Page 3 of A Bunny for the Bear
“If Fate wanted me to find my forever person, then they needed to put them in my path. It isn’t my fault they haven’t shown up yet.”
My aunt snorted across the phone. “The only way they’d appear in your life is if they were a food delivery person. You rarely leave your home as it is. And when you do, it’s not for long. Please, nephew, tell me how in the world it’s supposed to happen.”
I growled before I could catch myself. The line went silent before she let out a string of expletives.
Wincing, I listened to her berate me for using such a tone with her. It was less about my frustration and more about respecting my elders—something I’d been raised to be better at.
“Sorry, Aunt Souli. I didn’t mean to. It’s just…” I sighed deeply.
How could I explain to her that I was terrified of finding my person? As a big, bad bear shifter, I should have been eager to find my mate. Instead, I’d been dreading the day it would happen.
The Alpha part of me liked the idea. We just weren’t all that keen on who the person might be.
Would they be another predator type of shifter? Maybe someone who expected us to behave a certain way? Or would they be a meek shifter looking for full-time protection?
None of those options sounded all that enticing.
“Do you want to know what I really think?” she asked when I didn’t continue.
I rolled my eyes at the question. The woman had been telling me her thoughts this whole damn time.
“Roll your eyes one more time. Watch how I show up and treat you.”
The threat in her voice had me straightening. How did she know what I’d done? We weren’t on a video call. She should be none the wiser about my reactions.
“Are you also a witch, aunt?”
She cackled loud enough that I pulled my phone away to stare at it. This was not at all how I saw this conversation turning. Then again, I should have known to expect this from her.
Always with the theatrics. It’s a wonder my cousin Rimknick turned out to be so normal — Fate rest his soul. Though, the man had been in law enforcement before he’d passed. That told me he’d craved some sort of structure outside of Aunt Souli’s shenanigans.
“I’m not a witch, Hutton. It’s more like a mother’s intuition thing.” She giggled to herself. “As I was about to say, I wanted to suggest that maybe Fate was sending me to nudge you a bit. I have a really good feeling about you coming. If you’ll make this one trip, I won’t mention it again for three whole years.”
“Make it five.”
“Four.”
“Deal!” I shouted, as if my volume made it more official.
“Well that was easy. I’d have agreed to a lot longer. At least this way I can set a calendar reminder for if I’m wrong this time. No worries though. I’m pretty stinking sure. Later, nephew!”
She hung up the phone without pressing for anything further. We both knew she didn’t need to.
I was a man of my word. I was also meticulous as fuck.
Telling her I’d agreed to come solidified my arrival, as well as told her I’d be booking the flight immediately. I’d want to get the trip set up so I didn’t have to worry about it any longer.
As I opened a browser to pull up plane tickets, I pondered over if I should drive instead. It would take a bit longer, but it would also give me the ability to leave whenever I wanted.
Plus, I had to admit that the idea of taking a plane ride full of humans didn’t sound all that appealing. Sure, there might be a shifter or two on board. The reasoning did nothing to change my mind.
Any number of humans were two too many in a cramped space. My bear couldn’t stand it.
As if he wanted to take control, the beast nudged at me to go with driving instead. It wasn’t with words, yet it came across just as clearly as if he’d spoken.
“Fine, then. We’ll rent a car for the journey,” I said out loud.
Instantly, relief swept through me. There was a plan in place. Time would tell if my aunt was right or not. As much as I feared she was, a larger part of me suspected she wasn't.
