Page 20 of It's Kind of a Bunny Story
I snorted. “Uh-huh. Sure you were.”
The boyish grin Copeland gave me just before he shifted was entirely unapologetic. The moment he was in wolf form, he lunged forward and scooped Fletcher up in his mouth. Ignoring the rabbit’s angry grunts, the wolf darted into the forest, all the while his chest rumbled with the wolfy equivalent of laughter.
“He won’t eat him, right?” I asked, needing the reassurance. “Fletcher looked so tiny in Copeland’s jaws.”
“Bunny Boy belongs to you, so he is under our protection.” Linc followed that with a shrug, then added, “Besides, he didn’t eat him yesterday, so I’d say he can resist temptation today too.”
“Maybe you could come up with a nickname other than Bunny Boy?” Trusting my wolf mates, I turned away from the tree-line. “Your wolves are truly okay having a bunny as a mate? And being part of a fluffle that includes a male rabbit?”
These were questions I knew I should ask later. Time was running out before the next wave of my heat hit, but, unable to help myself, I continued stalling.
“Our wolves are getting used to the idea of sharing you, and our space, with a male shifter of another species. But our wolves wouldn’t hurt him for one simple reason: it would upset you, and that’s unacceptable. Copeland would die to protect your rabbit male, so stop worrying. The sooner we are out of the open, the happier I will be.” He bent and laid the blanket on the ground. “Shift and sit in the middle. I’ll pick up the corners and carry you back. It’ll be more comfortable than being clamped between my jaws.”
“Why didn’t Copeland do that for Fletcher?” I asked, wondering why I hadn’t thought of that sooner.
Linc chuckled. “Because he’s having fun messing with Bunny Boy.” He pulled me into his arms and nuzzled the top of my hair.
“You really need to come up with a different nickname before he smothers you in your sleep.” Happy to delay shifting, I cuddled against him, pressing my cheek against his stomach.
Iheld Charlee against me. “Something is bothering you, and it has nothing to do with my creative nicknames,” I teased, hoping to ease the tension radiating from her. “Is your heat stirring already?”
Charlee waved a hand dismissively. “My heat is tolerable.”
I knew it was a lie. She wasn’t as skilled at hiding her distress as she believed.
What she needed was a month of sleep and four-course meals to put weight back on her fragile body. Wasting energy on mating was the last thing she needed to be doing, yet it was the thing her heat relentlessly drove her to seek. I’d eagerly taken her up on sex every time she desired it, but I couldn’t ignore the guilt in the pit of my stomach over how much I selfishly enjoyed it.
“If it’s not the heat, then what’s bothering you?” I ran my hands down her back. “Until I know the problem, I can’t fix it.”
“It’s not that simple. You can’t fix everything, Linc.” Her words were muffled against my chest.
I feigned a hiss of pain. “I’m hurt. We’ve been mates less than a week, and you’re already doubting my abilities.”
She huffed a soft laugh, but didn’t enlighten me any further. I was left trying to puzzle it out on my own.
She was fine until we’d talked about making the move to the house…
“Are you sure there isn’t anything else you need from the cave? I don’t mind carrying the extra weight.”
Charlee shook her head. “I’m sure.”
“If it’s not something you want from the cave, are you worried about the house? Copeland and I have never had a woman there, other than Monroe when she visited with the alpha.”
Sighing, she pushed away from me. “I’m not worried about the house or stuff. Let’s just get this over with.”
She doesn’t want to shift.
Forcing her to look at me, I studied her expression. “Are you afraid I’ll hurt you if you shift? I swear you’re safe with me.”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Of course not! It’s actually unbelievable that you’re a stranger, but I’m already so comfortable with you.”
My relief quickly morphed into confusion. If she wasn’t afraid, then why the reluctance?
The truth dawned on me. “You hate feeling vulnerable.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “Shifting is something I avoid as much as possible. I stay in my human form because I wouldn’t have survived most of what I’ve gone through if I’d been in such a weak form.”
Dropping her head, she stared at the ground. “When we escaped, we stayed in our rabbit forms for nearly two weeks. It was mentally taxing. I’d hoped to avoid it, at least for a while, because it stirs up a lot of memories for me—none of them good.”
