Page 28 of The Bunny Blues

The wolves continued throwing their bodies against the door, and with each blow, the door creaked louder. It was sturdy, but the wood couldn’t hold them off forever. Ignoring my instincts, which were screaming for me to run in the opposite direction, I rushed to the door and pushed a small cabinet in front of it.

Hopefully, that would slow them down long enough for me to figure out what to do. I began to scan the living room, searching for a place to hide. Then, the idiocy of that thought had me rolling my eyes.

Did I seriously think I could beat the paranormal world’s hide-and-go-seek champions? Everyone claims that Sasquatches are the champions, but that’s only because the wolf shifters haven’t had a desire to sniff them out.

So unless I submerged myself in a tub of perfume or buried myself in a pile of garlic, the wolves would track me with ease. My only hope was to escape out a window or lock myself away until the brothers returned.

Before I could make a move, the door flew open on its hinges and slammed hard against the wall. Two wolves tumbled through the doorway, howling in victory.

Their shaggy red coats were nothing like the sleek carbon coats of Coda and Quin. Saliva dripped from their bared fangs, and their murderous, glowing eyes locked on me.

As the wolves thundered across the wood floor toward me, my instincts kicked in with a vengeance. When they sprung toward me, I dropped to the floor and managed to keep my head attached to my shoulders… barely.

The red wolves skidded to a stop a few feet away and spun around to face me. Their jaws snapped in frustration at being thwarted.

“Back down! You’re supposed to help us get her, not kill her!” a familiar voice shouted to be heard over the snarls and growls coming from the pair of wolves.

Brett.

My heart plummeted to the center of the earth.

They’d found me.

Inch-by-inch, I began moving away from the wolves and toward the hallway. I knew if I moved too fast, I’d excite their animalistic instincts, and the hunt would be on. There wasn’t a chance the wolves would be stopped before they managed to rip out my throat.

Three men stepped through the doorway behind Brett.

All four of my matched were here.

“Ellora. You should have known better than to run,” Henry scolded, clicking his tongue against his teeth in a mocking tsk-tsk sound.

“In the history of our burrow, there hasn’t been a female who shamed herself by running from her matched… until you.” Edward’s skin was turning an angry, mottled red. “Rumors spread fast through the burrows, and you’ve embarrassed us in front of our peers.”

Edward ran his fingers through his perfectly trimmed hair. “Hades, Ellora! My boss stopped by my office to offer his sympathy! We’ve been forced to lie through our teeth, but we’ve finally convinced almost everyone you were out of town visiting a sick friend, and we were coming to support you through it.”

If they were waiting for me to speak, they were going to be waiting until hell started serving perfectly chilled iced caramel macchiato.

Even if I could have spoken past the lump of fear and anxiety stuck in my throat, I had nothing to say to them. Ever.

“Let’s grab her and get out of here before the wolves return.” Jay shoved forward, and I realized it was now or never.

Harnessing the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I scrambled to my feet and tore off down the hallway. The sound of the wolves’ claws scratching the wooden floor came from behind me, and it was only a matter of seconds before they were snapping at my legs.

Sharp teeth sank into my calf, sending pain exploding up my leg before he lost his hold on my skin and his teeth ripped free. Biting back my shriek of pain, I threw myself into the first open doorway and slammed the door before the wolves could get a second bite.

Locking the door, I frantically searched the bathroom for something I could push in front of it. I knew I couldn’t stop my attackers, but maybe I could slow them down.

Sadly, the modern minimalist decor made that impossible. The only cabinet in the room was beneath the sink and screwed to the wall.

The door shuddered as the wolves threw their bodies against it, reminding me it was only a matter of time before I had company.

“ELLORA!” Brett roared my name. “STOP THIS NONSENSE! Like it or not, you’re going home with us.”

The heck I was. “You should leave before I cut off your ball sack and wear it as a swim cap!”

I didn’t know how this fiasco was going to end, but I knew it wasn’t with me being dragged back to the burrows. If I could hold them off long enough, maybe Coda and Quin would walk in and stop this madness.

Rushing across the expansive bathroom, I skidded across the marble floor and slid into the glass shower. It was larger than my closet back at the burrows.

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