Page 21 of Bunny Be Mine
Arley
“Youpromisedmeyouwould wait until I got out of class,” Fen growled over the phone.Such a growly mate,my rabbit chittered in my head. “Why aren’t you waiting in the hallway for me? Where are you?”
“I wanted to grab us some chai from the campus café. I’m only on the south side of campus. Relax.” I shifted my backpack from my left to right shoulder, wishing I had opted for the double-strap kind and not this single. The load of the books and travel was beginning to weigh down on me. “I’ll be there in five minutes, and we can walk back to the house. There are a bunch of students around me, I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t underestimate those guys. They will find a way if they want to get you alone. Walk straight here and follow the main path, no shortcuts. Those have too many places they could be hiding to attack from.” Fen grunted, and I could imagine his facial expression in my mind’s eye. “And if you aren’t here in five minutes, I’m heading your way. Scratch that; I am on my way. We will meet in the middle, and I’ll be able to prove to my wolf you are safe sooner. He’s pushing hard, wanting to get out and come save you. He’s convinced you and the pups are in danger.” My mate sure was growly. But I should have been more considerate.
“No danger here, babe. But feel free to meet me. I’m getting kinda tired and am going to sit on the bench outside Growley Hall. My feet hurt and…” I put a hand on my stomach. “How am I so big already? I swear we just found out they are in there, and I am already showing like they are about to be here.”
“That’s because they are about to be here, Arley.” Fen chuckled, his mood changing to positive. That was good for now. I understood my mate’s worry. “I think we both keep forgetting that the days are counting down and we don’t have the nine months of the humans but instead a measly six weeks from conception to birth…and most of that has already passed by the time we found out. We only have two weeks left.”
“Fuck, Fen. How do we only have days to prepare?” I hadn’t realized how little time we had left. I wasn’t ready.
“Don’t worry, babe. We’ve got this. The house is big enough and we have got a bit of time. Maybe I should call my parents up and convince them to move up here.”
“Let’s discuss that later. I’m…”
“Oh, look. What do we have here? A lone little bunny without any protector? What kind of mate do you have that he leaves you alone, Arley?”“Marcus.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, even as a slight shiver ran down my spine; but of course the damn man had a knack for showing up unannounced and unwelcomed. And go figure that they’d showed up the one time I didn’t wait for Fen.He will never let me live this down, nor will my rabbit.“What are you doing here?”
“We came to bring you back home.” Marcus stood before me, glaring at my belly with a snare on his lips. “Looks like we are just in time. Need to make sure those pups grow up with the right mindset. Not poisoned by this big-city trash thought.”
“I’m almost there.” Fen panted into the phone. “Don’t let them take you anywhere.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I spoke into my phone, ignoring the group in front of me.
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “Who are you talking to?”
“My mate.” I held my head up high, showing no fear. Predators like Marcus fed on their prey’s emotions, and I refused to let him know how afraid I truly was.
“Oh good, he can watch us take you, powerless to stop us.”
“Are these guys bothering you?” A few of the guys from the university football team now approached our group, surrounding me in a protective formation. I recognized a few of them from my philosophy class and smiled. They were lions and dragons, and together ruled over the campus as if it was their clan or den. Perhaps it was, I’d have to ask Fen to verify if this was officially their lands we were allowed to be on. Either way, if anyone could put a wolf in his place, it would be these two types of shifters.
“Mind your own business, guys. Arley here belongs in our territory.” Marcus waved his hand and smirked.The idiot.“We just came to bring him back home.”
“He already is home.” Patrick Galligar inserted himself in the space between Marcus and me. “I think you guys need to get back in your truck and head to where you belong.”
“I don’t think so. We aren’t leaving,” Marcus snarled, as if the man had any other expression.
“Oh, but you are.” Patrick nodded at his two best friends, Samuel and James. “Why don’t you guys have the team show these…gentleman…to their car and make sure they know their way out of the city?”
“Let’s go.” The larger shifters I was thankful I had built a friendship within class the last few weeks, took the arms of my small-town bullies and led them off into the direction of the parking lots.
“You okay, Arley?” Patrick sat down and put a hand on my shoulder. “Is Fen on his way?”
I opened my mouth to speak but was silenced when my frenzied mate dropped down to his knees in front of me and pulled me into his arms.
“Oh, thank the goddess.” Fen kissed me and then turned his head to face Patrick. “Thanks, man. I saw your guys draggin’ them away and knew I didn’t need to worry about dealing with them and could focus on making sure my mate was okay.”
“Anytime, man.” Patrick shrugged as if what he did was nothing. It was huge, at least for me. “I can’t stand idiots like that. Thinking they can do whatever they want just because nature deems them a predator.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at the intimidatingly large but sweet giant. “It’s nice to know that I had backup.”
“Of course you do, Arley.” Patrick winked. “We are all family here on campus. Regards of your shifter species. Hell, even the humans and witches are under our protection. No small-town small-minded fools will get to you. Not on our watch.”
It felt good to know we were creating that out here on campus. I liked knowing that my support system expanded out from Fen, his family, and our roommates. “Thanks.”
“Why don’t I walk you two home? I know you can handle them, Fen, but I think you should focus on Arley and those babes right now. Let me be on the lookout and get you two safe.”
