Page 1 of A Bunny for the Bear
Chapter One
Ross
I staredat the basket before me with glee. I wanted to devour the entire container, but that would not bring any friends my way.
And I needed friends since I was new to town. Looking for some type of companionship was first on my list of things to do right after finding a place to stay, which I’d thankfully done already. It was also the reason I found myself at this farmer's market.
When I made the journey to Collier Cover, I told myself that I would do everything I could to actually be part of the group.
As the only bunny in my previous pack, I was used to being an outsider. It sucked, but there wasn't much I could do.
If I knew where to find small shifters like me, I would have gone to them. But as someone raised around wolves and coyotes and saber-toothed tigers, being a bunny made me less than. It made me not only their prey, but I was also seen as an insignificant creature who stood in their way of having the perfect Alpha pack.
Did I forget to mention I'm also an Omega?
Yeah, it was a big deal.
Anytime an Omega came to visit the pack, they would inevitably be picked by one of the Alphas. Despite the way I’d been treated my whole life, I found myself longing to be one of them. I wanted to be chosen. I wanted to find my fated mate.
Not that all those pairings were Fated. Those Alphas would claim any willing and attractive Omega.
When yet another mating took place, I realized Fate was giving me a sign. I couldn't stick around in one place and expect things to change.
I had to get out. There was nothing left for me there. It was a wonder I stayed as long as I did.
So I packed my bags and moved on.
Rumor had it that this town was a place that only shifters could find. It was said to be the type of place where love was inevitable. I'd also heard they were in the midst of a baby boom.
Every mated couple was either pregnant or had just had a baby.
As much as the idea frightened me—because pregnancy was hard—I wanted it. I wanted my happily ever after.
"See something you like?" the nice lady behind the table asked me.
"Those carrots are lovely." I sighed after the admission. There was no denying they’d been what my focus was on. Even as my mind wandered, I wanted nothing more than to take a big bite out of that juicy carrot.
She tilted her head at me. "What type of shifter are you, sweetie?"
I blushed from my head to my toes. She wasn't patronizing me, yet her words brought up old wounds.
I leaned forward so I could whisper. I didn't want anyone else to hear quite yet.
"I'm a bunny," I told her.
She smiled brightly and clapped her hands. "That's wonderful. I met a bunny shifter years ago. She was very kind. Are you an Alpha or an Omega?"
I ducked my head at the question, and before I could reply, she said, "Omega it is then. My name is Arisha. I'm a raven shifter, an Omega, to my parrot Alpha shifter, Champ.”
I shook her outstretched hand, a genuine smile coming to my face at her words.
“I don't think I've ever met any bird shifters. My name is Ross.”
"Well, it's a good thing you came here then, Ross," she told me. "There are all types of shifters in Collier Cover. We even have a couple of humans that have stumbled in here thanks to Fate's hand.”
My jaw dropped. "Humans? Here? I hadn't heard of that.”
She shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have. We try to keep that quiet. Too many people find out something like that, and it causes mayhem. There's nothing wrong with the humans who are here. They're all fated mates to some of our long-term residents.”
