Page 13 of A Bunny for the Bear
It was an important part of this process. I hated the idea of leaving without having everything in place.
I recognized it as a small part of me wanting to have a way to reach my mate. Even if I was terrified of the idea, my bunny craved him. He wanted to know what this Hutton man was like beneath the bits we’d seen so far.
Souli smiled as she pulled out her phone. “Put it in here, then text yourself. And trust that everything will work out. Fate is never cruel in who it connects. There is a reason it chose Hutton for you.”
The way she said that—Hutton for you—gave me chills. It made me the more dominant focus in a way. Because if he were chosen for me, then I had to be important, right?
After giving her my number, I followed Maklihn and Clynt to their vehicle. I could hear Hutton snarling in the background as Nolan continued to growl to subdue him. Souli, Greenly, and the others also spoke as if to calm him down.
I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to get some breathing room. My mate needed to see me at my best. Not after I nearly had a panic attack in the park after seeing him shift for the first time.
Most of all, I needed to figure out how to tell him I was a bunny shifter. While I might not have rejected him, nor did I intend to, he might reject me once he learned my animal form was more prey than predator.
I guess we’d have to wait to see what hand Fate truly dealt us.
Chapter Six
Hutton
I foughtagainst the Alpha hold the other bear had on me. I was furious he and the others were keeping me from my mate.
How dare they?
They had mates of their own. There was no reason for them to prevent me from getting to mine. It was unfair, uncalled for, and had they not been so strong, I would have destroyed them in an instant.
As soon as my mate was tucked away in the car and driven off, the Alpha lowered his hold on me. He shifted back into his human form and threw on his clothes.
“Now then, Hutton, do you want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” he demanded, some of the Alpha power still leaking through him.
I shook my head. “Me? You're the one who just separated me from my mate. How about you explain yourself?”
My aunt stepped between us, her hands pressing against both of our chests.
“You can have all your Alpha posturing later when we aren't dealing with something this catastrophic. Hutton, you just shifted in public without a single ounce of control. I understand that he's your mate; however, if we had been anywhere else with humans about, that would have been disastrous.
“And Nolan, you know I wouldn't invite Hutton into town if he had nefarious motives. Hell, the town wouldn't even let him through if his intentions were bad.”
Nolan's shoulders dropped. “You're right, Souli. I'm sorry. My bear is not a fan of what just went down. I could sense my mate's worry over Ross.”
“Ross?” I questioned, though I knew exactly who he was talking about.
The man who I recognized as Nolan's mate stepped forward and tucked himself into the bear's side. “Yes, Ross. Our friend. You scared him.”
I dropped my chin to my chest and put my hands on my hips. With a deep sigh, I accepted their words. I could feel his fear beneath the mating bond pull as well. I just thought that if I went to him, I could soothe some of that anxiety.
“What can I do to fix this?” I asked after a moment of silence.
My aunt patted my chest where her hand still laid. Nolan had backed away, and there was no obvious sign to continue to keep us apart. Her focus locked on me as she answered, "You have to be patient above all else. There's a lot going on that you don't know yet. Things that I'll need to tell you later."
Her eyes cut to the group. She must have information that they weren’t privy to.
My uncle, Champ, came forward and clapped me on the back. "Good to see you still got that hair-trigger temper, son," he joked.
I shook my head and pulled him into a hug. My smile was genuine now. I’d rarely gotten to see him over the last decade. And despite the trouble I was when I was younger, he stood by my aunt's side, never once leaving like I had seen some so-called mates do.
That was yet another reason that forming a bond was something I’d been so cautious about. I wanted forever with my mate. I didn't want to think that anything I did or said would cause them to want to leave. I didn’t think it was possible when a pair was Fated, yet I couldn’t deny what I’d seen in the past. Some people weren’t meant to be together.
“I really am sorry, everyone. It wasn't my intention to show up and lose control.”
