Page 32 of The Bunny Blues

I stumbled slightly in shock at the melodic voice of our mate handing out threats like it was her side hustle.

Violent. My wolf huffed in amusement. Sexy.

With those words, she’d stolen my wolf’s heart completely. I just hoped she was ready for what that would mean. And I hoped he’d keep his word to never hurt her.

As I neared the house, I could hear the creak of the hinges and the harsh pants of the wolves as they savagely threw themselves against a door. I hadn’t seen the wolves enter, but now that I was close, I could smell the sour scent that identified them as rogues.

Straining my ears, I picked out seven unique heartbeats. Four men, two wolves, and Ellora. Her heart was galloping at a worrisome speed. She was scared.

Protect. My wolf bared his fangs and lurched forward, moving faster and faster with each stride. Kill.

I’d reached the edge of the yard when the sound of the bathroom door splintering under the weight of the wolves came from the house.

Time was up.

Tuned into the rhythm of her racing heart, I heard the moment it slowed. And knowing why she’d grown calm hit me like a sword through the stomach.

Ellora was facing death and had accepted her fate.

But she’d miscalculated, because I knew with certainty I would never let her leave me. And while I didn’t have a clue how she’d ended up in this mess, I was ready and willing to clean it up.

Agreed.

It had taken years, but my wolf and I were truly one for the first time in my life. And we’d never been more powerful.

This is why I didn’t bother running to the front door and headed straight for the large bathroom window. Without hesitation, I dug my claws into the soft earth and launched my massive wolf body straight at the window.

I’d paid a ridiculous amount of money for the unbreakable glass panes, but if I hadn’t known better, I would have guessed the window was little more than a thin piece of ice.

I’d already taken in the scene before my paws hit the bathroom floor. My eyes followed the trail of honeysuckle-scented blood smeared across the floor to where it ended in the shower. A tiny bunny with fur the color of my soul lay partially hidden beneath a piece of fabric.

Anger had been something I’d experienced on a near-daily basis for my entire adult life. But that anger was nothing compared to the all-consuming rage that pumped through my veins at the sight of her blood.

They’d hurt my mate.

I locked eyes with the two wolves barreling toward her. Realizing they’d need to get through me first, they tried to stop their forward motion, but they couldn’t gain traction on the floor.

Even if they could have stopped themselves, it wouldn’t have mattered. I had already decided they weren’t leaving that bathroom alive.

Calling on our speed, I blurred toward the wild-eyed wolf that had smears of crimson blood on his muzzle.

My mate’s blood.

Sinking my fangs into his neck, I flipped him over with a violent speed that caused his neck to snap. He hadn’t even had the chance to make a sound before his life was snuffed out.

The instant the wolf went limp in my hold, I dropped him and twisted around to catch the second wolf in my powerful jaws. This wolf was larger than the first, but he was only half my size. It wasn’t a fair fight, but he hadn’t cared about fairness when he’d wanted to devour my mate.

With the back of the wolf’s neck between my jaws, I shook him by his scruff like he was nothing more than a stuffed toy. I let him experience the pain of what it was like to be prey caught in a larger predator’s mouth—which was exactly what he would’ve done to Ellora if I hadn’t been here.

His death came far quicker than I would have liked, but it was just as well, because the four men had roused from their shocked stupor and were scrambling toward the front door.

My wolf longed to kill them with the same efficiency as he’d dispatched the rogues. But I wanted answers first.

I barreled through the open doorway and into the narrow hall. Without hesitation, I leaped onto the first man’s back and rode his body to the floor, taking one of the other men down with us.

The man beneath me slammed his head against the hardwood and went limp.

Hopefully, he wasn’t dead.

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