Page 34 of The Bunny Blues

Before I could stop myself, I’d swept her up into my arms, needing to reassure my wolf and myself that she was safe.

I’d expected Ellora to panic at being held by a stranger who’d demanded she leave his house not too long ago. But she only stiffened for a moment before her muscles relaxed, and she sagged against my chest.

I decided then and there that I was never going to put her down.

Never, my wolf rumbled in agreement.

Iraced up the driveway to the house. Coda was just ahead of me. He was moving as fast as he could without dropping any of the bags of food he was balancing.

Slowing my pace, I reached out and grabbed the bag that teetered precariously on top. “Did you get a text too?”

“Yeah. But why would Macarius text us to come back to the house?”

I didn’t respond because I didn’t have an answer. As we drew closer to the door, the scent of rogues caused the hair on my body to rise.

What if the rogues had hurt Ellora? Why had we been so stupid and left her alone? Would I find her missing—or worse, dead—when I opened the door?

With a shaking hand, I twisted the dented brass knob. The door groaned as it swung open on a single undamaged hinge to reveal a sight my brain couldn’t begin to process.

Macarius sat in his favorite black leather armchair. His chest was bare, and he wore nothing but a pair of his perfectly tailored slacks.

He was studying the four men chained to our floor with a stormy expression I was all too familiar with and knew it promised violence was on the horizon.

Finding four strangers chained to the floor in front of my older brother wasn’t the weird part, though. No, the most shocking part of the scene was the black ball of fur stretched out on his thigh as though she were a lap cat instead of a bunny.

Her eyelids fluttered as Macarius’s fingers gently stroked along her ears and down her back. He was petting her of his own free will.

What in Dante’s hell had happened while we were gone?

“Did I walk into an alternate reality?” Coda murmured under his breath.

I sucked in a steadying breath, only to have the scent of blood fill my lungs and clear the confusion clouding my mind.

Dropping the bag of food to the floor, I rushed toward Ellora. “Is she hurt?”

Macarius released a growl that shouldn’t have been possible in his human form.

He curled his hand around Ellora protectively, and his massive palm nearly covered her completely. “Back off.”

Meeting Macarius’s eyes, I was shocked to find a very real threat there, and a trickle of unease slid down my spine.

I’d grown up knowing he was always in my corner, ready to defend his family with ruthless efficiency. But looking into his eyes, I understood that if it came down to it, he would protect Ellora first.

“Mac?” There was no hiding the disbelief in my voice.

“There are two rogues in the bathroom. Take care of their bodies,” Macarius ordered.

Standing tall, I set my jaw. “I’m not leaving this room until I know what’s going on.”

He might be the oldest sibling, but I did not bow to him. I didn’t know what had caused the sudden change in his stance when it came to Ellora, but if he thought he could take her from me, he would have a fight on his hands.

Macarius held my gaze for far longer than was comfortable, but I refused to look away. “We’ll discuss this later.”

Satisfied that he knew it wasn’t over, I moved to stand beside his chair. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at the four men on the floor.

Coda placed the food bags in the kitchen and took up a position on the opposite side of the armchair. The four men appeared to be uneasy rather than terrified. So they were either brave or stupid.

“We want to speak with your alpha,” one of the men demanded.

---