Page 31 of The Bunny Blues

Protect. Mine, he urged, pacing anxiously.

“I am protecting her—by keeping her away from us,” I whispered into the quiet of the car.

NO! My wolf rammed against the invisible barriers I used to keep him under control. We protect.

“Sit down and act like a good dog,” I snapped, sick of being forced to keep my inner beast muzzled and on a leash to prevent him from going on a killing spree. “Maybe if she’d been a female wolf, I could trust you not to kill her if my control slipped. But she’s too small, and even a tiny mistake could end up with her being injured.”

Never. My wolf grew still, no longer fighting for control. Never hurt.

Pressing my fingers to my eyes, I groaned in frustration. I longed to believe him, but the past had taught me that my wolf’s instincts were far stronger than his intentions.

My wolf wasn’t ready to give up. Please. Dropping to his stomach, he released a pitiful whine.

My resolve crumbled under his puppy eyes and my own need to be close to her. “We’ll go back and sit outside the house to keep watch, but we’re not going in.”

Compromise reached, I put the car into gear and headed back to the house.

Pulling my car under the cover of some overhanging branches, I flicked off my headlights. I was far enough away that Coda and Quin were unlikely to sense my presence.

Even at this distance, my sharp vision allowed me to see four unfamiliar men pushing their way inside the house. Without making a sound, I stepped from my car and listened to the voices.

Protect. Protect. Protect. My wolf’s demand pounded like the beat of a drum in my head.

Be calm. I’m trying to discern why they’re here. I refused to rush in just because he didn’t want any other males near her.

Not that I blamed him. Every time the image of Coda on top of her as they kissed popped into my mind, my blood pressure rose.

But if I wanted to avoid a bloodbath, I needed to stay away from her. I had ordered Coda and Quin to remove her, so maybe the men were there to escort her to a new house.

A house where she would be safe from me.

Unable to help myself, I began moving through the trees that surrounded the house. I removed my suit jacket and shirt as I stalked closer and tossed them carelessly over a low-hanging tree branch.

If she needed me, I was prepared to shift.

My ears strained to hear the sound of her voice. If these men had been invited by my brothers or sent by my alpha, I didn’t want to reveal my presence.

I knew my wolf; he would likely rip someone’s throat out just to avoid small talk. And I was in a foul enough mood to let him.

A new thought caused my stomach to twist. I’d refused to listen to their reasons for bringing her into our home. What if she was in danger from someone or something outside the pack?

No, Coda and Quin wouldn’t have left her side if that were true. Besides, how much trouble could one tiny female get into? What reason would someone have to hunt her down?

My answer came when one of the men yelled.

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

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

For the first time in my life, I released my wolf from every barrier and gave him full control. They had threatened our girl—Ellora, he had called her—and now I was going to send them to hell to face judgment for it.

I took off at a run, shifting smoothly from human to wolf without slowing my pace. Once all four of my heavy paws landed on the spongy earth, my speed increased until I moved across the ground like a blurred shadow.

It was a pace no wolf on earth could keep up with.

Not even the alpha.

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

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