Several pictures crashed to the floor, where their expensive-looking frames splintered beyond repair.

When the two wolves barreled into the cabinet I was hiding beneath and knocked it to the ground, I was left scrambling for cover once again. I dodged between legs as the fight continued to intensify.

They had shown no signs of stopping, and I doubt much of the house would have survived if it hadn’t been for the front door swinging open to reveal the largest man I’d ever seen.

“What is going on here?” Even though the newcomer didn’t raise his voice, it radiated authority.

His voice was smooth as honey, and sent a pleasant warmth rushing through me. Coda and Quin froze in place, their eyes widening as they studied the giant of a man.

The new guy’s attention landed on where I cowered under a couch cushion. “What have I told you about bringing pets into the house?”

The pair of wolves shared a quick look that communicated something I couldn’t understand. A moment later, they burst into action.

Quin’s wolf spun around and used his body to block me from the man’s glowering face. And before I could blink, Coda’s snout shoved away the pillow, and his powerful jaws clamped around me.

I could do little more than squeak in shock as he practically flew down the hall. Skidding into a bedroom, Coda used his back leg to kick the door closed behind us and gingerly dropped me on the hardwood floor.

While I appreciated that he’d kept his ridiculously sharp teeth from sinking into my tiny rabbit body, I was beyond ticked off. I’d gone from being the rabbit males’ live-in servant to being nothing more than a doggy chew toy.

Fueled by fury, the moment my paws hit the floor, I shifted to my human form. “What in the crispy-finger-licking-Kentucky-fried-frick is going on?” I demanded, crossing my arms across my chest.

Why did he have to be so much bigger than me, even in my human form? Refusing to be intimidated, I glared up at the wolf standing over me.

Coda shifted to his human form, crouching partially over me. “I’m so sorry, Ellora.” Regret filled his eyes. “I don’t know why Macarius is home early. Quin and I thought it would be easier to explain things to him if you weren’t in the same room.”

So the guy who could get people pregnant with nothing more than his sexy voice was the infamous Macarius? Interesting.

But if he was home from his trip early, what would that mean for me? I’d probably need to find somewhere else to hide from my burrow.

The thought of leaving Quin and Coda had my stomach twisting itself into knots.

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